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PREFACE.
PREFACE.
It was my intention to write a work on the Public Domain. The object of the volume was to give the extent and character of the lands yet belonging to the Government of the United States. Compared with the whole extent of these lands, but a very small fraction is immediately available for agriculture; in general, they require drainage or irrigation for their redemption. It is true that in the Southern States there are some millions of acres, chiefly timber lands, which at no remote time will be o
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PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
The first edition of this report having been exhausted in a few months and without satisfying the demand which the importance of the subject created, a second was ordered by Congress in March, 1879. The authors were thus given an opportunity to revise their text and eliminate a few formal errors which had crept in by reason of their absence while the first edition was passing through the press. The substance of the report is unchanged. July , 1879....
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THE ARID REGION.
THE ARID REGION.
The Arid Region is the great Rocky Mountain Region of the United States, and it embraces something more than four-tenths of the whole country, excluding Alaska. In all this region the mean annual rainfall is insufficient for agriculture, but in certain seasons some localities, now here, now there, receive more than their average supply. Under such conditions crops will mature without irrigation. As such seasons are more or less infrequent even in the more favored localities, and as the agricultu
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IRRIGABLE LANDS.
IRRIGABLE LANDS.
Within the Arid Region only a small portion of the country is irrigable. These irrigable tracts are lowlands lying along the streams. On the mountains and high plateaus forests are found at elevations so great that frequent summer frosts forbid the cultivation of the soil. Here are the natural timber lands of the Arid Region—an upper region set apart by nature for the growth of timber necessary to the mining, manufacturing, and agricultural industries of the country. Between the low irrigable la
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ADVANTAGES OF IRRIGATION.
ADVANTAGES OF IRRIGATION.
There are two considerations that make irrigation attractive to the agriculturist. Crops thus cultivated are not subject to the vicissitudes of rainfall; the farmer fears no droughts; his labors are seldom interrupted and his crops rarely injured by storms. This immunity from drought and storm renders agricultural operations much more certain than in regions of greater humidity. Again, the water comes down from the mountains and plateaus freighted with fertilizing materials derived from the deca
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COÖPERATIVE LABOR OR CAPITAL NECESSARY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF IRRIGATION.
COÖPERATIVE LABOR OR CAPITAL NECESSARY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF IRRIGATION.
Small streams can be taken out and distributed by individual enterprise, but coöperative labor or aggregated capital must be employed in taking out the larger streams. The diversion of a large stream from its channel into a system of canals demands a large outlay of labor and material. To repay this all the waters so taken out must be used, and large tracts of land thus become dependent upon a single canal. It is manifest that a farmer depending upon his own labor cannot undertake this task. To
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THE USE OF SMALLER STREAMS SOMETIMES INTERFERES WITH THE USE OF THE LARGER.
THE USE OF SMALLER STREAMS SOMETIMES INTERFERES WITH THE USE OF THE LARGER.
A river emerging from a mountain region and meandering through a valley may receive small tributaries along its valley course. These small streams will usually be taken out first, and the lands which they will be made to serve will often lie low down in the valley, because the waters can be more easily controlled here and because the lands are better; and this will be done without regard to the subsequent use of the larger stream to which the smaller ones are tributary. But when the time comes t
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INCREASE OF IRRIGABLE AREA BY THE STORAGE OF WATER.
INCREASE OF IRRIGABLE AREA BY THE STORAGE OF WATER.
Within the Arid Region great deposits of gold, silver, iron, coal, and many other minerals are found, and the rapid development of these mining industries will demand pari passu a rapid development of agriculture. Thus all the lands that can be irrigated will be required for agricultural products necessary to supply the local market created by the mines. For this purpose the waters of the non-growing season will be stored, that they may be used in the growing season. There are two methods of sto
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TIMBER LANDS.
TIMBER LANDS.
Throughout the Arid Region timber of value is found growing spontaneously on the higher plateaus and mountains. These timber regions are bounded above and below by lines which are very irregular, due to local conditions. Above the upper line no timber grows because of the rigor of the climate, and below no timber grows because of aridity. Both the upper and lower lines descend in passing from south to north; that is, the timber districts are found at a lower altitude in the northern portion of t
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AGRICULTURAL AND TIMBER INDUSTRIES DIFFERENTIATED.
AGRICULTURAL AND TIMBER INDUSTRIES DIFFERENTIATED.
It is apparent that the irrigable lands are more or less remote from the timber lands; and as the larger streams are employed for irrigation, in the future the extended settlements will be still farther away. The pasturage lands that in a general way intervene between the irrigable and timber lands have a scanty supply of dwarfed forests, as already described, and the people in occupying these lands will not resort, to any great extent, to the mountains for timber; hence timber and agricultural
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CULTIVATION OF TIMBER.
CULTIVATION OF TIMBER.
In the irrigable districts much timber will be cultivated along the canals and minor waterways. It is probable that in time a sufficient amount will thus be raised to supply the people of the irrigable districts with fuel wherever such fuel is needed, but often such a want will not exist, for in the Rocky Mountain Region there is a great abundance of lignitic coals that may be cheaply mined. All these coals are valuable for domestic purposes, and many superior grades are found. These coals are n
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PASTURAGE LANDS.
PASTURAGE LANDS.
The irrigable lands and timber lands constitute but a small fraction of the Arid Region. Between the lowlands on the one hand and the highlands on the other is found a great body of valley, mesa, hill, and low mountain lands. To what extent, and under what conditions can they be utilized? Usually they bear a scanty growth of grasses. These grasses are nutritious and valuable both for summer and winter pasturage. Their value depends upon peculiar climatic conditions; the grasses grow to a great e
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PASTURAGE FARMS NEED SMALL TRACTS OF IRRIGABLE LAND.
PASTURAGE FARMS NEED SMALL TRACTS OF IRRIGABLE LAND.
The men engaged in stock raising need small areas of irrigable lands for gardens and fields where agricultural products can be raised for their own consumption, and where a store of grain and hay may be raised for their herds when pressed by the severe storms by which the country is sometimes visited. In many places the lone springs and streams are sufficient for these purposes. Another and larger source of water for the fertilization of the gardens and fields of the pasturage farms is found in
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THE FARM UNIT FOR PASTURAGE LANDS.
THE FARM UNIT FOR PASTURAGE LANDS.
The grass is so scanty that the herdsman must have a large area for the support of his stock. In general a quarter section of land alone is of no value to him; the pasturage it affords is entirely inadequate to the wants of a herd that the poorest man needs for his support. Four square miles may be considered as the minimum amount necessary for a pasturage farm, and a still greater amount is necessary for the larger part of the lands; that is, pasturage farms, to be of any practicable value, mus
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REGULAR DIVISION LINES FOR PASTURAGE FARMS NOT PRACTICABLE.
REGULAR DIVISION LINES FOR PASTURAGE FARMS NOT PRACTICABLE.
Many a brook which runs but a short distance will afford sufficient water for a number of pasturage farms; but if the lands are surveyed in regular tracts as square miles or townships, all the water sufficient for a number of pasturage farms may fall entirely within one division. If the lands are thus surveyed, only the divisions having water will be taken, and the farmer obtaining title to such a division or farm could practically occupy all the country adjacent by owning the water necessary to
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FARM RESIDENCES SHOULD BE GROUPED.
FARM RESIDENCES SHOULD BE GROUPED.
These lands will maintain but a scanty population. The homes must necessarily be widely scattered from the fact that the farm unit must be large. That the inhabitants of these districts may have the benefits of the local social organizations of civilization—as schools, churches, etc., and the benefits of coöperation in the construction of roads, bridges, and other local improvements, it is essential that the residences should be grouped to the greatest possible extent. This may be practically ac
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PASTURAGE LANDS CANNOT BE FENCED.
PASTURAGE LANDS CANNOT BE FENCED.
The great areas over which stock must roam to obtain subsistence usually prevents the practicability of fencing the lands. It will not pay to fence the pasturage fields, hence in many cases the lands must be occupied by herds roaming in common; for poor men coöperative pasturage is necessary, or communal regulations for the occupancy of the ground and for the division of the increase of the herds. Such communal regulations have already been devised in many parts of the country....
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RECAPITULATION.
RECAPITULATION.
The Arid Region of the United States is more than four-tenths of the area of the entire country excluding Alaska. In the Arid Region there are three classes of lands, namely, irrigable lands, timber lands, and pasturage lands....
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IRRIGABLE LANDS.
IRRIGABLE LANDS.
Within the Arid Region agriculture is dependent upon irrigation. The amount of irrigable land is but a small percentage of the whole area. The chief development of irrigation depends upon the use of the large streams. For the use of large streams coöperative labor or capital is necessary. The small streams should not be made to serve lands so as to interfere with the use of the large streams. Sites for reservoirs should be set apart, in order that no hinderance may be placed upon the increase of
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TIMBER LANDS.
TIMBER LANDS.
The timber regions are on the elevated plateaus and mountains. The timber regions constitute from 20 to 25 per cent. of the Arid Region. The area of standing timber is much less than the timber region, as the forests have been partially destroyed by fire. The timber regions cannot be used as farming lands; they are valuable for forests only. To preserve the forests they must be protected from fire. This will be largely accomplished by removing the Indians. The amount of timber used for economic
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PASTURAGE LANDS.
PASTURAGE LANDS.
The grasses of the pasturage lands are scant, and the lands are of value only in large quantities. The farm unit should not be less than 2,560 acres. Pasturage farms need small tracts of irrigable land; hence the small streams of the general drainage system and the lone springs and streams should be reserved for such pasturage farms. The division of these lands should be controlled by topographic features in such manner as to give the greatest number of water fronts to the pasturage farms. Resid
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IRRIGABLE LANDS.
IRRIGABLE LANDS.
By these methods adequate provision is made for actual settlers on all irrigable lands that are dependent on the waters of minor streams; but these methods are insufficient for the settlement of the irrigable lands that depend on the larger streams, and also for the pasturage lands and timber lands, and in this are included nearly all the lands of the Arid Region. If the irrigable lands are to be sold, it should be in quantities to suit purchasers, and but one condition should be imposed, namely
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TIMBER LANDS.
TIMBER LANDS.
The timber lands cannot be acquired by any of the methods provided in the preëmption, homestead, timber culture, and desert land laws, from the fact that they are not agricultural lands. Climatic conditions make these methods inoperative. Under these laws “dummy entries” are sometimes made. A man wishing to obtain the timber from a tract of land will make homestead or preëmption entries by himself or through his employés without intending to complete the titles, being able thus to hold these lan
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PASTURAGE LANDS.
PASTURAGE LANDS.
If divisional surveys were extended over the pasturage lands, favorable sites at springs and along small streams would be rapidly taken under the homestead and preëmption privileges for the nuclei of pasturage farms. Unentered lands contiguous to such pasturage farms could be controlled to a greater or less extent by those holding the water, and in this manner the pasturage of the country would be rendered practicable. But the great body of land would remain in the possession of the Government;
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WATER RIGHTS.
WATER RIGHTS.
In each of the suggested bills there is a clause providing that, with certain restrictions, the right to the water necessary to irrigate any tract of land shall inhere in the land itself from the date of the organization of the district. The object of this is to give settlers on pasturage or irrigation farms the assurance that their lands shall not be made worthless by taking away the water to other lands by persons settling subsequently in adjacent portions of the country. The men of small mean
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THE LANDS SHOULD BE CLASSIFIED.
THE LANDS SHOULD BE CLASSIFIED.
Such a system of disposing of the public lands in the Arid Region will necessitate an authoritative classification of the same. The largest amount of land that it is possible to redeem by irrigation, excepting those tracts watered by lone springs, brooks, and the small branches, should be classed as irrigable lands, to give the greatest possible development to this industry. The limit of the timber lands should be clearly defined, to prevent the fraudulent acquirement of these lands as pasturage
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DISTRIBUTION OF RAIN THROUGH THE YEAR.
DISTRIBUTION OF RAIN THROUGH THE YEAR.
In a general way the limit of agriculture without irrigation, or “dry farming”, is indicated by the curve of 20 inches rainfall, and where the rainfall is equally distributed through the year this limitation is without exception. But in certain districts the rainfall is concentrated in certain months so as to produce a “rainy season”, and wherever the temperature of the rainy season is adapted to the raising of crops it is found that “dry farming” can be carried on with less than 20 inches of an
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INCREASE OF STREAMS.
INCREASE OF STREAMS.
The residents of Utah who practice irrigation have observed that many of the streams have increased in volume since the settlement of the country. Of the actuality of this increase there can be no question. A popular impression in regard to the fluctuations of an unmeasured element of climate may be very erroneous, as, for example, the impression that the rainfall of the timbered states has been diminished by the clearing of the land, but in the case of these streams relative measurements have p
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RISE OF GREAT SALT LAKE.
RISE OF GREAT SALT LAKE.
A lake with an outlet has its level determined by the height of the outlet. Great Salt Lake, having no outlet, has its level determined by the relation of evaporation to inflow. On one hand the drainage of a great basin pours into it a continuous though variable tribute; on the other, there is a continuous absorption of its water by the atmosphere above it. The inflow is greatest in the spring time, while the snows are melting in the mountains, and least in the autumn after the melting has cease
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VOLCANIC THEORY.
VOLCANIC THEORY.
It has been surmised that upheavals of the land, such as sometimes accompany earthquakes, might have changed the form of the lake bed and displaced from some region the water that has overflowed others. This hypothesis acquires a certain plausibility from the fact that the series of uplifts and downthrows by which the mountains of the region were formed have been traced down to a very recent date, but it is negatived by such an array of facts that it cannot be regarded as tenable. In the first p
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CLIMATIC THEORY.
CLIMATIC THEORY.
It is generally supposed that the change is a phenomenon of climate, and this hypothesis includes harmoniously the increase of streams with the increase of lake surface. By some it is thought that the climate of the district is undergoing, or has undergone, a permanent change; and by others that the series of oscillations about a mean condition which characterizes every climate has in this case developed a moist phase of exceptional degree and duration. The latter view was my own before I became
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THEORY OF HUMAN AGENCIES.
THEORY OF HUMAN AGENCIES.
The only remaining theory of value is the one advocated by Professor Powell: that the phenomena are to be ascribed to the modification of the surface of the earth by the agency of man. The rise of the lake and the increase of streams have been observed since the settlement of the country by the white man, and the sage brush on the old storm line shows that they had not been carried to the same extent at any previous period in the century. They have coincided in time with the extension of the ope
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FARMING WITHOUT IRRIGATION.
FARMING WITHOUT IRRIGATION.
The general rule that agriculture in Utah is dependent on artificial irrigation finds exception in two ways. First, there are some localities naturally irrigated; and, second, there is at least one locality of which the local climate permits dry farming. Along the low banks of many streams there are fertile strips of land. The soil is in every such case of a porous nature, and water from the stream percolates laterally and rises to the roots of the plants. Nearly all such lands are flooded in sp
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THE UNIT OF WATER USED IN IRRIGATION.
THE UNIT OF WATER USED IN IRRIGATION.
The unit of water employed in mining as well as manufacturing enterprises in the west is usually the inch, meaning thereby the amount of water which will flow through an orifice one inch square. But in practice this quantity is very indefinite, due to the “head” or amount of pressure from above. In some districts this latter is taken at six inches. Another source of uncertainty exists in the fact that increase in the size of the orifice and increase in the amount of flow do not progress in the s
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THE QUANTITATIVE VALUE OF WATER IN IRRIGATION.
THE QUANTITATIVE VALUE OF WATER IN IRRIGATION.
In general, throughout the Arid Region the extent of the irrigable land is limited by the water supply; the arable lands are much greater than the irrigable. Hence it becomes necessary, in determining the amount of irrigable lands with reasonably approximate accuracy, to determine the value of water in irrigation; that is, the amount of land which a given amount of water will serve. All questions of concrete or applied science are more or less complex by reason of the multifarious conditions fou
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AREA OF IRRIGABLE LAND SOMETIMES NOT LIMITED BY WATER SUPPLY.
AREA OF IRRIGABLE LAND SOMETIMES NOT LIMITED BY WATER SUPPLY.
While, as a general fact, the area of arable land is greater than the area of irrigable land, by reason of the insufficient supply of water, yet in considering limited tracts it may often be found that the supply of water is so great that only a part of it can be used thereon. In such cases the area of irrigable land is limited by the extent to which the water can be used by proper engineering skill. This is true in considering some portions of Utah, where the waters of the Green and Colorado ca
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METHOD OF DETERMINING THE SUPPLY OF WATER.
METHOD OF DETERMINING THE SUPPLY OF WATER.
To determine the amount of irrigable land in Utah, it was necessary to consider the supply; that is, to determine the amount of water flowing in the several streams. Again, this quantity is variable in each stream from season to season and from year to year. The irrigable season is but a small portion of the year. To utilize the entire annual discharge of the water, it would be necessary to hold the surplus flowing in the non-growing season in reservoirs, and even by this method the whole amount
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METHODS OF DETERMINING THE EXTENT OF IRRIGABLE LAND UNLIMITED BY WATER SUPPLY.
METHODS OF DETERMINING THE EXTENT OF IRRIGABLE LAND UNLIMITED BY WATER SUPPLY.
In the few cases where the water supply is more than sufficient to serve the arable lands, the character of the problem is entirely changed, and it becomes necessary then to determine the area to which the waters can be carried. These problems are hypsometric; relative altitudes are the governing conditions. The hypsometric methods were barometric and angular; that is, from the barometric stations vertical angles were taken and recorded to all the principal points in the topography of the countr
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THE SELECTION OF IRRIGABLE LANDS.
THE SELECTION OF IRRIGABLE LANDS.
From the fact that the area of arable lands greatly exceeds the irrigable, or the amount which the waters of the streams will serve, a wide choice in the selection of the latter is permitted. The considerations affecting the choice are diverse, but fall readily into two classes, viz: physical conditions and artificial conditions. The mountains and high plateaus are the great aqueous condensers; the mountains and high plateaus are also the reservoirs that hold the water fed to the streams in the
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INCREASE IN THE WATER SUPPLY.
INCREASE IN THE WATER SUPPLY.
Irrigation has been practiced in different portions of the Arid Region for the last twenty-five or thirty years, and the area cultivated by this means has been steadily increasing during that time. In California and New Mexico irrigation has been practiced to a limited extent for a much longer time at the several Catholic missions under the old Spanish regime. In the history of the settlement of the several districts an important fact has been uniformly observed—in the first years of settlement
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PHYSICAL FEATURES.
PHYSICAL FEATURES.
A zone of mountains and high plateaus extends from the northern nearly to the southern boundary of Utah Territory. The Wasatch Mountains constitute the northern portion of this zone, the High Plateaus the southern. This central zone has a general altitude above the sea of from nine to eleven thousand feet. Many peaks are higher, a few reaching an altitude of about twelve thousand feet. On the other hand many cañons and valleys have been excavated by the running waters far below the general level
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TIMBER.
TIMBER.
In these elevated districts is found all the timber of commercial value. This is well shown on the map. The map also exhibits the fact that many portions of the elevated districts are devoid of timber, it having been destroyed by fire, as explained in a former chapter. Doubtless, if fires could be prevented, the treeless areas would in due time be again covered with forests, but in such a climate forest growth is slow. At present, the treeless areas will afford valuable summer pasturage for catt
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IRRIGABLE AND PASTURE LANDS. UINTA-WHITE BASIN.
IRRIGABLE AND PASTURE LANDS. UINTA-WHITE BASIN.
The Uinta-White Valley is a deep basin inclosed by the Uinta Mountains on the north and the Tavaputs highlands on the south. Eastward the basin extends beyond the limits of Utah; westward the Uinta Mountains and West Tavaputs Plateau nearly inclose the head of the Uinta Valley, but the space between is filled with a section of the Wasatch Mountains. From the north, west, and south the Uinta Valley inclines gently toward the Duchesne River. Many streams come down from the north and from the south
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THE CAÑON LANDS.
THE CAÑON LANDS.
South of the Tavaputs highlands, and east and south of the High Plateaus, the Cañon Lands of Utah are found. The lower course of the Grand, the lower course of the Green, and a large section of the Colorado cuts through them, and the streams that head in the High Plateaus run across them. All the rivers, all the creeks, all the brooks, run in deep gorges—narrow, winding cañons, with their floors far below the general surface of the country. Many long lines of cliffs are found separating higher f
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THE SEVIER LAKE DISTRICT.
THE SEVIER LAKE DISTRICT.
This district embraces all the country drained by the waters which flow into the Sevier Lake, and the areas drained by many small streams which are quickly lost in the desert. The greater part of the irrigable land lies in the long, narrow valleys walled by the plateaus, especially along the Sevier, Otter Creek, and the San Pete. The arable lands greatly exceed the irrigable, and good selections may be made. Most of the irrigable lands are already occupied by farmers, and the waters are used in
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THE GREAT SALT LAKE DISTRICT.
THE GREAT SALT LAKE DISTRICT.
This district has already become famous in the history of western agriculture, for here the Latter Day Saints first made “a home in the valleys among the mountains”. The rivers and creeks bring the waters down from the Wasatch Mountains on the east. The high valleys among the mountains have to some extent been cultivated, and will hereafter be used more than at present for meadow purposes. In general the people have selected their lands low down, in order to obtain a more genial climate. Yet the
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GRASSES.
GRASSES.
While the forests present but a few species of trees, the pasturage lands present a great variety of grasses. Between fifty and sixty species have been collected by parties connected with the survey under the direction of the writer, and these are distributed among twenty-six or twenty-seven genera. Most of them belong to the mountains or highlands, and are rich and sweet. Nearly all of them are bunch grasses. The spaces by which the bunches are separated are bare or occupied with weeds and shru
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METHOD AND SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION.
METHOD AND SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION.
Where agriculture is dependent upon irrigation, the extent of land that can be put to agricultural use is determined by the relation of the quantity of available water to the quantity of available land. There is a certain amount of water needed by a unit of land, and wherever the land susceptible of cultivation requires more water than is obtainable, only a portion of the land can be utilized. But there is also a limit to the amount of water that can be profitably employed on a unit of land, and
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IRRIGATION BY THE LARGE STREAMS.
IRRIGATION BY THE LARGE STREAMS.
Three rivers enter Great Salt Lake—the Bear, the Weber, and the Jordan, and upon their water will ultimately depend the major part of the agriculture of Utah. By a curious coincidence, the principal heads of the three rivers lie close together in the western end of the Uinta range of mountains. The Bear River runs northward at first, and a little beyond the foot of the mountains enters the Territory of Wyoming. Swerving to the left, it passes again into Utah, and swerving again to the right retu
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IRRIGATION BY SMALL STREAMS.
IRRIGATION BY SMALL STREAMS.
Through the remainder of the drainage basin of Great Salt Lake there are no large bodies of farming land. At wide intervals are small tracts, dependent on springs and small creeks, and the available land is in nearly every case greatly in excess of the available water. A few exceptional spots are cultivated without irrigation, but so far as they have been discovered they are so situated as to be moistened from beneath. No crops have been raised on dry bench lands. The principal facts are gathere
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CHAPTER VIII. IRRIGABLE LANDS OF THE VALLEY OF THE SEVIER RIVER.
CHAPTER VIII. IRRIGABLE LANDS OF THE VALLEY OF THE SEVIER RIVER.
By Captain C. E. Dutton. As an agricultural region, the valley of the Sevier River and of its tributaries is one of the most important in Utah. The amount of arable land which may be reached by the waters of the stream is very much larger than the stream can water advantageously, and the time is probably not far distant when all the water that can be obtained will be utilized in producing cereals, and there is probably no other region in Utah where the various problems relating to the most econo
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THE VIRGIN RIVER.
THE VIRGIN RIVER.
This stream is in the extreme southwest corner of the area under consideration. Its branches rise in the Colob Plateau, at altitudes varying from 8,000 to 10,000 feet above the sea. It flows in a southwesterly course, and joins the Colorado beyond the boundaries of Utah. The smaller creeks draining the eastern portion of the plateau unite, after descending to an altitude of 5,500 feet above the sea, and form what is called the Pa-ru-nu-weap Fork of the Virgin. At and below the junction of these
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KANAB CREEK.
KANAB CREEK.
Kanab Creek rises in springs bursting from underneath the cliffs forming the southern boundary of the Pauns-a-gunt Plateau, and flows southward until it joins the Colorado River in Arizona. Small areas of arable land are found along its course after it has descended to an altitude of 7,500 feet, and thence until it passes beyond the boundaries of Utah. The largest area in one body is in Kanab Valley, at the foot of the Vermilion Cliffs. It is greatly in excess of the water supply, is at an altit
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THE PARIA RIVER.
THE PARIA RIVER.
The Paria River rises under the eastern escarpment of the Pauns-a-gunt Plateau, at about the same altitude as Kanab Creek, and flows in a southwesterly course for 100 miles, joining the Colorado in Arizona. Through the greater part of its course the river flows in a deep cañon, but near its head, and at an altitude of 6,000 feet, the cañon expands into a valley. Lower in its course, and at an altitude of 4,500 feet, the cañon again widens into a smaller valley. These are the only areas of arable
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THE ESCALANTE RIVER.
THE ESCALANTE RIVER.
This stream enters the Colorado next north of the Paria. It rises under the wall forming the eastern face of the Aquarius Plateau; flows first northeast, then east, and finally southeast, before reaching the Colorado. Its length is 90 miles, the lower three-fourths being in a narrow cañon having vertical walls ranging from 900 to 1,200 feet in height. Through this gorge the river sweeps, sometimes filling the whole space from wall to wall; sometimes winding from side to side in a flood plain of
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THE FREMONT RIVER.
THE FREMONT RIVER.
The largest branch of this stream rises in the Un-ca-pa-ga Mountains, and after flowing in an easterly direction for 125 miles enters the Colorado about 40 miles below the junction of the Grand and Green. It is joined by one considerable tributary, Curtis Creek, from the north, and another smaller, Tantalus Creek, from the south. The lower half of its course is through two deep cañons, separated by an intervening valley called Graves Valley, in which is an area of 10 square miles of arable land,
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THE SAN RAFAEL RIVER.
THE SAN RAFAEL RIVER.
This stream flows in an easterly course, and enters the Green 32 miles above the junction of that stream with the Grand. It has three principal branches—Ferron, Cottonwood, and Huntington Creeks—all rising in the Wasatch Plateau at an altitude of about 10,000 feet. These streams have a rapid fall in their upper courses, and leave the plateau through almost impassable cañons cut in its eastern wall overlooking Castle Valley. They flow across that at intervals of a few miles apart, and, then uniti
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THE PRICE RIVER.
THE PRICE RIVER.
This river rises in the angle formed by the intersection of the Wasatch and Western Tavaputs Plateaus, receiving tributaries from both these table lands, and has a general easterly course for 100 miles. It crosses the northern end of Castle Valley, and then flows through a broken country near the foot of the escarpment called the Book Cliffs, forming the southern boundary of the Tavaputs Plateau, till within 20 miles of the Green River, when it cuts through this escarpment into the plateau and j
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MINNIE MAUD CREEK.
MINNIE MAUD CREEK.
This stream rises in the broken country, where the Western Tavaputs and Wasatch Plateaus break into the Uinta Mountains. It has a general easterly course, and joins the Green midway in the Cañon of Desolation. For the greater part of its course it flows in a cañon that widens enough occasionally to give a small area of arable land. One such area, containing 6 square miles, occurs at an altitude of 5,500 feet. Here the volume of water was measured in July, 1877, and found to be 16 cubic feet per
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THE UINTA RIVER.
THE UINTA RIVER.
This is the largest tributary emptying into the main drainage channel from the west. It rises in the Uinta Mountains, and has a southerly course for 65 miles. The Duchesne River, its western branch, rises in the same mountains, and the two streams unite only a few miles before the Uinta joins the Green. The drainage basin of the Uinta has an area of 1,300 square miles, lying between the altitudes of 4,500 and 7,000 feet above the sea. It has, generally speaking, a regular slope from the foot of
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ASHLEY FORK.
ASHLEY FORK.
This stream is the most northern tributary of the Green River south of the Uinta Mountains. It rises in that range, but at a lower altitude than the branches of the Uinta, and has a southeasterly course 48 miles in length. On its lower course, at an altitude of 5,500 feet, are 75 square miles of arable land of excellent quality, a few acres of which are now cultivated. There is sufficient water in the stream during the critical season to irrigate 25 square miles....
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HENRYS FORK.
HENRYS FORK.
But a small portion of the valley of Henrys Fork lies within the Territory of Utah, but this portion includes its best lands. A beautiful natural meadow is here found, affording a large quantity of hay to the ranchmen of that country. The altitude is great, the valley being 6,000 feet above the level of the sea, and hence liable to late and early frosts. About 10 square miles can be redeemed by irrigation. The volume of the stream is sufficient to irrigate a much larger tract, but a part is need
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THE WHITE RIVER.
THE WHITE RIVER.
The White River enters the Green from the east, about two miles below the mouth of the Uinta. This stream rises in Colorado, and has only a small portion of its course in Utah, but lying within the boundaries of the Territory are 75 square miles of arable land which may be irrigated with its water. The river was measured in October, 1877, near its mouth, and flowed 734 cubic feet per second. High water usually occurs in June, and the critical period in the irrigation of the land is probably in A
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THE GREEN RIVER.
THE GREEN RIVER.
Brown’s Park. —Brown’s Park is a valley through which the Green River meanders. Three or four small streams head in the mountains to the north and a like number in the mountains to the south and find their way into the river in the midst of the park. But a small portion of the park lies within Utah and the small streams will be used for irrigation in the portion which falls in Colorado. The flood plain lands of the Green are extensive, and here many natural meadow lands are found, interspersed w
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THE GRAND RIVER.
THE GRAND RIVER.
The Grand River has but a small amount of arable land along its course in Utah, and flows for most of the distance in a close cañon. The volume of the stream, about 40 miles above its junction with the Green, was measured in September, 1877, and found to be 4,860 feet per second. It is probable that selections can be made to the extent of 40 square miles from the areas colored on the map....
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THE SAN JUAN RIVER.
THE SAN JUAN RIVER.
But little is known concerning the arable lands or volume of water in the valley of the San Juan. It flows for the most of its course through Utah in a cañon, and all the arable land is thought to be so much subject to overflow that cultivation is impracticable....
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OTHER STREAMS.
OTHER STREAMS.
A few smaller streams are also tributary to the Colorado and Green within the Territory of Utah, but they mostly flow in deep cañons, are often dry in some portion of their course during every year, have at best only a few acres of arable land anywhere along their courses, and have been omitted in this report. The following table gives a summary of the facts relating to the flow of the several streams and the amount of arable and irrigable lands in the districts described above:...
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CHAPTER X. LAND GRANTS IN AID OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
CHAPTER X. LAND GRANTS IN AID OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
By Willis Drummond, Jr. The land grant system in favor of internal improvements has become a well settled policy of this Government, and has attained not only a social but a political importance. Like other American institutions its growth has been rapid, and donations of that character now cover millions of acres of the public domain. Of grants for railroads, wagon roads, and canals alone, however, will this chapter treat, and no reference other than necessary to a proper examination of the que
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