The Lower Gila Region, Arizona. A geographic, geologic, and hydrologic reconnaissance with a guide to desert watering places

Front matter

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Contents

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Preface

By O. E. Meinzer.

The arid region of the United States, as outlined on Plate I, covers about 500,000 square miles, or one-sixth of the entire coun¬ try. The vast region includes some large irrigation districts and well-watered mountains, but most of it is so arid that it can not safely be traversed by anyone who does not have adequate informa¬ tion regarding the location of watering places. The desert is not vanishing, although here and there relatively small tracts of it have been reclaimed by irrigation, and the aggregate number of watering places has been slowly increasing. It has, however, be¬ come much more accessible than formerly—first through the build¬ ing of railroads and recently through the use of automobiles.

In 1917 the sum of $10,000 was appropriated by Congress for a survey of desert watering places, which had been authorized in an act approved August 21, 1916, as follows:

Be is enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress asse7iibled, That the Secretary of Interior he, and he is hereby, authorized and empowered, in his discretion, in so far as the authorization made herein will permit, to discover, develop, protect, and render more accessible for the benefit of the general public springs, streams, and water holes on arid public lands of the United States; and in connection therewith to erect and maintain suitable and durable monu¬ ments and signboards at proper places and intervals along and near the accustomed lines of travel and over the general area of said desert lands, con¬ taining information and directions as to the location and nature of said springs, streams, and water holes, to the end that the same may be more readily traced and found by persons in search or need thereof; also to pro¬ vide convenient and ready means, apparatus, and appliances by which water may be brought to the earth’s surface at said water holes for the use of such persons; also to prepare and distribute suitable maps, reports, and general information relating to said springs, streams, and water holes and their specific location with reference to lines of travel.

The work thus authorized was assigned to the United States Geological Survey. To the small appropriation made for this pur¬ pose was added a part of the Geological Survey’s regular allotment for ground-water investigations in the United States, and the scope of the survey was enlarged so as to include a reconnaissance of the ground-water conditions in the area covered.

XI

XII

PREFACE.

The area selected for survey lies in southeastern California and southwestern Arizona (see PI. I) and occupies about 60,000 square miles, or somewhat more than one-tenth of the entire arid region. It is larger than the State of Illinois and nearly as large as New England. This is, on the whole, the driest and hottest area in the United States, and until the watering-place survey was made it was also one of the least explored and most poorly mapped. In a large part of the area the average annual rainfall is less than 5 inches. This slight rainfall and the high temperature together produce a high degree of aridity. The high temperature adds greatly to the danger of perishing by thirst.

The area was divided into four parts, each of which was covered by a geologist who was assisted by a nontechnical helper and was provided with a Ford automobile, a light camping outfit, a plane table, and other equipment. The four parts of the area are for con¬ venience called the Salton Sea region, the Mohave Desert region, the lower Gila region, and the Papago country. (See Pl. I.)

Maps were prepared of the entire area showing the relief and the location of watering places, roads, and other features. (See Pis. II-IV and Fig. 1.) The watering places, with a few exceptions, were examined, about 160 samples of water were collected and shipped to the water-resources laboratory of the United States Geo¬ logical Survey for analysis, and signs directing to water were erected at 305 localities. In order to give information as to the specific location of watering places w T ith reference to« lines of travel, logs were made of nearly all the roads, including those that lead into the remotest parts of the desert. Guide books containing the de¬ tailed maps, the road logs, and condensed information regarding watering places were published as Water-Supply Papers 490-A, 490-B, 490-C, and 490-D. Exploratory geologic maps of the area were made, and much information was obtained concerning its geog¬ raphy, geology, and ground-water conditions. Four comprehensive water-supply papers have been prepared, of which the present volume is the second to be published. The first covers the Salton Sea region and was issued as Water-Supply Paper 497; the other two, covering the Mohave Desert region and the Papago country, will be published as soon as funds for printing them are available.

Among the most valuable of the products of this desert survey are the large maps, which show the mountains and other land forms by relief shading in brown, in a manner that can be understood by anyone. This relief shading will help travelers greatly in keeping their bearings and will at the same time enable physiographers to ' gain an adequate understanding of the surface features of the region. The relief shading was done by John H. Renshawe, on the basis of copy furnished by the geologists who did the field work. Mr. Ren-

WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 498 PLATE I

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MAP OF THE ARID REGION OF THE UNITED STATES

Showing areas covered by guides to watering places and other water-supply papers of the U. S. Geological Survey

Compiled by O. E. Meinzer

Boundary of arid region requiring guides to watering places zp.

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Area covered by guides to desert watering places

Published as Water-Supply Papers 490-A, 490-B, 490-C, and 490-D

Area covered by water-supply paper

(The number is the aerial number of the paper. Only principal water-supply papers are shown. A complete list of publications relating to water resources and information as to areas covered by topographic maps can be obtained by writing to the U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C.

Principal road

Other important road

PREFACE

XIII shawe brought to this task not only the skill and esthetic apprecia¬ tion of an artist but also an intelligent understanding of desert forms resulting from long experience as a topographer in the West. The

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cd a a o reproduction of the relief shading on the printed maps, which in¬ volved serious technical difficulties, was the work of S. J. Kubel and his able assistants in the division of engraving of the Geological Survey.

XIV

PREFACE.

The region described by Mr. Ross in this paper has been called the lower Gila region for want of a better name. In the vicinity of Phoenix and for a considerable distance down the Gila large tracts of land have been brought under irrigation, and in some other parts of the region smaller tracts have been developed. A large part of the region is, however, sparsely settled, very unpro¬ ductive, and almost unknown except to a few men who have small mining or live-stock interests in it. This part of the region is about as nearly a no man's land as can be found in the United States, as will be appreciated by anyone who reads the detailed descriptions of the routes of travel. The region has, however, a variety of ground-water conditions and many problems of water supply. Large quan¬ tities of ground water occur along the Gila and the Colorado, and supplies adequate for domestic and stock use have been found by sinking wells at many points throughout the region. Some of the special features of this paper are a description of Gila River and its physiographic history, by Mr. Ross, a history of irrigation along Gila River, by C. R. Olberg, and a discussion of methods of storing and utilizing small supplies of surface water, by Kirk Bryan.

THE LOWER GILA REGION, ARIZONA.

By Clyde P. Ross.

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