Desert Land Act
E545334
The Desert Land Act was a U.S. federal law enacted in 1877 to encourage the irrigation and settlement of arid public lands in the American West by allowing individuals to acquire large tracts cheaply if they agreed to irrigate them.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
19th-century legislation
ⓘ
United States federal law ⓘ land law ⓘ |
| administeredBy | General Land Office NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| amended | was amended multiple times in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ⓘ |
| appliesTo | arid public lands ⓘ |
| appliesToRegion | American West NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| classificationCriterion | land must be essentially without timber and naturally arid ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| distinctionFromHomesteadAct |
allowed larger acreage than the Homestead Act
ⓘ
focused specifically on irrigation of desert lands ⓘ |
| effect |
encouraged irrigation development in the western United States
ⓘ
facilitated private acquisition of large tracts of arid land ⓘ was subject to abuse and speculation by large landholders ⓘ |
| eligibility |
citizens of the United States
ⓘ
persons who had declared intention to become U.S. citizens ⓘ |
| enactedInYear | 1877 ⓘ |
| enactedOnDate | 1877-03-03 ⓘ |
| governs | entry of desert lands in certain western states and territories ⓘ |
| historicalContext | part of 19th-century U.S. western expansion policies ⓘ |
| influenced | development of private irrigation projects in the West ⓘ |
| landOwnershipOutcome | patent issued upon successful proof of irrigation ⓘ |
| landType | desert land ⓘ |
| laterAdministeredBy | Bureau of Land Management NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| legalCitation | 19 Stat. 377 ⓘ |
| legislativeBody | United States Congress ⓘ |
| maximumAcreagePerEntry | 640 acres ⓘ |
| mechanism | conditional land entry based on irrigation improvements ⓘ |
| paymentStructure | initial small fee with balance due upon proof of reclamation ⓘ |
| policyType | public land disposal policy ⓘ |
| purpose |
to encourage irrigation of arid public lands in the American West
ⓘ
to promote settlement of arid public lands ⓘ to transfer arid public domain lands into private ownership ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Homestead Act of 1862
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Reclamation Act of 1902 NERFINISHED ⓘ Timber Culture Act NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| requirement |
applicants had to file a claim on desert land
ⓘ
applicants had to irrigate the land within a specified period ⓘ applicants had to pay a small per-acre fee at filing ⓘ applicants had to prove reclamation and irrigation before receiving title ⓘ |
| requires | proof that land is incapable of producing crops without irrigation ⓘ |
| sectionOfLaw | Chapter 107 ⓘ |
| signedBy | Rutherford B. Hayes NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
irrigation
ⓘ
public lands ⓘ reclamation of arid lands ⓘ |
| timeLimitForReclamation | 3 years (as originally enacted) ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.