Laserfiche WebLink
<br />w <br />00 <br />;.l:;>. <br />(0 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Indians conducted some irrigated farming within the basin in earlier times, <br /> <br />the majority of the early development took place in the l870's and after. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The first agricultural settlement in western Wyoming was on Smith's Fork <br /> <br />near Fort Bridger, Wyoming and took place in l853. As colonization of the <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />West proceeded, nearly every permanent stream in the Basin became the <br />y <br /> <br />site for an irrigated agriculture development. This foundation development <br /> <br />permitted a population base adequate for the development of the other <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />natural resources in the area. <br /> <br />There are approximately l62 million acres of land in the Colorado <br /> <br />River Basin, of which, approximately 3 million acres are irrigated at the <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />present time. This amounts to l. 5 percent of the area of the basil'.. The <br /> <br />irrigated area is about equally divided between the upper and lower basins <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />at the present time. There are 1. 6 million acres being irrigated in the lower <br /> <br />basin. Considering only soil characteristics and climate, the upper basin <br /> <br />has approzimately 7 million acres that are potentially irrigable. Many <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />of these acres are not adjacent to presently known water sources and would <br /> <br />require large importations of water to accomplish irrigation. However, the <br /> <br />potential remains. This potentially irrigable land accounts for approximately <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />lO percent of the upper basin and 40 percent of the lower basin. The fully <br /> <br />developed irrigable area of the total river basin would amount to 27 percent <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />of the area. <br /> <br />At the present levels of land and water development for irrigation, an <br /> <br />approximate equilibrium has been reached with respect to water consumption . <br /> <br />30 <br /> <br />. <br />