. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture; Agriculture. Washington, D. C. May 16, 1922 IRRIGATION IN NORTHERN COLORADO. By RoBEBT G. Hemi^hill, Irrigation Engineer. CONTENTS. Introduction Cache la Poudre Valley- Meteorology Soils . TVater resources Seepage return Drainage conditions Exchange of water Page. 1 2 5 6 10 12 Water rights Distribution from river Duty of the river Canal systems Gross duty for canals. Farm irrigation Reservoirs 12 Summary and conclusions. Page. 13 19 24 26 42 51 69 79 INTRODUCTION. Prior to the establishment of the Union Colony at Greeley, Colo., i
. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture; Agriculture. Washington, D. C. May 16, 1922 IRRIGATION IN NORTHERN COLORADO. By RoBEBT G. Hemi^hill, Irrigation Engineer. CONTENTS. Introduction Cache la Poudre Valley- Meteorology Soils . TVater resources Seepage return Drainage conditions Exchange of water Page. 1 2 5 6 10 12 Water rights Distribution from river Duty of the river Canal systems Gross duty for canals. Farm irrigation Reservoirs 12 Summary and conclusions. Page. 13 19 24 26 42 51 69 79 INTRODUCTION. Prior to the establishment of the Union Colony at Greeley, Colo., in 1870, only a few primitive attempts at irrigation farming had been made along the route of the Overland Trail in that State. The small acreage of less than 1,000 acres which was then irrigated for the purpose of raising native hay, vegetables, and grain for the mining camps has increased in the half century which has since elapsed to over 3,000,000 acres, yielding an annual revenue at cur- rent prices of over $100,000,000. This great increase in acreage has carried with it a corresponding development in irrigation practice and in the customs and laws relating to irrigation. In fact, Colorado, while maintaining a ranking in irrigation development second only to that of California, has established laws and customs and standarized practice to such an extent that the people of the State have become in many respects the leaders in such development throughout the Rocky Mountain region. In the aridity of its cli- mate, elevation above sea level, topography, soils, and crops Colorado bears a close resemblance to several neighboring mountain States. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that the methods of preparing land and applying water as well as the laws and administrative sys- tems of the State have been adopted by other States having somewhat similar physical conditions. The results of an irrigation investiga- 74464°—22 1. Please note that these images are extracted from
Size: 1714px × 1458px
Photo credit: © Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauth, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectagriculture
