.i^,>~-.-', ;.,- ■,.'■':.■*(■.., .•■■ "',»;■ : , :,:''v; , '.'.-..".- 1 ",'.'/. G B 705 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH, Dieectok Water-supply Paper 220 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF A PORTION OF SOUTH-CENTRAL OREGON BY GERALD A. WARING WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1908 Class ^tulO'd Book Qi \Y s Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/geologywaterreso01wari "77 r DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH, Director Water-supply Paper 220 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF A PORTION OF SOUTH-CENTRAL OREGON // 79- BY GERALD A. WARING WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1908 Oft} o? '; D. OF 0. NOV 10 S908 > Newell, F. II., Results of stream measurements: Fourteenth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 4, 1894, p. 151. SURFACE WATER SUPPLY. 37 the atmosphere from a forest by transpiration through the stems and leaves and by evaporation from the trunks and from the soil has been estimated at 75 per cent of the precipitation, while for fields of cereals and grasses it may be even more, in regions where from a bare field the evaporation may be only 30 per cent of the precipitation. But the amount of moisture annually evaporated from forest-covered soils and transpired by the trees themselves is only about half as great as that from open fields having a moderate covering of herbage. 6 On the other hand, in regions of scanty rainfall, where a short wet season is followed by a long dry one, evaporation from the forest soil may go on slowly throughout nearly the whole year, while in the open, during a great part of the year, there is very little moisture to be evap- orated and therefore little loss by transpiration from the scanty herb- age, so that in such a case the forest-covered soil may lose more mois- ture by evaporation and transpiration than the open field. The spongy forest soil also, by retaining a large part of the scanty rainfall, lessens the stream flow from such an area. This is notably the case in many parts of the arid West. The greatest collateral usefulness of a forest, however, lies in its power to regulate the run-off and to maintain a more equable flow of the streams. This it does by decreasing the surface run-off of flood waters and by increasing the seepage run-off from the saturated soil, which is the water that sustains stream flow. This is of far greater benefit than would be the extra water carried off by streams to the valleys below if the slopes were cleared. Indeed, usually the greater run-off of cleared areas is in the form of violent and destructive floods. A regulated flow, even though the total discharge may be less than the sum of a succession of floods, is vastly more beneficial, for "It is the amount of water that passes into the soil, not the amount of rainfall, that makes a region garden or desert." c Minor but important effects of forests are protection from wind ero- sion as well as'from erosion by water, prevention of snow slides in some localities, moderation of extremes of temperature, and, perhaps, dis- tribution, if not increase, of precipitation. LAKES. CHANGES IN SURFACE LEVEL. On account of the shallowness of the water bodies of Lake County the water level of the lakes can fall but little without destroy- ing them. Such occasional dryings up have no doubt occurred within recent times. The best-known instance is that of Silver Lake. In a Fernow, B. E., Economics of Forestry, New York, T. Y. Crowell & Co., 1902, p. 438. b Ibid, p. 437. c Toumey, James W., The relation of forests to stream flow: Yearbook U. S. Dept. Agriculture for 1903, p. 288. 38 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF PART OF OREGON. 1879 Cope found Thorn Lake dry and Silver Lake low, but Russell states that during the following three years the surface of Silver Lake rose 6 feet and in 1882 was confluent with that of Thorn Lake. As has been stated, in 1888-89 Silver Lake completely dried up, which required a change in level during these six or seven years of at least 10 feet, for Russell stated that in June, 1882, when confluent with Thorn Lake, it was only 10 feet deep. In 1890 it again began to fill, and dur- ing the fall of 1906 the gage board established by the Reclamation Service indicated about 13 feet, but it was not learned whether this was supposed to be the depth of the lake. It is claimed that Thorn Lake is supplied only by precipitation and occasional overflow from Silver Lake. As such overflow does not take place every year, evaporation would more than counterbalance these two sources of supply, and it therefore seems probable that it is fed by springs beneath its surface, like those at Christmas and Fossil lakes. The effect of the dry season of 1887-88 on all of the lakes would be useful for comparison, but it is not known; it was only learned through hearsay that Summer Lake shrank little, if at all. Noted changes in the level of Summer Lake are not recorded, but from the nature of the alkaline wastes along its eastern side it would appear that it is slowly shrinking. The northern end of the Abert Lake basin is so nearly level that it is said that a strong south wind often forces the water back nearly 2 miles over the alkaline flat; so it seems very probable that seasonal changes shift the northern margin considerably. Goose Lake experiences differences in its level, but fluctuates more slowly than the smaller lakes. The story that in the early sixties an emigrant trail crossed its valley at a place where the water is now sev- eral feet deep indicates that the lake was then smaller than at present, but a few years later it rose so as to extend several miles farther north than it now extends, and for a short time (in 1869) it overflowed south- ward down Pit River. Since then it has shrunk, and is apparently still growing smaller. The litigation in Warner Valley strongly emphasizes the fact that this lake has been shrinking since 1860, but at what rate can not be said, as there are no recorded observations and seasonal differences obscure the slower general change. The Alkali Lake drainage basin has an area of about 300 square miles, but it is all desert; no perennial streams exist in it, and conse- quently the depression, except for a few pools, is dry during a large part of the year. ANNUAL SURFACE INFLOW. With the meager discharge measurements given on pages 33-34 as a basis, the mean annual flow into each of the lakes has been estimated as well as may be, and comparison of inflow with drainage area and SURFACE WATER SUPPLY, 39 lake surface has led to some interesting conclusions. The areas of the drainage basins and of the lake surfaces can be obtained approximately from the map (PL II). Aside from the discharge tables given, data for estimating the inflow to the several lakes are lacking; but by comparing the observed width, depth, and velocity of other streams with the measured ones, a rough estimate of the stream discharge into each basin has been made and the following tables have been prepared. The average rainfall records of 16.73 to 17 inches at Lake view and 10.06 to 10.4 inches at Silver Lake given on pages 15-16, are for periods of twenty-two years at Lakeview and thirteen years at Silver Lake; and it has been estimated* that averages based on such lengths of time may differ from the final average by only about 3 per cent and 5 per cent respectively. The stream-gaging record for 1905 is that for a year of 9.92 inches precipitation at Lakeview and 7.78 (?) inches at Silver Lake, or only about two-thirds of the average; but for 1906 the precipitation was 19.24 inches at Lakeview and 11.58 inches at Silver Lake, figures not greatly exceeding the average. So for the purpose of estimating the flow into each lake, the observed and estimated discharge records for 1906 have been used, since they are probably as close to the average as can be approximated. From the average precipitation records an annual total of 14 inches upon the open surface of Goose Lake has been thought reasonable, while 12 inches has been assumed as the average annual precipitation upon the surfaces of the lower lakes — Summer, Silver, and Abert. All of the following estimates are necessarily very general, being- based on general data; still, for the facts they are meant to indicate, it is thought that the figures given are sufficiently accurate. The annual surface flow into the several lakes was computed from the following estimated stream discharges, which were based on the character and size of the drainage areas of the several streams, as com- pared with the streams whose discharges have been measured. Annual discharge of streams flowing into Goose Lake. Acre-feet. Cottonwood Creek 6, 000 Drews Creek 18, 000 Dry Creek 1, 000 Stream in Warner Canyon '. 2, 000 Bullard Creek 1, 000 Kelly Creek 2, 000 Sixteen streams in California with aggregate drainage area of about 250 square miles (taken from Alturas sheet of U. S. Topographic Atlas) . 30, 000 60, 000 a Rafter, George W., Relation of rainfall to run-off: Water-Supply Paper No. 80, U. S. Geol. Sur- vey, 1903. p. 18. 40 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF PAET OF OREGON. Annual discharge of streams flowing into Abert Lake. Acre-feet. Chewaucan River (measurement) 136, 750 Crooked Creek 17, 750 Coyote Creek 3, 300 Moss Creek 2, 200 160, 000 Annual discharge of streams flowing into Summer Lake. Acre-feet. Ana River (150 sec. -ft., measurement) 109, 500 Johnson Creek (20 sec. -ft.) 14, 600 Total of other streams (10 sec. -ft.), partial measurement 7, 300 131, 400 Annual discharge of streams flowing into Silver Lake. Acre-feet. Silver Creek (measurement) 40, 250 Bridge Creek (partial measurement) 6, 650 Bear Creek (partial measurement) 18, 500 65, 400 As before stated, the annual precipitation on the surface of Goose Lake was taken as 14 inches; on the surface of the other lakes, 12 inches. EVAPORATION RATES. In the following table it is shown that the ratios of the area of each lake surface to its drainage basin differ greatly, and that the annual increment, expressed in feet of water on its surface, is also apparently very different for the several lakes. On the assumption that evapora- tion balances the inflow, the increment also represents the annual evaporation rate. Areas of lakes and lake basins, and annual surface supply. Lake. Area of lake sur- face in square miles, o Area of drainage basin (in- cluding lake) in square miles .a Ratio of lake sur- face to en- tire drain- age basin. Annual sur- face inflow plus direct precipitation into lake, in acre-feet. Annual incre- ment expressed as feet in depth over the lake surface fi Goose 190 GO 70 15 1,065 900 550 500 0.18G) • 07(A) • 13Q) • 03( 3 ' 5 ) f 60, 000 142, 000 \ 1.66 { 202, 000 J Abert 1 160, 000 1 38, 400 1 5.17 I 198, 400 1 f 131, 400 1 44, 800 1 3.94 1 176, 200 J f 65, 400 1 9, 600 I 7.81 I 75, 000 1 a Taken from map by measurement with planimeter. 6 Inflowplus direct precipitation (in acre-feet), divided by area of lake, in acres. EVAPORATION RATES. 41 Evaporation experiments covering a period of five years at Fort Douglas, Utah, determined the yearly evaporation there as being 42.46 inches. As computed by the Signal Service, the rate at that place is 74.4 inches." From a series of observations upon the rate of lowering of the level of Crater Lake, and from experiments to determine the rate of evaporation from its surface, Diller b concluded that, allowing for escape by seepage, the average rate was about 53 inches annually, the surface reaching its highest level early in May and its lowest turning point about the 1st of October. Gannett some years earlier placed the rate of evaporation from this lake at 40 to 50 inches. Crater Lake is in nearly the same latitude as the water bodies of Lake County, but is 1,600 to 1,900 feet higher, and by virtue of the lower temperature of the surrounding air and because of its pro- tecting walls, presumably is not subject to so rapid evaporation. Recent evaporation experiments at Keno, near Klamath Lake, Oregon, indicate an evaporation rate of about 40 inches annually at that place. c Other evaporation data for comparison are very meager, but it seems that from the water bodies of Lake County the rate is probably somewhat greater than from Crater Lake, or than at Keno, which is more closely surrounded by forested mountains than are the water bodies of Lake County. In estimating the increment to the four lakes considered, and hence the approximate annual evaporation from their surfaces, no account could be taken of escape by percolation or leakage from their basins, for there was nothing to indicate the amount thus lost, if any at all; neither could an estimate be made of the amount evap- orated from the marshes. Leakage may perhaps account in part for the large apparent increment of 7.8 feet to so small a water sur- face as that of Silver Lake, and also for the fact that this lake dried up so quickly after the dry season of 1887-88. Evaporation from Pauline Marsh also no doubt materially lessens the apparent incre- ment to this lake, a part of the stream discharge being evaporated before reaching the lake. From Chewaucan Marsh there is also probably much evaporation, so that Lake Abert does not receive so great an increment as is credited to it. Summer Lake, with the great springs of Ana River pouring into it ; has an apparent increment of about 4 feet. The existence of the a Newell, F. H., Results of stream measurements: Fourteenth Ann. Rept. U. S- Geol. Survey, 1894,, p. 154. The results of experiments at Fort Bliss, Tex., given with those of Fort Douglas, are not quoted Here, as they are for a region of higher mean temperature than that of southeastern Oregon. &Dille-r, J". S., and Patton, H. B., Geology and petrography of Crater Lake National Park: Prof. Paper No. 3, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1902, p. Gl. c Clapp, W. B., and Hoyt, J. C, Progress of stream measurements for 1905: Water-Supply Paper No. 177, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1906, p. 242. 42 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF PAET OF OREGON. great springs feeding it renders very plausible the theory that other springs than those known discharge into this basin. The marshy nature of Thousand Spring Valley, however, indicates that this con- cealed supply may be by seepage over a considerable area, rather than by concentrated flowing springs. This assumption is strength- ened by the fact that, according to notes of the Reclamation Service, on August 17, 1904, the discharge of Ana River near its source was only 155 second-feet, while near its mouth the discharge Was 179 second-feet, indicating the accession to it of seepage waters or waters from other springs. Rate of evaporation is a subject comparatively little studied as yet; results of experiments are meager, and the methods employed are unsatisfactory. Observations on the rate from pans or from inclosed basins usually give figures too large. It seems, however, that the rate from the water bodies of Lake County is probably greater than that observed at Keno — about 40 inches, and possibly more than 53 inches, the rate given by Diller for Crater Lake; but in the following discussion the conservative estimate of 40 inches will be taken. SUBSURFACE INFLOW TO GOOSE LAKE. Goose Lake, it will be noticed from the table on page 40, occupies one-fifth of its entire drainage basin. A glance at the index map (PI. I), on which the limits of the several lake basins under discussion are shown by dotted lines, will emphasize the disproportionate area of Goose Lake with respect to its drainage basin, as compared with the other lakes. Its estimated supply or increment is only 1.66 feet (19.92 inches) annually, and the consequent evaporation rate is seemingly a little less than one-half of that assumed, which is almost certainly not the case. Neither leakage from the basin nor evapora- tion from the marsh land near Lakeview can be assumed to account for this discrepancy, for the problem is one involving not an exces- sive loss but a greater inflow than is in evidence. It is recognized that the estimate of the surface inflow to Goose Lake may be 100 per cent or more in error, but even if the inflow is twice as great as has. been assumed it will not materially affect the result, giving an apparent increment (and evaporation rate) of only 2.15 feet (25.8 inches) a year, for the surface inflow from the tributary streams is so much less than the direct precipitation on the lake sur- face that doubling the former does not greatly change the amount chargeable to evaporation. The best explanation left to account for the discrepancy seems to be that the lake has a great constant source of supply beneath its surface. The several hot springs along the eastern side of its valley render it not improbable that other waters rise along the fault zone UNDERGROUND WATERS. 43 that is believed, to exist here and supply the needful extra inflow. With an annual increment of 2.15 feet, which assumes twice the inflow from surface streams that was considered in the table on page 39, a supply from subsurface springs of about 144,000 acre-feet annually, or nearly 200 second-feet, is necessary to admit of an evaporation rate of 40 inches. If the computed inflow from the tributary streams, 1.66 feet, be taken as a basis, and an evaporation rate of 4 feet be assumed (which seems reasonable from the more open nature of the Goose Lake basin as compared with conditions at Keno), the necessary supply becomes nearly twice as great. Even the smaller of these estimates is a larger amount than the discharge of Ana River and may seem a great deal to be supplied by springs beneath the surface of the lake; but the Ana River springs would flow nearly the same if Summer Lake extended northward so as to submerge them, and they probably did flow even stronger than they do now when the lake occupied its entire basin. Fall River, 70 miles southwest of the lower end of Goose Lake, has its source in springs discharging 1,500 second-feet, or ten times the flow of Ana River. a In the above discussion of the water bodies the most interesting thing brought out is this apparent great subsurface supply of Goose Lake. While the reasoning is admittedly based on little concrete data, the weakest point, that of the amount of its surface inflow, is shown to be really a minor factor in the computation, and hence the deduc- tions are considered worthy of presentation. HYDROLOGY. GENERAL STATEMENT. As distinguished from hydrography, which deals with the streams and their flow, the hydrology, or underground waterSj of the county will now be discussed. Waters that exist beneath the surface of the earth may in general be separated into two classes — those that are found in unconsolidated material, relatively near the surface, and those that circulate within consolidated rocks, generally at greater depths. Between the typical examples of each there are many differences, but in less well differen- tiated cases there may be no good lines of distinction, so that some subsurface waters might well be placed under either head. aHoyt, J. C, and Clapp, W. B., Progress of stream measurements for 1905: Water-Supply Paper No. 177, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1906, p. 133. 44 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF PART OF OREGON", SHALLOW WATER, UNCONSOLIDATED DEPOSITS. That usually considered as ground water is found at moderate depths below the surface, in the gravels, sands, and silts of stream valleys, the alluvial material at mountain bases, or the accumulated sediments of lake valleys. In many regions, also, the decay of the country rock to a residual soil results in a loose porous layer that catches and holds a part of the rainfall and furnishes a supply of water for shallow wells. Thickness and processes of formation. — The depth of loose material, either transported or produced in place by disintegration, depends on the climate, the character of the rock, and other factors, as well as on the surface features of the land. In humid climates, where vege- tation is rank, rapid decay of the rocks takes place, this decay being aided by the organic acids formed in decomposing vegetal matter, by the abundant water that carries them downward, and by the dis- integrating gases, like oxygen, that the water often contains. J. W. Spencer a states that in the region about Atlanta, Ga., the rocks are "completely rotted" to a depth of 95 feet, while "incipient decay" may reach to 300 feet; and it is estimated that in some parts of Brazil such agencies have caused the decay of granite to a depth of 1,000 feet or more. In arid regions, where conditions are less favorable to rock decay through the action of chemical agents, rock removal and the result- ing accumulation of debris are largely physical processes. Rapid changes of temperature break up the rock masses, because of the unequal expansion of the minerals of which they are composed, while the winds and the occasional torrential rains carry the disintegrated material to the lower areas, where it accumulates as talus, alluvium, loess, or lacustrine deposits. In addition to its function as a trans- porting agent, wind also acts powerfully in certain localities as an agent of erosion. The strong wind, laden with particles of dust and sand, becomes an effective natural sand blast and wears away ex- posed rock surfaces with great rapidity, and the fine particles thus removed accumulate as a part of the mass of loose material in the lowlands. Ground-water level. — Where the soil has accumulated to sufficient thickness as a result of any or all of these processes, direct precipita- tion and the inflow from streams keep it saturated below a certain level, except in the most arid districts. This ground-water level is not fixed, but varies with the seasons and with the supply. Its sur- face has a very definite relation to the land surface, which it resembles in a general way, but it does not rise so high in the hills and often does a Geol. Survey Georgia, 1893, p. 82. UNDERGROUND WATERS. 45 not sink so deep in the valleys. Where the land surface intersects the surface of the ground water, as in deep valleys or gorges, springs issue, and as the ground-water level varies with the season these springs fluctuate, drying up when the level of their supply falls below the bottom of the valley and increasing their flow when the ground- water level rises. It is upon such water, saturating at least the lower portions of accumulations of loose material, that nearly all shallow wells depend. In south-central Oregon the processes of soil formation have made but little progress. On the forested mountains the underlying rock is nearly eve^where in evidence, being covered in most places with only a foot or two of soil. All of the plateaus are rocky, with scarcely enough soil covering to give foothold to the scanty growth of sage. In the valleys, however, there is a fairly deep mantle of soil, an accu- mulation due chiefly to the contributions of small streams and to material brought by the winds from the higher plateaus. In these sands and silts is found all of the ground water that has thus far been developed in Lake County. In many localities no definite data were to be had from which to estimate the thickness of such accumulations in the several valleys, but it is thought that in Silver Lake and Christmas Lake valleys it may reach a maximum of between 100 and 200 feet, while in some of the other basins it may be two or three times this depth. ARTESIAN CONDITIONS IN LAKE AND STREAM DEPOSITS. Water under sufficient pressure to bring it to the surface when properly tapped is sometimes found in old lake valleys. Streams flowing down from the surrounding slopes brought to the ancient lake alluvial material, which was assorted by the action of the lake water, the coarser being deposited first along the borders, while the finer was held longer in suspension. This assorting action of the water, causing deposition first of the sand and gravel along the margin and later of the finer sediments over these, resulted in the formation of wedgelike layers of sand and gravel, thinning out toward the center of the lake and alternating with layers of fine silts. The drying up of such a lake may leave a fertile valley, underlain by in- terbedded coarse and fine material, the coarser, thicker, looser beds being exposed in places along the edge of the valley, while the finer materials serve to confine percolating water to them. Thus storage reservoirs in lacustrine material are formed that will supply flowing- wells sunk in the lower parts of the valley. The north end of the Colorado Desert, in southern California, is such a valley. Flowing- water is obtained in it, chiefly from sand and gravel that underlies the surface at a depth of 450 to 1,000 feet. 46 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF PAET OF OREGON. In southern California many of the streams are dry or nearly so during the greater part of the year, but each storm swells them to torrents that carry down quantities of material from the mountain slopes to the valleys, where it is dropped. A large share of the water also sinks in the lower slopes. This work of intermittent torrential streams has built up at the mouths of the canyons alluvial cones, which farther out in the valleys have merged together. Coarse and fine materials have thus become interbedded, and wedge-shaped masses of gravels extend into the lowlands. These are in some places underlain and overlain by finer, less pervious materials, and their bases extend far enough up the valley sides to give enough pressure to the water to bring it to the surface when wells are bored. It is from such a source that the artesian water of parts of southern Cali- fornia and of San Joaquin Valley is obtained. DEEPER WATER. CONDITIONS OF OCCURRENCE. As distinguished from the water in the looser, unconsolidated mate- rial, there is water that circulates in the porous strata of the under- lying rock masses. Typically the shallow water is limited downward by the upper surface of the bed rock upon which the sand and gravel in which it circulates are deposited, while the deeper water is to be found in this bed rock. Its occurrence here and the possibilities of its utilization for irrigation or other purposes depend upon several factors, among which the porosity of the rock is one of the most important. Sandstones, on account of their greater porosity, are the rocks in which deep water is most often found, but it may be found in any porous rock if the other requisite conditions are fulfilled. STRUCTURES. The structure or attitude of the rocks is also of very great impor- tance, for upon this depend the circulation of the water, the pressure under which it may be stored, and its accessibility beneath any given area. In regions of impervious beds alternating with porous layers that are suitably exposed, so as to allow the absorption of a part of the rainfall and snowfall, the structures most favorable to the existence of water under pressure are synciines and monoclines — that is, rocks bent into trough-shaped or saucer-shaped folds or given a general dip in one direction. The syncline is the ideal structure for flowing wells. The water that enters the porous beds exposed along the edges of a given basin percolates downward toward the lowest portion of the basin, and, collecting there under the pressure of the water higher up in the porous strata, rises toward the surface when tapped. UNDERGROUND WATERS. 47 Faults, or fractures of the rocks, are unfavorable to the collection of water, because the fault planes that break the water-bearing beds furnish it an easy means of escape. Monoclines that are limited by faults — i. e., tilted blocks — are there- fore not favorable structures for deep-water storage; but monoclines that are not broken, but pass into horizontal structure, or whose indi- vidual beds thin out down the dip, often yield flowing wells. a As has been shown under the heading " Geology," Lake County is underlain by igneous rocks, a condition that at first thought seems fatal to the existence of available deep waters, for igneous rocks are usually compact and in irregular masses, allowing little opportunity for the storage of water or for its orderly circulation, so that it may be developed for economic uses. But the most extensive masses of these Lake County rocks are basalts, which spread out in widely extended sheets over the surface, so that their distribution is much like that of stratified rocks. Accompanying the basalt flows were volumes of fragmental volcanic material. This was also distributed as thin sheets or lenticular masses by streams and by deposition in lakes, and now appears as tuff beds associated with the basalts. This material is in many places more "porous than a sandstone, and where other requisite^ conditions exist may serve efficiently as a water-bearing stratum. The vesicular basalt is itself sometimes re- garded as being capable of storing water, but its vesicles are only isolated voids in an otherwise compact rock, not connected passages as in a porous material, and hence circulation of water is practically impossible in them. In the great scarp that forms the eastern face of Steins Mountains, Russell 6 estimated that there are from 80 to 100 layers of coarse "sandstone" interbedded with the basalts; and in the many scarps of Lake County there are layers of light-colored porous material be- tween the individual lava flows, although they are less numerous and less extensive than in the beds farther east. Thus far no deep borings have been made in Lake County to deter- mine whether these porous beds, in which alone rock water in valu- able quantities may be expected, exist beneath the surface, and only by such tests can their presence or absence be proved. It is believed, however, that the probabilities are strong enough to justify the drill- ing of test wells in a few localities. In other parts of this great lava area, especially in southern Wash- ington, artesian water is obtained from sediments associated with the basalt, and it may also underlie portions of Lake County. a For further discussion of artesian basins see Water-Supply Papers No. 54, pp. 101-104; No. 78, pp. 10-14: No. 118, pp. 61-67; and Bull. No. 319. b Russell, I. C, Artesian basins in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon: Water-Supply Paper No. 78, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903, p. 19. 48 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF PART OF OREGON. In the Harney Basin, 130 miles east of Silver Lake, are the two following wells, which prove the existence of water under pressure beneath that valley, but for lack of proper care and casing these wells do not flow now. In 1893 a well was sunk to a depth of 848 feet about 6 miles southeast of Burns. Water was struck at 350 feet, which rose to the surface and overflowed, and at 840 fee't another water-bearing bed was tapped; but in 1902 attempts to improve this well caused the flow to cease. In 1896 a 507-foot well was drilled near Harney, which at a depth between 200 and 300 feet struck water that rose to the surface, but the well was not cased and soon stopped flowing. a In discussing the several valleys of Lake County the structural con- ditions in each will be considered in some detail and the evidence in regard to the probability of securing flowing artesian water will be given. TEMPERATURES. In the study of underground waters the temperature offers inter- esting and often most suggestive evidence. It has been determined by observations in deep wells and mine shafts throughout the world that below the surface layer, about 50 feet in thickness, which is affected by daily and seasonal changes, the temperature increases at a rate of 1° F. for each 50 or 60 feet in depth. So that when wells or springs yield warm waters and it seems likely that their tempera- tures are not due to exceptional conditions, like proximity to masses of rock heated by volcanic activity, or to a zone of faulting, an esti- mate may be made of the depth from which they rise. This can not be safely applied to waters that rise along fault zones, because the enormous friction accompanying the faulting produces high tempera- tures in the adjacent rocks and abnormally heats waters that rise in their vicinity. In this respect 70° F. is sometimes taken as the temperature above which natural waters are classed as hot, 6 while between this figure and the mean annual temperature of the region they are classed as warm. Those springs whose waters are of about the mean tempera- ture, or in winter below it, are classed as cold. This classification is a convenience only and can not be rigidly applied, because as will be at once realized, the same temperature that is called warm in northern latitudes might be classed as cool in equatorial regions, and, indeed, there are places whose mean temperature is above that of the so-called hot waters. a Russell, I. C, Artesian basins in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon: Water-Supply Paper No. 78, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903, pp. 40-41. &Peale, A. C, Natural mineral waters of the United States: Fourteenth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 2, 1S94, p. 68. GEOLOGY AND WATEKS OF PART OF OEEGON. 49 THE LAKE VALLEYS. WARNER VALLEY. Warner Valley is a long, narrow depression that extends from north to south in the eastern part of Lake County, and continues into Cali- fornia as Surprise Valley. Its northern portion is only 6 or 8 miles wide, and is bounded on each side by the steep walls that have been described under the headings of "Topography" and "Structure" (pp. 9, 25.) In the valley bottom there is a string of partially connected alka- line lakes about which are marsh areas that represent for the most part lands from which the waters of the lakes, which are slowly shrinking, have but recently withdrawn. There is both geologic and historical evidence of this shrinkage of the lakes, which are now but remnants of the water body that covered the floor of the whole valley during Quaternary time. Faint beach lines of this former lake are still to be seen in a few places along the sides of the valley, while the litigation mentioned on page 12 is a result of minor changes in level that have taken place within the last half century. There are but few settlers in the valley, and the agricultural develop- ment is limited to small gardens and alfalfa patches and to the har- vesting of wild hay from the marsh land as winter feed for cattle and sheep. Three streams — Warner, Honey, and Twelvemile creeks — flow into the valley from the west or southwest. . From each of these a part of the water is diverted for irrigation, but as the supply is small the area thus watered is inconsiderable. These creeks bring down a certain amount of debris and deposit it at the edge of the valley. Honey Creek especially has thus built up a large alluvial fan where it debouches into the lower lands, but the greater part of this material was probably deposited as a delta in the former lake, and this delta is now being rapidly dissected. Little or no attempt has been made to develop the shallow ground water for irrigation. Water in apparent abundance is obtained in wells only a few feet in depth, but it is used only for domestic pur- poses and for stock. It is possible that rather deep wells sunk at the outer edges of the alluvial fans of the streams mentioned above would yield flowing water if properly cased, but this would be only in the lower lands, where water for irrigation is of least value. The widest area of cultivable land is in the northern part of the valley, where there are no perennial streams and the region is dry and covered with sagebrush. As elsewhere in the valley, water exists within this area at shallow depths, but it is somewhat alkaline, and it is improbable that this land could be successfully farmed with such irrigation water as could be developed locally. 48133— ibb 220—08 4 50 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF PART OF OREGON. The structure of Warner Valley is unfavorable to the existence of water under pressure in the porous beds of the basaltic series under- lying the alluvium and lake sediments. The valley owes its origin to faulting, the southern portion being a dropped block faulted on both sides, as shown in the cross section PI. X, page 66. The scarp that limits the valley on the west dies out near Plush, so that the northern part of the valley is formed by the lower portion of a tilted block, as shown in the section through Chewaucan Marsh (PI. X). It has been shown (p. 47) that such faulting is unfavorable to the occurrence of ground water under pressure ; hence it is not worth while to undertake deep drilling in the rock underlying this valley in the hope of obtaining flowing water. GOOSE LAKE VALLEY. Goose Lake Valley lies in the southern end of Lake County. The lower two-thirds of the lake is in California, but by far the greater portion of the valley is in Oregon, north of the lake. On the east the steep-faced extension of the Warner Mountains borders the valley at only 2 or 3 miles' distance from the lake, but to the north and northwest the surrounding slopes are more gentle and give way to low hills on the southwestern side. Around the north end of the lake there is marsh hay land, but the upper part of the valley is practically all unreclaimed and is used only for grazing purposes. Nearly all of the people in this valley live on its eastern side. Lake- view, the county seat, is situated at the edge of the valley a few miles beyond the north end of the lake. Fifteen miles south of it is the town of New Pine Creek, at the Oregon-California line, and between these two towns there are a number of ranches; but on the west and the north sides of the valley there are only a few scattered homes. Near New Pine Creek a number of orchards and gardens are irri- gated by the small streams along the eastern side of the lake, and these, together with shallow wells, supply all of the water at present needed. At Lakeview a good supply of water for the town is obtained from springs in the hills above, and the few private domestic wells reach only to the ground-water level, so at no place in the valley has an attempt been made to get deeper water in the valley sediments. At the north end of the valley gravel beds have been deposited. These are probably saturated below the ground-water level, and water could be developed by pumps, but the returns to be expected would scarcely warrant this means of irrigation, at least for some years to come. The filling in of the valley depression by wash from the surround- ing slopes, the presence of the lake, much smaller now than in the ;i : mim il v 'flirts GOOSE AND ABERT LAKE BASINS. 51 past, and the constant deposition of fine sediments in this lake are genetic conditions favorable to that alternation of coarse and fine deposits essential to artesian flows. It is probable that cased wells of the California type (described on p. 78) and less than 500 feet deep, if sunk in the lowest parts of the valley, west of Lakeview, would yield flowing water; but it is not thought that such water can be developed in the higher, northern part of this valley. On the eastern edge of the valley, near Lakeview, three hot springs rise, with a temperature of about 173° F. These serve to strengthen the topographic evidence that this, like Warner Valley, has been pro- duced by a faulted block, having the character of the dropped keystone of an anticlinal arch, as shown in the cross section on PL X. In such a structural basin, whose origin is almost fatal to the existence of rock water under artesian head, it would be useless to attempt to obtain flowing wells by deep drilling if ever water should be needed for agricultural purposes. ABERT LAKE BASIN. In the central part of the county Summer Lake, Chewaucan Marsh, and Abert Lake are in a valley that was once occupied by a single great water body ; hence these three now rather distinct basins are topographically one. Structurally, however, they are separate, and therefore they will be separately considered. Abert Lake lies in the eastern, lowest depression of this valley, in the most typical structural basin formed by a tilted block in this entire region. On its eastern side a cliff rises from the water's edge to a height of more than 2,000 feet, while on the western side the gentle slope of the surface of the tilted block rises to the scarp over- looking Chewaucan Marsh, as is shown in PI. VIII, reproduced from Russell's article on the region. As its water level has lowered, the lake has left an extended area of marsh land at its northern end, but little or none along the steeper sides of its basin. This marsh land is controlled by the "XL" ranch, and is used for winter pasture, besides furnishing many tons of wild hay. A strong spring of good water, 63° F. in temperature, rises at the ranch house and supplies abundant water for stock and for all domestic purposes. In the northeastern portion of this basin there is some agricultural land where one or two families live, but little attempt has been made to develop water for irrigation. At a number of places along the western shore of the lake there are fresh-water springs of small volume. These are evidently fed by waters that accumulate on the monoclinal slopes between the lake and Chewaucan Marsh, seep down the dip of the basalts, and reach the surface at the lake border. 52 GEOLOGY AND WATEKS OF PART OF OREGON. As there is so little land here possible of reclamation, and hence so little demand for a large water supply, and as, in addition, the geologic structure is so evidently unfavorable, it is scarcely necessary to say that the probability of the occurrence of available rock water under artesian head is very small. SMALLER VALLEYS. Near the head of Crooked Creek, about 12 miles south of Lake Abert, in a narrow valley known as Antelope Valley, there are a few settlers. The alluvial soil here seems deep and is capable of growing good crops, but as elsewhere, and under present conditions perhaps most profit- ably, the land is used mainly as pasture. Along Coyote and Moss creeks there are also a few settlers, where the streams supply water for small gardens and orchards, and nearly all such small areas have long been occupied by homesteaders. VALLEY OF CHEWAUCAN MARSH. The valley occupied in large part by Chewaucan Marsh extends southeastward from where the river of the same name emerges from its canyon to within a short distance of Lake Abert. Its eastern border is the edge of the tilted block that dips under Lake Abert, while the western side is bounded by the steep slopes that separate it from the drainage basin of the river. Paisley is situated on the banks of the river where it enters the val- ley. South of Paisley, along the edge of the valley, there are several ranches where grain, alfalfa, and fruits are grown, but north of the town there are no settlements. The marsh land is under the control of two or three large cattle com- panies. The river water mostly sinks in this marsh, but by means of drainage canals the land is kept fairly dry, so that great quantities of wild hay are cut from it: Only at The Narrows is there much unpro- ductive alkaline land. An area of several square miles north of Paisley and the terraces south of the town, against the hills, are covered with gravel brought down by Chewaucan River. A section in this material is exposed at the river bank, just below the Paisley bridge, showing about 4 feet of this gravel overlying 6 or 8 feet of river sands, which in turn overlie finer material, probably lake sediments. A low alluvial divide sepa- rates the marsh from Summer Lake Valley, but a well-defined channel still exists in it, through which the two basins were formerly connected. On the terrace land near Paisley a number of acres of alfalfa are irrigated by ditches that take water from the river a short distance up its canyon. Much land above the level of the present irrigating ditches, at both the northern and the southern ends of the marsh and along the western side of the valley, will be susceptible of cultivation CHEWAUCAN MARSH AND SUMMER LAKE VALLEYS. 53 when water can be supplied to it, but at present it is used only for stock range. The greater diversion of the waters of Chewaucan River for this purpose would no doubt benefit the marsh land also, for much of it is too wet to permit easy harvesting of the wild hay. While it is probable that water for irrigating these higher parts of the valley can best be obtained from storage reservoirs in the upper course of the river, a number of small streams along the western side of the valley could be made to furnish a useful local supply. These streams usually sink in the alluvial fans at the mouths of their gorges, but when traced toward their sources in springs in the mountains above are found to have a considerable flow, which might profitably be piped or flumed to the lands along the edges of the valley. Like most of the other valleys, that occupied by Chewaucan Marsh has been produced by faulting. The scarp on its eastern side is clear evidence of such movement there, and it is thought that similar deformation has taken place on the western side also, as shown in the cross section, PI. X, but the evidence on this side of the valley is not so clear. This structure of course precludes the probability of the existence of available water in the underlying rocks. But in the central part of the basin there is too great an abundance of surface water, the prob- lem at present being rather one of regulation of the supply and of drainage than of the development of additional water; and, as hereto- fore stated, for irrigating the arid portions of the valley water can probably be best obtained from the river. SUMMER LAKE VALLEY. DESCRIPTION. Summer Lake Valley resembles the basin of Abert Lake in being bounded on one side by a great scarp and on the other by more gentle slopes. On the north rise the slopes of the cross anticline separating it from Christinas Lake Valley, while southward the delta deposits of Chewaucan River divide it from the marsh lands of the river's lower course. The land between the south end of Summer Lake and Paisley is gravelly and is apparently not alkaline. At present it is too arid to be of value for agriculture, but by irrigation it can no doubt be rendered very productive. STREAMS. Along its western side, between the rim rock and the lake's edge, numerous streams furnish water for irrigation as well as for domestic purposes, and it is here that most of the ranches of this valley are situated. This is one of the mildest spots in the county, so that nearly all the common vegetables and many varieties of fruit are to be 54 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF PART OP OREGON. found in its gardens and orchards; but the tillable land is limited to the narrow strip between the lake and Winter Ridge ; hence its area is not great. In the northern part of the valley much of the surface is either arid, sandy, sagebrush land, or a greasewood flat. Near the lake the land is more moist, and here a few settlers have taken up claims, but most of the marsh land is controlled by stockmen. SPRINGS. Conditions of occurrence. — The largest and best known springs in this region are those that issue through the sediments near the north- west edge of the valley and give rise to Ana River, which flows south- ward about 5 miles, to Summer Lake. Near these springs the river channel has cut nearly 40 feet deep into the lake deposits, prohibit- ing easy utilization of its water, but farther down a small part is diverted for irrigation. The marshy areas around the northern end of the lake are kept moist by numerous springs, some of which form only small marshy spots, while others give rise to streams, such as Buckhorn and Johnson creeks. The temperature of Buckhorn Creek was not measured, but it is said to be somewhat warmer than that of Ana River (66° F.), while that of the two springs supplying Johnson Creek is 10 degrees cooler, or 56° F. At the Bonham ranch, on the eastern side of the valley, the tem- perature of the strongest flowing spring is 66° F., the same as that of the springs that supply Ana River. On this ranch, in what is known as Thousand Spring Valley, a number of acres are irrigated naturally by many small springs. By distributing the water through small ditches Mr. J. H. Bonham has reclaimed much of the greasewood flat on his ranch and has greatly increased the original area of marsh hay land, thus demonstrating what water alone will accomplish on these apparent wastes. The water, constantly rising and evaporating tends to increase the alkalinity of the soil, and is insufficient in quan- tity to permit drainage and the leaching out of the alkali, so that only the natural grasses and salt bushes grow readily. Of the many kinds of trees tried, only a few cottonwoods along one of the ditches have lived. The tendency of the alkali to rise with the use of water is also shown on the ranches in the northwestern part of this valley, near Ana River. Cultivation and irrigation from shallow wells tapping only the ground water have in several instances caused the garden areas to become so alkaline as to prevent nearly all of the common vegetables from maturing. At the north end of the valley, in Juniper Canyon, water rises, appar- ently from a canyon spring or one where water seeps out of a tufa bed exposed along the canyon side. This has only a small flow, and SPRINGS IN SUMMER LAKE VALLEY. 55 it is improbable that any considerable amount could be developed here to irrigate the higher valley sides, but as it is the only spring of this character noted it is thought worthy of mention. At the southeast end of Summer Lake the Woodward hot spring rises, with a temperature of 123° F. The flow in November, 1906, was about 2 miner's inches. The water is used for irrigating garden vegetables and for bathing purposes. The location of the spring is not far from the steep slopes of this side of the valley, and the occurrence is considered additional evidence of faulting here. Origin of the Ana River springs. — There are additions to the flow of Ana River, probably by seepage along its banks, below the group of five or more large springs at its source that supply the greater part of its flow. Johnson Creek, east of Ana River, has a flow of perhaps 20 second-feet, and the springs of Thousand Spring Valley yield a large aggregate. All told, it is probable that at least 200 second-feet con- stant flow rises through the silts and alluvium in this end of Summer Lake Valley. The question of the source of this water is one that interests all who visit the springs. The region is semiarid, and the drainage area tribu- tary to Summer Lake is limited and clearly inadequate to supply the water yielded by the strong and remarkably uniform flow of the springs. It has been asserted that Silver Lake is the source of supply, but in the years when tin's lake dried away completely the flow from the springs did not appreciably lessen. No large streams discharge directly into the Summer Lake basin, but Chewaucan River discharges into the same topographic depres- sion just south of the alluvial divide that separates that basin from Chewaucan Marsh. It has been suggested that water from tins stream, which sinks in the sands and gravels, may percolate northward through the porous material that fills the lake basin and, rising beyond the lake, supply the springs in question. But the total mean flow of Chewaucan River during 1906, a year of more than average precipi- tation, was only 189 second-feet, and the flow during the previous year, of less than average precipitation, was only 93.5 second-feet. The total average discharge of this stream then, is less than the yield of the springs; and much the greater part of this total flows out through Chewaucan Marsh to Lake Abert. The relative elevations of the Ana River springs and the mouth of Chewaucan Canyon are not known. If the springs shall eventually be found higher than the canyon mouth, this fact will at once prove definitely that Chewaucan River water can not be the source from which the springs are supplied. The evidence just given, however, is regarded as practically conclusive, but addi- tional evidence in support of this conclusion is supplied by the tem- perature of the water of the Ana River springs. This issues at 66° F., which, if the usual increment of 1° above the mean annual tempera- ture for each 50 or 60 feet in depth be accepted, indicates that the 56 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF PART OF OREGON. water rises from more than 1,000 feet below the surface. It seems unlikely that the alluvium is this deep near the north rim of the valley, where the springs issue, hence it probably rises from porous beds in the underlying basalt. The fault that separates Winter Ridge from the valley east of it, since it represents a fracturing of the beds, furnishes a passage upward for any water that may be circulating at depths in porous layers inter- bedded with the basalts. It is unlikely that this water comes from the eastward, because the known faults in that direction furnish drainage ways through which any confined water can escape, and the intermediate areas are arid. West and southwest from Summer Lake, however, the topography does not indicate such faulting as is characteristic of the area east- ward; it is indicative rather of open folding. Since much of this region is mountainous and timbered and receives a relatively high precipitation, as is indicated by the fact that it is the gathering ground for such large streams as Sprague and Williamson rivers, it seems a competent source of supply even for such large springs as those in question. If the open folding that is indicated exists here, it provides for the exposure of the porous beds in the lavas, so that the water sup- plied by precipitation may enter them. This folding may also pro- vide sufficient head to force the water eastward up the Winter Ridge monocline into Summer Lake Valley. Another explanation, which differs slightly from that just given, has been offered. The Summer Lake basin is considered to be a col- lapsed anticline — a block of the earth's surface that has dropped as a result of the stresses to which the crust has been subjected, and has broken away from the rocks on each side, which are now exposed as the scarps north and west of Summer Lake. It may be that the water of the Ana River springs and the other large springs nearby percolate northward from the region of the upper Chewaucan drainage basin, along the axis of this anticline, and escape to the surface through the faults that mark both the northern edge of the dropped block and the northern edge of Summer Lake Valley. In both of these explanations the spring waters are regarded as waters that escape from the basalts through the passages that the faults provide. They differ in the assumed source and direction of percolation of these waters. Of the two, that which supposes that they originate in the country west and southwest of Summer Lake is regarded as the more probable. ARTESIAN POSSIBILITIES. Shallow water. — The evident saturation of the alluvial and lacus- trine deposits over wide areas in the northern end of Summer Lake Valley by water that seeps to the surface or that rises in definite springs suggests the possibility of obtaining flowing water in this SUMMER AND SILVER LAKE VALLEYS. 57 locality by sinking relatively shallow cased wells from 100 to 500 feet in depth. These swampy conditions in areas of marked slope are familiar evidences of the existence of subsurface water under pressure sufficient for the development of flowing wells, and so strong is this evidence in certain parts of tins valley that there can be but little doubt that the sinking of cased wells would prove a successful venture. Whatever the origin of the water in the unconsolidated deposits, it is clearly present in some quantity. As it now rises naturally by seepage over wide areas, it is very harmful to the land, depositing as it evaporates great quantities of alkali, which unfits the soil for agri- cultural purposes. Wells sunk in the moist land should therefore bring about two beneficial results: First, the present numerous small springs would probably dry up, their yield being concentrated in the relatively few wells, so that it would be much more readily available for irrigation ; and secondly, the drying up of these seepages would lessen the present rapid rise of alkali and would thereby render the present alkaline lands valuable. Thus the sinking of shallow artesian wells should accomplish both concentration of the water supply and drainage of the swampy land. Thousand Spring Valley and the basins of Buckhorn and Johnson creeks are favorable localities for experimental wells. Deep water. — In the paragraphs on structure (p. 26) and on the origin of the Ana River springs (p. 55) it has been explained that Summer Lake Valley is probably due to the collapse of an anticline and the consequent dropping down of a great block of the basalts. The bed rock beneath the valley is therefore faulted, and whatever water may be circulating through it is not confined under pressure, but is permitted to leak out along the fault planes into the overlying alluvium. As already indicated, the water yielded by the great springs of this area probably has this origin. But this leakage is a condition unfavorable to the existence of water under pressure in the basaltic rock underlying the sands, gravels, and silts that make up the surface of the valley. It is not expected, therefore, that deep drilling would develop flowing water in the bed rock beneath the valley. SILVER LAKE VALLEY. Northwest of Summer Lake Valley, and separated from it by a divide about 500 feet in height, lies Silver Lake, in the southern end of its basin. The lake itself is bounded on the east and on the west by scarps, but northward the valley opens out into a wide area of marsh, beyond whose borders there is much nearly level sagebrush land, at present dry, but cultivable and valuable if water can be applied. From the gentle slopes to the west and southwest three streams, Silver, Bridge, and Bear creeks, more definitely described on pages 31 and 35, flow into Pauline Marsh and thence into the lake. On the north 58 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF PART OF OREGON. and east Conley Hills and their southward extension separate the valley from the larger Christmas Lake Valley. Topographically, however, Silver Lake Valley is really a part of this wider area, being connected with it by a broad, low passage extending eastward to Thorn Lake, into which, at periods of very high water, Silver Lake overflows; Like other areas of similar character, Pauline Marsh is given over to the growth of native grasses that are cut for hay, while drainage ditches carry off much of the superfluous water southward to the lake. The sagebrush land beyond the limits of the marsh can be made pro- ductive by irrigation, but at present it is used mainly as a stock range. Only from Bear Creek is water diverted to any extent for irrigation, and this is used only in the extreme western part of the valley. On the low slopes of the south side of the valley a few springs have produced green patches of pasture land and furnish watering places for the range animals. The largest of these, Thomson and Murdock springs, 3 miles southeast of Silver Lake, flowed about 9 and 25 miner's inches, respectively, in October, 1906. Their temperature (48°) indicates that they are surface springs, not deep seated, though the water may rise from a porous bed along which it has percolated from the slopes of Hager Mountain. At the town of Silver Lake water is obtained in the 25 or 30 domestic wells in a soft porous material, usually at less than 30 feet below the surface. This seems essentially a subsurface flow, depending for its supply on the run-off from the surrounding slopes, for in winter, when the mountains are snow covered and the ground is frozen, the water level in the wells lowers. The water is of good quality, tests indicat- ing only about 50 parts of alkaline salts in 100,000. The only attempt to obtain deep water in the area examined has been made at Silver Lake. Mr. F. M. Chrisman, of this place, put down a 6-inch hole on the south edge of the town to a depth of about 250 feet, where the drill became caught and work was suspended. The usual subsurface water was found at a depth of 47 feet, but no other supply was developed, the drill being fast in dry vesicular basalt. A record of the well as kept by Mr. Chrisman shows a depth of 108 feet of clays, sands, and gravels, below which lies a thick tuff bed, probably like that at Fort Rock, underlain by basalt. The structure of this basin seems more favorable to the finding of artesian water in the basalts than that of any of the other valleys of Lake County, except perhaps the Christmas Lake desert. On the west and south the slope of the lava beds is toward the valley. To the north also, along the base of Horning Bend, an exposure of tuff indicates that the dip is toward the valley, but on the eastern side this structure is not exhibited. The tuff composing these eastern hills is somewhat folded, but the dips are universally eastward, away from U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 220 PL. IX A. SAGEBRUSH IN CHRISTMAS LAKE VALLEY. B. AREA IN CHRISTMAS LAKE VALLEY CLEARED BY BURNING. C. SAND SPRINGS. CHRISTMAS LAKE VALLEY. 59 Silver Lake Valley. What effect on artesian conditions this struc- ture may have can not be stated definitely, but the Conley Hills and their extension in each direction probably separate it structurally from that of Christmas Lake Valley. Certainly the structural condi- tions are such as to justify a thorough test by the drilling of a well, 1,000 to 2,000 feet in depth, in the neighborhood of Silver Lake. Satisfactory evidence of the structural relation of the Conley Hills to the regularly dipping basalts south and west of them, or to the horizontal basalts across the desert on the northeast, was not obtained, but the geologic cross section (PI. X) is thought to represent the essential features of their relation to the valley on each side at its southern end. CHRISTMAS LAKE VALLEY. DESCRIPTION. The largest valley of the Lake County area, and the one that seems capable of the greatest development, is that of Christmas Lake. Under this name is included all of the country northwest toward Fort Kock, as well as that around Christmas and Fossil lakes. It is an extensive, nearly level plain, 40 or 50 miles long from east to west, but much narrower from north to south. Unlike nearly all of the other valleys, it is not inclosed by steep walls; on all sides the slope to the surrounding basaltic "high desert" areas is gentle. On the west Fort Rock and Table Rock are prominent landmarks from nearly all parts of the valley, as is St. Patrick Mountain on the south, while on the north side of the valley the recent volcanic cones produce a low relief. Within the valley itself two low ridges rise above the sediments — a basaltic tongue extending southward from Bunchgrass Butte, and Sevenmile Ridge, a remnant of tuff like that at Fort Rock, that extends into the valley from its southern border. Most of the valley floor supports a growth of sage, which in the more sandy areas is tall and dense, as in PI. IX, A, but over much of the valley is not so thick as to interfere seriously with travel in any direction. In the more alkaline areas the surface tends to bake to a hardpan, over which there is only a scanty growth of grease brush. Bunch grass and rye grass grow to some extent through nearly all of the valley land, and afford fair range for stock. SETTLEMENT. Two years ago there was only one family living in Christmas Lake Valley. In February, 1905, a party of a dozen or more men, neigh- bors and residents in Willamette Valley, were brought in by a "locator" and took up claims in the region north of Fossil Lake, now 60 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF PART OF OREGON. locally known as " Sucker Flat." In the fall of the same year and in the spring of 1906 others came in and settled, chiefly around Christinas and Fossil lakes. Post-offices have been established at Lake and Cliff (named after the locator who brought the settlers in) , and a school district has been formed. Nearly all of the claims have been inclosed by substantial barbed-wire fences, the junipers of the CHRISTMAS LAKE VALLEY. 61 valley sides furnishing good posts for this purpose, and frame build- ings have been put up. About 120 claims had been filed on in the valley up to November 20, 1906. A number took up homesteads; others filed on desert claims. The approximate area filed on is shown in fig. 1. METHODS OF CLEARING AND FARMING. As most of the settlers began to clear land too late in the fall of 1905 to permit of burning, nearly all of the area planted the following spring was cleared by grubbing. Owing to the loose nature of the soil this is comparatively easy and gives a field nearly free from brush roots. During the summer of 1906 it was found that on a hot da} T , with a steady, moderate breeze, the denser patches of sage, once fired, burned completely, the fire often following the roots below the surface. In PI. IX, B, is shown a burned area that was formerly covered with tall brush, like that in PI. IX, A, which shows a view of the tallest, densest sage in the valley, on the sandy land 2 or 3 miles west of Christmas Lake. Dragging with a heavy beam has been tried where the brush is too thin to burn readily, but it is not brittle enough to make this method of clearing successful. Grubbing seems the most practical means on such areas. Some of the homesteaders have filed on claims, intending to rely on dry farming with constant cultivation, as practiced in Kansas and elsewhere. Most of the grain and vegetables raised during the sum- mer of 1906 (the first season that farming was tried here) matured without irrigation, and showed that the soil is fertile, though as yet rather deficient in humus, or vegetable mold. But 1906 is generally regarded as a favorable year. As indicated by the rainfall records, it was at least as wet as the average, and in drier years such excel- lent results can not be expected without irrigation. Records from places of low rainfall show that there are more sea- sons with less than the average precipitation than there are wet years, for in a wet year there may be twice the average rainfall or more, to balance which would require a year of absolutely no rainfall. As this almost never occurs, a few very wet years serve to keep the average up, hence in arid regions there are more dry years than wet ones. TENTATIVE IRRIGATION METHODS. Desert claims. — The desert land acts of 1877 and 1891 provide that a maximum of 320 acres of land may be filed on as a desert claim, but within three years one-eighth of it must be under cultivation, and the whole area under irrigation, except high places evidently not 62 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF PART OF OREGON. susceptible of irrigation; ° so that those who have filed on desert claims in this valley realize that they must develop a large supply of water within the next few years. Pumping. — Pumping has been considered, both by windmills and by distillate engines, from a number of shallow wells, or from large basins scooped out in the soil to ground-water level; for water is found at a shallow depth all through the valley, although not in great abundance nor of good quality. From local observation of the wind during the season of 1906 the writer believes that windmills can not be relied upon to any extent to furnish power, for, as in many other arid sections, during the hot, dry periods there is little or no breeze. Even if a sufficient flow of ground water can be developed, which from the meager evidence at hand seems doubtful, the present cost of hauling in fuel is not warranted by the returns that may reason- ably be expected from the land irrigated. The quality of the sub- surface water should also be taken into account in considering its prospective use for irrigation, for it is all alkaline, at least all of the shallower water, which is all that has so far been developed, and although perhaps its use for the first few years would not be notice- ably injurious to crops, its continued use, if not carefully managed, could not fail to be. Storage reservoirs. — In other parts of the Northwest small storage reservoirs are constructed to conserve the run-off of the stormy sea- son, both for irrigation and to furnish water for stock during the summer. The methods of constructing these reservoirs and the pre- a Section 1 of the desert land laws, approved March 3, 1877, provides that any citizen of the United States, or person who has filed his declaration to become such, upon payment of 25 cents an acre may file a declaration that he intends to reclaim a tract of desert land, by conducting water upon it within the period of three years. Section 2 designates "that all lands exclusive of timber lands and mineral lands which will not, with- out irrigation, produce some agricultural crop, shall be deemed desert lands." Section 3 provides that this act shall apply only to California, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, North and South Dakota. Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, approved March 3, 1891, further provide as follows: Section 4 provides that at the time of filing his declaration the party shall also file a map showing the mode of contemplated irrigation; section 5, that no land shall be patented under this act until at least $3 for each acre of the whole tract reclaimed shall have been expended in the necessary irrigation, reclamation, and cultiva- tion. The party must file during each year, with the register, proof that the full sum of 51 an acre has been thus expended; and "If any party who has made such application shall fail during any year to file the testimony aforesaid, the lands shall revert to the United States, and the twenty-five cents advanced payment shall be forfeited to the United States, and the entry shall be cancelled. Nothing herein contained shall prevent a claimant from making his final entry and receiving his patent at an earlier date than hereinbefore prescribed, provided that he then makes the required proof of reclama- tion to the aggregate extent of three dollars per acre: Provided, That proof be further required of the cultivation of one-eighth of the land." Section 6 provides that these later sections shall not conflict with any provisions of the act of March 3, 1877. Section 7 provides that not more than 320 acres may be filed on under this act. Section 8 states that this act shall apply also to the State of Colorado; and that "no person shall be entitled to make entry of desert land except he be a resident citizen of the State or Territory in which the land sought to be entered is located." CHKISTMAS LAKE VALLEY. 63 cautions that should be taken to insure their permanence are described in a recent bulletin of the Department of Agriculture.* It seems that such reservoirs might prove of value in at least two localities on the edge of Christmas Lake Valley — in the slopes toward the sink of Peter Creek, and south of Christmas Lake, in Fandango Canyon. It is said that at times considerable flood water comes down these slopes, and even during the very general examination of the localities upon which this report is based several favorable res- ervoir sites were noticed. In regard to the amount of water that could be thus stored little can be said, for data both as to the extent of the drainage areas and as to the amount of run-off are almost wholly lacking. The latter would no doubt vary between wide limits for different years, and probably a dependable supply could not be counted on to be thus stored for summer use; but this method of conserving water is used successfully elsewhere in the Northwest, and is at least worthy of consideration by settlers in northern Lake County. In Wyoming and Dakota series of such reservoirs have been con- structed in the prairies solely to provide water holes along the trails over which cattle are driven to shipping points. The scarcity of water holes in the high desert area between Christmas and Alkali lake valleys, after the natural sinks have dried up, has been the great draw- back to this area as stock range. Low dams built with a compara- tively small amount of labor across the lower ends of some of these sinks would greatly increase their storage capacity and the length of time they would serve as water holes, but it is doubtful if such water- ing places would last all summer. Even the deepest of these sinks were dry in September and October, and evidently had been so for two or three months. It is probable that in this area of indefinite drainage the run-off is so small a percentage of the precipitation, and the tribu- tary drainage areas are so small, that such a means of conserving water for range animals would serve only to lengthen somewhat the high desert range period, but would not extend it throughout the summer. Thus it would be but a temporary expedient. GROUND- WATER LEVEL. In order to supplement the data concerning the ground-water level that were obtained from the shallow wells that have been dug, a num- ber of 2-inch auger holes were put down in the unsettled portions of the valley. The locations of these test holes and of the wells examined are shown in fig. 1, and a table of the depths and water levels is given below. 3 Hen-man, F. C, Small reservoirs in Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota: Bull. 179, Office of Experiment Stations, U. S. Dept. Agriculture, 1907. This bulletin may be obtained free of charge by request to Dr. A. C. True, Director, Office of Exp. Stations, U. S. Dept. Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 64 GEOLOGY AND WATEKS OF PART OF OREGON. Wells and test holes in Christmas and Silver Lake valleys. No. of well, a Owner. Mr. Beard (Test well) ... Mr. Gaskell... J. W. Hanley. Mr. Beard, sr. Mr. Whitney. . Dr. Ewing Dr. Thayer Joe Kasperonez. Frank Polte Mr. Wardall James Wilson /James McCurdy (3 \ wells) . John C. Green W. A. McHargue. . Mr. McCurdy Mr. Brown Mr. Lanning M. W. Richmond.. A. W. Long Mr. Lans J. A. Pond.... John Ross Mr. Anderson. (Auger hole) . . do do do .do. .do. .do. ....do (Well) (Auger hole) . ....do ....do ....do ....do ....do (Well) F. M. Chrisman. Roy Ward . . . T. J.. La Brie. Hayes Bros. . Location. T. S. R. E. Sec Depth in feet. 22 30 28 35 25 12 10 12J 12* 4 13§ 12 16 14 12 12 13 17 U) 26 31 22 16 22 23 20 21 27 20 20 W 16 3 16 4 26 26 7 5 24 5 4 15 247 To water in feet. 20 (?) 29 25 25 Dry. 11 10 11 Dry. 12 8 10 10 10 10 11 15 9 24J 25" 20 13* 21* 22" 20 19-| 20 17 Material passed through. Dry. Dry. 12 Drv. 25 24 Dry. Dry. 24 Dry. Dry. Dry. 49 Drv. 10 Lake silts. Lake silts (water not used). Lake silts. Do. 0-18, silts; 18-2.5, rotten basalt. Lake silts; a little rotten ibasalt at bottom. 0-6, silts; 6-10, rotten basalt. Lake silts. Lake silts; a little rotten basalt at bottom. 0-1J, silts; l*-4, rotten basalt. Lake silts. Do. 0-4, silts; remaining depth, sand with streaks of clay. Lake silts. Do. Do. Lake silts; a little basalt at bottom. Lake silts. Do. Do. Lake silts (?) with basalt fragments. Do. 0-16, lake silts (?); 16-23, basalt frag- ments. Alluvium and lake silts. Lake silts. Do. Sandy clay. Sands and moist clays. 0-19, sands and moist clay; 19-19 J, tuff. Moist clay (at edge of alkaline pool, PI. Ill, C). Loose tuffaceous soil (?). 0-64, silt and sand; 6*-7J, tuff. Silts, sands, and clays; 8-9, moist sand containing fresh-water shells. Loose soil, from decomposed tuff. ' 0-25, lake silts; 25-26, tuff. Silts, sands, and clays. 0-6, silts and sand; 6-7, tuff. 0-4, lake silts; 4-5, tuff. 0-16, lake silts and clays; 16-24, moist clay. 0-4, lake silts; 4-5, tuff. 0-3, lake silts; 3-4, tuff. Lake silts. 0-108, lake silts and sands; 108-223, tuff; 223-247, basalt (?). Lake silts (?). Lake silts (near edge of marsh) . Do. a Locations indicated by corresponding numbers on fig. 1, p. 60. Throughout the settled area the soil is composed of sands and sedi- ments, which extend to a considerable depth. No coarse gravels are met. The sink of Peter Greek, which at first glance seems to be a separate valley, is really connected with the main valley by a broad drainage channel to the east of Bunchgrass Butte, and the same fine sediments are found in it as in the main part of the valley. In four of the five wells examined in the sink the water level is 20 to 25 feet below the surface, and the water is of good quality, the electro- lytic bridge a indicating an alkaline content of 30 to 40 parts in 100,000. The fifth well is in the southwest end of the so-called sink, near the a See footnote on p. 13. CHRISTMAS LAKE VALLEY. 65 basalt rim. It has been dug 25 feet deep, passing through the usual silts au a depth of about 18 feet, and. penetrating the remainder of the distance into decomposed basalt, without finding water. Several wells along the northern side of "Sucker Flat" have also reached the basalt at" depths of 10 or 12 feet. A small amount of water of fair quality has been found at this depth. Well No. 9 also reaches basalt at a depth of 11 feet, but its water is much more alkaline than that of the others. Half a mile north of this well basalt has been found onty 2 or 3 feet below the surface, although there is no indication in the character of the brush that the soil here is so shallow. As shown by the wells farther south in the flat, the soil in that part is deeper. Basalt has not been found in them at a maximum depth of 31 feet in well No. 19. The ground-water level varies from about 10 feet below the surface near Cliff post-office to 25 feet near Christmas Lake. The material in which water is found varies in texture from sandy to clayey. South and west of Christmas Lake the waters are as a rule of better quality than in the area near Fossil Lake. In October, 1906, the water level was about 20 feet below the surface and the mineral con- tent was from 25 to 50 parts in 100,000. In all of the wells it has been noticed that on standing for any length of time the water becomes more strongly alkaline and has an odor as of decaying organic matter. In one well, near No. 15, even though in constant use, the water became so strong as to necessitate the digging of another well. The wells on the south side of the valley show that the sediments thin out there as on the north. Fragmental volcanic material is met near the bottoms of wells Nos. 21, 22, and 23, which, being from 16 to 23 feet deep, are extended only a foot or so below the water level. West and northwest of Sevenmile Ridge a number of auger holes were put down, which indicate that the tuff exposed in this ridge, in the hills near Table Rock and in Fort Rock, underlies this part of the valley at shallow depths. Some irregularities in its surface have perhaps formed basins, as at test holes Nos. 33 and 39, where water was found at depths of 12 and 24 feet, respectively; but in others a hard material, probably the tuff, was encountered at 3 to 20 feet below the surface. A short distance south of Fort Rock a well 25 feet deep has been dug, which passes through 25 feet of the usual light-colored silts into the tuff. The water was 1 foot deep in October, 1906, and although it evidently had been standing a long time, contained only 40 to 50 parts of solids in 100,000. There were no wells in the southeast arm of the valley and no test holes were sunk in it, but Mr. A. W. Long, of Lake, reports having found water at a depth of 15 feet at one point in this area. Its gen- eral character indicates water conditions similar to those near Fossil Lake rather than to those of the western part of the valley. 48133— ire 220—08 5 66 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OE PART OP OREGON. ANALYSES OF WATERS. Analyses of three well waters of this valley were made, those of James Wilson (well No. 12), J. C. Green (well No. 14), and John Ross (well No. 25). These are given in Table C, on page 72 (samples C, D, and E), and show alkaline contents, respectively, of 36.8, 235, and 432.8 parts in 100,000. There is no change in the character of the surface to indicate why the water at Mr. Wilson's should be so much purer than that at Mr. Green's, except that the former is nearer the edge of the valley. In digging Mr. Ross's well a lump of gypsum (sulphate of lime) a foot long and 6 or 8 inches in diameter was found at a depth of 14 or 15 feet (water being struck at 194 feet) ; this makes the high percentage of sulphate in this water not surprising. Its mineral character is distinctly appreciable to the taste. SPRINGS. Close to the western shore of Christmas Lake there is a well 9 feet deep, in which the water stands about 5 feet below the surface. Its temperature in October, 1906, was 62° F., both on cold mornings and at midday. Its mineral content is about 40 parts in 100,000. It is said that originally there was a spring here, but that when the willows and nearby sage were cleared off it was soon buried by sand and was reopened only by digging this well. Christmas Lake is fed by an intermittent spring at its south end. Fossil Lake is also said to be fed by a spring near its center, from which, it is claimed, range riders have drunk when the lake was dry. The most interesting springs in the valley are those known as Mound Spring and Sand Springs. These rise in the sands of the area east of Fossil Lake, forming valued watering places for stock. Mound Spring is the larger, having a flow of about 2 miner's inches in October, 1906, which supplied a pond 75 yards across. The water is sul- phurous in taste and rises with a temperature of 62° F. Sand Springs, one-third mile northward, are no doubt of the same origin, but the flow is less, being, as nearly as could be measured, about 1| inches. The nearness of these springs to the sand dunes is shown in PI. IX, C. DEEPER ALLUVIAL WATER. It has been stated in preceding pages that wells along the edges of the valley show that basalt there underlies the sediments at shallow depths. The low dips of the beds in the surrounding basalts, and a basaltic ridge that extends southward from Bunchgrass Butte, indi- cate that the lake sediments are not very deep at any point in the valley, nor do extensive alluvial slopes exist along its sides. So, while a larger supply of better water than, that of the present shallow wells may be found deeper below the surface, it does not seem probable that flowing wells can be developed in the lake sediments of this valley. U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 220 PL. X Goose Xake WElMMMMEK nTnjTnTjTTjiij^^ 1 1 HITPTPT lS ^mVri!iiiViiliViiVi'iiTTTiTT u - L Silver Creek CHRISTMAS T'l lll'l'l I I I i I I llll i I li in-i l li lilnS-TT-rnTTtTTTT fn-i i i n 1 1 m i ito^."-' ..-yqaiiTiTT^TTTmiTiiTTO il l 1 1 1 mill I I TTTTfJ^ ^T^TrVitfijP /,'■ ■ :■■ -~ ^Tfnrffi? - 4+00 ]]1— 3600 Horizontal scale n L1LT1U Recent eruptives Lake and stream deposits APPROXIMATE GEOLOGIC SECTIONS ALONG LINES SHOWN ON PL. VI. D-D', Cross ssction through Goose Lake Valley. E-E', Cross section through South Warner Valley F-F' , Cross sections through Chewaucan Marsh, Lake Abert, and Warner Valley. G-G', H-H' ', Cross sections through Christmas Lake Valley. CHRISTMAS LAKE VALLEY. 67 ROCK WATER. Structural conditions. — The structural conditions affecting the exist- ence of flowing artesian water in the rocks underlying this valley may be stated briefly as follows: All along the valley's southern border the lava sheets dip uniformly toward the valley at low angles; on the eastern side also the slope is gentle toward the valley. The structure to the north is largely obscured by the -recent lava flows, but the older beds appear to be nearly horizontal; as exposed where they form the slopes to the sink of Peter Creek, however, they also appear to dip slightly toward the valley. On the west the Conley Hills and the eastward-dipping tuff ridge near Table Rock probably separate Christmas Lake Valley structurally from Silver Lake Valley. Within the valley itself there are at least two irregularities in the shallow basinlike structure. From Bunchgrass Butte a low basalt ridge extends southward toward the projecting scarp on the opposite side of the valley, and in Sevenmile Ridge there is a similar low peninsulalike ridge, but of tuff, pointing toward isolated blocks of the same material on the north side of the valley. In the tentative sec- tions (PI. X) the structure as interpreted is shown. From these features it appears that in addition to the general low synclinal structure of the valley as a whole there is also a tendency toward folding along axes trending north and south. If this inter- pretation is correct the valley is divided into three shallow basins, the eastern basin being that of Fossil Lake, the central that of Christ- mas Lake, and the third the desert west and northwest of Sevenmile Ridge. Favorable indications. — These minor secondary folds probably do not affect the likelihood of the existence of artesian water, for they are slight, and tend only to divide the valley, not to prevent the percola- tion toward it of deep water. The valley as a whole is a structural trough, and therefore the chances of obtaining deep water under pressure seem favorable. The absence of extensive faulting is also a condition which is favorable to the presence of rock water under pres- sure and which was not found in the southern valleys. As before stated, the temperature of Mound Spring is 62°, while the mean annual temperature of the valley is about 44°. Assuming the usual increase of temperature with depth as 1° F. for each 50 feet, the water of this spring probably rises from a depth of 900 feet. The presence of this warm spring, and possibly also the same tem- perature of the well at Christmas Lake, must be taken as indicating that deep water under pressure does exist under this valley. In the Connell-Ritzville district, in east-central Washington/' water is obtained at an average depth of 325 to 400 feet, in decomposed or a Calkins, F. C, Geology and water resources of a portion of east-central Washington: Water-Sup. Paper No. 118, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1905, pp. 69-75. 68 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF PART OF OREGON. fragmental basalt. None of the wells have been eased, but in several artesian pressure causes the water to rise a considerable height above the level at which it is struck, and it probably would rise to the sur- face if properly tapped. This is in a very gently sloping area, the dip of the beds being hardly appreciable to the eye. It is thought that the water of the district must come from a long distance, from the higher northwestern country, to attain the pressure that it has. Such a condition exists on a larger scale in the northern Mississippi Valley, where the surface exposure of the water-bearing Dakota sandstone is found many miles from the artesian localities. The Pauline Mountains lie about 30 miles north of Christmas Lake Valley. About the same distance west of Silver Lake Valley is the Walker Range, an eastern spur of the Cascades. Neither of these ranges was visited, but they are thought to consist of the same series of basalts that cover most of Lake County, and it seems not improb- able that the rocks dip from them toward Christmas Lake and Silver Lake valleys, and that an underground water supply such as exists in central Washington may reach these valleys from those sources. On the whole, while the data concerning the underground condi- tions within these two valleys are meager, the indications in favor of the existence of deep waters are sufficient to warrant the sinking of test wells. This matter has been seriously considered, especially since the settlement of Christmas Lake Valley. During the fall of 1906 it seemed about to assume definite shape, and it is hoped that work on a deep boring will soon be begun. ALKALI LAKE VALLEY. One other valley, that of Alkali Lake (PI. VII, B, p. 26), in the northeastern part of the county, was examined in some detail. This valley is about 20 miles long from north to south and about one- fourth as wide, being partially divided into two basins by the spur of hills north of the play a known as Alkali Lake. In each of the basins the surface is nearly level, its chief irregularities being the sand ridges or the hillocks of fine silts previously described. The area around the lake is for the most part a greasewood flat, in which the alkali is very evident ; during storms the soil becomes a slippery mud that, on drying, is caked by the soda salts to a hardpan surface. In North Alkali there is some better looking land, but it is rather "spotty," being in some places loose and sandy, with a good growth of sage, and in other places a hard, fine -silt with but a scanty covering of greasewood. On the east the basin is bordered by a scarp which is 1,200 feet in height in its southern portion, but which dies out toward the upper end of the depression. In other directions the basalt slopes rise gently to the higher desert plateau. ALKALI LAKE VALLEY. 69 Through Venator Canyon on the northeast and a gorge at the northern end gravels have been brought down from the slopes of Little Juniper Mountain, and in the northwestern arm of the valley flood waters have deposited coarse sands and gravels, but elsewhere only fine sands and sediments are to be seen. The only house in this valley is on the west edge of Alkali Lake. It is a usual stopping place for travelers and range riders, and although permanently occupied by tenants who care for stock on the surround- ing range, no attempt has been made at agriculture, for the soil is too alkaline. In the looser soil at the north end of North Alkali Valley a few acres were cleared by a prospective settler, and grain raised ; but attempts to get water failed, several wells reaching basalt at shallow depths, and the claim has been abandoned. The only spring of importance in this valley is that at the west edge of Alkali Lake, at the only ranch house in the valley, and it has long been known as the only watering place within a radius of 20 miles. It is said that in early days the pool where this spring rises was only 3 or 4 feet in diameter, but of great depth, and that range riders in attempting to sound it let down a weight several hundred feet without reaching bottom This is the usual legend about desert springs of this character and probably has no foundation in fact. Several years ago a levee was built around the spring to raise its water level and obtain better run-off to the lake, and a pond about 15 yards in diam- eter was thus formed. In this a weight could be lowered only 15 feet. The temperature of the water in this pond (59°), which is probably less than when it first rises, indicates that it is of deep origin, however; according to previously used assumptions, it comes from a depth of 700 to 800 feet. Small fish live in the pool. In October, 1906, this spring discharged from 2 to 2\ miner's inches, which is its average summer flow, but during the winter its yield is said to be somewhat greater. The water has been reported to contain borax, but although it was not tested for borates, the analysis (sample A, p. 72) shows it to contain only 28 parts of solid matter in 100,000 parts of water, all of which is accounted for in the salts determined. In North Alkali Valley there is a play a whose surface is about 12 feet below the mean level of the basin. This depression is probably a " blow-out" that has been carved in the lake sediments by wind erosion. Along its northern side, during the spring and early summer, seepage springs furnish water for the range cattle, but they dry up later in the season. Similar springs appear along the northern edge of Alkali Lake after storms and sometimes during periods of cool, cloudy weather. The fluctuation of these springs is of interest in showing the summer lowering of the ground-water level and its 70 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF PART OF OREGON. changes due to weather conditions, as well as in indicating a seepage flow southward toward the lake, as would be expected. Several auger holes that were put down in the valley filling in North Alkali Valley to a depth of 18 or 20 feet show it to be composed of fine silts interbedded with sands, as in Christmas Lake Valley; the water level in November, 1906, was about 15 feet below the surface. As in the other valleys, water of better quality than that near the surface probably is present near the bottom of the sediments in this basin. But the evidence of extensive faulting along the eastern side of the depression, as at Abert Lake, indicates that deep rock water under artesian head does not underlie this region, and therefore, even if the land were not for the most part too alkaline for agriculture, cheap water for the necessary irrigation would not be available. Hence it seems improbable that more than a few scattered homes can ever be established here. RECLAMATION PROJECTS. One-third of the entire area of the United States (exclusive of Alaska and outlying territories) is still vacant public land. But nearly all of this that is susceptible of being tilled lies within the arid regions, or those having an average annual rainfall of less than 20 inches ; and there are now in these regions few localities where homes can be easily made, owing to the great cost of developing water. It is for this reason that the Reclamation Service has been established, to aid in settling and rendering productive the great arid tracts, by con- structing dams, reservoirs, and canals to supply the needful water for irrigation. a Much of the valley land of Lake County was temporarily withdrawn from entry a year or more ago, pending the examination of the Silver Lake, Chewaucan, and Ana River reclamation projects. Part of the a The following extracts from the reclamation law, approved June 17, 1902, contain its main terms and provisions: "Sec. 1. * * * All moneys received from the sale and disposal of public lands in Arizona, Cali- fornia, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming * * * shall be * * * appropriated as a special fund in the Treasury to be known as the ' reclamation fund ' to be used in the examination and survey for and the construction and maintenance of irrigation works for the storage, diversion, and development of waters for the reclamation of arid and semiarid lands in the said States and Terri- tories. * * *." "Sec. 3. That the Secretary of the Interior shall * * * withdraw from public entry the lands required for any irrigation works contemplated under the provisions of this act, and shall restore to public entry any of the lands so withdrawn when, in his judgment, such lands are not required for the purposes of this act; and the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized, at or immediately prior to the time of beginning the surveys for any contemplated irrigation works, to withdraw from entry, except under the homestead laws, any public lands believed to be susceptible of irrigation from said works; * * * that public lands which it is proposed to irrigate by means of any contemplated works shall be subject to entry only under the provisions of the homestead laws in tracts of not less than forty nor more than one hundred and sixty acres, and shall be subject to the limitations, charges, terms, and conditions herein provided: Provided, That the commutation provisions of the homestead laws shall not apply to entries made under this act. "Sec. 4. That upon the determination by the Secretary of the Interior that any irrigation project is practicable, he may cause to be let contracts for the construction of the same * * * and * * * RECLAMATION AND SOILS. 71 land in Christmas Lake Valley was again restored and opened to entry in September, 1906, but the greater part of the vacant land susceptible of irrigation under these three projects is still withdrawn. These projects are necessarily only tentative, and until several years" meas- urements of the streams indicate the supply of water that can be de- pended upon no further action can be taken. Here, as elsewhere, the Government has taken an important prelim- inary step toward conserving the water supply by creating the Goose Lake and Fremont forest reserves, for (with the possible exception of Ana River) all the streams are fed from the wooded mountain slopes, where protection and conservation of the scanty supply of moisture is of the utmost importance to any proposed irrigation project. Under the provisions of the Carey Act a the construction of a reser- voir on the upper Chewaucan River and irrigation of much of the lower land has been considered, but nothing has yet been done. SOILS. ANALYSES. Samples of the soil and water were collected at several places in the county and were analyzed by Mr. W. H. Heileman, engineer of soils at Berkeley, Cal. The soils were taken from near the surface of the uncultivated lands, which at the time the samples were collected (in October) probably contained their maximum amount of alkaline salts, so they are not fair samples. They were taken thus on the assumption that after the dry summer months the soil near the surface would be the most alka- line and would indicate the extreme conditions to be met. It is to be regretted, however, that samples of the deeper soil were not obtained, in order that the question whether there is a great quantity of salts present and danger of their rising with irrigation and cultivation, might have been answered. shall give public notice of the lands irrigable under such project, and limit of area per entry, which limit shall represent the acreage which, in the opinion of the Secretary, may be reasonably required for the support of a family upon the lands in question; also of the charges which shall be made per acre upon the said entries, and upon lands in private ownership which may be irrigated by the waters of the said irri- gation project, and the number of annual installments, not exceeding ten, in which such charges shall be paid and the time when such payments shall commence. The said charges shall be determined with a view of returning to the reclamation fund the estimated cost of construction of the project, and shall be apportioned equitably. * * * "Sec. 5. That the entryman upon lands to be irrigated by such works shall, in addition to compliance with the homestead laws, reclaim at least one-half of the total irrigable area of his entry for agricultural purposes, and before receiving patent for the lands covered by his entry, shall pay to the Government the charges apportioned against such tract, as provided in section four." * * * a According to the Carey Act of 1894, the United States may grant and patent to any of the arid States or Territories, free of cost, a total area not exceeding 1,000,000 acres which "the State may cause to be irrigated, reclaimed, occupied, and not less than twenty acres of each one hundred and sixty acre tract cultivated by actual settlers, * * - * as thoroughly as is required of citizens who may enter under the desert-land law." After filing an approved map of the land and plan of irrigation, the State is authorized to make necessary contracts and induce settlement, but is not authorized to lease the lands or dispose of them in any way except to secure reclamation. A maximum of 160 acres can be held by one person, and the surplus over cost of reclamation, derived from the sale, is to be held as a trust fund to be applied to the reclamation of other lands in the same State. 72 GEOLOGY AND WATEKS OE PAET OF OREGON. Following are the results of the soil and water analyses : Table A. — Alkali content of water extract on surface soils of Lake County, Oreg. [Figured as sodium salts. Amounts are percentages. W. H. Heileman, analyst.] No. Locality. Water- soluble salts in soil. Sodium chloride. Sodium bicar- bonate. Sodium sulphate. Sodium carbon- ate. 1 1.12 .19 2.85 .17 .18 2.46 .09 .08 .06 0.30 .02 .75 .02 .03 .30 .01 .02 .02 0.22 .07 .07 .09 .08 .08 .05 .03 .04 0.59 .11 2.03 .07 .07 2.08 0.02 o 3 4 One-half mile south of Christmas Lake Well No. 21 :.. 5 6 7 8 q Table B. — Plant-food analyses of soils represented in Table A. [Results are in per cent on air-dry soil. Analysis acid extract; Official Association method. W. H. Heileman, analyst] No. Insolu- ble resi- due. Mois- ture. Organic and vol- atile. Calcium (CaO). Phos- phoric acid (P 2 5 ). Potash (K 2 0). 1 73.45 77.68 66.62 73.22 78.67 58.07 79.14 79.24 76.85 1.89 2.79 3.61 3.23 2.30 4.20 1.97 2.56 2.33 6.50 3.23 5.80 4.08 5.00 10.96 3.65 4.22 4.59 5.65 1.51 5.17 2.51 1.88 10.70 1.41 3.16 1.06 0.18 .14 .19 .05 .11 .38 .13 .12 .11 1.11 2 .73 3 1.01 4 .51 5 .30 6 .56 7 .54 8 .51 9 .56 Table C. — Analyses of waters from southern Oregon. [W. H. Heileman, analyst.] A. B. C. D. E. F. Total solids « 28.00 10.00 36.8 235. 00 432.80 22.00 1.33 .82 8.24 2.90 .00 16.66 3.44 .00 1.28 .51 1.38 .17 .00 4.40 .61 .00 2.24 1.70 8.35 2.51 .00 25.30 1.97 .00 5.56 4.80 70.00 88.00 .00 78.80 15.25 Trace. 8.20 8.20 128. 50 204. 00 .00 44.10 57.40 Trace. 1.18 6.10 Sodium and potassium (Na+ K) 5.48 Sulphate (S0 4 ) 1.24 Carbonate (C0 3 ) .00 11.60 Chlorine (CI) 3.94 Nitrate (N0 3 ) .00 Total solids by summa- 33.39 8.35 42.07 262. 41 450. 40 29.54 a In a letter accompanying the above analyses Mr. Heileman states that "Total solids " means total mineral solids "determined by evaporating a known portion of the clear water to dryness and weigh- ing the residue. In an evaporation there is always a loss of certain acid radicles, principally carbon- ate and bicarbonate, or at least a change in these two radicles. The effect of this is to make the total solids as directly determined lower in parts than is the summary of the analysis. There is good ground for assuming that the difference between total solids and the summary of the analysis is due to a loss in the bicarbonates in the total solids determination." A. Spring at Alkali Lake. B. Stream at A. Eglis's, Wagontire Mountain. C. Well of J. Wilson, near Fossil Lake. D. Well of J. C. Green, near Fossil Lake. E. Well of John Ross, Christmas Lake Valley. F. Springs of Ana River. SOIL CONSTITUENTS. 73 The most noticeable facts shown by these analyses are the absence of carbonates in the waters and in all the soils except that of Thousand Spring Valley, and the high sulphate content, to which salt the bicar- bonate and chloride are of secondary importance. The three soils having highest sulphate content (samples 1, 3, and 6) are also the highest in chloride, containing percentages of these white alkalis that are considered to be the limit of tolerance for nearly any crop. For ordinary crops this limit is usually placed at 0.05 to 0.10 per cent for the carbonate of soda and 0.25 to 0.50 per cent for the chloride, while nearly 1 per cent of the sulphate may be endured. So it is seen that, with the exception of sample No. 1 (from J. H. Bonham's ranch, in Thousand Spring Valley), which has been found by trial too alka- line for plant growth, and Nos. 3 and 6, which were taken from evidently alkaline areas, the surface soils do not contain enough of the alkalis to be seriously detrimental. SOIL CONSTITUENTS. In Hilgard's recent work on soils the effects of the several valuable constituents of the soil, as well as of the alkalies, are fully treated. From his deductions the following extracts are taken: a INSOLUBLE RESIDUE. About 69 per cent has been found to be -the general average of insoluble matter in soils of arid regions throughout the United States. This consists chiefly of free silica (quartz), but the hydrous silicates, forming most of the material known as clays, are also usually included under this head. With this proportion the soils analyzed are seen to agree fairly well. LIME. Physically even a small amount of lime carbonate, by its solubility in the carbon- ated soil water, will act most beneficially in causing the flocculation of clay and in the subsequent conservation of the flocculent or tilth condition by acting as a light cement, holding the soil crumbs together when the capillary water has evaporated, thus favoring the penetration of both water and air and of the roots themselves. * * * Amounts of lime carbonate in excess of 2 per cent do not add to the favorable effects, except as would so much sand. As to chemical effects, among the most important are — 1. The maintenance of the neutrality of the soil by the neutralization of acids formed by the decay of organic matter or otherwise. 2. The maintenance, in connection with the proper degrees of moisture and warmth, of the conditions of abundant bacterial life, * * * more especially those of nitri- fication, thus supplying the readily assimilable form of nitrogen; also in favoring the development and activity of the root bacteria of legumes and of the other nitrogen- gathering bacteria, such as Azotobacter. * * * 3. The rendering available, directly or indirectly, of relatively small percentages of plant food, notably phosphoric acid and potash. * * * 4. The prompt conversion of vegetable matter into black, neutral humus and (as shown in the case of the soils of the arid region) the concentration of the nitrogen in a Hilgard, E. W., Soils, The Macmillan Company, 1906, p. 379 et seq. 74 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF PART OF OREGON. the same, while accelerating the oxidation of the carbon and hydrogen, as shown by S. W. Johnson and others. ******* 7. In alkali soils, according to Cameron and May, it counteracts the injurious action of the soluble salts upon the growth of plants, not only in the form of carbon, ate, but also in those of sulphate and chloride. An average arid-region soil as given by Mercker, Halle station, Germany, contains 1.36 per cent lime, 0.73 per cent potash, and 0.12 per cent phosphoric acid. For a "good" soil he gives the lime (in a sandy soil) at 0.20 to 0.30 per cent; potash, 0.25 to 0.40 per cent; phosphoric acid, 0.15 to 0.25 per cent; from which it is seen that the arid soils are usually low in phosphoric acid but high in lime and potash. With these results the soil analyses (Table B, p. 72) are seen to compare fairly well, being (with the exception of No. 6) rather low in phosphoric acid but high in lime. Sample No. 6 contains a very high lime content — too high, in fact, as it may cause marliness and render the soil unfavorable to plant growth unless properly handled. In general, however, the results of these analyses are satisfactory, showing the soils to be not far different from those of other fertile though arid valleys. They are well supplied with lime, potash, and organic matter, but are rather low in phosphoric acid. SALTS PRESENT. Around the lake edges and some playas of the higher lands efflores- cent saline crusts form. Ten of these were analyzed to determine the proportion of the several salts present, and the results are given in the following table: Tests on alkali samples (mostly crusts). [Results show percentage, figured on material analyzed. W. H. Heileman, analyst.] Calculated as sodium salt. Sulphates No. Locality. (S0 4 ), Qualitative Carbon- ates Bicar- bonates Chlorine (01). Sodium Sodium bicarbon- (NaHCOa). Sodium only except (C0 3 ). (HCO3). carbonate chloride No. 7. (Na 2 C0 3 ). (NaCl). 1 East, side Summer Lake. Heavy 14.28 b.93 0.51 25.28 13.50 0.84 2 South end Christ- mas Lake. do 6.02 4 65 .38 10.65 6.32 .63 3b West side Alkali Flat. do 6.74 4.66 6.23 11. 93 6.34 10.28 4 Edge of pool in Al- kali Flat. do 14.64 9.07 15.35 25.90 12.33 25.31 5 Center of Alkali Flat. do 3.74 8.77 .71 6.62 11.92 1.17 6 Eastern pool north- west of Christmas Lake. Very heavy. .60 .13 2.25 1.06 .18 3.71 7 Western pool northwest of (c) Christmas Lake. 8 Efflorescence in "Sucker Flat." Heavy .18 .30 1.67 .32 .41 2.75 9 Playa in North Al- kali. do 8.07 6.43. 5.15 14.28 8.74 8.50 10 North end Lake Abert. do 22.40 10.24 1.54 39.65 13.92 2.54 a Hilgard, Soils, p. 369. b An acid extract showed heavy lime-carbonate content. c Practically pure sodium sulphate (99 + per cent). ALKALINE SOILS. 75 From these analyses it is seen that the sulphate of soda (Glauber's salt) is the most abundant in all these deposits, as it is in the soils themselves. The crust that forms over the playa of Alkali Lake is occasionally used as stock salt. As before stated, borax claims have been located in this flat, but analysis of the material shows it to consist, as else- where, of the sulphate, carbonates, and chloride of soda; there can be but little borax (biborate of soda) in this deposit. The pools about 10 miles northwest of Christmas Lake, from which samples Nos. 6 and 7 were obtained, are shown in PI. Ill, C (p. 10). The salt, No. 7, is also used for stock, but sometimes with injurious effects on the animals; nor is this to be wondered at, when analysis shows it to be nearly pure Glauber's salt. ALKALINE SOILS. The proper treatment of alkaline soils and the methods of farming in arid regions are treated in several bulletins of the Department of Agriculture," but a short discussion of the subject may not be out of place here. THE ALKALIES AND THEIR EFFECTS. The three chief salts known as alkali are the chloride, sulphate, and carbonate of soda, called respectively common salt, Glauber's salt, and sal soda. The two former are the white alkalies, while the latter is known as black alkali, since it turns organic matter with which it comes into contact brown or black. Borax also sometimes occurs as an alkali, but it is by no means as common as the others. The nitrate and phosphate of soda and the sulphate of potash also occur in nearly all soils, but as nutritive salts, essential to plant life, not as injurious ones. Plants vary greatly in the amount of alkali they will endure. Members of the Goosefoot family, which includes the saltbushes and beets, will stand much of all three salts, while the legumes (peas and beans) resent small amounts of either. Common salt and Glauber's salt are by no means as harmful as the black alkali. In general — * * * when present in soils to the exclusion of other salts, 0.05 per cent of sodium carbonate represents about the upper limit of concentration for common crops. One- half of 1 per cent of sodium chloride is commonly regarded as the endurance limit of crops, and 1 per cent of sodium sulphate. Sodium sulphate, then, is the least injurious and sodium carbonate the most injurious of the salts usually constituting the greater part of alkali under ordinary field conditions, while sodium chloride occupies a middle position. & a The following Farmers' Bulletins treat of subjects of especial interest to those living in the arid regions: No. 52, The Sugar Beet, 48 pp.; No. 77, The Liming of Soils, 24 pp.; No. 88, Alkali Lands, 23 pp.; No. 10S, Saltbushes, 20 pp.; No. 139, Emmer: A Grain for the Semiarid Regions, 16 pp.; No. 215, Alfalfa Growing, 40 pp.; No. 266, Management of Soils to Conserve Moisture, 30 pp. These may be obtained free on application to the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. & Dorsey, Clarence W., "Reclamation of alkali soils: Bull. No. 34, Bureau of Soils, U. S. Dept. Agri- culture, 1906, p. 10. 76 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF PART OF OREGON. The chloride and sulphate seem to act largely by their presence in excess in the sap, reducing the vitality of the plant. The carbonate, attacking the bark of stalks and roots just beneath the surface, blackens it and makes it spongy, virtuall} 7 ; girdling the tree or plant. This salt also has the property of puddling the soil when much mois- ture is present, and forms a hardpan surface. The effect on plant life of the bicarbonates, which are also present in considerable amount, is but little understood, but it is not in gen- eral considered to be detrimental. Analyses of soils made by Heileman both before and after prolonged irrigation indicate that by flooding methods of irrigation the bicar- bonates are to some extent changed to carbonates, seeming to show that the carbonate salts are at all times unstable. Hilgard a also states that when irrigation ditches in sandy land sat- urate the soil, thus raising the water table and bringing close to the surface the entire mass of alkali salts and keeping them there for some time, " alkali salts originally 'white' Will by chemical change become 'black' by the formation of carbonate of soda from the Glauber's salt, greatly aggravating the injury to vegetation." TREATMENT OF ALKALINE SOILS. In regions of slight rainfall it is of particular importance that as much of the moisture as possible be kept in the' ground, near the surface, where it can best be taken up by plants. The prevention of evaporation is the chief object in this endeavor, and is partially accomplished by shading the ground, as in the case of alfalfa and similar crops that furnish their own shade, by mulching with straw, or by frequent cultivation to keep the upper few inches of soil in a light, porous condition, so as to prevent further rise of moisture to the surface. In arid lands brought under irrigation the increased evaporation often greatly accelerates the slower natural action of the ground waters in bringing to the surface and depositing soluble salts on evaporation, and regions formerly not alkaline, as the Yellowstone Valley near Billings, 6 may become so by excessive irrigation. Leaching down and washing out of the soil by thorough irrigation, where there is good underdrainage, is the best way of getting rid of these salts; but if the drainage is poor, the application of a minimum amount of water and cultivation to prevent its rise and evaporation is practiced to keep the salts down below the plant roots. For shallow-rooted crops, as the cereals, deep plowing, to turn the alka- line surface soil under, is also often of great benefit. a Hilgard, E. W., Nature, value, and utilization of alkali lands: Bull. No. 12S, College of Agriculture, Univ. California, 1900, p. G. b Whitney, Milton, and Means, Thomas H., The alkali soils of the Yellowstone Valley: Bull. No. 14, Division of Soils, U. S. Dept. Agriculture, 1898. ALKALINE SOILS. 77 The chloride and sulphate can not be neutralized, but by the application of gypsum (land plaster) the carbonate may be changed to the comparatively harmless sulphate. Theoretically the amount of gypsum to be applied should be one- third more in weight than the amount of soda in the land, but owing to impurities in the commercial material about twice the theoretical amount is necessary to neutralize all of the soda. It is not necessary to apply it all at once, but this should be done when rains or irriga- tion will carry the gypsum down and bring it into contact with the sodium carbonate. The gypsum also changes any borax that may be present to the harmless borate of lime. Two hundred pounds to the acre is an ordinary treatment, the effect being noticeable in two or three days by the disappearance of the discolored spots. If in any of the valleys of Lake County it should be found desirable to use gypsum on parts of the land, it can probably be best obtained at Lime, on the eastern border of the State, where there is a deposit of good quality, as yet but little exploited. Almost all of the alkaline salts are contained in the upper 4 or 5 feet of soil, and in level unirrigated lands they are often concentrated in the second or third foot. The amount of alkaline salts in a region is thus limited, and, aside from underdraining, may often be directly removed by collecting the crust by sweeping or with scrapers, and sometimes by planting and harvesting varieties of salt bush. Some of these take up nearly one-fifth of their dry weight of salts (mostly common salt), and hence materially reduce the alkaline content of the land. CONDITIONS IN LAKE COUNTY. It has been shown that throughout the valley lands of Lake County the chief alkali is the sulphate. The excess of lime in the soil, as has been stated, will to some extent compensate this, and with proper care in irrigating and plowing, it should not cause serious trouble. Neither are troubles from excessive irrigation and rise of the ground- water level apt to be serious in the valleys of Lake County, because of the fairly low present water level and the improbability of devel- opment of water to such an extent that it will be used lavishly. From the beginning, however, rather careful irrigation and cultivation immediately afterwards, is advisable, as the salts are much more easily kept down than gotten rid of when they have collected in serious amount. The high productiveness of the arid lands when brought under cultivation, and the noxious salts removed or kept down, makes them valuable and well worth reclaiming; hence they are receiving more and more attention as other vacant lands become scarcer. 78 GEOLOGY AND WATEES OF PART OF OREGON. CROPS ADAPTABLE TO ALKALINE SOILS. Alfalfa when well started will stand a considerable amount of alkali, but the seed is extremely sensitive to black alkali, and is often killed before germination unless gypsum is used in sowing. Sugar beets are also adaptable to alkaline lands. Glauber's salt little affects their sugar-making quality, and a relatively large amount of common salt is required to render them unfit for this purpose. The cereals wheat, rye, and barley also resist moderate amounts of alkali. Root plants, however, such as potatoes, do not do well as a rule, tending to become watery when grown in alkaline ground. Of fruits, there are few that will grow on the desert tracts where alkali, drought, and frost must to a greater or less extent be endured; but of those suitable to regions subject to frosts grapes, pears, and apples will stand the greatest amount of alkali. Of other trees, for shade or wood, the conifers (pines, firs, cedars, etc.) are very sensi- tive to black alkali and will not endure much white alkali, hence they are usually debarred from the lower valleys of arid regions. Cotton- woods will grow where water is near the surface, but they can not withstand drought. Other trees, as the red gum, which will with- stand strong alkali, are susceptible to frost. Thus it is that, although pines, junipers, and cottonwoods are found along the margins, they do not grow native in the main parts of such valle} T s, which are given over to sage and salt bushes. COST OF DEEP WELLS. As few deep wells have been sunk in southern Oregon, there is among the settlers no definite idea of what such a well may cost. Figures showing the cost in other localities are therefore here intro- duced to indicate what may be expected in this matter. In unconsolidated alluvial materials wells are often bored to depths of 50 feet or more, and up to 3 feet in diameter, with forms of the earth auger or lipped bucket. Such an outfit was used successfully in Christmas Lake Valley in the summer and fall of 1906 to put down several wells. This method, of course, can not be used in compacted or coarse material. In deeper gravels and sands the California or " stovepipe" method is extensively used. In this method short sections of riveted steel pipe from 8 to 14 inches or more in diameter are sunk by hydraulic jacks, sometimes to a depth of more than 1,000 feet. The material within the casing is removed with a sand bucket or sand pump as the sink- ing proceeds, and the casing is perforated at water-bearing strata by a heavy cutting knife. This method is much used in southern California and in San Joaquin Valley in central California. COST OF DEEP WELLS. 79 The following tables, taken from Water-Supply Paper No. 137 of the United States Geological Survey, indicate the usual costs of such wells near Santa Ana, Cal. : Cost, per foot, of drilling wells. 4-inch. 5-inch. 6-inch. 7-inch. 8-inch. 9i-inch. 10-inch. First 100 feet SO. 30 .25 10. 30 .25 50. 35-. 40 . 20-. 30 SO. 40 . 20-. 35 50. 40-. 50 . 20-. 35 SO. 60-. 65 . 20-. 35 SO. 65 Additional for each 50-foot increase .35 Following is the general price per foot of riveted steel casing made up into 2-foot joints of the sizes and gages generally used. The price varies, of course, with the steel market. Cost of well easing. Diameter in inches Gage. Price per foot. Diameter in inches. Gage. Price per foot. 4 16 14 16 14 16 14 16 14 SO. 32 .38 .35 .a .42 .50 .48 .55 8 16 14 12 16 14 12 $0.55 4 8 .64 5 8 .78 5... 9J. .. .65 6 94 .75 6... 91-. .94 7 7 10 10 16 14 .68 .78 N It should be remembered that these prices are for the material near centers of population; in a region like southern Oregon, therefore, the freight would make the cost considerably greater. The hydraulic method has been successfully used in fine sediments where other methods have failed. A powerful jet of water just below the casing loosens the material and carries it upward out of the hole, so that by adding joints at the top the string of casing is rapidly sunk into the silts. Often a 4-inch well can be sunk to a depth of 400 or 500 feet, cleaned out, and perforated in a couple of days. These wells are usually sunk by contract, cased and ready for use, for about $1 a foot. For penetrating rock, however, the oil rig, using a heavy drill bit alternately raised and dropped, is the only practical well-drilling out- fit. The following costs of drilling in other localities are given to show what may be expected in Lake County if deep drilling is at- tempted. In southeastern Washington the following prices rule: a The charges for well drilling in the southern part of the wheat lands [of Washington] are as follows: In soil, gravel, etc., above basalt, 50 cents a foot; in rock (which is generally in great part massive basalt, though other varieties after the first basalt is struck are not differentiated), $2.25 per foot for the first 300 feet, and 50 cents per foot a Calkins, F. C, Geology and water resources of a portion of east-central Washington: Water- Supply Paper No. 118, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1905, p. 60. 80 GEOLOGY AND WATEES OF- PART OF OREGON. additional for each 100 feet below that depth. Water for the engine, coal, and board for the outfit are furnished by the owner of the ranch. In the vicinity of Ritzville [Washington] the terms are slightly higher. For the first 300 feet there the charge is $2.50, and 50 cents higher for each additional 50 feet. On these terms, however, the driller furnishes coal, the cost of which is estimated at about 25 cents for each foot drilled in basalt. In all cases water is guaranteed, and the risk of losing tools (which generally also necessitates abandoning the hole) is borne by the driller. The average cost of a well at these rates is probably not far from $800, though it reaches a maximum of over $2,000. "Stovepipe" wells can probably be sunk with success in Summer Lake and Goose Lake valleys, and possibly also in those of Silver and Christmas lakes. But in the latter two, if drilling for deep water be attempted, the country rock, basalt, will be met beneath the sedi- ments, and will probably have to be penetrated some distance before rock water, if such occurs, is struck. The idea, to some extent preva- lent, that water will be found "if one only goes deep enough" is a fallacy; and if the bottom of the basaltic series should be reached and more siliceous rock encountered, like the rhyolite of Gray Butte or of Horning Bend, work might as well be stopped, for there is little hope of striking water-bearing strata in such rock. It is improbable, however, that such material will be encountered in these valleys at depths to which drilling is apt to be carried. SUMMARY. The reclamation of the fertile lands in eastern Oregon will depend on the available supply of water, for, as President Roosevelt said in his first message to Congress in 1901, "In the arid region it is water, not land, which measures production." On this account there will probably always remain some fertile land, as in the southwestern part of the United States, irreclaimable for lack of water. While in some parts of the arid regions dry farming of grain is carried on with more or less success, it is improbable that it can profitably be followed in the valleys that have been under discussion. The supply of surface (stream) water available for irrigation in Lake County is fairly well known, and should it be developed it will by no means be sufficient to irrigate all of the arable land. The underground supply is as yet unknown, but on the whole, as has been shown, the indications seem favorable to the development of such water in the valleys of Silver, Christmas, and Summer lakes at least. The reclamation of these valleys will not only increase the agri- cultural wealth of the State, but its stock-raising interests will also be greatly benefited. In severe winters the supply of wild hay from the marshes is- very inadequate, and many head of stock perish every year from hunger and exposure. SUMMAEY. 81 Grain, alfalfa, and sugar beets promise to be the chief crops in the valleys, and it seems that for several years to come nearly all produce will find a home market. The rocky high deserts will probably never be fit for other than grazing purposes, but if feed can be raised in the valleys, to carry greater numbers of sheep and cattle through the severe weather, the winter losses will be decreased and many more head of stock can be ranged in the country. The scarcity of water on the high deserts during the summer (when it is sometimes 30 miles between water holes) will remain a drawback to the grazing of cattle and sheep over these areas during this season. In other regions, as in Texas, wells have been sunk at intervals of 8 or 10 miles, and wind- mills and troughs supply this deficiency. But until tests have first been made in the more favorable localities, it can not be said whether it is possible or feasible thus to supply water on the Oregon plateaus. 48133— irr 220—08 6 INDEX. A. Abert Lake, alkali near, test of 74 bluffs bordering 10 changes in 38 drainage to 31, 40, 41 evaporation from 40 scarp and landslide area near, view of . . . 12 section of, figure showing 66 view of 50 water of, analysis of 13 Abert Lake basin, description of 51-52 Abrams, Le Roy, plants identified by 17 Acidic eflusives, character and distribu- tion of 22 Acknowledgments to those aiding 8 Agriculture, character of 19 Alkali, assays of 74 nature and effects of 75-76 presence of : 11-14, 74-75 Alkali Flat, alkali at, tests of 74 Alkali Lake, alkali at, use of 74 hills near, view of 10 sink near, view of 10 view of 26 water of, analysis of 72 Alkali Lake valley, bluffs bordering 10 description of 38,68-70 soil of, analysis of 72 springs in 69-70 Alkaline soils, crops adapted to 78 treatment of 75, 76-77 Alkaline water, electrolytic tests of 13 Alluvium, occurrence and character of 25 water supply and, relation of ■ 25 Analyses of soils, table of 71 of waters, discussion of 66 table of 72 Ana River, description of 32 flow of 40, 41-42 source of 32. 54, 55-56- springs of 32, 54. 55-56 water of, analysis of 72 Ana River project, status of 70-71 Andesite, occurrence and character of 22 Animal life, character of 17 Antelope Valley, description of 52 Artesian conditions, occurrence of 45- 46,56-57,58-59,67 B. Basalt, occurrence and character of 23 water in 47, 55 Basaltic eff usives, character and distribu- tion of 23-24 Beais, E. A., on Oregon climate 14 Bear Creek, description of 32 flow of 34, 35, 40 Block structure, occurrence of 25 origin of 28 plates showing 50, 60 Bluffs. See Scarps. Bonham, J. H., irrigation by 54 Bridge Creek, description of 31-32 flow of 34, 35, 40 Buckhorn Creek, origin of 54 Bullard Creek, flow of 39 Burns, well near 48 C. California , artesian water in 46 Carey Act, project under 71 Casing, well, cost of 79 Chatard, T. M., on Abert Lake 13 Chewaucan Marsh, bluffs bordering 10 evaporation from 41 section of, figure showing 66 Chewaucan Marsh valley, description of 52-53 origin of 53 Chewaucan project, status of 70-71 Chewaucan River, description of 31 flow of 33, 35, 40, 55 Chrisman, F. M., well of 58 Christmas Lake, alkali at, test of 74, 75 ground water near 65 springs at 66 Christmas Lake valley, agriculture in 61 artesian possibilities in 67 borings in 63-65 burned area in, view of 58 description of 59-68 drainage of 33 ground waters in 63-65, 66 character of 65-66 pumping in 62 reservoirs in 62-63 irrigation in 61-63 lakes in 11-12 map of 60 pools in, view of 10 rock waters in 67-68 sagebrush in, view of 58 sand hills in 11 section of, figure showing 66 settlement in 59-60 soils of, analyses of 72 springs in 66, 67 views in 58 83 84 INDEX. Christmas Lake valley, wells in 63-65 wells in, waters of, analyses of 66, 72 Cliff (post-office) , location of 59 soil near, analysis of 72 Climate, character of 14-16 Colorado Desert, Cal., artesian water in... 45 Condon, Thomas, work of 8 Connell-Ritzville district, Washington, rock water in 67-68 Cope, E. D., work of 8 Cottonwood Creek, description of 32 flow of 39 Conley Hills, structure of 59 Coyote Creek, description of 31, 52 flow of 35, 40 Coyote Hills, gold in 20 Crater Lake, evaporation from 41 Crooked Creek, description of 31 flow of 35, 41 Crooks Peak, altitude of 9 Crops, nature of 16-17, 19, 78, 80-81 D. Decomposition of soil, depth of 44, 45 Deep waters, occurrence of 46, 57 relation of, to rock structure 46-48 temperature of 48 Deformation, effects of 28-29 Desert land law, provisions of 61, 62 Diller, J. S., on evaporation 41 Dorsey, C. W., on alkali 75 Drainage, lack of 9, 10 See also Streams; Lakes. Drews Creek, description of 32 flow of 39 Dry Creek, flow of , 39 E. Effusive rocks, character and distribution of 22-24 Electrolytic bridge, tests of water by 13 Elevations, data on 9 Erosion, effects of 29-30 Eruptive rocks, character and distribution of 24 Evaporation, rate of 40-42 F. Fall River, flow of 43 Faults, occurrence and character of 25-26, 28 relation of, to scarps 27 relation of, to underground water 47 Field work, extent of 7-8 Folds, occurrence and character of 26-27,28 Forests, relation of, to run-off 36-37 Forests, National, reservation of 71 Fort Douglas, Utah, evaporation at 41 Fort Rock, location and character of 23 view of 26 well near 65 Fossil Lake, sand hills near 11 settlement at 59-60 soil near, analysis of 72 springs at 59-60 wells near, water of, analyses of 72 See also Sucker Flat. Fremont, John C, exploration by 20-21 G. Page. Gannett, Henry, on evaporation 41 on Oregon lumber 19-20 Geography, description of 9 Geologic cross sections, plate showing 66 Geologic history, outline of 27-31 Geology, account of 21-31 Germany, soil of, lime in 74 Glauber's salt, effects of 75-76 Gold, discovery of 20,21 Goose Lake, bluffs bordering 10 changes in 12, 38 drainage to 32, 39, 42-43 evaporation from 40, 43 Goose Lake Valley, description of 50-51 section of, figure showing 66 springs in 51 Grazing, industry of 18-19, 80-81 Ground water, level of 44-45 supply of 80 See also particular valleys, places, etc. Gypsum, neutralization by 77 H. Harney, well near 48 Harney Basin, wells in. 48 Heileman, W. H. , analyses by 71, 76 High desert, deformation on 29 location and character of 10 sink in, view of 10 Hilgard, E. W., on soils 73-74,76 History of settlement, notes on 20-21 History, geologic, outline of 27-31 Honey Creek, description of 32-33, 49 Hydrography, description of 31-43 Hydrology, description of 43-48 I. Immigration, beginning of 21 Industries, description of 18-20 Irrigation, relation of, to alkali 76 J. Johnson Creek, flow of 40,55 source of 54 Juniper Canyon, springs in 54-55 K. Kelly Creek, flow of 39 Keno, evaporation at 41 L. Lake deposits, description of 24 Lakes, changes in 12, 30, 37-38 character and distribution of 9, 11-12 origin of 30 views of 10, 26, 50 water of, character of 12-14 Lake valleys, descriptions of 49-70 Lakeview, rainfall at 15-16, 39 springs near 51 temperature at 15 view of 18 water supply of 50 Landes, I., flow measurements by 32 Landslides, occurrence and character of 11,25 view of 12 INDEX. 85 Page. Lava, character and distribution of 11 Lime, deposition of 24 occurrence of, in soil 73-74 Lime (post-office) , gypsum at 77 Long, A. W., well of 65 Lost Cabin gold district, mining in 20 Lost Creek, description of 33 Lumbering, work of 19-20 M. Map, geologic, of Oregon Pocket. Map, index, showing location of area 7 Map, reconnaissance, of south-central Ore- gon Pocket. Mining, beginning of 20 Monoclines, relation of, to ground water 47 Moss Creek, description of 31, 52 flow of 35,40 Mound Spring, description of 66, 67 Mountains, character and distribution of . . 9 N. New Pine Creek, gold mining on 20 location of 50 North Alkali Valley, alkali in, test of 74 soil of , analysis of 72 water in 69-70 Northern desert, drainage of 33 O. Obsidan, occurrence and character of 22 Oregon, geologic map of Pocket. maps of 7, Pocket. P. Paisley, description of 52 flow at 33 weather station at 14 Pauline Marsh, description of 58 evaporation from 41 Peter Creek, description of 33, 64 soil on, analysis of 72 wells on 64-65 Physiography, development of 27-31 Plant life, effects of alkali on 75-76 Plant food, relation of, to soils 72 Playas, character and distribution of 10 Population, data on 18 Q. Quaternary lakes, history of 30-31 R. Railroads, access by 18 Rainfall, records of 14-16 relation of, to run-off 35-36 Reclamation, future of 80-81 Reclamation law, provisions of 70-71 Reclamation projects, descriptions of 70-71 Rhyolites, occurrence and character of 22 Rocks, character and age of 21-22 descriptions of 22-25 structure of 25-27 Run-off, relation of, to forests 36-37 relation of, to rainfall 35-36 Russell, I. C, on southern Oregon 30, 47 Page. Russell, I.C., work of 8 S. Sagebrush, view of 58 Salt bush, alkali removed by 77 Saltpeter, occurrence of 20 Salts. See Alkali. Sand dunes, character and distribution of. . 11 Sand Springs, description of 66 view of 58 Sandstone, occurrence of 47 Scarps, description of 9-10 origin of 28-29 relation of, to folds 27 view of 12 Settlements, description of 18 Sevenmile Ridge, borings near 65 Shallow waters, occurrence of 44-46, 56-57 Silver Creek, description of 31 flow of 34, 35, 40 Silver Lake, bluffs bordering 10 changes in 12, 37-38 drainage to 31-32 evaporation from 40, 41 flow near 34 water of, character of 14 Silver Lake (post-office) , rainfall at 15, 39 temperature at 15 wells at 58 Silver Lake project, status of 70-71 Silver Lake Valley, artesian prospects in. . . 58-59 description of 57-59 Sinks, character and distribution of 10 views of 10 Snyder, J. P., work of 8 Soda, occurrence of 20 Soils, analyses of 71 constituents of 73-75 description of 71-78 plant food in 72 See also Alkaline soils. South Warner Valley, section of, figure showing 66 Spencer, J. W., on rock decay 44 Sprague River, drainage to 32 Springs, occurrence and character of 32, 33, 41-43, 54-57, 58, 69-70 view of 58 Stock raising, industry of 18-19 Stovepipe well, description of 78-80 Streams, descriptions of 31-37 supply from 80 Structure, description of 25-27 plates showing 50. 60, Pocket. relation of, to ground water 46-48 Sucker Flat, alkali at, test of 74 settlement at 59-60 wells on 65 Summer Lake, alkali at, test of 74 bluffs along 10 changes in 38 drainage to 32, 40 evaporation from 40, 41-42 landslides near 10 name of 20 water of, character of 13-14 86 INDEX. Page. Summer Lake Valley, artesian possibilities in 56-57 description of 53-57 springs in 54-56 streams of 53-54 Synclines, relation of, to ground water 46 T. Temperature, records of 14-15 Terraces, occurrence and character of 30-31 Thorn Lake, changes in 38 water of, character of 14 Thousand Springs Valley, character of 42, 54 soil of, analysis of 72, 73 springs of 55 Topography, description of 9-11 Tuff, occurrence and character of 23-24 water in 47 Twelvemile Creek, description of 32-33, 49 U. Underground waters, types of 43 See also Shallow waters; Deep waters. V. Valley fill, character of 24-25 Vegetation, nature of 16-17 Volcanism, traces of 11 W. Wagontire Mountain, water at, analysis of. 72 Warner, W. H., exploration hy 21 Warner Canyon, flow in 39 Warner Creek, description of 32-33, 49 Warner Lake, changes in -. 12,38 Warner Valley, bluffs bordering 10, 49, 50 description of, 49-50 drainage of 32-33, 49 section of, figure showing 60 Water. See Streams; Ground water; Lakes. Weil boring, methods and costs of 78-80 Wells, deep, cost of 78-80 See also particular valleys, places, etc. Winter Ridge, location of 10 name of 20 Woodward Hot Spring, description of 55 o )NNAISSANCE TOPOGRAPHIC MAP OF SOUTH-CENTRAL OREGON BY G. A. WARING T^TONNAISSANOK OKOUXKO MAI' OF SOUTH CENTRAL OREGON BY G. A. WARING EJL'09 o \ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 019 953 851JJ1