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<br />+--~:- <br />, <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />~L;' " <br />'''''",'''' <br />~-j~1' <br />J1w' <br />~:'1(.-.. <br /> <br />Before the advent of man and his attempts to develop <br /> <br />the delta, the River was free to flow as it pleased, and <br /> <br />, , <br /> <br />did from time to time flow, either to the west and north <br /> <br />into Imperial Valley, or to the south into the Gulf. One <br /> <br />of the outstandin~ characteristics of the River is that <br /> <br />in the delta :t t always runs on a ridge. The reason for <br />this is that, the main channel of the River not being <br /> <br />large enough to accooonodate the floods, the River over- <br /> <br />flows its banks during the flood season to a depth of <br /> <br />from a few inches to soveral feet, the overflow depositing <br /> <br />the coarser silt close to the River channel and the finer <br /> <br /><. <br /> <br />", <br /> <br />silt at varylno; distances beyond the channel. Thus the <br />River gradually builds u.p .its bed and. banks until a <br />height is reached such that it becomes unstable and one <br /> <br />of the many side channels develops to a size sufficient <br />to divert the entire flow. During the past ages, in this <br /> <br />manner, the entire delta region was built up of silt to <br /> <br />great depths. <br /> <br />Protective Levee ~yst~ <br /> <br />Although development of Imperial Valley in California <br />and Mexicali Valley in Mexico commenced in 1901, fo:!:, <br /> <br />f <br />,., <br /> <br />several years thereafter some overflow during flood <br />seasons continued to reach the Salton Sea. From 1905 to <br /> <br />1907 the entire flow of the River poured through a break <br /> <br />- 6 .. <br />