Essay about History of the Colorado River

Finally, the Elwha dam was removed in 2012 again for similar reasons as the previous dams. An additional reason for the Elwha removal was the dam’s dangerous materials, PCBs and asbestos [3], polluting the surrounding area, the cost to remove and rebuild the dangerous materials was astronomical compared to the economic and environmental benefits of removing it. The dam was drained in a slow controlled fashion similar to Glines Canyon, and the original flow channels were even restored. This resulted in salmon population restoration, and more biodiversity in the river system that spread to the

The State of Colorado has suffered from a water shortage in recent years; a difficult situation which is easily visible when viewing the quickly shortening length of the Colorado River. Lake Mead, for example, is roughly 130 feet lower than it once was, marked by the stained rock which towers above the current water level. “The river has become a perfect symbol of what happens when we ask too much of a limited resource: it disappears. In fact, the Colorado no longer regularly reaches the sea” (Zielinski, 2010). Legislation was implemented early on to address this issue, though the results were (perhaps not surprisingly) rather unanticipated, regarding

One of the largest geographic physical structures in the United States is the Colorado River. Human activity and its interaction with this great river have an interesting history. The resources provided by the river have been used by humans, and caused conflict for human populations as well. One of these conflicts is water distribution, and the effects drought conditions have played in this distribution throughout the southwestern region. Major cities such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and other communities in the southwest depend on the river. It provides water for over 20 million people, irrigation for 2 million acres of land, four thousand megawatts of hydroelectric energy, and over twenty million annual visitors for

As previously mentioned, the Colorado River compact was written and signed during abnormally wet climate cycles [4]. When the climate cycled back into the more traditional drier climate during the mid-twentieth century, the river no longer made it to the Gulf of California. While this was not an immediate concern as water levels remained well above the critical elevation, recent global warming trends have played a major role in the decline water supply in the Colorado River Basin. Over the past 15 years, the Colorado River Basin has experienced declining annual precipitation rates and higher temperatures throughout the year, which has cascade into higher evaporative loads from the soil and reservoirs, longer growing seasons that require more water, earlier melting times, all of which have reduced runoff and water supply [10]. In addition to the environmental factors, the differing conservation policies, water costs, and infrastructure planning across the basin state has contributed to water consumption that is above the basin’s renewable supply [14]. States like Nevada enforce strict that limit residents use via strict conservation policies, while states like California and Colorado use their senior water rights to maximum legal consumption and are planning to construct larger dams to

Drought condition exists throughout most of Arizona. Variable amounts of rainfall throughout last year’s where was significantly below the normal with surface water flows, reservoir levels, and well water pumping levels are at some of their lowest ever recorded all of that act as indication of drought occurrence. Drought is a normal recurring feature of climate, not a rare or random event. Climate influence water quality throughout temperature, precipitation, and wind by affecting the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of water. For instance, temperature fluctuation results in more stress on aquatic organism within water body, in the same way wind fluctuation has a direct effect on evaporation rate. Municipal water providers in Flagstaff, Williams, Mayer, Pine, Strawberry, and in areas near Sierra Vista, Sonoita, and Picacho have suffered from some potable

Beside these arguments, there is also a more quantitative side to the debate. The ecological detriments of the Glen Canyon Dam have been well-documented. Extensive changes were brought about in the Colorado River ecosystem by the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam. Most of these alterations negatively affected the functioning of the system and the native aquatic species of the river. The reduced supply and transport of

of Lake Mead. The graph calculates when the reservoirs level increases and when there is a drought. The reservoir was formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in

The Colorado River is shared by several states due to the large capacity of water that it holds and its proximity. These states include California, Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. The Colorado water compact is a 1922 agreement that was signed by seven states within the US to govern the sharing or water resources along the Colorado River. Since the development of the compact, California has been the most disadvantaged state since it uses water that has been already used up by other states. Before the compact, most of the states that use the water were in conflict due to the unfair allocation of the water resources. The allocation led to the development of the upper and the lower basin with the division point at the Lee Ferry. Some of the states got more allocation than the others while some did not get any fresh water (Sally, 2012). The Colorado water compact is ruled by many contracts and rulings that were signed by the states that use the water.

As humans, we have a few basic needs. Some of these being security, shelter, food, clothing, and arguably most important, water. When living in a desert though, water may not be quite so readily accessible. With recent droughts in the southwest and the already relatively scarce amount of water and rainfall in Arizona, now is the time when Arizona should begin to make itself more efficient and conservative with its water consumption, because of our reliance on the Colorado River and rapidly depleting groundwater sources and the rapidly growing population and its water demands.

Colorado has a very rich history that often gets overlooked due to other big states that generally take up most of the headlines; however, that does not mean that there has not been big movements and big names to come through the Centennial State. Colorado has had many attractions, such as open land, beautiful landscapes, mining, and the hot springs to name a few. The ladder in that group of attractions brought to Colorado a man that was known in the west, and would forever be remember and one of the most famous gunman, Doc Holliday. Doc Holliday had a short, but eventful life and making his way towards Colorado at the end was what he had hope would save his life.

The Grand Coulee Dam(G.C.D) changed Kettle Falls forever. Kettle Falls was a peaceful river where Native Americans fished every year. It is said that around 3,000 fish were fished every year. Then in 1933, everything changed when the Grand Coulee Dam started construction and finished on June 1, 1942, that is almost a decade. I feel like it is good that we built the Grand Coulee Dam. The Dam has great effects that have benefitted Washington. Two of them are the jobs people got in the Great Depression and Irrigation we got.

It is undeniable that climate change is drastically changing our current landscapes throughout the world. There are many individuals who consider climate change to be a natural and organic progression, but many studies indicate that due to excess greenhouse gas emissions, humans are accelerating global warming at an alarming rate. It’s convenient to continuously dismiss the studies and evidence that suggest climate change is real and it could have serious consequences, but when these drastic changes are taking place in our own backyard, it becomes a harsh reality. There is longstanding research, which indicates that the Colorado River has been in a drought since the early 2000’s and researchers allege that due to rising temperatures, the

As people began to realize the damage done by the pollution of the environment nearly fifty years had passed. By this time the contaminated tailings and toxins released from the smelters and chemical treatment facilities had reached an outrageous numbers. With the help of the great flood of 1908 these pollutants covered the Silver Bow creek banks from Butte all the way to the Milltown Dam. In 1911 the Anaconda Company began extensive cleanup efforts by implementing the use of warm springs ponds as a water treatment facility (Citizens Technical Environmental Committee, 4). These ponds were developed initially with the thought that they would be able to catch polluted tailings before they were able to reach the Clark Fork River. There was an estimated 2,400 acres of warm springs ponds built between the years of 1911 and 1959 (Citizens Technical Environmental Committee, 4). The settling ponds were created to hold the mining wastes, acting as a dam so that the metals did not end up in the Clark Fork River. The tailings are then covered over with lime to prevent them from leeching back into the environment. This series of warm springs ponds provides treatment to the water in such a way that the environment can cleanse the water of pollutants on its own instead. This treatment method is accomplished with the water being further cleansed as it is transferred from pond to pond. The

I believe that this is also going to be a problem in the future. The greenhouse gasses are raising the temperatures of our atmosphere. The Colorado river is 19 percent below averages century. I agree that the rainfall will affect the rivers droughts. Scientist our continuing to make predictions on what the river will be like years from now. We are the ones who controls this problem. This river supplies water for 40 million people if it dries up that is more water we have to find to supply for 40 million people. I agree that if we don't fix this drought there will be a huge problem. There has been a lot of rainfall recently and I think that could potentially help the river with its drought. These states are some of the hottest states in the

Prior to settlement of the western United States, the Colorado River roamed free. Starting from cool mountain streams, the river eventually became a thunderous, silty force of nature as it entered the canyons along its path. The river nourished wetlands and other riparian habitats from the headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to the delta at the Sea of Cortez in Northwest Mexico. Settlers along the river harnessed these waters mainly for agriculture via irrigation canals, but flooding from spring runoff wreaked havoc on agricultural land, prevented development in the floodplain and full utilization of the water, a waste in the eyes of western farmers. In order to meet current and future water demands in the west, the Federal Government