[282] Reduction of the delta's size has also threatened animals such as jaguars and the vaquita porpoise, which is endemic to the gulf. [216], The Lower Basin states also sought to develop the Colorado for municipal supplies. Many later maps showed the headwaters of the Green and Colorado rivers connecting with the Sevier River (Rio San Ysabel) and Utah Lake (Lake Timpanogos) before flowing west through the Sierra Nevada into California. [8] In 1957, the USBR completed a second canal, the Gila Gravity Main Canal, to irrigate about 110,000 acres (450 km2) in southwestern Arizona with Colorado River water as part of the Gila Project. The construction of dams has often had negative impacts on tribal peoples, such as the Chemehuevi when their riverside lands were flooded after the completion of Parker Dam in 1938. [175] In 1928, the ferry sank, resulting in the deaths of three men. This has led to fish kills; six of these events were recorded between 1964 and 1968 alone. Colorado River was used to irrigate the rich soil. [29] The river widens here to a broad, moderately deep waterway averaging 500 to 1,000 feet (150 to 300 m) wide and reaching up to 0.25 miles (400 m) across, with depths ranging from 8 to 60 feet (2 to 20 m). Engineer George Chaffey was hired to design the Alamo Canal, which split off from the Colorado River near Pilot Knob, curved south into Mexico, and dumped into the Alamo River, a dry arroyo which had historically carried flood flows of the Colorado into the Salton Sink. Report of an Expedition Down the Zuñi and Colorado Rivers, Captain L. Sitgreaves, Corps Topographical Engineers, Robert Armstrong, Public Printer, Washington, 1853, Autobiography and Reminiscence of George Alonzo Johnson, Autobiographies and Reminiscences of California Pioneers, Vol. La Poudre Pass is located at the Continental Divide of the Americas, which is the line separating the hydrological features of the Americas. border, and runoff from these areas nourished abundant grassland communities in river valleys. In 1852, the Uncle Sam was launched to provide supplies to the U.S. Army outpost at Fort Yuma. [287] A further 40 species that occur in the river today, notably the brown trout, were introduced during the 19th and 20th centuries, mainly for sport fishing. [10][254][255] The pulse will be followed by the steady release of 52,000 acre feet (64,000,000 m3) over the following three years, just a small fraction of its average flow before damming.[253]. Here, the climate becomes significantly drier than that in the Rocky Mountains, and the river becomes entrenched in progressively deeper gorges of bare rock, beginning with Ruby Canyon and then Westwater Canyon as it enters Utah, now once again heading southwest. [11] After a short run south, the river turns west below Grand Lake, the largest natural lake in the state. This was primarily because of Glen Canyon's remote location and the result that most of the American public did not even know of the existence of the impressive gorge; the few who did contended that it had much greater scenic value than Echo Park. [22][23], In Arizona, the river passes Lee's Ferry, an important crossing for early explorers and settlers and since the early 20th century the principal point where Colorado River flows are measured for apportionment to the seven U.S. and two Mexican states in the basin. [138] The U.S. government has taken some actions to help quantify and develop the water resources of Native American reservations. Although this vessel accidentally foundered and sank early in its career, commercial traffic quickly proliferated because river transport was much cheaper than hauling freight over land. [21] Here, the San Juan River, carrying runoff from the southern slope of Colorado's San Juan Mountains, joins the Colorado from the east. Last edited on 24 December 2020, at 14:30, Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, International Boundary and Water Commission, List of tributaries of the Colorado River, Mohave War and a gold rush on the Gila River, Congressional Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act, List of flora of the Lower Colorado River Valley, List of Colorado River rapids and features, List of largest reservoirs in the United States, List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program, "Stochastic Streamflow Simulation at Interdecadal Time Scales and Implications to Water Resources Management in the Colorado River Basin", "USGS Gage #09424000 on the Colorado River near Topock, AZ – Daily Data", "Precipitation Trends and Water Consumption in the Southwestern United States", "A Sacred Reunion: The Colorado River Returns to the Sea", "Longitudinal Trends in Channel Characteristics of the Colorado River and Implications for Food-Web Dynamics", "United States Geological Survey Topographic Maps: Fall River Pass, Colorado quad", "United States Geological Survey Topographic Maps: Westwater, Utah quad", "Guidebook to the Colorado River Part 3: Moab to Hite, Utah through Canyonlands National Park", "Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona: Geology Fieldnotes", "The Rapids and the Pools – Grand Canyon", "Hoover Dam Frequently Asked Questions and Answers: Lake Mead", "Hoover Dam Bypass Is 2012 OCEA Winner; OPAL Lifetime Achievement Recipients Honored; Pankow, Michel Awards Presented", "The Colorado River Indian Tribes Reservation (C.R.I.T.) We have but a month's rations remaining. [5][4][57][58] In contrast, the regulated discharge rates on the lower Colorado River below Hoover Dam rarely exceed 35,000 cubic feet per second (990 m3/s) or drop below 4,000 cubic feet per second (110 m3/s). Agricultural and urban growth in Arizona eventually outstripped the capacity of local rivers; these concerns were reflected in the creation of a Pacific Southwest Water Plan in the 1950s, which aimed to build a project that would permit Arizona to fully utilize its 2.8-million-acre-foot (3.5 km3) allotment of the river. [40] The Gila River is the second longest and drains a greater area than the Green,[41] but has a significantly lower flow because of a more arid climate and larger diversions for irrigation and cities. [128] They also established settlements along the Gila River in central Arizona beginning in 1871. There was also the concern that drought could impair the upper basin's ability to deliver the required 7.5 million acre feet (9.3×109 m3) past Lee's Ferry per year as stipulated by the compact. The original version of the plan proposed to divert water from the Trinity River in northern California to reduce Southern California's dependence on the Colorado, allowing more water to be pumped, by exchange, to central Arizona. Explorer, and traveled up the river as far as Black Canyon. This new boat, capable of carrying 50 tons of cargo, was very successful making round trips from the estuary to the fort in only four or five days. Known for its dramatic canyons, whitewater rapids, and eleven U.S. National Parks, the Colorado River and its tributaries are a vital source of water for 40 million people. "[159][160], Until 1866, El Dorado Canyon was the actual head of navigation on the Colorado River. [71] In 1984, so much excess runoff occurred that some 16.5 million acre feet (20.4 km3), or 22,860 cubic feet per second (647 m3/s), poured into the sea. [151]:5–9, At last Derby's recommendation was heeded and in November 1852, the Uncle Sam, a 65-foot-long side-wheel paddle steamer, built by Domingo Marcucci, became the first steamboat on the Colorado River. Colorado borders Wyoming and Nebraska in the north, Kansas in the east, Oklahoma and New Mexico in the south, and Utah in the west. At the lower end of Grand Canyon, the Colorado widens into Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the continental United States, formed by Hoover Dam on the border of Arizona and Nevada. After the acquisition of the Colorado River basin from Mexico in the Mexican–American War in 1846, U.S. military forces commanded by Kit Carson forced more than 8,000 Navajo men, women and children from their homes after a series of unsuccessful attempts to confine their territory, many of which were met with violent resistance. James M. Robb-Colorado River State Park, Colorado, Parashant Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge, Picacho State Recreation Area, California, Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park, Arizona, Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park, Arizona. [76], The drainage basin or watershed of the Colorado River encompasses 246,000 square miles (640,000 km2) of southwestern North America, making it the seventh largest on the continent. [285], Rivers and streams in the Colorado basin were once home to 49 species of native fish, of which 42 were endemic. Try to name the 16 cities shown on the map located in the drainage basin of the Colorado River. [88][189] Southern Nevada Water Authority called the Colorado River one of the "most controlled, controversial and litigated rivers in the world". We have an unknown distance yet to run; an unknown river yet to explore. Under pressure from climate change, they might be finding a path out. Gregory, Herbert E., William Culp Darrah, and Charles Kelly, editors. [257] Modern studies of tree rings revealed that those three decades were probably the wettest in the past 500 to 1,200 years and that the natural long-term annual flow past Lee's Ferry is probably closer to 13.5 million acre feet (16.7 km3),[258][n 9] as compared to the natural flow at the mouth of 16.3 million acre feet (20.1 km3). Prior to human contact, rivers such as the Gila, Salt and Chaco were shallow perennial streams with low, vegetated banks and large floodplains. [60] The latter often produces heavy, highly localized floods on lower tributaries of the river, but does not often contribute significant volumes of runoff. [151]:49 Callville remained the head of navigation on the river until July 7, 1879, when Captain J. [212][213], Completed in 1938 some 20 miles (32 km) above Yuma, Imperial Dam diverts nearly all of the Colorado's flow into two irrigation canals. [151]:78, Mormons founded settlements along the Duchesne River Valley in the 1870s, and populated the Little Colorado River valley later in the century, settling in towns such as St. Johns, Arizona. American explorers collected valuable information that was later used to develop the river for navigation and water supply. The latter name did not become consistently applied until the 1870s. The All-American Canal, built as a permanent replacement for the Alamo Canal, is so named because it lies completely within the U.S., unlike its ill-fated predecessor. Quiz by CringeDragon . [63], Flows at the mouth of the river have steadily declined since the beginning of the 20th century, and in most years after 1960 the Colorado River has run dry before reaching the Pacific Ocean. Below the confluence with the Little Colorado River, the river swings west into Granite Gorge, the most dramatic portion of the Grand Canyon, where the river cuts up to one mile (1.6 km) into the Colorado Plateau, exposing some of the oldest visible rocks on Earth, dating as long ago as 2 billion years. [97] As the Colorado Plateau continued to rise between 5 and 2.5 million years ago, the river maintained its ancestral course (as an antecedent stream) and began to cut the Grand Canyon. Just south of the line is the La Poudre Pass Lake and the wet meadow from which the C… [298] The Colorado's major reservoirs are also heavily traveled summer destinations. Kills ; six of these events were recorded between 1964 and 1968.! 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