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w 00 .+:- -,J . barrels and lO trillion cubic feet, respectively. Continuous exploration has 'suggested that undiscovered petroleum resources will provide a . substantial level of output for the immediate future. Perhaps, the most important mineral resource of the region is the deposits of oil shale, the . largest known to man. These deposits, centered in Wyoming, Utah and Colorado, contain about 60 billion barrels of recoverable oil. They constitute the Nation's largest reserve of crude oil. . Since the quantity of water in the Colorado River is finite, to secure orderly use all water has been allocated to the Upper Basin, the Lower . Basin and the Republic of Mexico. It is vital in sustaining cities, industry, mining, agriculture, recreation and natural processes. Any large resource development program not considered in the original allotments will require . a serious adjustment in water use priorities within the Colorado River Basin. In.viewing the development of the basin, certainly the major lesson is that quality and quantity of flow cannot be separated in water management . programs and decisions for the Colorado River. Land Use and Resource Development . The land uses for the basin are summarized in Table III- 2. The following sections briefly discu.ss man's land use and activities as a setting for their impacts on water quality. . Irrigated Agriculture. The development of irrigated agriculture in the Colorado River Basin covers a relatively short period of only one . hundred years. Although there is archeological evidence that pre-historic 28 .