IRRIGABLE LANDS.

The valley of Muddy Creek is divided into two parts by "The Narrows." It is estimated that in the two parts of the valley there are 12,000 acres of agricultural lands, 8,000 acres lying below "The Narrows" and 4,000 acres above. Of the lands below "The Narrows," 1,512 acres are under cultivation, and even with that small acreage there is a deficiency of water from the middle of June to the middle of August.

All the agricultural lands of the valley passed into the possession of the State of Nevada some years since by a grant from the United States of selected school lands in lieu of sections 16 and 36. These lands have since been sold by the State to individuals at $1.25 an acre, 25 cents being paid down at time of purchase, the balance payable in twenty-five years, 6 per cent yearly interest. Lands revert to State upon failure to pay interest, but in no case revert to the United States. The map, fig. 38, shows present condition of ownership, as certified to by State registrar, Carson, Nev.

The remaining lands, which are withdrawn from settlement, are the property of the United States, but have no value aside from possible minerals. They are too steep and too much eroded for irrigation and are of little value as pasture land.

The 8,000 acres in the lower valley (land all in private ownership) are fertile and productive, and are advantageously located for purpose of irrigation. The main body of soil is heavy black loam, and where the side washes come in there are sandy areas and but few patches of alkali.

VALUE OF CROPS.

The principal crops are alfalfa, which is cut five or six times a year, about a ton to the crop; barley, oats, and wheat, averaging 25 or 30 bushels to the acre, though instances have been known of 75 bushels to the acre.

Grapes especially thrive and produce good crops of excellent flavor, 3 acres having produced 5,000 pounds. Pomegranates, peaches, and apricots do well, as do vegetables and small fruits.

At present improved lands sell at $25 per acre and unimproved lands at $1.25 to $5 per acre.

There are but few other interests save agriculture. There are no grazing lands, and cattle must be pastured or fed hay throughout the year. There are numerous mineral deposits and many mines are located, but they are not of much value on account of lack of means of transportation.

The markets are few and far between, being only the various small and struggling mining camps within a radius of 150 miles.

The remoteness of this region and the low values of produce, due to lack of markets, makes it inadvisable to pursue further investigations at present. But should the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad be built across this valley as it is at present surveyed, crossing Muddy Creek just above "The Narrows," it might be well to bear in mind the following facts, and possibly consider the storage of the waters of Muddy Creek, which waste during the winter months. This valley was settled in 1863 by younger members of various Mormon families of Salt Lake City. Tradition says that nearly 4,000 acres were under cultivation, and evidences of old ditches and checks still apparent, in land now waste, confirm this. Good crops were

raised, and in 1871 27,000 bushels of grain were thrashed at St. Thomas alone. Since then the largest crop has not exceeded 7,000 bushels. At present there are only 1,512 acres under cultivation, and at times the water supply runs short during the months of July and August, and there is much mismanagement and waste in the application of the water to the land. It is estimated that 3 acre-feet should be sufficient, but more is used and much wasted, some of the settlers believing that by diverting water from the main stream and then wasting it they are making clear their title to the water taken. At present there are 7 small ditches taking water out above "The Narrows" and 8 ditches. below "The Narrows" on the east side of the creek, and 3 on the west side, 18 ditches in all, doing the work, with according waste of water, which should be done by 3 main ditches.

Construction of a dam at "The Narrows" would probably conserve enough water to irrigate an additional 1,000 acres of land, and proper ditches and proper use of water would enable 500 more acres to be irrigated, making a total of 3,000 acres; which is 1,000 less than was supposedly irrigated in 1863-1870 without storage.

If construction of the railroad would make this additional acreage worth $100 an acre, it might be well to investigate further to see if the costs of dams and ditches would be offset by the value of added lands reclaimed.

SUMMARY.

1. In the townships withdrawn there are no Government lands of value which can be reclaimed.

2. There are, however, certain reservoir sites and dam sites which should be reserved.

3. The waters of Muddy Creek are not economically used, and proper use and storage may possibly reclaim 1,500 acres more.

4. In case the railroad is built and better markets afforded, further investigation may show that the value of additional acres reclaimed may justify construction.

INVESTIGATIONS IN NEW MEXICO.

By ARTHUR P. DAVIS.

WATER STORAGE ON RIO GRANDE.

The total drainage basin of the Rio Grande covers an area of about 160,423 square miles, of which the major portion is included in the basin of Pecos River and other tributaries which enter the river in Texas. The area drained by the Rio Grande above the town of El Paso is about 30,000 square miles.

This was one of the first streams to be investigated by the Geological Survey, a station having been established at Embudo, N. Mex., in December, 1888. Since that time observations have been taken at Del Norte, Embudo, Rio Grande, San Marcial, and El Paso. No stream in the west has a more complete record of discharge than the upper Rio Grande.

The problem of water storage on the Rio Grande is very complicated. All of the ordinary flow of the river has long since been appropriated for irrigation purposes in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico. It is claimed by the inhabitants of Texas and Mexico that their water rights have been infringed by the later diversions above their lands, and these facts must be considered in connection with any contemplation of the storage project.

Flood waters of the Rio Grande carry a very large quantity of sediment, especially in the lower course. In Colorado and northern New Mexico the low-water flow is comparatively clear, but in southern New Mexico this is seldom or never the case. Large quantities of light sediment are brought into the river in its course through New Mexico, especially by the Rio Puerco, and the river usually resembles a stream of thin mud. Some observations on the amount of sediment, under the direction of W. W. Follett, for the International (Water) Boundary Commission, show the sediment problem to be one of extreme gravity.

PREVIOUS SURVEYS.

Various projects have from time to time been investigated and reported upon for the storage and utilization of the flood waters of this river. The most completely worked out of these projects is that of the so-called International dam and reservoir, a short distance above El Paso. This project was first investigated by the United States Geological Survey, under the direction of Gen. Anson Mills, in 1899.

The project involves the construction of a masonry dam to reach about 60 feet above low water in the Rio Grande. Such a dam would form a reservoir about 15 miles in length and 4 miles in greatest width, covering 26,000 acres, and having a capacity of about 540,000 acre-feet.

It would submerge over 16 miles of railway line, the removal of which would greatly increase the cost of the project. This enterprise has been reported upon by W. W. Follett, chief engineer of the International (Water) Boundary Commission.

The estimated cost of the entire project is $2,300,000, of which a large proportion is the estimated cost of moving the railways above the reach of high waters in the reservoir.

Other projects have been examined in a preliminary way under the authority of the Hydrographic Branch of the Geological Survey, the most promising of which is the reservoir site at Whiterock Canyon," which has been reported on by P. E. Harroun. A masonry dam 80 feet in height should store about 300,000 acre-feet of water. The estimated cost of such a dam, according to Mr. Harroun, is $1,200,000. This site, which was surveyed in 1889, is at Rio Grande, a water-tank station of the narrow-gage railway below Espanola. The dam here would be 90 feet high. The dam site would be in volcanic rock, and the reservoir site would be of fair capacity, but would submerge about 6 miles of railway and the Indian village of San Ildefonso. This would be expensive and otherwise objectionable.

A reservoir site was selected by W. W. Follett, and surveyed by Joseph Jacobs in 1890, in the canyon below the town of San Marcial. This site was numbered 38. The proposed height was 80 feet, and the capacity of reservoir estimated at 175,000 acre-feet.

Another site was surveyed by Mr. Jacobs and numbered 39. The dam was located in sec. 20, T. 16 S., R. 4 W., Sierra County, N. Mex., and was about 40 feet high. The reservoir was estimated to hold 100,000 acre-feet.

ELEPHANT BUTTE RESERVOIR SITE.

Between the two reservoir sites mentioned above, on the left bank of the Rio Grande, is an eruptive mass, locally known as "Elephant Butte," from its striking resemblance to an elephant's head. Just below this butte the river enters a narrow canyon of sandstone, at the entrance of which the Rio Grande Dam and Irrigation Company proposed to construct a dam. This dam was to have a height of 89 feet and to store 230,000 acre-feet of water. Only meager surveys for this project were ever made and, so far as known, there were no investigations of foundation.

The Reclamation Service of the United States Geological Survey began investigations on the Rio Grande on March 1, 1903, the field work being inaugurated by C. H. Fitch, and its execution placed in charge of James A. French.

A small party was kept at work during the summer making a topographic map of the canyon lying between the dam sites of reservoirs Nos. 38 and 39 of the irrigation survey.

A more detailed survey was made of a dam site a short distance below the one selected for the Elephant Butte project in order to

a Twenty-first Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 4, 1900, pp. 265–269.