GREAT AMERICAN DESERT

term applied to a large arid area in the western part of the United States and the northern part of Mexico. Much of the territory formerly included in that designation has, however, since been reclaimed by irrigation and is now suitable for grazing and agriculture. Its poundaries are roughly the Rocky Mountains and their continuing ranges in New Mexico and Texas on the east, and the Cascade ranges and the Sierra Nevadas on the west. The region is about 700 miles acro in its greatest width, and extends from the Canadian border to Mexico and a considerable distances into that country. The really arid wastes comprise perhaps 550,000 square miles in the United States and somewhat le than that in Mexico. The highest desert stretches are in central Nevada at an altitude of from 5,000 to 6,000 feet; the lowest are in Death Valley, Cal., 427 feet below’ sea level, and Salton Desert in that State, which is also below sea level. There are few permanent streams, though torrents sometimes descend from the mountain to be quickly swallowed up by the thirsty sands. Sometimes no rain fails for a year, and the average annual precipitation ranges from 5 to 10 inches, Cactus, sagebrush and rough gra es are almost the only plant growths. The temperature for days at a time exceeds 100 degrees and often reaches 130 | degrees,