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<br />-38... <br /> <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 />o <br />~ <br />en <br />N <br /> <br />System. There is one diversion from Gooseberry Creek in the <br /> <br /> <br />Price drainage (USDI, BR, 1964), and there are 13 diversions <br /> <br /> <br />from the San Rafael headwater to the San Pitch Basin (USDA, <br /> <br /> <br />SCS, 1979d) of the Sevier River. These diversions are high <br /> <br /> <br />in the mountains, of very high quality water and individually <br /> <br /> <br />rarely exceed 300 ha-m/yr. <br /> <br />DEVELOPMENT OF THE COLORADO RIVER BASIN <br />Irrigation Development <br />The earliest known irrigation development in the <br />Colorado River Basin was apparently practiced by th~ Hohokam <br />, <br /> <br />Indians in the Salt River Valley near Phoenix, ArizQna, <br />where canal rem~ants can still be found today (Keys land <br />Strand, 1979). The more modern irrigation systems started <br />, <br /> <br />in the 1850's. This development was primarily in the allu- <br />vial valleys directly bordering the streams and was ,limited <br />by great quantitative and temporal fluctuations in the water <br />supply. With the development of storage facilities and more <br />intricate distribution systems, the irrigated areas greatly <br />expanded. For the interested reader, Goslin (1978) presents <br />an excellent review of the history of water resources <br />development in the Colorado River Basin. <br />The amount of irrigated land in the UCRB is presently <br />estimated at about 656,000 ha or 2 percent of the total land <br />area. Much more land could be irrigated if water were <br />available. The Soil Conservation Service has classified a <br />total of 2,855,900 ha of land as "suitable" for irrigation <br />