School of Mines BULLETIN NO. 1 Water Resources OF THE Devils Lake Region NORTH DAKOTA By E. J. BABCOCK Dean of the School of Mines. SCHOOL OF MINES UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA GRAND FORKS, N. D. A Map Showing- Approximately the Area in Which Lignite Occurs in Quantities Sufficient To Be of Economic Importance. The Lignite Area Is Marked by Diagonal Lines. I \o W 208 THE LIGNITE COAL FIELDS OF NORTH DAKOTA WATER RESOURSES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION E. J. BABCOCK INTRODUCTION The results of work embodied in this paper deal with the- j surface and shallow water supplies of that large and interesting, j portion of North Dakota known as the Devils lake drainage basin. While these investigations are somewhat preliminary in nature, it is hoped that the information given will be of direct 1 economic value as well as of geologic interest. Special attention is given to the possible application of large quantities of water obtainable from the shallow well reservoirs of this region, and also to the improvement of the sanitary conditions of water used for domestic purposes. The origin, distribution and character of soils, and the best method of tillage, the securing and using of water irrigation and many other similar questions all involved the consideration of geological facts. All underground water sup- plies depend largely for their sources, quality, character and permanency upon the surrounding ' topography and geological features. The essential conditions for a wholesome water supply for domestic use, upon which depends the health of the commun- ity, are very largely determined by geological agencies and struc- tures. To ascertain the quantity and purity of a water supply it is not only necessary to consider the amount of rainfall and the extent of the gathering area, but it is even more important to know the nature of the underlying rocks, for this is sure to have a great in- fluence upon the yield and character of the water. Considerable space in this report has therefore been given to the general topo- graphic and geological conditions. TOPOGRAPHY The Devils Lake Basin . — The area at present occupied by Devils lake and the smaller adjoining lakes comprises but a small fraction of what may be called the Devils lake drainage <4^ ft ^ & pg 5 f j ACo'&CK7 tc L >> ~ir — 1 ! ^sh"e7I ! i i " yf V\ ^ 1 r i i <=; ! — f legend. A Map of the Devils Lake Drainage Basin. Morainic Ri dg es.(Appoxim ate only. Largely according To Upham.) WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION 209 basin. As shown by the map, this district extends from the Turtle mountains on the north to a series Of prominent morainic hills lying between Devils lake and Stump lake on Sheyenne river on the south, and from a few miles north of Stump lake on the east to a point near the western boundary of Pierce county. Looking toward the south from the heights of the Turtle moun- tains, one has spread out 400 feet or more below him a beautiful view of a gently rolling prairie region, ^ dotted with small farm houses sur- * rounded occasionally by planted groves. This undulating surface 3 extends as far as the eye can reach, j gradually decreasing in elevation 3 as it approaches Devils lake. From £ points farther east, toward the S Pembina mountains, a similar though S- less raoid descent toward the south » - tn is noticeable. ~ About thirty miles west of the & Red River of the North, near the * . international boundary, is an area 3 rising abruptly from the general level .- of the valley to a height from 400 to 600 feet above the Red river. This elevated * land stretches many miles - northward into Canada and westward forms a gradually descending plain ^toward the central part of the - state. The northeastern portion of this tract is known as the Pembina mountains. Toward the west it in- creases slightly in elevation though occasionally interrupted by low lands, until it practically unites with the Turtle mountain highland west of the Pembina mountains. Topograph- ically as well as geologically these / 210 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION two elevations should be considered together. Along the northern part of the eastern slope of the Pembina mountains the tract presents the appearance of a prominent wooded bluff rising 250 to 350 feet above the surrounding level and extending in a nearly direct line toward the south. This ridge gradually decreases in elevation until at its southern extremity it is scarcely more than fifty feet above the country round, and then it is lost in the rolling prairie. Along the eastern edge of the escarpment its elevation above the sea ranges from about 1,100 feet in the eastern part to 1,500 or 1,600 in the northwestern. Beyond the ravines of the streams along the eastern edge, the crest of the Pembina mountains forms a treeless, rolling plateau stretching away toward the west. Over most of this tract between the Pembina and Turtle mountains, a distance of about 100 miles, there is very little to note, except that it is a high prairie. There are but few streams and lakes or other marked surface features. On the eastern and western extremities good crops of small grains are usually raised. The central portion has heretofore been used for grazing, but is now rapidly developing into a wheat growing region. This section is well supplied with a variety of excellent prairie grasses. Eastward this belt ascends gradually toward the Turtle mountains and descends slightly toward the south. The southern slope shows a very gentle drainage system, beginning near the base of the Turtle mountains, and becoming more prominent as it extends further into the Devils lake basin. In fact this basin is the natural drainage reservoir for the waters of a large portion of the eastern part of the northern high land just described. No streams worthy of mention rise along the western part of the district, except those like the Pembina river, which have their ^sources on the northern side of the Turtle mountains in Canada. The southern surface is, nevertheless, well drained, and without doubt much water slowly percolates through the drift to the underlying Cretaceous clay. The direction of the surface drainage is toward the basin in which Devils lake is situated. The Turtle mountains proper form a high, rolling plateau about forty miles long and thirty miles wide, its long axis being east and west. The surface rises gradually from all sides, but within one or two miles of the summit the slopes suddenly grow steeper until an elevation from 300 to 400 feet above the sur- rounding country is attained. The sides of the hills have but WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION 211 little timber, but among the hill tops there are many small trees. The Turtle mountains present a very broken outline on account of the large number of subordinate hills and ridges of which they are made up. The highest of these buttes reaches an eleva- tion of about 2,500 feet above the sea, or about 600 feet above the surrounding country. The top of the mountains has a beauti- ful rolling surface, covered with trees and dotted with lakes and ponds. Many fine farms are located here. Near the central part of these hills is the attractive little lake Metigoshe. Springs and spring brooks are common along the hillsides. North of Dunseith and also north of Bottineau are several very large springs. About two miles north of Bottineau a tract of several acres along the hillside seems to consist of one vast spring; and located as this spring is, 300 feet or more above the town, it seems wonderfully well situated to furnish a water supply for domes- tic purposes and power. The water which oozes out of this hill- side is rather highly charged with lime, but otherwise seems to be of excellent character. The Turtle mountains consist of a mass of Cretaceous clays which have escaped erosion and are covered with a thin layer of drift. This drift has, however, been somewhat cut out on the top of the plateau, and there is thus formed a great gathering reservoir. No doubt a large amount of the water flowing in the brooks and from the numerous springs has seeped through the clays and sand from this high land reservoir. Measurements along the Great Northern railway give the following elevations in passing toward the northwest : Feet Above Locality Sea Level Grand Harbor 1,461 Churchs Ferry 1,460 Cando 1,490 Bisbee 1,605 Perth 1,736 Rolla 1,823 St. John 1,950 This high land forms an important part of the gathering ground for the water of the Devils lake basin, which is drained, however, only by very small streams, flowing for the most pa^t in coulees which often become quite dry in summer. These coulees enter the lake from various directions, but chiefly from the north. They vary in size from wide depressions, only two 212 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION or three feet deep, to narrow channels fifty to 100 feet wide, and with banks twenty-five or fifty feet high. When water is not flowing through them, small ponds are frequently left; and when entirely drained, such coulees, especially the wider, shallow ones, usually make fine hay and pasture lands. At one time these coulees were doubtless important factors in supplying water to Devils lake. This is particularly true of Mauvaise coulee, which has its source very near the international boundary and flows through Lake Irvine into Devils lake. Although its shallow chan- nel may now be dry in its northern portion, it was probably the outlet for a short period during the melting of the ice sheet for the flooded district along the southeastern base of Turtle mountains, and it seems to have carried a large amount of water. One of the most noticeable features of the district is a series of low, rounded hills, which stretch from the northwest toward the southeast and give the whole surface a very undulating appearance. North of the lake these hills, all of which are probably of morainic origin, are not so wide or high as those to the south. Along the southeastern end of Stump lake these morainic swells have a thickness of from fifteen to sixty feet, as shown by wells which pass through the drift and enter the Cretaceous shales. Along the southern shore of Stump lake is a group of hills rising from 150 to 200 feet above the lake level, which are at least covered with morainic deposits. These hills descend gradually toward the south until they reach the Sheyenne valley, which is cut down 100 feet or more below the surface. Along this whole distance boulders are rather thickly scattered, and sand and gravel ridges are not uncommon. This series of morainic ridges is well developed all along the tract south of Fort Totten, through the Indian reservation, and southwest to Minnewaukan. South of Minnewaukan the ridges widen out into a high, rolling country which extends three or four miles south of Oberon, while still farther to the southwest, along the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie railway, they pass into the rich and gently undulating prairie which is drained by the upper branches of the Sheyenne and James rivers. Most of the hills along the southwestern shore of Devils lake and between the lake and Oberon rise from seventy to 100 feet above the lake level. Sully’s Hill and other hills about Fort Totten are about 225 to 250 feet above the lake. WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION 213 That this great morainic deposit rests immediately upon Pierre shale is evident from the shale exposures found in the occasional deep cuts and artificial excava- tions rpade among the hills. The whole district, however, is thickly covered with drift material, even the highest points being often covered with rock fragments from the size of gravel to boulders several feet in diameter. These fragments are generally of granite or gneiss, but are frequently mixed with a large proportion of light gray limestone, probably from the Silurian. All of this material was doubtless transported from Canada by the ice. This morainic ridge passes near Minnewaukan and thence to the north- west, crossing the Great Northern railway near Knox and Pleasant lake, where it unites with another very marked morainic ridge, from one-half mile to two miles wide, running a few miles southwest of Churchs Ferry in a winding course east to Grand Harbor, where it bends quickly to the north around the southern end of Dry lake, from which point it extends for miles to the east.. Lying between the last two series of ridges, immediately west of Devils lake and north of Minnewaukan and between that point and the Mauvaise Coulee, is a low, sandy tract which stretches toward the northwest as far as Knox, and is drained by several shallow coulees. Low sand ridges are seen extending to the north. This is very clearly an old beach of Devils lake, and indicates that the water stretched out many miles beyond its present limits. Going west of Oberon, one passes grad- ually from the morainic belt south of Devils lake to a somewhat lower, rolling 214 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION prairie, known as Antelope valley, which is bordered on the north by morainic hills and on the south by a slight elevation approaching the Sheyenne river. This fertile undulating valley extends northwestward to the vicinity of Girard lake, to the border of what was probably, during a portion ot the glacial period, a large lake extending from this point west to Minot and around Turtle mountains, thirty or forty miles into Canada. This has been called Glacial Lake Souris. During a part of its history this lake appears to have been drained by numerous outlets to the south, the most important of which developed into the Sheyenne and James rivers. When the waters were high, they g probably filled the Sheyenne valley and g eroded at successive stages the terraced m banks so noticeable along the upper courses | of this stream. At the same time doubtless many of the coulees which pass through > Antelope valley and into the Sheyenne river g were formed and were then swollen streams, £ aiding in the drainage of the area bordering w Glacial Lake Souris. At present only a few I small lakes, 'like Girard and Buffalo, show ° the source of the Sheyenne and James rivers. ^ The high banks, the shore marks, the high washed boulders and stumps of petrified s trees, and the deposits, afford unmistakeable £ii) £ evidence that Girard lake was at one time a large, deep body of water, occupying an area several times as great as that which it now covers. This old lake had a very irregular outline, and its length was prob- ably greatest from northwest to southeast. In fact, it is not impossible- that it may have extended ten or twelve miles south of Rugby, or even have connected with Lake Souris. The lake is now about three miles long and from one to two miles wide. The central portion of the state south of Devils lake is drained by the Sheyenne and James rivers. The Sheyenne rises about thirty miles west of Devils lake, and flows in a very WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION 215 winding channel for about ninety miles toward the east; then it takes a course nearly due south for about 100 miles, until twenty miles or so from the southeastern limit of the state, it turns northeasterly into the Red river valley, and debouches into the Red river a short distance above Fargo. For the greater part of its course the stream is narrow, its channel being cut through yellow and blue clays. Often the banks are strewn high upon the sides with glacial debris. They vary greatly in height, from a few feet near the mouth to eighty or ninety feet near the upper waters. Along parts of the river course are well marked terraces, which may have been formed while the stream was an outlet for the glacial lake region to the north. The western part of the country drained by the Sheyenne river is a high rolling prairie, often from 1,300 to 1,600 feet above the sea. The soil is very rich, and when there is a fair amount of rainfall produces an abundant crop. Some of the small streams which form the headwaters of the James river are southwest of Devils lake and within a few miles of the source of the Sheyenne. At this place the two rivers are separated by a jidge several miles wide. The country around the western tributaries of this river is of the same character as that about the Sheyenne. The James river flows for about 150 miles in a southeasterly direction until it crosses the state line into South Dakota. The general character of the stream and the surrounding country is much the same as that of the Shey- enne river. The surface to the south is rather more level and much lower in altitude. The channel is cut through clay and drift, but the soil and subsoil have a larger proportion of sand than is found farther north. STRATIGRAPHY The rather uniformly level character of the surface and the absence of uplifts and very deep valleys render difficult a study of the underlying strata throughout the state. Outcrops of the deeper rocks are few, and most of the available information con- cerning not only the lower formations but also portions of the upper beds has been obtained from a study of deep well borings. The formations occurring in the state, though only the later ones appear on the surface, include rocks of the Archean, Cam- brian, Silurian, Cretaceous (Dakota, Benton, Niobrara, Pierre and Laramie), as well as glacial drift and alluvial deposits. No effort has been made to differentiate the Algonkian from the Archean. The Cretaceous rests upon the older rocks and extends over the 216 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION western part of the state, its thickness ranging from a few feet to 1,500 or more. The various beds of this age are by far the most characteristic and important in the state. The Laramie is found in the western part of the state, chiefly beyond the Missouri river, and is characterized by extensive beds of lignite and valuable deposits of fire clay and potter’s clay. In this discussion only a brief description will be given of the geological formations which are of particular significance to the water supply in this region. The rocks of the Archean have been reached by a great number of deep well borings in the eastern portion of the state, and the Red river valley is doubt- less underlain by an extension of the great Archean belt found in northern Minnesota and southern Canada. Here, as elsewhere, granite, gneiss and schists are the characteristic rocks. Archean . — Near Big Stone lake are outcrops of granite, and northeast of this point it has been found in wells, beneath from fifty to 125 feet of till. In some places, at least, magnesian limestone overlies the granite. A well in Moorhead reaches granite at a depth of about 365 feet, under a covering of sand, blue shale and glacial and alluvial debris. At Grand Forks, eighty miles farther north, granite or gneiss was reached at 385 feet, being overlain by a thick layer of Silurian limestone and beds of gravel, sand and clay. Immediately above the granite or gneiss was a deposit of granitic sand and gravel. The final borings, which were taken some fifteen feet in the solid rock, showed a predominating pink feldspar and a composition char- acteristic of light gneiss or granite. At Grafton, about forty-five miles farther north, Archean rock was reached at 903 feet, and still farther north, across the boundary it was found near the mouth of the Red river and to the northwest of Lake Winnipeg. How deeply it is covered to the west of the Red river valley cannot be told. The old Archean floor, on which lie the deposits in the Red river valley westward, was evidently rolling and possibly eroded, as indicated by the deposition of the superincumbent sand and gravel found in some well borings. The records of the Grafton well indicate that the Archean is overlain by Cambrian sandstone. However, the records on which identification is based are somewhat doubt- ful. If they are correct, there would seem to be a very great undulation in the old Archean floor. Farther north in Canada North Dakota Geological Survey. fHate XXXVlI. Irrigating- a Wheat Field WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION 217 the Silurian seems to rest on the Archean with no intervening Cambrian. This would indicate a local condition in which the Cambrian of the Grafton well (if it be truly Cambrian) occupied a depression in the Archean floor. Silurian . — As has already been intimated, a portion of the Red river valley includes a deposit of Silurian rock under the thick covering of gravel and glacial debris. It is probably absent in the western portion of the valley, but it doubtless extends, more or less continuously, beyond the northern boundary of the state, for its outcrops are found about Lake Winnipeg in Canada. • In the northern part of the state fragments of char- acteristic, fossiliferous, Lower Silurian limestone are very com- mon in the drift. It is hard to give any approximate southwestern limit of Silurian but it may not be far from Grand Forks, for a layer of limestone, apparently Silurian, about one foot thick was found in a well about 380 feet below the surface. This deposit may indicate nearness to the limit of deposition in the old Silurian basin. This basin seems to have rapidly deepened, however, toward the north, for in the well at Grafton the total thickness of the Silurian is recorded as about 317 feet. It increases in thickness toward the north and probably toward the west, as at Rosenfield, in Canada, about sixty miles north of Grafton, the Silurian is said to have reached a thickness of 892 feet. Toward the west its extent is uncertain, and where outcrops occur, across the boundary line, the Silurian rocks lie in nearly a horizontal position upon the Archean. The occurrence of out- crops of Silurian limestone to the north might be predicted from the large proportion of this material found in the gravel, sand and clay of the drift of the Red river valley and the gravel deposits farther west. Large boulders of the limestone are not common, but the gravel and clay in the northeastern part of the state frequently contain as much limestone as granite and gneiss, a fact which has no small effect on the fertility of the soil in this region. Cretaceous . — Between the Silurian and Cretaceous is an uncon- formity and apparently a large gap in the geologic series. If other formations are present between the Silurian and Cretaceous westward, they are very deeply covered with the later deposited material. 218 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION The Cretaceous formations found so -extensively in North Dakota are part of a great belt occupying a large part of the Great Plains and extending from the Gulf of Mexico northwest* ward toward the Arctic regions. The great extent and thickness of these deposits in North Dakota, their influence upon the soil, and their connection with the artesian and shallow well water supply render them worthy of a somewhat detailed description. The formations of the Cretaceous which are so well repre- sented in the Great Plains region have been classified as follows : Cretaceous f Laramie ! Montana J 1 j Colorado L Dakota j Fox Hills } Pierre j Niobrara ( Benton All of these subdivisions are found within the limits of North Dakota, though but a portion of them outcrop on the surface. The Cretaceous series is probably best developed in the central portion of the state, from east to west. In the eastern part the upper group is not found, while the middle and lower groups are not difficult to reach in well borings. In the western and north- western parts of the state the upper groups commonly appear, and are doubtless underlain by the earlier formations. The Dakota . — This stage consists so largely of a sand deposit which has become more or less hardened that it is known as the Dakota sandstone, and it thus differs markedly from the overlying formations, which are chiefly clays. No surface exposures of the formation are found in North Dakota, but its relative position and, in a limited way, its extent have been observed from the boring of artesian wells in various parts of the state. From the records at hand it appears to underlie the upper Cretaceous and drift over practically all the state, from the Red river valley on the east to the western limit, and from, the Canadian line into South Dakota. Information regarding the thickness of the group is meagre. From well records the Dakota appears to be very thin in the eastern portion of the state, but it increases rapidly in thickness toward the central and western parts. It ascends gradually toward the western highlands, and in many places in the Black Hills of South Dakota and along the mountains it outcrops at the surface. These surface exposures of the Dakota sandstone, which along the Rocky mountains WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION 219 aggregate many thousands of miles in area, are generally con- sidered the gathering grounds for the artesian waters of the Great Plains. Benton and Niobrara . — These formations immediately overlie the Dakota sandstone over a large part of that great section of the plains in which the latter is found. i, In North Dakota they are well developed in the central and northern part of the state, but seldom appear along the eastern border. They are readily distinguished from the Dakota, as they are composed principally of blue clays and shales, and are gener- ally of very fine material. Sand is occasionally present in these deposits, but not in any large amount. The clays and shales of the Niobrara and upper portion of the Benton are often rather strongly impregnated with carbonate of lime, and in a few places in South Dakota they become quite pure chalk. In the central portion of the state the total thickness of the Benton and Niobrara reaches probably from 500 to 800 feet, and the variation in thickness, within considerable areas, seems not to be very great. Over most of the state the Benton is covered with Pierre and with drift, although in a few localities outcrops of the Pierre are found. In the northern part of the state, in deep cuts along the Pembina river, the top of the Niobrara is occasionally seen beneath the banks of Pierre shales, 350 feet or more below the general level of the surface. Along the eastern borders of the Dakota sandstone the Benton and Niobrara do not appear, the Pierre seeming to overlap and rest directly upon the Dakota. In South Dakota , and Nebraska are many exposures of both Benton and Niobrara, the Pierre being relatively thinner and less uniform in its extent in those states than in many places in North Dakota. As nearly all our information regarding the group in this state has been derived from artesian well borings, tfrere has been little opportunity to study the fossil character of the deposit ; but, from the apparent similarity in the conditions of the deposition, it is safely assumed that the fossils do not vary greatly from those found in South Dakota exposures. In this state both the Benton and the Niobrara are character- ized by dark blue and black shales, frequently charged with lime and often carrying iron pyrites, fragments of coal, alum and crystal gypsum, all in very small quantities. Pierre . — This division comprises a great deposit of clays and argillaceous shales, bluish-gray in color, very fine and uni- 220 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION form in texture and almost free from sand, lying immediately above the Niobrara and usually in perfect conformity Its lower portion is somewhat darkened by the presence of carbonaceous matter. These shales do not carry much carbonate of lime, in which they differ markedly from the Niobrara, but they do often contain thin seams of sulphate of lime, nodules of iron pyrites and alum. Probably in no part of the state has the greatest thickness of the Pierre been penetrated. Along the deepest cuts formed by the Big Pembina river the bottom of the Pierre is reached at about 350 or 400 feet below the surrounding country; but the elevation of the land increases considerably* to the north- west, and in this region, as well as in others, it may reach a total thickness of 600 feet or more. Toward the east, however, the Pierre gradually thins out, until in the Red river valley only its debris is found. At the international boundary the Pierre is seen just west of the Red river valley, where it forms nearly all the material of that conspicuous hilly escarpment known as the Pembina moun- tain (see figure 14). These hills form a very remarkable series of highlands, which increase slightly in elevation toward the northwest and stretch away toward the south in a gradually descending rolling plain. The Pembina mountain, so-called, is. really only the sharply eroded eastern edge of the Cretaceous formations, mostly of Pierre, which underlie the Turtle mountains as well as the Pembina mountains and all the intermediate country. Among the hills and along the banks of spring brooks and lakes of the Turtle mountains the Pierre is constantly out- cropping ; and from this northern highland southward through the central part of .the state it is always found underlying the vary- ing deposits of drift. It is obtained from the deep well borings, is seen along .many streams, and frequently small fragments of its hardened, shaly, blue, clay occur on the surface of the drift ridges. This is continually observed in the whole of the Devils lake Basin. To the east many of the smaller streams cut into the Pierre, and the formation is clearly seen along the banks of the Sheyenne and James rivers. Like the other divisions of the Cretaceous, the Pierre extends over a great area beyond the limits of North Dakota, chiefly southward in South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado and ad- joining states. The Pierre is easily recognizable by the color and texture of WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION 221 the clays and shales, but fossils are not entirely lacking, and several forms are found along streams in many places in the central part of the state. The more common fossils are B acuities ovatus, Inoceramus, Scaphites (S. nodosus Owen, S. nicolletii Morton). These fossils are often partly disintegrated and very commonly highly discolored by iron. Although many other forms may occa- sionally be found, the Pierre in North Dakota must still be con- sidered rather barren of fossils. There are no formations which play so important a part in the geology of North Dakota as those of the Pierre. Vast accumula- tions of the clay and shales of this stage are found throughout a large area in the central part of the state, and its debris forms much of the soil and subsoil in the glacial deposits scattered over all the eastern half. It is also a factor in determining the underground water supply in the central part of the state. ItV forms very generally the confining bed for the shallow wells in the eastern and central parts of the state, and water is generally found in the sand and shale debris deposited upon or interstrati- fied with the Pierre. Laramie . — The Laramie extends over a large portion of the state west of the Missouri river. The deposits consist princi- pally of clays, some of which are excellent as fire and white- ware clays. It has already been briefly reviewed in an earlier chapter. Drift . — The drift deposits in many localities of North Dakota form important factors, not only in the surface topography, but as well in the geologic and economic conditions. The water supplies of considerable areas are materially affected by the presence or absence of drift. This is, especially true in the Devils lake drainage basin, and some of the conditions, especially of the topography, are illustrated in the plates and maps show- ing the drainage and morainic deposits. The drift, indeed, may be considered as one of the most characteristic deposits within the state of North Dakota, particularly that portion lying east of the Missouri river. On account of the importance of this formation in the' Devils lake basin, it will be well to consider somewhat in detail the conditions under which the drift was deposited and its effect upon the present Devils lake basin and its water supply. The drift in this region is made up largely of sand and clay, mingled with gravel and boulders, and presents a heterogeneous , mass totally- 222 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION unlike the sedimentary formations upon which it lies. Anyone who will thoughtfully consider the appearance of the surface of nearly all the eastern part of North Dakota will be impressed by the fact that some widely operative and powerful agency has, with- in a comparatively recent geological period, been shaping its features and accumulating, mingling and distributing the immense amount of unconsolidated material which covers to a considerable thickness the earlier stratified formations. The embedding material is usually blue and yellow clay in thick sheets, sometimes alternating with beds of sand and gravel, in both of which are scattered large blocks of various kinds of rocks, sometimes weighing several thousand pounds. These boulders are frequently smoothed and scored with fine parallel scratches. A knowledge of the character of these rock masses and a familiarity with some of the rocks outcropping farther north, in Canada, leads to the belief that the debris was trans- ported from northern regions. Much of the limestone found in the drift in the northern part of the state was undoubtedly taken from the beds which outcrop about Lake Winnipeg. A study of well excavations and of channels of stream erosion shows that this drift material was spread over an old land surface. In some places in the Red river valley drift and alluvial deposits reach a depth of 300 to 350 feet. In the northern and central part of the state the thickness is commonly from thirty to 100 feet. The character of these various drift deposits indicates that a very large area in North Dakota was, at a late geological period, covered by a great, slowly moving ice sheet, similar to that which now covers a large part of Greenland, which stretched far away to the north into Canada. This vast ice sheet, which in its northern portion at least must have been very deep, tore away exposed rock ledges, and enveloped and bore along with it the loose material with which it came ill contact. This debris was frozen into the ice, and under the enormous weight above it became a mighty grinding power. As the ice sheet moved onward from the north, slowly but irresistibly, the enclosed rock masses were worn away to smaller fragments, pebbles, sand and clay, and all mixed with the sand and clay and soils of the sur- face over which the ice moved. Thus was formed, during the centuries of the glacial period, an enormous amount of this rock refuse, which, with the return of a warmer climate and the melt- ing of the ice sheet, was intermingled and spread far and wide. WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION 223 'This drift material, by reason of its variety of composition and depth of deposit, was well calculated to become the formation of the rich soil so characteristic of the eastern and central parts of North Dakota. With a change in climatic conditions the ice began to melt along its southern border, and the water formed by the melting, being banked on the north by the great ice barrier, gradually accumulated in a glacial lake along the southern boundary of the sheet. As the glacier continued its retreat to the north, the area and depth of the lake increased, and the water, spreading out over the Red river valley and finding no other outlet, at last overflowed the height of land near Lake Traverse, making its way through that lake and Big Stone lake into the Minnesota river and thence into the Mississippi river. When the ice had melted far enough toward the north, a natural outlet was opened through Lake Winnipeg and Hudson bay, and the present valley of the Red river was begun. The total area covered by this great lake, known as Lake Agassiz, has been estimated by Warren Upham* at 110,000 square miles, over which the water often reached a depth of 500 to 700 feet. At last the ice sheet had retreated so far that it left open the Nelson river, thus affording an outlet through this river and Lake Winnipeg into Hudson bay. From this time Lake Agassiz was rapidly drained. In the lowland of the Winnipeg basin, however, a large body of water was left, a portion of which forms the present Lake Winnipeg. This great body of water has recorded its presence in three way : By lacustrine sediments, by extensive alluvial and delta deposits, and by corresponding extensive erosion. The fine silt and clay which are characteristic of the Red river valley were deposited by the waters of Lake Agassiz and the many glacial rivers which brought debris into this basin from the surrounding higher lands. The water of the glacial Red river gradually nar- rowed, but in the central portion of the valley, being much deeper, it remained a longer time, and thus gave opportunity for a thicker deposit of sediment than is found along the old lake margin. Warren Upham has traced a series of beaches marking clearly the extent of Lake Agassiz at its various stages. The streams which flow through the lacustrine sediments usually have narrow and shallow banks, but the valleys of those *The Glacial Lake Agassiz, by Warren Upham; Mon. U. S. Geol. Survey, No. XXV, 1895. 224 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION streams which flow into the basin of Lake Agassiz are commonly deep and wide, showing much erosion. This is particularly noticeable of the streams flowing from the Cretaceous highlands on the west, for example, Park river, Tongue river, Little Pem- bina and the Pembina rivers. Along the eastern escarpment of the Pembina mountains the erosive action of the old lake is- clearly seen in the almost cliff-like ascent of the Cretaceous table- land. Lake Agassiz was not the only glacial lake by which the surface of the level prairies of North Dakota was modified. In the central part of the state there were probably several lakes at various periods following the glacial epoch which were formed from the melting of arms of the ice sheet. One of the most important of these was glacial Lake Souris. Devils lake and its immediate drainage basin is doubtless a remnant of one of these lakes. The Sheyenne and James rivers probably were started and the high bluffs along the western portion of these streams washed out during the time when districts to the north, about Devils lake, and to the west, being flooded by the melting ice, were drained of great quantities of water by these rivers. All through the eastern and central portion of the state the ice sheet, the lakes and the river torrents formed by melting ice, exerted' a powerful influence in giving fertility to the soil and final shape to the surface of our North Dakota prairies. DEVILS LAKE The most characteristic feature of the region under discus- sion is Devils lake, which occupies a basin formed largely by morainic ridges. As shown on the map, it lies along Ramsey and Benson counties, with its length extending east and west, as illustrated in plate XXXVIII. The length of the lak£, including the arms which properly belong to its present stage, though some of them are nearly dry or separated by portions of land, is about twenty-four miles, and the width averages perhaps between four and seven miles. Its shore line is exceedingly long, owing to the numerous bays and other irregularities, and it is probable that it will reach several hundred miles. The southern shore of the lake, which is often very thickly strewn with large boulders, rises rapidly into a high rolling country, whose surface is broken by numerous steep knobs, some of them 200 to 275 feet above water level. The western North Dakota Geological Survey. Plate XXXVIII. View of Devils Lake. WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION 225 part of this tract is included in the Sioux Indian reservation. Northward the land rises in gentle swells, gradually increasing in elevation, until it reaches the rolling drift deposits just north of the city of Devils Lake and Grand Harbor. Toward the north- west is a similar gradual elevation of rolling prairie for nearly forty miles. That there was unquestionably a time in the early history of this lake when it was several times larger than it is at present is evident in several ways. At many places along the south shore there are found, well up on the steep hillsides which begin near the lake, large boulders which present a peculiar parallel ar- rangement, apparently the result of the expansive action of shore ice during the winters and springs. The boulders were pushed into their present positions when the water was high, and this crowding up of large rocks continued year after year. These marks of the old water *level are now seen twenty or thirty feet above the present water level. Such an elevation of the water surface would of course extend the lake over a much wider area to the west and north. This condition is also indicated by what are undoubtedly old shallow shore lines from six to ten miles north and west of the lake. In appearance some of these shores are not unlike beaches of old Lake Agassiz, east of Larimore. The character and ar- rangement of the clay, sand and gravel are indicative of shallow water. Wells dug along these shores pass through varying thick- nesses of such -lacustrine deposits, depending on the surface elevation and distance from the lake. From a study of the formations penetrated in about forty or fifty wells in the vicinity of the lake, deposits apparently lacustrine are found immediately above mo- rainic debris on the higher portions, or in the lower places, mixed with drift and fragments of Pierre shale. Another evidence of the former wide extent of this lake is afforded by the character of the water in the wells near it. When the lake was at its highest, its water, largely derived from the melting snow and ice, was fresh, it was fed by numerous large streams and probably for a short time had southeastern outlets. As the lake decreased in size, its waters became more strongly impregnated with salts left by the evaporation of the incoming surface water. The soil and clay which had been under shallow water for a short time stored up a small amount of salts, while those nearer the center of the basin and deeply 226 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION covered with water for a much longer time stored up corre- spondingly larger amounts of the salts. These salts are now being redissolved in the well water. A large number of samples of water from wells at different distances ranging from one-half mile to six miles from the lake, but clearly within the imme- diate lake basin, were examined by the writer, by chemical field tests or by rapid laboratory determinations, with a special view to ascertaining the relative amounts of alkalies, chlorides and other salts. It was thought that such an examination might not only give some hints of value in determining the best location for wells, but that it might throw some light on the former ex- tent of the lake bed. These chemical tests show that in general the percentage of chlorides and hydrogen sulphide increases as the lake is approached. In nearly all cases the water which is strong in chlorides (mostly common salt) is obtained from wells located on low land or near the lake, while that containing a small amount of chlorides is generally from wells located on high land. To exhibit this fact more clearly the following table has been pre- pared, showing the relative amounts of salt and alkalies in the water, together with the elevation of a number of wells about the lake. Corresponding numbers will be found on the map, and from these the wells can be readily located : TABLE SHOWING RELATIVE SALINITY OF WELLS NEAR DEVILS LAKE No. Depth of Well Feet Elevation Relative Amount of ! Salts Chloride * Alkalies Soluble Sulphidesf 1 22 High Little. 2 119 Very high Trace. 3 52 Medium Strong Little Trace 4 29 High Trace Much 5 40 x - 1 - A fc> 11 Low Much 6 40 High Little Trace Much 7 36 Low. . Strong . . Much 8 107 High Little Trace Little 9 33 Low Strong Trace. 10 30 High Little Little Much 11 22 High Trace Trace Much 12 72 Very high Trace Trace Trace 13 38 Medium Strong ' Trace Trace 14 40 Low Strong Trace Little 15 29 Low Strong Strong. 16 46 High Trace Trace. 17 25 Medium Strong Trace Little 18 38 High Trace Trace Trace 19 32 Low Strong Trace Much 20 32 Medium Strong Trace Much 21 24 Medium Little Little. ♦Principally common salt. Though these are not expressed in exact quantities, the amounts are relatively correct. flncluding hydrogen sulphide. WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION 227 A careful study of the shore line and the gravel and other deposits about Lake Irvine and to the southeast shows very plainly that the small lakes north of Devils lake were also very much larger at some time in their history. There is little doubt that Lake Irvine, at no very remote period, extended from one mile to three miles farther east, and stretching toward the south, widened out irregularly three or four miles more toward* the southeast. At this time Lac aux Morts, Twin lakes, and Dry lake were probably connected and formed one sheet of water, which may have been continuous with Cavanaugh and Sweetwater lakes, thus forming a large body of water which stretched out with irregular shore line toward the southeast, nearly parallel to the present Devils lake, presenting an appear- ance similar to the Devils lake of today. This old lake and Devils lake were doubtless connected by a long, narrow bay, fill- ing all the low land of the coulee bed between Lake Irvine and Devils lake. It is thus evident that there has been a gradual reduction in the volume of water in Devils lake and surrounding lakes for a very long time, perhaps for an epoch following soon after the glacial period. From the observations and reports of those who lived about the lake for years, and especially from the records of Capt. E. E. Herman, it appears that the water has been decreas- ing in depth and area for the past ten years. Since 1883, at various times, according to the best estimates obtainable, the lake has been from four to nine feet lower than at that time. Arms of the lake on which, steamers were accustomed to ply ten years ago have now become dry, or so low that boating on them is impossible. A few years ago steamers could run into the city of Devils Lake or Minnewaukan, but at present they do not at- tempt to come within several miles of either place. In the fall of 1896 the surface of the water was found by leveling to be 39.8 feet below the top rails at a point on the Great Northern railway, the altitude of which is given at 1,489 feet above the sea, which would leave the water in the lake at that time 1,429.2 feet above the sea. At the same time sound- ings were taken of the central part of the main lake, and from nine soundings taken between the Chautauqua grounds and Fort Totten, at various points not within a mile or more of the shore, an average depth of 25.5 feet was obtained. The greatest depth of water found was near the center of this part of the lake, and amounted to 29.3 feet. 228 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION Considering the historic and prehistoric records of the lake, the question which naturally arises is, will the lake continue to decrease in size until, like most old glacial lakes, it becomes quite dry or at least until it is very much further reduced? To this, of course, no positive answer can be given. In order to form an intelligent opinion on the subject one must take into con- sideration the character of the formation of the retaining basin, the area of drainage, the amount of rainfall and the proportion of water which finds its way into the lake. There being no out- let, practically the only means for decrease is by evaporation, and from a study of the geologic conditions it is evident that there is no chance for subterranean drainage, to any considerable extent, other than into this basin. Indeed, the arrangement of the blue shale (Pierre) underlying the drift provides a very perfect gather- ing bottom for surface water, and the fact that over large areas this shale has but slight dip still further aids in retaining the percolating water. There is no doubt but that during the last fifteen years the breaking up of so much of the thick prairie* sod has had a marked influence in reducing the volume of water flowing in Devils lake. The plowing destroys the natural thatch of grass which covers the porous soil and on which so much of the water runs. It exposes the dry soil which so readily imbibes a large pro- portion of the moisture precipitated ; and it forms by the roughened surface, a very great obstruction to the flowing water. The con- ditions for the last few years have all been very favorable to the reduction of the run-oflf water, and there is no reason to believe that the lake will be able to regain permanently any considerable portion of its lost area. A further reduction of its volume may even be expected as still more prairie land is put under cultivation, but this must necessarily be at a much slower rate than heretofore, and there is reason to believe that it will not cause the water to fall much below its present limits in the central, deeper portion of the lake. WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION 229 WATER SUPPLY The area naturally tributary to Devils lake is probably not far from 4,000 square miles. With such a gathering surface it would seem that there should be no lack of water if but a small fraction of the annual rainfall reached the lake;' but the general inclination toward the lake is so gentle that the streams flow very sluggishly, and thus there is op- portunity for a very large propor- tion of the water of the catchment basin to evaporate or soak into the soil before it reaches the lake. The geological formations of the district have already been described, but may be summarized here as fol- lows : Starting with the Dakota sandstone, whose total thickness here is not known, the deposit next above is the Benton, composed of dark clays and shales ; above this is the Niobrara, usually highly calcareous, but represented in this locality by slightly calcareous layers of dark blue slate and clays ; next is the Pierre, represented by similar clays and shales ; and upon the Pierre the drift is spread for a thickness vary- ing from twenty to fifty feet. A section from the artesian well in the city of Devils Lake, the elevation of which is from 1,460 to 1,470 • feet above the sea level, gives the rela- tive thickness of the different forma- tions approximately as indicated by the accompanying figure. The underground water supply of this region is derived from two for- mations. The water from the deep 230 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION artesian well comes from the Dakota sandstone ; that of the shallow wells is found chiefly in the till at the top of the Pierre or in the upper layers of the Pierre itself. A large number of artesian wells have been bored in the southern and eastern parts of North Dakota, but only an occasional well has been attempted in the northwestern part of the state. In the Red river valley the artesian wells usually give a small flow from beds lying 100 to 300 feet below the surface, but the water from most of these wells has little or no pressure. The wells of the south central part of the state, however, all give a large flow at from 400 to 1,200 feet, with good pressure at the surface. The artesian water at the town of Devils Lake flows with some force, furnishing about forty gallons per minute. The water commonly car- ries a small amount of fine Dakota sand and is rather strongly impregnated with salts. The following is an analysis of this water, made by James A. Dodge, formerly professor of chemistry at the University of Minnesota. In ad- dition to the substances reported there are found traces of borates, bromides and organic matter. ass mmm ANALYSIS OF WATER FROM ARTESIAN WELL AT DEVILS LAKE Grains Per Gallon Sulphate of sodium 94.62 Chloride of sodium 86.46 Carbonate of sodium 41.11 Carbonate of potassium 4.62 Carbonate of lithium 0.67 Carbonate of calcium 1.56 Carbonate of magnesium 1.01 Carbonate of iron 0.03 Silicia 0.56 -Glacial till 25 feet ' f Pierre I Niobrara -{ and Benton I blue shales 11,403 feet — Gravel, 3 feet — Dakota sandstone, 80 feet, and ar- tesian water Total dissolved solids 230.64 Owing to the low pressure and to the depth of boring required to secure the flow of water, it has been found too expensive for individuals to sink artesian wells in the Devils lake region. For this and other reasons the discussion of artesian wells will not be taken up in this paper. WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION 231 USE OF WELL WATER IN IRRIGATION The water found in the till on top of the gray shale of the Pierre, and reached by shallow wells ranging usually from thirty to seventy feet in depth, is of great importance, not only on account of the lack of other water supplies, but because of its great abundance and the possibility of its use for irrigation as well as for household purposes. A study of the surrounding topographic and geologic conditions and an examination of about 100 wells in this district indicates that the quantity of water thus stored is vast, and that it will be amply sufficient to meet all the demands that can be made upon it until the popu- lation has increased several fold over that of the present. The flow of water in these wells is very slow, because of the com- pact nature of the strata through which the water must pass, and the daily supply of the wells when pumped to their limit may seem small compared with the rapid flow of artesian wells and of large springs ; but the important point is as to the capacity of the underground reservoir. If, as has been said, the reservoir is capable of supplying a great amount of water, the question naturally arises as to whether the shallow wells of this region can be used for irriga- tion. Those unfamiliar with the value of irrigation farming are sometimes inclined to regard with suspicion statements as to the productive possibilities of any region where irrigation is practiced or where it might profitably be used, but those who have had experience or who have made a careful study of the subject are quick to recognize the advantages. The value of irrigation is not confined to arid or barren regions. Indeed, its greatest benefits can be derived only where the soil is naturally productive and the climate suited to the growth of the special crops to be cultivated. In this country and in other countries irrigation is frequently carried on in a small way with the largest profit in sections where the total rainfall is abundant, as by means of artificial applications the moisture can be furnished at times when it is most needed by the crops and to those por- tions of the land most needing it, thus advantageously supplement- ing nature’s method. The foregoing description of the topography of this district shows it to be a beautifully rolling prairie, remarkably well adapted to agricultural pursuits. The soil and subsoil are rich 232 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION and enduring. Both are derived from Cretaceous deposits mixed ; with fine rock refuse of Archean and Silurian formations, and all mingled with a considerable proportion of vegetable mold. The soil thus comprises a good body clay, with a sufficient amount of fine sandy material to make it reasonably porous, and with lime and other ingredients to keep it “warm and sweet,” while the carbonaceous matter renders a valuable aid in the plant food supply. The fertility of this soil is well proven by the enormous crops harvested in seasons of abundant rainfall. While in no respect an arid district, there is frequently a portion of the grow- ing season during which but little rain falls, and then the appli- cation, once or twice, of a very small amount of water to the land would undoubtedly increase the matured crop from 20 to 50 per cent, an increase which would mean to the farmer the dif- * ference between a profitable season and one of little or no gain. It is not, therefore, with the intention of urging the farmer to rely upon irrigation, but that he may be led to supplement the rainfall at just those periods of greatest need and thereby save a large per cent of the natural yield, that attention is here called to the possible use of shallow wells. In considering the use of both artesian and shallow well - water, the question is frequently raised as to the effect of the dissolved mineral matter upon vegetation, and reference is some- times made to the vegetation occurring about alkali spots as il- lustrating the possible result of the use of such mineralized waters. The water of wells is never so strongly alkaline as is the water in these places, and the amount of such deposits as would be left by the occasional and reasonable use in irrigation, even of strongly impregnated artesian water, could not cause an appreciable accumulation of alkalies in the soil. The alkali spots which are occasionally seen on the prairies and alkali waters are probably in a measure due to the same cause. For years before the settle- ment of the west prairie fires destroyed the summer’s growth of grass, leaving upon the surface G «> •bob • . rt u, o3 +j ^ be ^ +j o3 ; ^ 3ug5 OS :h^h • * r— ' k— H * ’"t Uh H • S S b5 . 3 +p : : £ ! 33 £ ; 33 £ . • Jb Q> : 3 pH pH :pH pH> :pH pH pUBq Moq jo qSijj uq be J ”bo be £ be ^ be ^ be oj^-— o •-< O-"- 1 0-~ .bo s bo * L’-d £ fe’O’b o >> i— ] i— 1 J9ABJQ pUB pUBg JO }99j; be s }° fai >> 13 bo u rt A*\D MO lFA pUB JlOg JO }99^ qjd9Q (M05IM050 ©COt-CO' t^COOCO 1 3SuB-y; diqsuMoj^ S © o oo go gg l — I I - ! T"; r— r rb b • ~ r? ~ o b £ £ S'pp — £^ 13 — 00 8 ^ 3°>0 B g ~ O rt O c. ^ o o iG o .i=r £ W jgqumjq HIMCOtHiOCO t- GO 05 O i-H ocouou o ~ p o 3 3 3 P 1 S3ip25py rt rtj£ .bp .bp.bp.bp££ : .bp.bp£ ^.bCg 3 rt rt HHc/) in cTS c/5 c/5 J J 'ooc75c/5Sc75hShhh *PS 3 33 ° PH y o ~ Ui 1 ; J9 ^AV J° ^IHumaQ CC^CJCCCCCC HDGUH^HDUt) • p'Op’O’Tp'ObSPSP • ^ ^ Pm Pm i— J Pm P-i P-i Pm Ph Pli pL| ; p_i i-4 Ph i_I i_J j Pm Ph P-( P-i Ph puBq Moq jo qSijq UQ : £ £ £ : £ £ : 6 £ £ £ : . . a •2-2-c gTT.^g.^ysys g [9ABJQ PUB pUBg JO J99^J 9iqg JO J99^J >> : : 13 bc^n • • CO ZD LO Mh (M . . rM C3 • ■J : : ** ID MO ll 9 A PUB JIOg JO J93J; • J q;d9Q (M(N^O^OJlO(NO(MO«OOt*(Nffit'®Oin©CO COCO(M(M(NT-ICO(M^CCTMCO'#COLOCO^COrC(MCO(?C| 9SUB^J , co CO CD CD CO CO 2fr,' diqsuMox ^ i-M t - I r-M rH rH rH • i— H i-M. • • r- H '33 Ui C 33 : • • lO lO lO 1C UOTJ93g N» C CO CO Wffi H lO • CO >13 ^00MP4ffife 43 43 43 43 43 43 4) n 43 S g^i V-. ^ -w ■*-> 3 .s 53 •S 53 .bog oqS hphC 53 S ri Vh be X Little. . Little. . Much . . Trace. . Much . . Trace Plentiful V. large V. large V. large Large Plentiful Plentiful Plentiful Plentiful Limited Plentiful Plentiful Limited V. large Plentiful V. large V. large Plentiful V. large High High Low Very high Medium. . Medium. Low WifrU i 43 43 ebebe > 1 *»H — 1 C High Medium. . 1 4 and shale to 532 : : : : £ : oi : > • 27 Largely 29 20 22 ft 5 : : : : 5 • • t— • • r— 1 : ; J 5 -22 C3 £ O LO • £ tH 0 ) o .o • ' ' _M-I bio s_ G 0> o ^ Cfl CO »o M C rt a w tn £ £ j_ a3 ct o COCSOr-i(MCO^lOCDt- 00 05 O '^•^I'^I^LOlOiOLOlOuOLOiO LO iO CO 238 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION The luxuriant growth of vegetation of all kinds on ground bordering coulees, lakes and ponds, bears testimony to the bene- fits which would be derived from the artificial application of well water. These effects are brought out by the following statements concerning the vegetation of this region compiled from a report made by Prof. M. A. Brannon, of the department of botany in the State University of North Dakota, who accompanied the writer in his field work. The Devils lake basin contains the largest constant water supply of any corresponding area in North Dakota. This condi- tion and the excellent soil of the region afford reasons for infer- ring that this portion of the state might have more timber than any other area of corresponding extent. Observation, however, does not show this to be the case for, on the contrary, the flora of this basin is notably lacking in woody plants. It is a treeless region, excepting for the narrow and incomplete timber border of Devils lake and Pleasant lake, isolated clumps of willows along coulee banks and a few timber claims. If conditions were over otherwise there is no record of them. The prairie fires which swept these plains and swales for generations, and the small annual rainfall are believed to have prevented the distri- bution and development of trees. However, now that the fires are quite closely controlled, there" is reason to expect the native groves to extend over larger territory and produce trees of con- siderable size. The timber claims which have been cared for bear testimony to the fact that trees can be grown successfully in this basin. The native box elder ( Negundo aceroides) , elm ( Ulmus race- mosa), and white ash ( Fraxinus americana) all make rapid growth when planted on timber claims that are properly culti- vated and supplied with water from surface wells and coulees. Several species of poplar and willow are well adapted to the con- ditions found in most North Dakota tree claims. The principal native trees about Devils lake and Pleasant lake are burr oak ( Quercus macrocarpa) , rock elm ( Ulmus racemosa), white ash ( Fraxinus americana ), hackberry ( Celtis occidentalis) , chokeberry (Prunus virginiana) , and wild red cherry ( Prunns pennsylvanica ) . There are numerous shrubs in addition to these, but none of them afford fuel or shelter. The largest trees are nearly two and one-half to three feet in diameter and from sixty to eighty feet tall. The water of Devils lake is slightly saline, but the WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION ‘239 "border of the largest growth of trees extends almost to the shore line. From this fact one is led to believe that the water received through the subsoil is not injurious to the trees. There is ample •evidence that excellent timber can be grown in this region if proper irrigation methods are employed. The native hardy varie- ties of trees need to be supplied with water only for a few seas- sons ; later the young trees care for themselves. The hot winds which are so fatal to groves farther south, do not, as a rule, affect foliage in this state. The presence of many valuable grasses in this basin indi- cates the adaptability of the soil for agricultural purposes. It is one of the best grain producing portions of the state west of the Red river valley. Wheat is the principal grain grown, and yields from twelve to forty-five bushels per acre depending on the season. No season is too wet for most of this rolling region, but many of them are too dry for large crops, which doubtless could be produced almost every year if a feasible method of irrigation were adopted. So far as observation of one year’s conditions enable one to report, the effects of surface water are altogether favorable to the development of abundant straw and well filled heads. Barley, oats and rye are all grown in abun- dance. The effect of surface water on the grain raised in the Devils lake basin is such that one is led to believe that irrigation would well repay the expense of constructing an economical system. As elsewhere indicated, the land is admirably adapted to easy and effective watering by means of surface wells, coulees and shallow lakes. The cultivated vegetation which gave most ample testimony to the value of sufficient water supplies were vegetables and succulent garden plants, all of which are grown successfully in this region. In some truck patches which were supplied with irrigation ditches the water was obtained from creeks or surface wells, and in all cases the plants were growing in a luxuriant fashion. The same beneficial results from the use of surface water were observed in the cultivation of fruits, such as strawberries, blackberries, huckleberries, gooseberries, currants, plums and cherries, satisfactory yields being secured by artificial applica- tion of water during periods of drought. From the standpoint of the agriculturist, gardener and fruit grower, there is ample testimony to the fact that the water from surface wells, ponds, 240 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION and artificial reservoirs is beneficial to vegetation. The only prob- lem is how to secure this supply in critical periods of partial drought, which are liable to affect this region occasionally. With an economical and efficient system which could use this surface supply in such occasionally dry seasons, there could be guaran- teed a degree of certainty in agricultural pursuits that would lead to the extensive development of a region exceedingly rich in soil and agricultural possibilities. No estimate of the limit of the capacity of the surface wells in this part of the state can be given, since in but a few in- stances has there been any attempt to measure the flow per day or hour. In some cases data obtained when wells were dug or - cleaned show a very rapid supply, reaching in one or more in- stances 40,000 gallons in twenty-four hours ; such a supply is, how- ever, certainly unusual. Ordinarily, as has already been stated, the inflow is rather slow owing to the compact nature of the contain- ing material, and for this reason it might be necessary to tap the supply basin by several wells before a sufficient quantity of water could be stored to irrigate any considerable number of acres. On. account of the short distance necessary to dig for water in most cases it would not be very expensive to put down several wells. Generally the farmer could, during seasons of little work, dig these wells himself, and they could all be connected by pipes or other- wise arranged to supply a common reservoir. The water could be pumped by windmills or other convenient power. In North Dakota, where the days on which there is suf- ficient breeze to run a wind wheel are so numerous, this power should certainly be much more generally used than it now is, for- pumping water and for other purposes, such as grinding feed, sawing wood, and operating various farming mills. In localities where all the conditions have been thoroughly studied and care- ful use made of windmill pumps, the general opinion seems to be that they can be successfully employed in irrigation. This subject has been discussed by Mr. H. M. Wilson, in paper No. 1 of U. S. Geological Survey water supply papers. The prairie is gently rolling in this portion of North Dakota, and probably a considerable proportion of the land of the dis- trict described in this report could be watered at times when the rainfall was rather deficient at cdmpartively small expense. For this purpose the high points should be selected for reservoir- sites. WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION 241 A suitable reservoir can be constructed easily by throwing up an earth embankment, which should be very thick and well lined with clay, asphaltum or cement. Each reservoir should be pro- vided with one or more outlets which can be opened and cleaned readily, and should usually be supplied with water from several wells, the number depending upon the amount of water available from each and the acreage to be watered. The best method of applying the water to the land depends upon the character of the soil, the degree of uniformity of the sur- face, the quantity of water available and the elevation of the reser- voir, and each farmer must learn by actul experience what method is best adapted to his land and just how to operate his system. It may be said, in view of the characteristics of the land of this region, and especially on account of the elevation available for the reservoirs, that much less water will be required and less labor and skill in its application than in many nearly level districts where artificial and other modes of irrigation are practiced. For much of this rolling land a method sometimes known as the catchwork system is probably most easily applicable. This consists in providing a number of distributing ditches which fol- low quite closely the contour of the ground having a very slight fall. These ditches are in a general way parallel to each other and at distances from three to four rods to ten rods or more, depending upon the slope of the surface. These nearly horizontal ditches are marked in figure 19, ABC. They are connected with other ditches Fig. 19. Figure illustrating method of applying water on irregular ground. ”242 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION marked L, which follow down the slope at as steep a grade as can be maintained without washing the soil. The lower side of each of the ditches A B C is made so nearly level that by placingf a temporary dam or obstruction of earth at some point, for example in the ditch A, the water will be forced to overflow and spread uni- formly down the slope, being caught in turn by the next ditch, B, below. The flow in this lower ditch can be increased by the quantity turned down the side hill ditches, L, and these in turn overflowing spread over the slope to the next intercepting ditch, C, below. Where the ground is so irregular that the water will not spread evenly over the strip of land below the ditch A, it is often desirable to run shallow furrows (f) diagonally down the hill slope, stopping these before they reach the lower ditch, B. By mak- ing these at the proper grade, and by regulating the flow by means of small obstructions made with a shovelful of earth, it is possible to give the field a uniform soaking. « Because of the remarkable fertlity of the soil of this district; and the fact that this well system is to be used only as a supple- ment for a short period in the year and not at all in some years, no one should be led to underestimate the value that would be derived from such a system properly managed. The fact that irrigation is not a necessity makes it seem to many not worth the trouble unless from eighty to 160 acres of land can be watered from the start. This idea is certainly wrong. Irrigation is in WINDMILLS ANO CIRCULAR RESERVOIR Fig. 20. Windmills and irrigation on the plains. WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION 243 nearly all cases a great and lasting aid only in those sections where work is begun on a small scale and where the most careful efforts for improvement are made. 'Those who attempt to apply water artificially in this section should be content to begin with from five to twenty acres, and not endeavor to water large tracts until they have carefully determined the best way to construct the plants and to use the water. SANITARY CONDITIONS OF THE WATER One of the most important matters for consideration in con- nection with the water used by any community is its sanitary condition. * Comparatively few people have a proper conception of the means of providing a pure water supply or of the way to retain its purity; nor do many thoroughly realize what great danger lies in the use of impure water. It is with the hope of directing atten- tion to the great desirability of improvement in the sanitary conditions of wells used for domestic purposes that the few words following are added. In this district almost the entire supply of water for domestic use is derived from open wells, about three or four feet in diam- eter and usually from twenty to fifty feet deep. The water is generally found in a sand and gravel stratum, confined by impervious beds of clay, the lower of which usually forms the bed of the com- mon subterranean level of the region. A water supply derived from a source thus protected by nature from surface contamination is nevertheless liable to become dangerous to health unless more than common care is exercised in the location and construction of the well. A large percentage of the wells visited by the writer were found to be improperly located. For convenience in supplying water for cattle many are in stables or in or near the edge of stock yards, others are on low ground or on some hillside where the drain- age from above tends to soak into the well. Under such conditions it is the greatest wonder that cases of fever and other diseases are not of more frequent occurrence. In the country there is no necessity for placing a well in such a position that there will be danger from surface contamination. There is an abundance of space and water is easily obtained almost anywhere. *W. J. McGee, The Portable Waters of Eastern United States; Fourteenth Annual Report. U. S. Geol. Survey, Part II. 244 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION Special precaution should be used to make tight the top and sides of the well, so that the water will filter through as great a thickness of material as possible before finding its way into the welh This condition can be secured by laying up a brick or stone wall in hydraulic cement from near the bottom of the well to about a foot above the surface. Care should be taken that any open space between the sides of the well and the brick wall is filled at the bot- tom with cement and sand or clay, and that it is carefully covered at the top with heavy boards and otherwise made tight. Apparent cleanliness and purity should -not be assumed to guarantee absolute freedom from contamination. The location and surroundings of a well must always be looked after. Very frequently disease germs lurk unsuspected in what is seemingly to the eye the clearest and purest water. The writer regrets that he cannot here give a large number of analyses to show the organic matter in water from wells of different locations, but it was almost impossible, owing to the conditions under which the work was carried on, to make the organic determinations, even- in those wellS which were given an approximate mineral analysis,, since search for organic matter must be made very promptly after the collection of the samples, which was impossible in these cases. However, the mineral analyses were made and careful observations were taken regarding the location, elevation and various surround- ing conditions, and the effects of these conditions may be seen in a way by reference to the following table of analyses. An examina- tion of these analyses and of the record of the field tests shows- that in a very large proportion of cases the water obtained from wells located on low lands is poorer than that from those on high lands. In most cases where there had been sickness, caused pos- sibly by the water, the wells used were situated in low places or near stables or cesspools. WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION 245 Table showing- salts and mineral matter in water of wells at different elevations : Grains Per Gallon Name (l) Chlorine (2) Hardness (3) Carbonates Total Solids Location 1 Wilcox 0.49 18. 4.24 .... Good, high 2 Lindeberger . . . . 3 Cocking 1.32 19. 6.36 37.9 Good, very high 0.49 17. 8.48 87.8 Good, very high 4 Goldberg 4.12 44. 4.24 78.3 High 5 Johnson 5.44 23. 29.68 98.9 Too near stock yards, high 6 Wood 3.(53 21. 12.72 40.3 Medium 7 Falgeson. 4.12 7.5 25.44 81.2 8 Enger 4 61 54.5 19.08 149.6 Medium 9 Maristeau . 9.39 42. 6.36 117. ... In barn, low 10 Jacobson 14.67 79. 23.32 231. ' Near barn, low (1) Estimated as equivalent to sodium chloride. (2) Equivalent to carbonates and sulphates of lime and magnesia. (3) Lime, magnesia and alkalias estimated as equivalent to sodium carbonate. With the true alkalias was estimated all, or a part of the carbonate of lime and magnesia. The number of wells located near barnyards and supplying water for household purposes was astonishing. Were it not for the remarkably healthful climate and for the out-of-door occupa- tion and good resisting power of those habitually using such water there would be a larger amount of sickness. Water obtained from wells in low places and where the water rests in blue clay was nearly always found to be stronger in alkalies, salts and sulphuretted hydrogen or soluble sulphides and of inferior quality to that from wells located on higher sand or gravel ridges. Very few of the wells of this district are walled up with brick or stone. Wooden planks are generally used, simply to keep the well from caving in. Some wells are not even planked up. The top is usually very poorly covered and many are kept quite open. It must not be understood from the above statements that the water of this region is naturally dangerous, for this is not the case. There is, however, great room for improvement in sanitary con- ditions within the control of* man. The following points are sug- gested as possible aids in bringing about an improvement in the quality of water used for household purposes in this region : Locate the well on high land, and whenever possible let it be in a sand ridge, or at least in a location which there is reason to believe is underlain with such material. This will not be very difficult to accomplish in the case of most of the wells in this district. Investigation goes to show beyond a doubt that in most cases the best water is obtained when the well is put through much 246 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION sand and gravel, at least for a' portion of its depth. This fact of course, is generally recognized. Sand and gravel act as a filter- ing bed, and are often used for the improvement of otherwise impure supplies. Many cities use sand filtering beds with remark- ably good results. In the east one of the most thoroughly tested systems of this kind is the comparatively simple sand bed arrange- ment of the city of Lawrence, Mass., by which the water is purified for domestic use. In North Dakota a similar system is used at Grand Forks with gratifying results. Usually the organic impuri- ties in the water after filtration amount to but a small fraction of that found in the unfiltered water. Wherever water is found which passes through layers of sand and gravel, as is commonly the case in this part of the state, it will have been subjected to a natural filtration which, as the analyses given in this report show, results in a marked improvement in its quality* Wells should be located on high land to prevent contamination from the slow percolation of impure surface water; wells in low places naturally receive the sewage and general drainage from the higher portions of land ; but high and rolling land favors a rapid run-off of surface water, and so usually prevents the intro- duction of surface impurities. For obvious reasons it is imperative that wells to supply drink- ing water should not be stopped at too shallow a depth. Many wells may be found which are little more than mere basins dug a few feet in the soil and subsoil. The water thus obtained is all from the immediate surface and is very liable to contamination. Wells dug for domestic use should be walled up with brick or stone and not with wood, since the latter does not keep out surface water but furnishes favorable conditions for the accumulation and growth of organic matter; the wood soon begins to decay, thus supplying impurity, while the cracks and rotten places in the wood allow access to small animals. Based upon the principles mentioned, there are many ways of constructing wells which will furnish pure water and be entirely satisfactory. WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION 247 The accompanying illustration, figure 21, is given as a sug- gestion of one safe method of construction. This will be found applicable in many places in this region, but will need to be modi- Cement . \T culTe * S An AM-'.’V; find/ J/ jb l CfytsL. ^OT CL. UJQ.ll ^ 0r Fig. 21. Plan for a well for domestic use. 248 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION fied oftentimes to meet the local conditions. This plan is intended only for localities where the water will rise by its own pressure at the lowest stages to a point above the top of the inflow pipes marked A, in figure 21. Wherever the water does not rise of its own pressure so as to overflow th6se inlet pipes this design for a well would not be available, as the pump could only lift the water out of the well when it rises above the intake pipe to the pump. The well is dug to within a few feet of the sand which contains the water and which is capped by compact clay or shale. Through this clay or shale the iron tubes, A, are driven, or, if the shale or clay is too hard the tubes are placed in holes drilled through. All of these tubes, six or eight in number, pass into the water-bearing sand, as seen by the central tube. Each tube is provided with an ordinary pointed cap for the lower end and is perforated along the sides for some distance. The bottom of the well is then cemented very carefully around the pipes, and the entire bottom, D, is covered with a thickness of about a foot with a fine concrete made of Port- land or other good hydraulic cement. Upon this the brick wall is laid in hydraulic cement mortar to about one foot above the sur - face, and is provided with a tight fitting cover. The tube, C, is placed in the cover to allow a free circulation of air. It should be provided with a fine screen on top or a perforated cap and sides. The tube, B, ending in a perforated cap, is the suction tube leading to the pump. A well constructed in this manner is a great improvement over the one of common construction, since it permits no foreign matter to enter the well and does not require that the water shall stand in the blue clay or shale and thus increase the amount of alkalies as well as of other mineral matter. When- ever it is desired to clean the well, the tops of the tubes, A, can be plugged up and the water drawn out. When there is doubt about the water rising, at its lowest stage, to a sufficient height above the inflow pipes, A, to insure a good supply, some slight modifications may be adopted. For example, the bottom of the well should be carried down very near to the water-bearing stratum. When it is evident that the water will rise some distance above the bottom one large intake pipe, A, or several smaller ones, may be put down well into the water-bearing stratum. The concrete can then be placed above these in the way illustrated or the pump may be connected directly by means of pipe B to the one or more pipes sunken into the water-bearing stratum, and then the concrete can WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION 249 be placed around these pipes. In this case water will be gotten as long as the supply keeps up in the carrying stratum. The -cylinder of the pump should not be located too far above the water •supply. When it is not necessary to dig very far for water, a better plan still would be to extend the open well, curbed with brick laid in cement mortar, down to a point say from four to eight feet be- low the water line, provided the water-bearing stratum is that thick. In this way the bottom of the well will remain directly in the sand or gravel carrying water. The bottom is not cemented in such a case. The pipes connecting with the pump are then run directly nearly to the bottom of the well. It should terminate in a large screen resting upon a stone of good size or a little pier of brick. The stone or pier and the screen of the intake pipe should now be covered with gravel. If desired, a little coarse charcoal of the best kind may be mixed with the gravel. It is well then to cover the charcoal with small gravel and finally with coarse sand This will produce a very excellent filter bed. It is important to have a good screen at the bottom of the pump pipe. This may be made from a large core or bulb with openings on the sides and bottom and covered with rather fine antirust wire screen. It is desirable gen- erally to use a screen which confines its surface 'to within six or eight inches of the bottom. This will permit the withdrawing of nearly all the water before the pump takes air. Such care or ex- pense need not be taken with wells for stock or irrigation, but simply with those which are employed for household purposes. In wells used for domestic purposes it is highly desirable that a large amount of water be removed, for this is an important aid in keeping the supply pure and preventing the accumulation of alkalies or other salts. In nearly all cases in this region the greater quantity of water drawn the better its quality. Where windmills are used and a large amount of water is pumped out, the improve- ment is noticeable. The value derived from the removal of a large quantity of water is probably not only due to the prevention of the accumulation of alkalies and other salts, but also the prevention of certain chemical changes which soon take place in the standing water. One of the most noticeable of these is between the alkaline carbonates and sulphides, mostly of iron, which in the presence of a small amount of organic matter probably combine so as to form traces of carbonate of iron and set free a small amount of hydrogen 250 WATER RESOURCES OF THE DEVILS LAKE REGION sulphide, which gives the offensive odor to many wells in which water is allowed to stand, especially if it is confined in shale. When large quantities of water are used, so that the supply is constantly being changed, there is not much opportunity for such chemical decomposition. There is little doubt that the proper construction of the wells and the removal of large quantities of water will greatly improve the quality of the supply. The containing shales and clays will doubtless be slowly relieved, by this process of washing, of much of their impurities. More care should certainly be given to the sanitary conditions of drinking water in this region. Few sub- jects need more attention or are more worthy of thought than this one of domestic water supply. Upon it to a great extent depends the health, comfort and prosperity of the whole community.