CHAPTER III. _The Bottom of the Bowl._--Early geological days--The

former Gulf--Sea-beaches on desert--Harbors and reefs--Indian remains--The Cocopas--The Colorado River--The delta dam--The inland lake--The first fall--Springs and wells in the sea-bed--The New River--New beaches--The second fall--The third beach--The failing water--Evaporation--Bottom of the Bowl--Drying out of the sea-bed--Advance of the desert--Below sea-level--Desolation of the basin--Beauty of the sand-dunes--Cactus and salt-bush--Desert animals--Birds--Lizards and snakes--Mirage--The water illusion--Decorative landscapes--Sensuous qualities in Nature--Changing the desert--Irrigation in the basin--Changing the climate--Dry air--Value of the air supply--Value of the desert--Destruction of natural beauty--Effects of mining, lumbering, agriculture--Ploughing the prairies--“Practical men”--Fighting wind, sand, and heat--Nature eternal--Return of desolation 44