Sources; The Salton Sea Menace by Edwin Duryea Jr. from Out West Magazine Vol XXIV, No 1 - Jan 1906 p. 14-16; Destructive Floods in the United States in 1905 by Edward Charles Murphy - 1906 p. 54; Statement of C R Rockwood - In the Matter of the Liability of the California Development Company for the Flooding of Salton Basin by Charles Rockwood - 1907 p. 20; The Overflow of Colorado River into Salton Basin by James D Schuyler - 1907 p. 5-6; The Possibilities of Salton Sea from Popular Science Monthly - Volume 70 by Charles Alma Byers - 1907 p. 13; Irrigation in Imperial Valley California Its Problems and Possibilities by C. E. Tait - 1908 p. 46; Born of the Desert - Imperial Valley in Its Making, not a Dream; A Brief History of the California Development Company by Charles Rockwood - from The Calexico Chronicle Second Annual Magazine Edition - May 1909 p. 24; The Story of the First Decade in Imperial Valley, California by Edgar F. Howe and Wilbur Jay Hall - 1910 p. 101, 102; The Salton Sea - A Study of the Geography the Geology the Floristics and the Ecology of a Desert Basin by DT MacDougal - 1914 p. 19; The Imperial Valley and the Salton Sink by Harry Thomas Cory with Introductory Monograph by William Phipps Blake - 1915 p. 1288, ; The Salton Sea - An Accounting of Harriman's Fight with the Colorado River by George Kennan - 1917 p. 40, ; The History of Imperial County California edited by Finnis C. Farr - 1918 p. 13, 139; The First Thirty Years 1901 - 1931 - An Accounting of the Principal Events in the History of Imperial Valley, Southern California, U.S.A. by Otis B. Tout - 1931 p. 100; Imperial Irrigation District - The First 40 Years by M. J. Dowd - 1956 p. 32
Image(s); Constructing Brush and Pile Dike at Heading No. 3, Imperial Canal, Mexico and Constructing Brush and Pile Dike at Heading No. 3, Imperial Canal, Mexico taken by Harry Thomas Cory (or possibly an assistant of his) in the Joseph Barlow Lippincott Collection at Calisphere.
Note(s); The panoramic image was created from two separate pictures found in both the H. T. Cory Collection and the Joseph Barlow Lippincott Collection. Because of a slight degradation on the picture from the H. T. Cory Collection used on the right half of the panoramic view, the image from the Joseph Barlow Lippincott Collection was used instead. And because of slight coloration differences between the prints in the two collections left half of the panoramic view between the picture from the Joseph Barlow Lippincott Collection and the image from the H. T. Cory Collection the former was used to match the right half. This panoramic image does not exist in either of the collections the individual photographs were obtained from and would never have been created if it had not been lamented that the picture in the Joseph Barlow Lippincott Collection that wasn't included in the H. T. Cory Collection didn't include more of the construction equipment to the left of the image. All three photos were taken on the same day with the subject matter focused on the steamer and the 'brush and pile' dam, but it wasn't apparent at first that the picture that was used in the left half of the panoramic image was at the same site or even part of this '3 picture collection' until it was noticed that the 'control handle' for the 'skid pile driver' existed in both images. The left half of the panoramic image, as a single photograph, also stood out as a rather odd because what seemed to be the most likely focus of the picture was relegated to the far right of the picture which also contributed to the discovery that the two images that comprise the panoramic view were intended to be made into a single image. After additional examination and comparison of the images it was definitively determined these images were meant to be a panoramic view, so it was made. Additionally, the photograph with a side view of the steamer answered the question about the name of the steamer as its name was partially blocked in the right half of the panoramic image, but was clearly shown as the St. Vallier in this image. There's actually a third picture in the collection that extends the view further to the left / east that includes the southern section of 'Disaster Island'. The water is extremely high, as evidenced by partially submerged trees on the banks of the river, so only the very top of the island is visible.
Each of the above sources applies a unique numbering scheme when describing the various attempts to dam the Lower Mexican Heading, making the sequence of events and even the events themselves a bit confusing. Some sources even forgo noting the number of attempts and simply document that they occurred. In order to clarify and set the record straight, details of all the attempts have been culled from each of the sources (including photographic evidence), compared and cross referenced, with errors noted and corrected. It is summarized here, Attempts to Dam and Close the Lower Mexican Intake in the most accurate, precise description events available anywhere.
The Extended Panoramic View image seems to show the mouth of the Lower Mexican Heading as much larger than the channel to the west. However, because of the treeline to the south, it is clearly the curve of the western bank of the Colorado River. People that saw the river when it was flooded, but were unfamiliar with the river when it was lower might think the heading was much wider than it actually was, which might explain the range of estimates given to the width of the heading and channel. It is also definitive evidence that clearly shows the construction of the dam at the mouth of the heading where it meets the river for the third attempt to close the heading.
Mar 1905 is Attempt #1 at Location #1
Additional information from: Wikipedia
Additional information from: Wikipedia
Charles R. Rockwood; This page does not currently exist.
Additional information from: Wikipedia
Additional information from: Wikipedia
Additional information from: Wikipedia
Additional information from: Wikipedia
Additional information from: Google Books
Additional information from: USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Additional information from: Calisphere - Univerisy of California
Additional information from: Calisphere - Univerisy of California
Additional information from: Google Books
Additional information from: Google Books
Additional information from: Google Books
Additional information from: Google Books
Additional information from: Google Books
Additional information from: Google Books
Additional information from: Google Books
Additional information from: Google Books
Additional information from: Google Books
Additional information from: IID (Imperial Irrigation District)
Note; No copyright claim is made by the publisher on this document as it appears to be made available to the public in general.
