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35 were joi ntly operated by water user organizations and Reclamation, and 26 were operated entirely by Reclamation. Projects provided irrigation service by Reclamation range in size from a few hundred acres upward to over 1 million acres. During the 1976 irrigation season, approxi mate ly 26 mi 11 on acre-feet of water were supplied to about 9,463,000 i rri gated acres in the 17 Western United States. Service was provided to a farm population of over 600,000 on approximately 146,000 farm units. Food, fiber, and forage production account for about 59 million tons, or the annual requ i rements of nea rly 38 mill i on people. Reclamation delivered an additional 2 million acre-feet of water for municipal, industrial, domestic, and other nonagricultural uses in 1976. Reclamation projects provide three types of irrigation service: f u 1 1, sup P 1 erne n ta 1, and tempora ry. Lands recei vi ng a full supply generally obtai n all irrigation water from Reclamation-built facilities. During the 1976 season, a full irrigation supply was provided for about 4,250,000 irrigated acres on approximately 66,600 farm units. Irrigators receiving suppl emental water servi ces have an inadequate supply from non-Reclamation sources. In the same season, approximately 5,195,000 i rri gated acres comprising about 79,400 farm units, received a supplemental water supply. Temporary water service acreage varies widely in quantities and frequencies, depending largely upon fluctuating available water suppl ies. Only about 18,000 i rri gated acres were provi ded temporary service during the 1976 season. Bureau of Indian Affairs The regional area of the United States in which primitive irrigation was practiced by Indians comprised the general arid country known as the Great American Desert. It extends between the Sierra Nevadas and Cal ifornia on the west, to the foothills on the east of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and Wyoming; and from Old Mexico on the south through Wyomi ng on the north. Most of this vast area had little value without water, and the ever-increasing need for water was possi bly the greatest stimulant in the Indian's development, and he advanced further in hi s quest for its use than along any other endeavor. With irrigation, strong communities grew, making it possible for Indians to survive the onslaught of marauding tri bes. . , The Indian cliffdwellers di scovered and util i zed the same means of conserving water from the rains and snows that modern engineers employ, and the evidence of their irrigation systems may be found today. Small dams of stone were cons tructed in the many small draws leading from the mesa tops to the natural drainageways through which water from the infrequent showers flowed. The silt and soil carried by the storm waters deposited behind these dams and gradually formed small terraces on hillsides. These terraces retai ned moi sture , . 6