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<br />. <br /> <br />o <br />CO <br />N <br />00 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />DESCRIPTION OF BASIN (Continued) <br /> <br />The Green River, its major tributary, rises in western Wyoming and <br />discharges into the Colorado River in southeastern Utah--730 river miles <br />(1175 km) south of its origin and 220 miles (350 km) above Lee Ferry. <br />The Green River drains 70 percent more area than the Colorado River <br />above their junction but produces only about three-fourths as much <br />water, The Gunnison and the San Juan are the other principal tribu- <br />taries of the Upper Colorado River. <br /> <br />The flows of the San Juan River are now controlled by the Navajo <br />Dam, the Green River by Fontenelle and Flaming Gorge Dams, and the Gunn- <br />ison River by the Curecanti Unit Dams. Glen Canyon Dam is the only <br />major dam on the main stem of the Colorado above Lee Ferry, but it will <br />permit control of almost all flows leaving the Upper Basin. <br /> <br />The flow at various points in streams in the Colorado River Basin <br />for the 1941-76 period is given in Tables 1 through 20. The records of <br />flow depict the characteristic wide fluctuations from month-to-month and <br />the considerable variation from year-to-year. The storage reservoirs <br />now level out some of the fluctuations in the reaches below the dam. <br /> <br />The natural drainage area of the lower Colorado River below ~ee <br />Ferry and above Imperial Dam is about 75,100 square miles (195,000 km ). <br /> <br />This section <br />storage and <br />Imperial Dam. <br /> <br />of the river is now largely controlled by a series of <br />diversion dams starting with Hoover Dam and ending at <br /> <br />At the present time there is no significant storage on the main <br />river or on the tributaries between Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Mead, The <br />intervening tributary inflow is erratic but amounts to almost enough to <br />offset the evaporation from Lake Mead. <br /> <br />Lake Mead provides most of the storage and regulation in the Lower <br />Colorado River Basin with the water being stored for irrigation and <br />municipal and industrial uses, generation of electrical power, flood <br />control, and other beneficial uses. <br /> <br />Lake Mohave, the reservoir formed by Davis Dam, backs water at high <br />stages about 67 miles (108 km) upstream to the tailrace of Hoover Power- <br />plant. Storage in Lake Mohave is used for some reregulation of releases <br />from Hoover Dam, for meeting treaty requirements with Mel<ico, and for <br />developing power head for the production of electrical energy at Davis <br />Powerplant. <br /> <br />The river flows through a natural channel for about 10 miles (16 <br />km) below Davis Dam at which point the river enters the broad Mohave <br />Valley 33 miles (53 km) above the upper end of Lake Havasu. <br /> <br />10 <br />