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50 50 "THEREFORE, this Commission assumes jurisdiction over said Colorado Riverahdits tributaries, and the .waters thereof for the above purposes, and shall retain full jurisdiction and authority over the same during the life of this Commission. "That by "Colorado River" is meOlnt the bed of the stream and the Haters flowing therein, It has been referred to as a navigable river. 1'lhere the boundary of the bed of the stream has n;ot beer) fixed by meander lines, the boundQry lines of the bed of the stream shall be fixed at thE> line of high ,later mark on each. side of said. stream to this date. . . "The Colorado River is third in size and perhaps of importance of the rivers of the United States. It rises in the high Rocky Mountains in Colorado, flows in a southHesterly direction and empties into the. Gulf of California. "It forms a portion. of the boundary between the state. of Arizona and th~ Republic of Mexico, thence it flows through a portion of the Republic of Mexico to the gulf. lilt has Ii nUmber of tributaries ,'lhich rise in various parts of the basin which flO'1 into the main stream. The largest of the tribu- taries is the Green River 11hich rises in the Wind River Nountains in vlyoming, flOHS squtherly and empties into the Colorado in Utah at what was formerly the junction of the Green and Grand .Rivers. This tributary furnishes a greater amount of "ater than any other. Some of the tributar:ies.areflashy in character and at times carry great fl?ods, notably the Gila. ~ "The Colorado River is subject to.annual floods, sometimes of great volume, principally in the summer months, At times the Hater carries a large percentage of solid matter in suspension which. is deposited as silt, by ,lhich means it has built up its delta cone co~pletely across the upper portion of the Gulf of California forming a dam many miles in width, The water in the upper portion;.of the gulf having evaporatod has left a basin now called. the Imperial Valley hav- ing as itsloH~St portion the Salton Sea 250 feet or more below sea level. On this. delta. cone the river bed is n011 thirty or more feet above sea levol and above a large portion of the surrounding country, particularly the .Imperial Valley, The bed of the stream is building higher each year, thus becoming a serious flood menace, Hhich has. . made necessary the building of protective dikes and levees, "In addition to the foregoing, the Colorado River Commission recognizes the folloHing facts: "That the Colorado River is an international and interstate s~tea.m; "That. it forms a portion of the boundary between the United States' and the Republic of Nexico;