Colorado River (4580 words) Essay Example For Students

Colorado River (4580 words) Essay Colorado RiverGeographers can tell you that the one thing that most rivers and their adjacentflood plains in the world have in common is that they have rich historiesassociated with human settlement and development. This especially true in aridregions which are very dependent upon water. Two excellent examples are the Nileand the Tigris-Euphrates rivers which show use the relationship between riversand concentrations of people. However, the Colorado River is not such a goodexample along most segments of its course. There is no continuous transportationsystem that parallels the rivers course, and settlements are clustered. Therugged terrain and entrenched river channels are the major reasons for sparsehuman settlement. We ask ourselves, did the Colorado River help or hindersettlement in the Western United States? As settlers began to move westward, theSouthwest was considered to be a place to avoid. Few considered it a place totraverse, to spread Christianity, and a possible source of furs or mineralwealth. Finding a reliable or accessible water source, and timber for buildingwas difficult to find. There was a lack of land that could be irrigated easily. By the turn of the century, most present day cities and towns were alreadyestablished. Trails, roads, and railroads linked several areas with neighboringregions. Although the Colorado River drainage system was still not integrated. In the mid 1900s many dams had been built to harness and use the water. A newphase of development occurred at the end of the second World War. There was alarge emphasis on recreation, tourism, and environmental preservation. Theterrain of the Colorado River is very unique. It consists of Wet Upper Slopes,Irregular Transition Plains and Hills, Deep Canyonlands, and the Dry LowerPlains. Wet Upper Slopes: Consist of numerous streams that feed into theColorado River from stream cut canyons, small flat floored valleys oftenoccupied by alpine lakes and adjacent steep walled mountain peaks. These areasare heavily forested and contain swiftly flowing streams, rapids, andwaterfalls. These areas have little commercial value except as watershed,wildlife habitat, forest land, and destinations for hikers, fishermen, andmountaineers. Irregular Transition Plains and Hills: These areas are favorablefor traditional economic development. It consists of river valleys with adequateflat land to support f arms and ranches. Due to the rolling hills, low plateaus,and mountain slopes, livestock grazing is common. The largest cities of thewhole drainage system are found here. Deep Canyonlands: Definitely the mostspectacular and least developed area along the Colorado River. These deep gorgesare primarily covered by horizontal layers of sedimentary rocks, of which sandstone is the most abundant. The Grand Canyon does not only display spectacularbeauty, but numerous other features such as mesas, buttes, spires, balancingrocks, natural arches and bridges, sand dunes, massive sandstone walls, andpottholed cliffs. Dry Lower Plains: These consist of the arid desert areas. These areas encounter hot summers and mild winters. Early settlement was limitedbecause most of the land next to the river was not well suited for irrigationagriculture. The area is characterized by limited flat land, poor soils, poordrainage, and too hot of conditions for most traditional crops. The ColoradoRiver was first navigated by John Wesley Powell, in his 1869 exploration throughthe Marble and Grand Canyons. The Colorado River begins high in the ColoradoRocky Mountains. The water begins from melting snow and rain, and is thensupplemented by the Gunnison, Green, San Juan, Little Colorado, Virgin, and GilaRivers. Before any dams were built, the Colorado River carried 380,000 milliontons of silt to the Sea of Cortez. Along its path, it carves out the Marble,Grand, Black, Boulder, and Topok Canyons. The Grand Canyon being the mostpopular, which is visited by numerous tourists every year, plays a large role inwestern tourism. The Grand Canyon is in fact one of the Worlds Seven Won ders. The Colorado Basin covers 240,000 square miles of drainage area. At certainpoints along the river, it turns into a raging, muddy, rapid covered mass ofwater. Unlike other rivers, the Colorado River doesnt meet the ocean in agrand way, but rather in a small trickle. Almost all of the water that passesdown the river is spoken for. It passes through seven Western States, travels1,700 miles, and descends more than 14,000 feet before emptying into the sea,with more silt and salinity than any river in North America. A river not usedfor commerce, or any degree of navigation other than recreational, and virtuallyignored until the turn of the century. The Colorado River is the most foughtover, litigated, and legislated river in the United States. The upper Coloradopasses through mountainous, less populated country. It has seen fewer problemsthat the lower Colorado. The lower Colorado, which passes through canyons andarid desert, serves a more populated area. It has been a large source ofargum ents for the state of California and surrounding areas since the early1900s. The first project on the Colorado River was the Alamo River Projectnear Yuma, Arizona. Sediment from the upper river was transported and depositeddown river. It raised the river bed so the river was higher than the surroundingland, making water easy to divert for irrigation. The Alamo Canal diverted waterfrom the Colorado River to the Alamo River, and traveled 60 miles through Mexicoacross the Mexicali desert to the Salton Sink, a depression in the ImperialValley. For this, Mexico received the right to take half the water from thecanal, the rest went to the Imperial Valley. Although it may have seemed like aneasy way to divert the water, the Alamo Canal was no match for the untamedColorado River. In 1905 a series of floods breached the intake and flooded theImperial Valley, settling in the Salton Sea. After tremendous amounts ofmanpower and money, the river was returned to its original path. This disasteral armed the landowners of the valley. The Imperial Irrigation District ofSouthern California was the largest single user of Colorado River water. Theycampaigned for an All-American Canal. One that would divert the river above theMexican border and leave the Mexicali desert with what they didnt use. This wasmet with much opposition from the largest landowner in the Mexican desert, asyndicate of wealthy Los Angeles businessmen, headed by Harry Chandler of theLos Angeles Times. The Imperial Valley landowners received support from the Cityof Los Angeles. The city was growing rapidly and the need for future electricpower was a major concern. Water experts advocated a dam on the Colorado. Without this dam, the All-American Canal would be in danger of breaching andflooding. The two forces combined to work for a Dam in Boulder Canyon on theColorado River. In Salt Lake City in January 1919, representatives from theseven states that have tributaries emptying into the Colorado River met. The water should first be captured and used while it is young, for then itcan be recaptured as it returns from the performance of its duties and thus beused over and over again .(1) On Nov. 24, 1922, the seven states signedthe Colorado River Compact. This pact divided the waters into 2 basin areas,separated at Lees Ferry, at the head of the Grand Canyon. The Upper statesincluded Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The Lower states includedArizona, California and Nevada. Each area received 7.5 million acre feet ofwater, with the lower basin getting an extra 1 million acre feet annually fromits tributaries. The allocation of river water was based on an annual flow atLees Ferry of 16.5 million acre feet. This was later found to be inaccurate anddid not take into account the rivers dry years. A more accurate flow is 13.5million acre feet per year. In addition, any water given to Mexico byinternational treaty would be supplied first from the surplus above the total of16 million acre f eet, and if this was not sufficient, the deficiency would beshared equally by the two basins. The consensus was that the river and itstributaries were American (244,000 sq. miles) originating in the United States,very little of the Colorado River was in Mexico (2,000 sq. miles), and thereforethey deserved very little. Herbert Hoover stated, We do not believe they(Mexicans) ever had any rights. The Indian tribes along the river weretreated the same way. Hoover inserted what was called the Wild Indian Article,nothing in this compact shall be construed as affecting the obligations ofthe United States of America to Indian tribes. (2) Its obvious that thenative Mexicans and Indians were being deprived of what originally belonged tothem. The attitude of Herbert Hoover left the local peoples with a taste ofresentment. The Colorado River Pact did not apportion water to individualstates. Arizona would not ratify the pact, feeling that California was takingall the water given to the lower bas in. Arizona contributed 3 major rivers,about 2 to 3 million acre feet, to the Colorado. California farmers would be thelargest single users of the water, but would contribute nothing. Californiafinally agreed to some concessions. All the waters of the Gila River in Arizonawould go to Arizona, and be exempted from the Mexican Treaty. California alsoagreed to apportion 0.3 million acre feet of water to Nevada, 4.4 million acrefeet and 1/2 of the surplus to California, 2.8 million acre feet to Arizona andthe other 1/2 of the surplus. Arizona was still not satisfied. The argument wenton for years, with Congress finally passing the Boulder Canyon Act in 1928without Arizonas ratification. The Boulder Canyon Act of 1928 authorized theconstruction of a hydro-electric plant at Black Canyon. The cost to be off-setby the selling of electric power over a total of 50 years. All power privilegesat the dam were to be controlled by private interest. The Metropolitan WaterDistrict controlled 36%, Ci ty of LA 19%, Arizona 18%, and Nevada 18%. The actalso included the construction of the All-American Canal, starting at Laguna Damand crossing 75 miles of Imperial Valley to the Salton Sea. Arizonas share ofthe water made it possible for large population increases in Phoenix and Tucson,two desert regions that would not be able to exist with out the Colorado River. Catcher outline Essay(4). Recreation has become a huge part of the Colorado River System. This hasbrought loud cries from the conservationists. In 1991 the Arizona stretch of theColorado River was named the most endangered river of 1991 by American Rivers, aconservation group. Many of the fish and wildlife have disappeared. Specialareas have been designated as wildlife protection areas. The Endangered SpeciesAct protects the river and can be enacted independently of the Clean Water Act. Federal Fish and Game, state resources and conservation groups have all workedto make the public aware of this problem. The United States Fish and Wildlifedesignated the Colorado River north of Parker Dam to Needles as a criticalhabitat. This was done to protect the squawfish, the razorback sucker, thehumpback, and bonytail chubs. Sportsmen fear this could severely handicaprecreation on Lake Havasu by limiting boating. There are other areas that havesuffered from altering the Colorado River. When the Alamo River Project wasimplemented, the natural river bed was raised to a higher level than thesurrounding land. In 1900, George Chaffey decided to run a canal through Mexicousing the Colorados old channel to the sink in California. The canal turnednorth into the United States east of Mexicali. From there the channel, now knownas the Alamo River, led almost straight north. Chaffey called the southern halfthe Imperial Valley. In may of 1901, Colorado River water began to run into thischan nel. In a few years the valley had 700 miles of irrigation ditches. Settlerspiled in, homesteading federal land or buying it outright from the railroad. Toget irrigation water they had to buy stock in water companies controlled by theImperial Land Company, a front for Chaffey and Rockwoods CaliforniaDeveloping Company. By 1904 there were 100,000 acres under irrigation. Then siltblocked up the head of the canal. Water delivery to farmers was all but cut off. In the fall of 1904, The California Development Company made a cut in the riverto bypass the blockage. During the spring floods of 1905, the Colorado,completely out of control, rushed through the cut and surged on to the AlamoRiver, its old overflow channel, then plunged on into the New River. Digginginto the soft soil, it created a 28 foot high waterfall, scouring out therivers channel to the width of a quarter mile. It emptied into what is todayknown as the Salton Sea. The Salton is a bizarre looking sea which was 45 mileslong, 17 miles wide and about 80 feet deep. After engineers got the Coloradounder control it should have dried up through evaporation. The sea has nooutlets and only gets about 2.3 inches of rain per year. The sea has beensustained by drainwater from the 500,000 acres of heavily watered and fertilizedgrowing fields of the Imperial Valley, one of the most fruitful desertirrigation projects in history. Agricultural waste water carries variousnutrients, including nit rates, as well as pesticides, potentially toxic levelsof the element selenium, and four million tons of salt leached from the soilevery year. The Salton Sea is now a lost city. In the late 1950s, it wassupposed to become the Golden States great new playland, an alluringcombination of the desert and sea. M. Penn Phillips and other developers ofSalton City bought 19,600 acres that they subdivided on paper for house lots,shops, schools, parks and churches. They spent $1 million on a fresh waterdistribution system with 260 miles of water lines. They put in power lines and250 miles of elegantly paved streets. They built a yacht club and a $350,00018-hole golf course. A big time gambler Ray Ryan with reputed mob connectionsbought land on the other side of the sea and sank more than $2 million into aresort he called the North Shore Beach and Yacht Club. Unexpected rains keptraising the level of the sea and flooding shoreline homes and buildings. Asteadily growing concern set in about the w aters brownish tinge and aboutpollution levels and increasing salt content. North Shore Beach and Yacht Clubis deserted today, its breakwater crumbling to the ground, its pool full ofstank rotten water. Across the water visitors northbound on Route 86 to SaltonCity find not sailboats and bikini-clad blondes on water skis, or docks full ofpleasure boats, but instead a scattering of houses, RV parks, run down motelsand empty lots along grassy overgrown streets. The Alamo River and the New Riverboth feed into the Salton Sea. Both flow north from Mexico receiving drainwateralong the way. The New River is considered the most polluted river in the UnitedStates. It passes through Mexicali, Mexico, a city of more than 750,000 peoplethat dumps in raw sewage, inadequately treated sewage, leachate from landfills,and industrial and slaughter house wastes, as well as trash, toilet paper, deaddogs and phosphate detergents. The sea was for years one of the greatest fishingspots in California, and has long been one of Americas great birding spots. Birders flock to its shores, listing their sightings on clipboards maintained atornithological sites. At least 380 species have been reported, a number exceededin North America only by the Texas coast in spring. Recently there have beenincreasing signs of trouble. Early in 1992, biologist Bill Radke of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service saw a number of eared grebes stagger up on shore anddie. Many were so disoriented that they stood still while gulls tore into theirflesh and began eating them on the spot. This continued and the final death tollrose, by conservative estimates, to 150,000 grebes. Radke helped collect 40,000carcasses. Necropsies ruled out infectious disease as the cause of death, butthe tissues of some of the dead birds contained three times more selenium thanthat of grebes tested at the Salton Sea three years earlier. It is obvious thatthe Alamo River Project has had quite a disastrous effect on the Californiasink. We must also view the good that it has done, no matter how polluted theSalton Sea is today. In the early 1900s, this project was responsible forirrigating over 100,000 acres, today that number is over 500,000 acres of land. It is also a large bird sanctuary where over 380 species have been documented. To answer the question, Did the Colorado River help or hinder settlementin the Western United States? It is obvious that much of the Western U.S. is very dependent upon fresh water from this great river. The majority of thewater that is supplied to the Los Angeles Basin area is tapped out of theColorado River. Major towns and cities in Arizona such as Phoenix, Tempe,Scottsdale, and Tucson are largely dependent upon the Colorado for water. Theentire Southwest, in general, relies on the Colorado River for its majorsource of water. Without the Colorado, it would not be possible to have so manysettlements in this beautiful and unique part of the world. BibliographyCarrier, Jim, The Colorado, A River Drained Dry, NationalGeographic, June 1991., p. 4. Doerner,William R., Big Splash in the AridWest, Time, November 23, 1985, p. 43. Fradkin, Philip L., A River No More,University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1984. Gray, Paul, Glen CanyonDam, Time, July 22, 1991., p. 22. Hundley, N