Colorado River

River Essay The Environmental Effect of the Colorado River Basin The Colorado River is one of the most important rivers on the west coast. It is located northwest of Denver, Colorado in the Rocky Mountain National Park. The river is the largest source of surface water in the western region, and approximately 25-30 million people use the Colorado for drinking water. The river is also essential rural areas and provides services to farmers, Indian tribes, power distributors, and rafters in the…

Yuma/Southern Arizona? Irrigation in Yuma has evolved quite a lot, but before irrigation was evolving it was Yuma being evolved by irrigation. Before the help of irrigation, Yuma would often be flooded due to over rising waters that came from The Colorado. With the start of The Yuma Project, irrigation would be able to come into play. The Yuma Project would result with the construction of The Laguna Dam and various “networks of canals.”The dam would help keep the flooding to a minimum, though…

The Hoover Dam is one of the greatest megastructures in the world, for many reasons. This Dam spans the Colorado River in Black Canyon between Arizona and Nevada, about 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas Nevada. In the early 19 hundreds there were extreme flooding from the melting snow in the Rocky Mountains that had came down to the Colorado River. Because of that this is when they decided to construct a dam to control the water flow. Arthur Powell Davis, head of the U.S. Bureau of…

During dry times, there is an increased incidence of wildfires. Particularly, in "1988, rainfall in many states was 50 to 85 percent below normal. Summer thunderstorms produced lightning without rain and ignited fires in dry trees" ("Drought" pg. 4). In 2014, Mieszkowski explained the risk of wildfires were probable. In 2014 "there had been 3,400 wildfires as July 19, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection" (Mieszkowski pg. 8). Which is an escalation of 36…

with the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT), my family would ultimately trade highly urbanized southern California for the vast and barren desert of Parker, Arizona. It was only a few hours away, yet worlds apart. To give you an idea of the landscape, Major General George Patton trained his troops in the vicinity for warfare during World War II. The most extremes of the desert could be found in this region and it would become my new normal. The caveat? The Colorado River. Life on “the river”…

“Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland.” A phrase that is used so very often when in regards to the Salton Sea to the point when it is synonymous with the dying lake. Although it is catchy for a headline or two, it isn’t terribly accurate as of now. “Post- Apocalyptic Wasteland” is more of a self fulfilling prophecy. We already think of it as a quarantine zone, so what’s the point of trying to restore it? This thinking is not only killing the idea of restoration, but also physically killing the lake,…

days later, on August 30, 1869. Powell assembled a crew of nine men and four a small, shallow-draft dory boats. Dories are usually a lightweight boat with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows. The crew travelled from Green River to the Grand (also known as the Colorado River) wash cliffs. During this exploration, Powell was said to have travelled through a new channel which is now known as the Grand Canyon. Although Powel and his men gathered food that would last them well over the time…

Are you fond of going to the lakes? Lake activities can be extremely fun and enjoyable. It can make us relax and reduce some of our stress from work. Lakes in particular are the best destinations for recreational moments with family, friends and for those people who love nature. Lakes are refreshing places where you can sit back and relax and enjoy the scenery of nature. Lake Travis is one of the famous and beautiful lakes in Austin Texas. The place is located 10 miles northwest of downtown…

Before the glittering lights of Las Vegas, there was a desolate wasteland of barren desert and flash floods that now houses the largest man-made lake in the United States as well as the 18th largest dam in the entire world. Back then, the Hoover Dam was the largest structure of its time, standing seven-hundred and twenty-six feet tall with, “Enough concrete to build a road from New York to San Francisco,” (National Park Service 1). Due to its unprecedented size and the minute section of time…

problem because water is evaporating faster than water getting put back into the lake. If nothing is done about this, Salton Sea will dry up and destroy the whole ecosystem that is connected to it. “Some 90 percent of the original wetlands of the Colorado River Delta and central California have dried up or been converted…