Copper

Gold

Silver.

Zinc

Lead

Total...

1941 production

$77, 910, 000 11, 652, 000

5, 904, 000

2, 562, 000 1, 804, 000 99, 832, 000

Total production

$2, 840, 000, 000 247, 550, 000 198, 450, 000 19, 140, 000 32, 500, 000

3, 337, 640, 000

Production of cobalt, mercury, manganese, vanadium, molybdenum, and asbestos was greatly stimulated by war conditions. Cobalt is mined in the Tombstone, Ariz., area; mercury in the Ord district of the Mazatzal Mountains, Ariz.; manganese in the Bisbee, Ariz., region; vanadium in the Mammoth district of Arizona; molybdenum in the Mammoth and Globe-Miami districts of Arizona; and asbestos in Gila County, Ariz.

Several manganese ore bodies are found in the area, the most extensive being located in the Artillery Peak district of Arizona and in the Three Kids mine near Las Vegas, Nev. Both of these areas were large producers during World War II. This country's largest manganese mine is located near Las Vegas.

Coal is known to occur at several locations. Small amounts are mined for local consumption, but deposits have proved too poor in grade to compete with the higher grade coals mined in New Mexico and Colorado. Subbituminous grade coal is found in the Kolob-Kanab district of Iron and Kane Counties, Utah. To date, coal mining has been on a very small scale, and development work has not been extensive enough to determine the reserves available.

Limestone and gypsum are mined in the lower basin. Important deposits of various salts are found in many of the dry lake beds of Nevada and California. Deposits of silica sand near Overton, Nev., are mined and shipped to the west coast for use in glass manufacturing. Numerous other minerals, including alunite, magnesite, clay diatomite, bentonite, borates, calcium chloride, and petroleum, are mined commercially on a comparatively small scale in the basin.

Adjacent to the lower basin are southern California's petroleum and natural gas fields, among the largest in the country. The gross value of production from these fields during 1942 is shown in the following table:

20, 148, 305 136, 228, 524

Recently developed electrometallurgical processes should greatly stimulate the mining industry of the region. if sufficient low-cost power becomes available. Large and important ore deposits of various grades are yet to be mined. Development of the lower grade deposits, hitherto economically impracticable, will become feasible with low-cost power. Several large zinc deposits of medium or better grade, which are not at present being worked because of high transportation costs to distant ore treatment plants, could be developed with low-cost power.

The possibility of discovering new ore deposits should not be overlooked. Technical advances in prospecting methods are continually being made. Vast areas underlying the numerous alluvium-filled basins and valleys of the region are impossible to prospect by present methods and offer a promising field for the discovery of new deposits of valuable ores.

Industrial research organizations are discovering and developing new uses for mineral products and other petroleum products and derivatives.

MANUFACTURING AND OTHER INDUSTRIES

The lower basin has been almost totally dependent upon outside areas for manufactured goods. In the last thirty years a rapid growth in population and an increase in transportation facilities and supplies of low-cost electric energy have been conducive to industrial development.

In 1940 one-half of the manufacturing establishments were engaged in processing food products. These included meat packing, poultry packing, flour milling, icecream making, fruit packing, fruit and vegetable canning, and dairy processing plants. Cotton gins, cottonseed-oil mills, and breweries also operated in the region.

Twenty-two plants were dependent upon the forest for raw materials. In this group were 12 sawmills, 5 planing. mills, and 5 veneer mills. Twenty-four establishments manufactured household furniture and furnishings. Twenty-five plants manufactured brick, hollow tile, cement, and concrete products. Three plants processed cotton products and three plants manufactured machine. tools. Various other smaller manufacturing plants were operating.

World War II was responsible for the development of large industries in the lower basin. Las Vegas, Nev., was the center of much such activity. The world's largest magnesium plant was located within the trading area of that city. The manufacture of industrial tools and implements for war increased greatly during the war period. Several manufacturing industries were established near Phoenix, Ariz., including an aluminum fabricating plant and an airplane factory. An airplane assembly plant was located at Tucson. Construction of an arsenal near Flagstaff created a temporary boom. Small military establishments, such as the naval training air base at Holbrook, caused local temporary prosperity. The wartime demand for wood increased the tempo of lumbering operations. War prices for food increased the farm income.

Very little industrial utilization of the metallic minerals produced in the lower basin is made within the area. Practically all metals mined locally are shipped for refinement and fabrication to plants located in other States. Some of the nonmetallic minerals producer, however, are treated and utilized by local industries. Plaster is manufactured at Douglas, Ariz., from gypsum mined in the Sulphur Springs Valley. Limestone is roasted at several plants, and the lime produced is marketed throughout the region. Much of the common brick used by the construction industry is manufactured at various local brickyards.

Lumbering operations are important in the vicinity of Flagstaff, where 1,500 persons are thus employed. A lumber mill with an annual capacity of one hundred million board feet is located at McNary, Ariz. Forests in this region are practically all under the jurisdiction of the United States Forest Service, and therefore, the available resources can be expected to remain fairly constant.

Indian arts, such as weaving and silversmithing, furnish an important source of income to the native craftsmen and to curio shops.

Another industry of considerable importance, which depends on and assists with the marketing of the fruit and vegetable crop, is the manufacture of ice. Within the lower basin several ice plants, including one specializing in dry ice, furnish refrigeration for produce en route to market.

The few factories normally located in the region produce chiefly either materials used in agriculture or mining or commodities for local markets. These manufactured products include dynamite, boxes and crates, saddles and harnesses, concrete pipe, fabricated steel, auto radiators, storage batteries, paint and varnish, and air-conditioning equipment.

Probably one reason for the lack of extensive industrial development in the lower basin is its proximity to numerous factories in the southern California coastal region where natural advantages such as seaports and low-cost

fuel supplies have aided the development of extensive industries.

In the last two decades the nearby Los Angeles metropolitan area has become one of the Nation's principal manufacturing centers. The six counties which comprise the southern California area are engaged in virtually every line of manufacturing. In 1940 this region had 6,254 manufacturing establishments and employed 139,287 wage earners. In number of establishments the processing of food ranks first, there being more than 1,200 such plants. Nearly 500 factories manufactured household furnishings and appliances.

The Nation's largest airplane factories were located in southern California during the war.

The refining of petroleum is by far the most important of the industries related to or dependent on mining. The many crude oil derivatives obtainable by refining have made the petroleum business an activity of considerable scope. Petroleum products produced in southern California include gasoline, synthetic rubber, tar, asphalt, toluene, phenol, paint bases, solvents, fertilizers, alcohols, acetic acid, formaldehyde, ammonia, and many others.

Another important mineral industry in the southern California region is the manufacture of Portland cement. During 1942 the 5 cement mills operating in the area shipped a total of 11,582,051 barrels to markets scattered throughout southwestern United States.

Large quantities of hollow tile and brick are produced in southern California plants. Varieties of brick are manufactured and sold throughout the State and in contiguous areas of the lower basin. Other construction materials produced include lime, sand, gravel, and crushed rock.

Many industries found in the coastal region of southern California are based on raw materials from the lower basin.

MARKETS AND TRANSPORTATION

Trading and shipping centers are well distributed throughout the agricultural areas of the lower basin and provide convenient outlets for crops and livestock.

Forage crops such as alfalfa generally cannot be shipped out of the basin economically because of the transportation charges. The extensive local livestock-raising industry creates a great demand for these crops and prices are generally based on the prevailing price at Phoenix plus trucking costs. Alfalfa hay not fed locally to livestock is sold in Los Angeles and in San Diego.

Livestock is marketed mostly on the hoof and shipped to feeding pens located either in the southern part of Arizona or in States outside the basin. Finished feeders are shipped to Los Angeles and San Diego.

Larger towns such as Flagstaff, Holbrook, and Winslow, Ariz., provide a limited market for vegetables and prod

Little Colorado__.

Virgin.

Boulder

Gila...

Division

Lower basin..

Southern California..

Total.

United States.

Percent lower basin is of United States total_

Percent lower basin and Southern California is of United States total...

uce.

Additional markets for summer vegetables can be found in the southern portions of the State where the climate is too warm to permit successful truck gardening during the hotter months. Local mining districts provide valuable markets for dairy and poultry products and vegetables. Winter and summer vegetables are shipped mostly to the east and west coasts, with Los Angeles and San Francisco as the chief outlets. Bermuda and alfalfa seeds are shipped to the Southern States. Flaxseed is sent to Los Angeles to be processed for oil. Citrus fruits are marketed throughout the country. Small fruits, of which the date is the most important, are sold mainly in the Los Angeles area, but part of the crop has a ready market in the midwestern and eastern cities. Dairy products not consumed locally are shipped to the Los Angeles area. Before World War II, much of the shortstaple cotton produced in the region was shipped to Japan.

East and west railroad transportation throughout the basin is handled well considering the vast, sparsely settled area involved. The basin is crossed by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway and in the extreme southern part by the main line of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Branch lines of each of these railroads serve the major mining and irrigated areas. The main line of the Union Pacific Railroad connecting Salt Lake City and Los Angeles crosses the basin in a north and south direction, with branch lines extending from Caliente to Pioche and from Moapa to Overton.

A system of United States highways and State roads connects the more important population centers. Highways for east and west travel in general follow the railroads: U. S. 66 crosses the northern part; U. S. 60 and 70 cross the central part; and U. S. 80 serves the southern part. These are paved, well maintained, and open to travel the year round. North-south highways include U. S. 91 extending from Salt Lake City through the basin to Los Angeles and U. S. 89 from Salt Lake City to southern Arizona. U. S. 666 south of Springerville, Ariz., is one of the most scenic roads in the world and is known as the Coronado Trail. A network of unimproved roads leads to ranches and smaller population centers, but many are impassable during wet weather, and sandy stretches make automotive travel difficult during droughts. A great part of the basin is accessible only by foot travel or by horseback. Transcontinental truck and bus lines, American Air Lines, and Transcontinental Western Air Lines pass through or over various farming districts and towns in the lower basin.

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE

In 1939 the lower basin and southern California together had 4.29 percent of the Nation's retail and 3.47 percent of the Nation's wholesale trade. In all of the divisions retail trade exceeded wholesale trade, but in the southern California area wholesale trade exceeded retail trade.

The scenic beauty of the lower basin had been recognized long before its other resources were developed or stabilized. This region of high mountains, deep canyons, colorful deserts, and thousands of square miles of scenic wilderness has drawn millions of tourists to view its natural majesty and to enjoy its delightful climate in winter. Twenty-one national parks and monuments and 13 national forests are located in the area. The Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, and Zion Canyon, to mention only a few, enjoy world renown.

Within the last decade the area has acquired a manmade attraction-Boulder Dam with its recreational area which rivals all of its natural wonders and which symbolizes man's conquest of nature's fickleness. This dam impounds the world's largest man-made lake. Lake Mead extends 115 miles upstream from the dam, through canyons, cliffs, and scorching deserts into the lower reaches of Grand Canyon and opens to the tourist scenic beauty hitherto inaccessible. The Boulder Dam National Recreational Area, located hundreds of miles from any large metropolitan center, has become a tourist mecca and before World War II ranked sixth among the national parks and monuments in the United States in the number of visitors.

Zion National Park attracts tourists from all parts of the country. The unique colorful scenery in this area is used by the moving-picture industries as a setting for "Western" and other pictures. Through technicolor films, the matchless desert beauty near Kanab, Utah, has become familiar wherever motion pictures are shown.

The Little Colorado River Basin is almost entirely within a spectacular scenic area locally known as "The En

chanted Circle." The fantastically-colored Painted Desert and Petrified Forest are within this basin, and tourist travel is heavy to these wonderlands. Other popular attractions in this vicinity are the Sunset Crater, an extinct volcano which becomes a riot of color at sunset; the San Francisco Peaks, frequently snow-capped, which tower over the surrounding countryside; and the Meteor Crater, formed by the impact of a meteorite during some past age. At Grand Falls, when the Little Colorado River is in flood stage, one may see a chocolate-colored river plunge 185 feet into the canyon below.

In the Gila River Basin popular attractions include Casa Grande, Montezuma Castle, Tonto, Tuzigoot, and Gila National Monuments; saguaro and organ pipe cacti; spectacular rock formations at Chiricahua, New Mexico; and the early Spanish mission church at Tumacacori, Ariz. Prescott, Tonto, Apache, Crook, Gila and Coronado National forests are located in this area.

Trips to the Indian reservations yield a glimpse into the lives of a people who have carried many of the ways of their prehistoric ancestors down to the present day. The various ceremonial dances of these natives are especially interesting to the eastern visitor. Wupatki National Monument and Walnut Canyon, Ariz., are sites of numerous, fascinating, prehistoric Indian ruins. El Morro National Monument, the great rock where early Spanish explorers carved their names is located near Gallup, New Mexico. Prehistoric dinosaurs have left their tracks in stone 60 miles north of Flagstaff.

The waters of the Colorado River, detained at intervals in man-made lakes, teem with fish of many types. Bass, crappie, and bluegills abound in the reservoirs while trout and catfish prefer the moving waters of the main channel. Lake Mead is a fisherman's paradise. Reservoirs on the Gila River and its tributaries are kept well stocked with fish from numerous fish hatcheries in the region and most of the clear, cold streams in the mountain areas contain rainbow, Loch Leven, and other trout. Upper reaches of certain small tributaries of the Virgin River provide suitable environment for trout and offer limited fishing for recreation, but the main stem of the Virgin River, Kanab Creek, and Muddy River do not contain fish because of intermittent flows, silt-laden freshets, or the mineral content of the waters.

Game abound in both the valley and mountain regions. The sportsman finds a plentiful supply of such big game as deer, elk, and bear in the forested and more primitive areas, and all of these animals may be hunted legally during certain seasons. Mountain lions, coyotes, and other predatory animals are fairly common in remote areas and may be hunted the year round. Numerous species of small game attract many local hunters. Game birds found in the basin include the wild turkey, duck, goose, snipe, white-wing pigeon, quail, and dove. Five national game refuges are located partly or wholly within