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. . w 00 ~ ~ . . . . . . . . . had developed the art of irrigated agriculture: "In the valley of the Gila and on its tributaries from the northeast are the Pimas, Maricopas, and Papagos. They are skilled agriculturists, cultivating lands by irrigation. In the same region many ruined villages are found. The dwellings of these towns in the valley were built chiefly of grout, and the fragments of the ancient pueblos still re- maining have stood through centuries of storm. Other pueblos near the cliffs on the northeast were built of stone. The people who occupied them cultivated the soil by irriga- tion, and their hydraulic works were on an extensive scale. They built canals scores of miles in length and built reser- voirs to store water. " The recommendations of Powell. which resulted from this historic trip, were significant in formulating early governmental policy for agricultural development of arid lands of the west. Early settlements were nucleated by the mining industry with the agricultural sector developed to supply food for the growing population. The mining activity and as sociated commercial enterprises further attracted early railroad development in the region. The result was that towns and cities in the Basin developed mainly near mines, farming areas and important railroad junctions. With the decline in mining enterprises, agriculture became the basic industry of the region. With the current energy shortage, the mineral industries may again rise to be the principle industry of the Basin. The early farming pattern was small agricultural communities in river valleys where the best land was cultivated and irrigated while livestock grazed on adjacent range lands. 25 ,