THE VALLEY OF THE SUN

THIRD among the counties of the United States is the rank given to Maricopa County, Arizona in "Farm Personnel," by the United States Bureau in its Business Survey of 1935. This distinction is remarkable in two ways, one because agriculture is conducted here on reclaimed land, areas which are classed somewhat erroneously as "desert," and second, because farmers and dairymen, livestock feeders and horticulturists are going the old prophet one better, for they, instead of growing two blades of grass where one grew before, they grow millions where only cactus and thorny shrubs found scant existence. Products of the soil from the Valley of the Sun for this year, 1937, are expected to bring the farmers close to $30,000,000, and this happens to be just the amount of the investment of the farmers in the various irrigation water storage dams, canals and hydro-electric power plants with transmission lines, of the largest of the irrigation projects of the county. This is the Salt River Valley Water Users Association, with 242,000 acres under crop. Other smaller projects account for an additional acreage of some 160,000 acres. Within the lifetime of men now living, this rich soil has been made to produce useful crops, from an unwanted wildland producing nothing of value, a "No Man's Land" of warring Indian tribes.

Whether God forgot this choice bit of his footstool, through all the aeons, till recently, is of course, a moot question. Our own theory is that it was reserved for chosen people. It is but natural that people living in a community from choice should believe in the community and its people, have faith in it and, if necessary, be willing to fight for it. That is the true American spirit, that has built a great Nation by developing millions of loyal citizens in hundreds of thousands of communities. To the homeseeker, or the tired business man looking for recreation and rest, something more than statements of loyal citizens that this is the "best place on

Arizona . . .

is a land of enchantment, a wonderland, a state that is rich in minerals, fertile soil, prehistoric interests, great forests, and scenery unsurpassed, but the geophysical characteristics seem happily blended to make an harmonious whole.

Valley of the Sun

earth" is required. Some testimony that is competent, and material is necessary, in other words, the stranger wants to know "why."

It might help to review briefly the location of this Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun, and to enumerate a few of the advantages that are the heritage of Nature and the accomplishments of man in a comparatively short period of time.

Arizona is a land of enchantment, a wonderland, a state that is rich in minerals, fertile soil, prehistoric interest, great forests, and scenery unsurpassed, but the geophysical characteristics seem happily blended to make one harmonious whole.

The high mountain ranges which are part of the Rocky Mountain chain, extend from the southeastern part of the state north and east to near the Colorado River on the west. Beyond the mountains is the plateau region, and at the foot is the desert region. Most of the mineral wealth is in the mountains, and on the plateau are great forests of pine and other timber. In the mountains, and on the plateaus, many rivers rise, and breaking through the mountains in picturesque canyons have through the centuries formed wide valleys from the eroded soils above.

These vast valley plains are broken by low mountain buttes, and beds of creeks and small rivers, dry through much of the year. In these valleys, the soil is deep and rich, the seasons between frosts long and the sunshine almost perpetual but the rainfall and consequently the soil moisture is meager. The Giant cactus and many other speices of cacti as well as interesting shrubs and low trees add charm and rob that so called desert of its odious name, usually associated with barren wastes and drifting sand.

Phoenix, which is nearly in the center of the Valley of the Sun, is 33' 20" North latitude and just west of the 112th meridian, more understandingly, its location is in the south central part of Arizona, in a great plain where the Gila and the Salt rivers unite, and these rivers receive other tributaries. The Verde, rising in the plateau, forces its way through the mountains and joins the Salt River below the mountains. The Agua Fria and the Hassayampa, mountainborn streams, join the Gila just below its junction with the Salt.

Two transcontinental railways, the Santa Fe and the Southern Pacific serve this Valley. It is one of the regular stations of the American Airlines, and four U. S. Highways converge in Phoenix. Average elevation of the Valley of the Sun is approximately 1,100 feet. The slope is to the river both north and south and a gentle decline towards the west. Phoenix is 400 miles from Los Angeles, and about 425 miles from El Paso. The first American settlement was established here 70 years ago this fall (1867). In 1911 the Roosevelt Water Storage Dam was completed about 76 miles from Phoenix, in a deep canyon of the Salt River. Other irrigation and power dams have been constructed during the years that followed. Pumping plants and wells have drawn from the underground storage, adding more acreage to the land under cultivation.

Irrigation, after all, in the Valley of