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Last modified
7/14/2009 5:02:32 PM
Creation date
5/20/2009 9:59:25 AM
Metadata
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UCREFRP
UCREFRP Catalog Number
8013
Author
Pontius, D. and I. SWCA.
Title
Colorado River Basin Study.
USFW Year
1997.
USFW - Doc Type
Tucson, Arizona.
Copyright Material
NO
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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />Background Information <br /> <br />other portions of southern California, are considered part of the Lower <br />Colorado River Basin for the purposes of determining priorities to the use of <br />Colorado River water in California.1 <br /> <br />From its headwaters in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, the <br />Colorado River flows 1,450 miles to the Gulf of California, dropping more <br />than 10,000 feet in elevation along the way. It flows southwest,through <br />Utah into Arizona, where it winds west through the Grand Canyon and turns <br />south to form Arizona's western border with Nevada, California, and Mexico. <br />The river crosses then into Mexico and empties into the Sea of Cortez. Much <br />of the river runs a steep course through narrow canyons, sometimes hidden <br />from sight in thousand-foot-deep chasms, carved over some five million <br />years. The river runs through the hottest, driest regions of the United States <br />and contains some of its most spectacular scenery. <br /> <br />The Colorado River Compact of 1922, negotiated by the seven basin states <br />and the U.S. government, divided use of Colorado River water between the <br />Upper Basin and the Lower Basin. Lee Ferry in Arizona is the division point <br />between the Upper and Lower Basins. The Upper Basin includes portions of <br />Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming and the Lower Basin <br />includes portions of Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico. <br /> <br />Hydrology <br /> <br />The Colorado River was named by a Spanish explorer for the reddish color of <br />its waters, which comes from sediments contributed by colorful sandstones <br />and other rocks along its course. Historically, the river's sediment load was <br />high due to the low volume of vegetation in the arid Colorado Plateau and <br />the force of the river coursing down its steep gradient. Sediments moved <br />downstream with spring floods, forming marginal sand bars and terraces and <br />a vast delta at its mouth in the Gulf of California, known in Mexico as the <br />Sea of Cortez. These sediments provided substrate for riparian vegetation <br />habitat and for wildlife. Today, dams trap much of the vast quantity of <br />sediment that once flowed through the river. Historically, the average <br />annual basin-wide sediment discharge was approximately 85 millions tons. <br />The construction of dams and reservoirs, and the diversions in the Lower <br />Basin and Mexico preclude the river from flowing to the gulf in most years. <br /> <br />1 Section 7, Seven Party Water Agreement, August 18,1931. <br /> <br />5 <br />
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