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Show 'WHY SALTON SEA IS SALT Heports thnt plans nre undeV way to develop water power from tho Colorado Col-orado river which gives amplo proof of tho power it enn exert in the carving carv-ing of tho Grand Canyon aro said to havo aroused apprehension In the mhuls of tho operators of Irrigated farmB In tho Imperial valley of California, Cali-fornia, near tho shores' of tho Snlton sea. Tho Imperial valley depends on tho Colorado for Its Irrigation waters. Tho Salton sea Is really part of tho Gulf of California with a great rykc of silt separating It from tho greater body of water. "Many centuries ngo the Gulf of California extended to n ptnt nbout 1M) miles northwestward from Its present head," says a communication to tho Natlonnl Geographic society from Arthur P, -Davis. "It also extended up tho present valley of the Colorado river at least to Yuma and probably somewhat above. Tlio Colorado river, rising Ii. the Wind" Itlver mountains of Wyoming Wyo-ming nnd tho Hocky mountains of Colorado, Col-orado, carved tho rocks along. IU course and brought the resulting snud-i nnd mud down In Its swift current, discharging them Into the arm' of the gulf near Yumn. "As this process went on, without cessntlon century after century, the valley was gradually tilled, n delta built up, over which the Tlvcr flowed I far out Into th"o gulf. It encroached ' progi esslvely up the slmres of tho gulf until It built up n doltn entirely across, joining tho foothills of tho Cocopah mountains on tho western shore. This ' cut off the head of the gulf, and thu i arid lilnuito rapidly evnpornted the waters thus separated nnd left an Inland In-land depression, which nt Its lowest point was nearly SOO feet below sea-i sea-i level. It Is estimated thn the amount of silt carried by tho Iiwcr Colorado river Is sulllelent to cover 53 square miles ono foot deep with dry alluvial soil each year. Tlin rlvrir rnntlnnfHl tn hrlllL' (loull Its load of srllment nnd to build Its ' delta higher nnd force It farther Into tho gulf. Mko all such deltaTc streams, tho channel on the top of tho delta Is constantly shifting, cutting one bank, building up the other, overflowing overflow-ing both banks, nnd during high water sometlmos entirely abandoning nn old chnnnol for a new one. In this way the rlvor has from time to time Howe ' Into tho Salton sea for some ye-nrs or centuries, and anon has shifted t-i tho eastward nnd discharged again Into the gulf. This Is the goncr.il courso tho river has followed oxei i stnce Its dlscovory by tho Spaniards In tho Sixteenth century. ' "At high wator the rlvor normal! . overflown Its banks In the valley i glons ull the way from tho Grand Canyon to the Gulf of California. I ' unusually high water, such nx o curred In 1801. the overflow runiiln; Into the Salton sink has been sun) dent to materially mUo the Iwvel of the lako and oerflnw tho track of the Southern Pacific railway, wjiid-are wjiid-are built elong Its shores." |