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<br />~ <br />c:M natural channel for about 10 miles below Davis <br />-01 Dam at which point the river enters the broad <br />~ Mohave Valley 33 miles above the upper end of <br />Lake Havasu, <br /> <br />Lake Havasu backs up behind Parker Dam for <br />about 45 miles and serves as a forebay from <br />which the Metropolitan Water District of <br />Southern California pumps water into the <br />Colorado River Aqueduct, Lake Havasu also <br />serves as forebay for the Central Arizona <br />Project, Havasu pumping plant, and pumps <br />water into the Hayden Rhodes Aqueduct. Alamo <br />Dam and Reservoir, on the Bill Williams River, <br />is used to control floods originating above and <br />below Alamo Dam, <br /> <br />Headgate Rock Dam, Palo Verde Diversion Dam, <br />and Imperial Dam all serve as diversion <br />structures with very little storage, Imperial <br />Dam, located some 150 miles downstream from <br />Parker Dam, is the major diversion structure to <br />irrigation projects in the Imperial Valley and <br />Yuma areas, It diverts water on the west bank <br />to the All American Canal, which delivers water <br />to the Yuma Project in Arizona and California <br />and Imperial and CoacheIla Valleys in <br />California, It diverts on the east bank to the <br />Gila Gravity Main Canal. <br /> <br />The Senator Wash Dam, an offstream storage <br />facility, also affords regulation in the vicinity of <br />Imperial Dam and assists in the delivery of <br />water to Mexico, This facility is used for <br />pumpback storage and recreation, <br /> <br />GEOLOGY AND SOILS 7 <br /> <br /> <br />The Morelos Dam, located just below the <br />Northern International Boundary with Mexico, <br />is the last dam on the Colorado River, This <br />small diversion dam diverts water into the <br />Alamo Canal which delivers water to northern <br />Mexico, <br /> <br />GEOLOGY AND SOILS <br /> <br />The geology of the Colorado River Basin is <br />highly varied, Igneous, metamorphic, and <br />sedimentary rock types are present and range in <br />age from approximately 625 million years old to <br />recent alluvial deposits, Structural features, <br />inaluding anticlines, domes, and faults, <br />contribute to both the topographic relief and the <br />geohydrology of the region, <br /> <br />Several of the sedimentary formations in the <br />Basin were deposited in marine or brackish <br />water environments, Occurrences of bedded and <br />disseminated sodium chloride (halite) and <br />calcium sulfate (gypsum) are observed, as are <br />clays with high contents of exchangeable sodium <br />and magnesium, <br /> <br />The soils of the Colorado River Basin closely <br />resemble the geologic formations from which <br />they were derived, Residual soils derived from <br />shale or sandstone are generally shallow, These <br />soils can contain appreciable soluble mineral <br />content due to residual and secondary mineral <br />formation from the parent material, Upon <br />weathering or irrigation, salts may accumulate <br />on or near the surface due to evaporation or <br />consumptive use by plants. <br />