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<br />ater and
<br />the Dimensions
<br />of Crisis
<br />
<br />1305
<br />
<br />.
<br />
<br />
<br />A Compendiu n1
<br />
<br />The FUllcrioll of Aridi(\'
<br />J
<br />
<br />BY WALLACE STEGNER
<br />
<br />'If; 1Hf,'" !.lith Jomt rtjltlf/01lJ (JTt th, lO.:I)J '" uhirh l.<.:Iu,.-lh, LJ.-k of It. ,h,
<br />Jij/r,buIIO'l 0/ II. th, uruy,/t f)ltr Ils PQJJtJllo,,-haJ JhllptJ ,h, hwory ,md (u/fll,., 0/
<br />,h, U/J/,rn tU'O.rh,rdJ 0/ 1m r.mtr/{(In (ol1ll1'Unr.
<br />
<br />.
<br />
<br />There ate other v.'a~'s of dt'tin-
<br />mg the American \\'esf, bur
<br />since M.tlor John \'';iesley
<br />Powell's 18~8 Rt~rl on ,h, unJJ ofth,
<br />ArId RtXIO" it h,ts usu.uly been Said thou
<br />It sum about the 98th meridian of
<br />o;r"cSf longitude and ends ,u the Pacific
<br />Ocean. NeHher boundar)' has the Eu-
<br />clidean perleClion of a fixed imagma.ry
<br />tIne, for on the ll.esr the Pacific pb.re is
<br />restless, constantly shoving Los An,ll:C'-
<br />les north"'1f'd '.l.here it is nOf \l,'amed.
<br />and on the east the bounduy bc:tv,een
<br />MIddle 'X'est and \('esr tlucNues .lo de.
<br />j:.ree or twO easl or WeSf depending: on
<br />"'et and dry cycles_
<br />Actually It is nO! an ubinaq' 981h
<br />menJI.tn thai marks Ihe \\Iesl's began-
<br />ning. bur .t peru:puble line of real 1m-
<br />pon thar roughly coinciJes with it,
<br />reJ.chm/tsouthward about J. third of the
<br />"""'y .tcross the Dak.or.u. S"ebraska. and
<br />K..tnsas. and then s,,'er..mgmore WUlh-
<br />wesr"..ard across Oklahoma and Tex,&S.
<br />This IS the lSoh\'et.tJ line of n>'enty
<br />mches, be~'onJ which Ihe mean .tnnuaJ
<br />rainfall IS less than rhe n>'enty mches
<br />normaJl~' necessary for unlftlgated
<br />crops.
<br />A "en' lmle Jdlclency. e'"en.t slil'(hr
<br />JlswrlLon of the season m ",-hleh rhe
<br />u.m falh. makes J.llthe .iLfrerence_ ~ty
<br />lanul\' homesreolJeJ on the ~1onunol-
<br />
<br />.
<br />
<br />l.j
<br />
<br />Saskuchewan border in 191'S, and
<br />burned out by 1920. afrer lanng the
<br />found allan for .t little DuS! Bowl by
<br />plo""Ing up a lor of buffalo grass. If the
<br />rains hJ.d been kmd, m~' father would
<br />have proved up on thaI land and be-
<br />come a naruralized Canadioln. I esri-
<br />rn.lore Ihar I missed becomml'( CanolJian
<br />by no more Ihan an inch or twO ot rJ.ln;
<br />bUI that same Jeticiency confirmed me
<br />as a citizen of the \X'es!.
<br />The \\IeS! is defined. [hal is, bv mad-
<br />equate rainfall. ",hlCh means a }l:enefJ,l
<br />defiCIency of ""arer. \X'e ha"e water only
<br />between Ihe time of HS fallin!,: as r.tin or
<br />snow .tnd Ihe f1me ",'hen ir flo"'s or
<br />percolJ.tes b.tck. into Ihe sea or Ihe Jeep
<br />sub-surface reservoirs of the eMth. \Xe
<br />c.tn'l create water. or increase the sup-
<br />ply. \X'e un only hold back ;.Ind re..:lis-
<br />Iflbutewhatlherels, Ifrainfall is made-
<br />quare, chen streams \>'111 be madequate,
<br />lakes will be few anJ sometlmes sa.lme,
<br />underground ....arer v,'11I be slow [Q re-
<br />new irself when II h;.ls been pumped
<br />down, the illr will be "err dn'. and sur-
<br />face evaporation from lakes and reser-
<br />vOirs "'III be exrreme. In desert polru of
<br />the '\X'esr II IS as much JS ten feel a year
<br />The onlv exceplLon to "'eslern J.nJi-
<br />IY. ap;.lrl from rhe mOUOlJ.lns that pro-
<br />VIde Ihe absoluteh' Indispensable
<br />sno....s;ll:ds. IS the north....eH corner. on
<br />
<br />Ihe Pacific side of the Cascades. Ie is a
<br />nurow exceplion: eVef)'lhmt: easr of
<br />the mountains. which means rwo-
<br />rhlrds to three-quarters of \X'Jshlngton
<br />and Ore!'(:on, is In the rain sh.!.dow.
<br />California. ....hich might seem 10 be
<br />an exceplion, is nOl. Though irom San
<br />Francisco north....ard the COasf gers
<br />plenty of rain, rhat ram, Jik.t- the lesser
<br />rams elsewhere in the stare. (Jib nOl in
<br />the gro....inK season bUI in winter. From
<br />April to No,'ember ir jUH aboul ca.n't
<br />r.un In spile of the mild COaslal dimare
<br />;.Ind an economy gre,ner rhan Ihat of all
<br />but a handful of nalions. California fiu
<br />',X'.loher Webb's defimtion of me \X'esl as
<br />Ma semi.Jesert 9..ith a desert hearr.M
<br />So the ""est Ihal we are laiiong about
<br />comprISes a dry core of el~hr public
<br />lands sr;.ltes---^rizona. Colorado, Ida-
<br />ho, .\100l.lona. NevoWa. ~e'" Mexico,
<br />Ulah, and Wyomm~plus n>'O mar-
<br />..-mol! areas, The first of Ihese is lhe
<br />western part of lhe Dak0l4s, Nebras-
<br />ka. KJnsas. Oklahoma. and Texas, au-
<br />lhenucally dry bUI wuh onl~' mmima.!
<br />public loInds. The second IS rhe wesr
<br />cooul-\X'a.shm,lo:fon. Oregon, and Cali-
<br />forma-wlCh exrensi"e anJ I.londs bur
<br />wuh well.watered coasl.!.1 Slnps and
<br />man)' fl,'en.
<br />
<br />A ridllY, anJ aridlfY alone,
<br />ffiolk.es lhe vaflOUS ',X'ests one
<br />The dlsunc[lve Western planrs
<br />and oInima.ls, lhe hard daflty (before
<br />pov,'er plants and mcrropohr.ln rraffic
<br />altered Itl of the wesrern aIr. Ihe look.
<br />and locarlOn of ",'esrern lo""ns, the
<br />emplY ~paces that separare them,
<br />the way farms and nnch['~ oIre either
<br />densely conceOlrared lIo-hr-rc- lIo'alt"f is
<br />
<br />\'f1LDERZ'ESS
<br />
<br />LHL 1')11.
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