dare predict great things for the desert states.

In a 1918 issue of the United States Geographical Survey Press
Bulletin is an article which is particularly interesting for the
possibilities it suggests at once to the reader for the utilization of
waters. It reads as follows: "'Underground Water in Nevada Deserts.'

"In Nevada the bedrock forms a corrugated surface consisting of more
or less parallel mountain ranges and broad intervening troughs that
are filled to great depths with rock waste washed from the mountains.
These great deposits of rock waste were in large part laid down by
torrential streams and are relatively coarse and porous. Because these
deposits are porous the rain that falls upon them and the run-off that
reaches them from the mountains sinks into them, and the valleys in
which they lie are exceptionally arid. These deposits, however, form
huge reservoirs in which the water is stored and in which, to the
limit of the capacity of the reservoirs, it is protected from
evaporation. So well is this water hidden that its existence was not
suspected by many of the early travelers, and even today long desert
roads on which there are no watering places, lead over areas where
ground-water could easily be obtained.

"In a desert valley, even where no wells have been sunk, it is
generally possible to ascertain and outline the areas where ground
water lies near the surface and to make an intelligent forecast of the
depths to water in other parts of the valley. If a sufficient number
of observations are made, it is also generally possible to form a
rough estimate of the quantity of water that is annually available in
such a valley and to predict to some extent the capacity of wells, the
quality of the water, and the cost of recovery."