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Show j Salton Sea Now j Rapidly Receding f. Waters Are Retreating at Rate of About a Mile Yearly. SETTLERS GRAB THE LANO Opens Up Largest Area of Date Producing Pro-ducing Land in the Country Big Fish Cannery Planned by Arizona Ari-zona Capitalists. Los Angeles. Cal. The Salton sea, In the Imperial valley, one of the natural wonders of the West, Is constantly con-stantly shrinking. At present It Is nbout 18 miles lorg and nine miles wide at the greatest point. During the last five years the water Is said to have retreated about a mile a year, leaving a salt-encrusted adobe laud, which Is eagerly seized by homesteaders. homestead-ers. Often their location . stakes' are pianted far out In the water. The sea, which lies 1G9 feet below the level of the ocean, abounds in mullet mul-let and cam. which local and Arizonn capitalists are planning to utilize by the creation of a great cannery. The United States department of agriculture ag-riculture reports state that about the Salton sea lies the largest area of date-producing date-producing land In the country. Geologists say the Salton "sink," as It once was known, in prehistoric times has changed from desert to sea and from sea to desert 50 times or more. Becomes Inland Sea. For centuries the Colorado river would flow quietly to the Gulf of California Cali-fornia and gradually build up a sandbar sand-bar across its mouth. Then rome spring flood would cause a washout In the fiver's bank farther north, and the whole torrent would sweep toward the Salton "sink." The desert would become an Inland sea, remaining so for centuries perhaps, until srme great flood would carve out c shorter way to the ocean. The sea would be drained and the region relapse Into a desert. Mud volcanoes abound near the sea. a short distance inland. They are of all sizes up to great mounds 10 feet In height. They nil emit steam, some In a steady stream, ethers steam and mud alternately. Many of them give out a sulphurous gas. At times their roaring can be heard for miles. More and more the sea Is being visited by tourists, and during the heated season, when he temperature is from 10 to 20 degrees cooler than in the valley towns, dances are frequently fre-quently held on an old wharf which once served as . a landing place for fishing boats, but which has been left high and dry by the receding waters. Of Interest to Tourists. Of especial interest to the tourists are the bubbling "palntpots." As the water retreats It Is In a state of eon- etant ebullition. Gases from collie unknown un-known subterranean source are continually con-tinually finding escape through unseen vents In the bottom. Layer after layer of colored pigment Is deposited. The retreating waters have left uncovered uncov-ered acres of this deposit, said by experts ex-perts to be fully equal to the dry sienna and umber colors of which so much Is Imported. It is thought that the shrinkage of the Salton sea will continue until It finally becomes a salt "sink" with a pool of brackish water In the center, unless a fresh outburst of the great Colorado should replenish Its waters. |