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0020,7 March-April 1997 Arizona Water Resource 9 Arizona's Changing Rivers: I;low People Have Affected A book offering an historical and cultural perspective on the Rivers rivers serves to remind policy makers of the big picture. Barbara TeUman. Rivers write their own histories in geolog- Not only are their decisions and actions affected by hydrolo- ical records, recording the mighty natural forces that created gy and the principles of public policy, but they also are to be and formed rivers, canyons and valleys. Yet, river histories understood as part of an ongoing historical and cultural also are needed. Arizona's Changing Rivers provides a histo- tradition. The Central Arizona Project may be seen as the ry of human influences on the state's rivers. Like geological Indian irrigation ditches writ very, very large. forces, such influences have profoundly affected Arizona The text includes many sidebars, with quotes and varied rivers. information and details. These may further The book is careful to note that all rivers ' //, / , explain an event, add an historical detail, or were not equally affected, nor.in thes?' ~\l ~~// / ~;~/ furnish a touch of h~mor.. Th~ many same way. As a result, each nver has ~"",<$' /'-^9 ~~ ~ / / '" photos are from vanous histoncal .' ~ ~. n'';, ~ Th I h f'de lts own hiStory, to be ... ...-~ ".I"'~ ~ ....._ ,-. eras. e p et ora 0 51 ~ viewed in the context of the (}. -= __ bars and photos serve to human events and occur- ' break up the text, to act as rences that took place in the swirls and eddies to the area. main flow of the discussion. For example, the coming Arizona's Changing of the railroad, built along Rivers is 200 pages in length, the Lin1e Colorado River, containing 160 maps, charts greatly affected the river. and iUustrations. Key maps Land ownership changed, and graphs are presented in with the federal government a full-co10r section. Naviga- granting large blocks of land to the tional aids allow the reader with a railroad. Building the railroad re- particular information need to flOd quired vast quantities of lumber and _ just the material on a particular river water. Bridges were built. The greatest impact basin, river use, or historical era. A companion of the railroad, however, was that it opened the bibliographic data base on floppy disk contains area to settlement. Ranchers and cattle moved in. nearly 2,000 entries. In contrast, the Bill Williams River is relatively unaffect- Arizona's Changing Rivers is available for $15 or $17.50 ed by human activities. The river is remote, inaccessible by with bibliographic data base from the University of roads and railroads, and the area is unsuitable for agricultural Arizona's Water Resources Research Center, University of and urban development. Even the operation of Alamo Dam, Arizona, 350 N. CampbeU, Tucson, AZ 85719; 520-792- humans' most profound influence on the river, is being 9591; fax 520-792-8518; email wrrC@ccit.ariwna.edu. modified to mitigate its effects. Much of the land along the Bill William River is public land and is being preserved and restored. Another strength of the book is its historical perspective. It views historical effects or influences as layered, each wave of senlers and explorers - Indians, Spanish and Americans - using the land and rivers differently. Indian agriculture tended to make less demands on rivers, although they did divert rivers for irrigation. Americans built dams for greater control and use of rivers. The book also points out that the changes that first occurred locally and for a specific purpose become cumula- tive, with wide and broad application. The Spanish first brought canle to southern Arizona to feed occupants of missions and presidios. Later large-scale ranching greatly affecting land and rivers. A reading of the book leaves the lasting impression that an historical account of the influence of human affairs on Arizona rivers is a varied and colorful story. It includes diverse events and happenings, from the bursting of the Walnut Grove Dam on the Hassayampa River that killed over a 100 people, to an Arizona governor threatening war with California to protect Arizona's claim to the Colorado River.