The desert is no place to be without water, which is one of man's most basic survival needs. Deserts are typically associated with extreme heat and aridity. Deserts typically receive less than 10 inches of rain per year. The amount of evaporation in some deserts exceeds the amount of rainfall. Desert moisture typically occurs in short bursts and varies from year to year.
Colorado River in the Grand Canyon
Who would have guessed that the Southwest gets its water
from the Colorado River, which runs through three major deserts on its way to
the Sea of Cortez? The Colorado River and its tributaries have shaped the
history of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, all of
which rely on the Colorado River and its tributaries for water. Lake Mead,
located behind Hoover Dam, holds nearly a two-year supply of Colorado River
water.
It's May, and the summer heat has arrived in Escondido, California. The winds have shifted and are now blowing from the east. I sit on my patio, sipping ice water, as the temperature rises due to the effects of the Santa Ana winds. My glass contains water from the Colorado River. In fact, all of the water we get during the summer comes from the Colorado River. As I drink my water, I consider the journey of the water from its source to the glass in front of me.
Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam
It begins in the winter with a lot of snow in Colorado's
Rocky Mountains and continues into the spring as the melting snow drains away.
The water begins as a trickle and quickly grows into a major river that flows
to the Sea of Cortez. The image below was captured during a space shuttle
flight over the Southwest at an altitude of 154 miles. The Grand Canyon can be
seen near the center of this high-oblique photograph looking southwest.
The Colorado River flows from Lake Powell in southern Utah through the Grand Canyon, westward to Lake Mead in eastern Nevada, and then southward to Mexico and the Sea of Cortez.
View from Space
The Kaibab Plateau to the north and the Coconino Plateau to the south are the dark forested areas on either side of the Grand Canyon. The San Francisco Peaks' snow-covered Humphreys Peak can be seen south of the Coconino Plateau. The tree-covered Mogollon Rim is located just south of the mountains. The Painted Desert's bright orangish-red sands can be seen east of the Grand Canyon. North of the Kaibab Plateau, the forested Wasatch Mountain Range of southern Utah can be seen. The Salton Sea and the Imperial Valley of southern California can be seen southwest of Lake Mead. Clouds cover the Pacific Ocean west of the Salton Sea.
Water and the Desert
The Colorado River has left its imprint on the land for
millions of years. Since its formation, the river has been hard at work carving
great chasms, including the Grand Canyon, on its 1,400-mile journey from
Colorado's Rocky Mountains to the Sea of Cortez. By diverting the Colorado
River's waters for irrigation, early settlers attempted to mitigate the river's
impact on the land. However, the Colorado River, fed by melting snows in the
spring and early summer, floods low-lying lands along its route every year,
destroying lives, crops, and property. The river often dried to a trickle in
late summer and early fall, too low to divert. Crops and livestock withered and
died in the absence of water.
The river's usefulness was limited by the cycle of either
too much or too little water. The river had to be tamed in order to protect the
low-lying valleys from flooding and to ensure a consistent, year-round water
supply. A disastrous flood in California's Imperial Valley in 1905, caused by
the river changing course, provided additional impetus for its control and
regulation.
Early spring flash floods exacerbated a normally high spring
runoff, resulting in the flood. These high flows washed away small earth dams
built in a temporary channel cut for the purpose of diverting river water to
the Imperial Canal. On its way to the Imperial Valley, this canal passed
through Mexico. The river changed course and began flowing into the Imperial
Valley and the Salton Sea as the heavy flows deepened the channel.
For 16 months, the river flowed into the valley before being
returned to its original course. It destroyed homes and crops, severely damaged
highways, railroads, and irrigation systems, and increased the Salton Sea's
size from 22 to 500 square miles at the time. The Salton Sea is now 360 square
miles in size and has 110 miles of shoreline.
On its way to the sea, the Colorado River travels a long
distance. There are many beautiful spots to see the river and the landscape it
has created. Add human interaction to control the river via a series of dams,
and you've got some spectacular recreational areas and resources never seen
before in the desert.
To explore the river, begin your journey at Arches National
Park and Canyonlands National Park, both of which were carved by rain, wind,
and river erosion. The Colorado and Green rivers cut through Canyonlands. Their
meeting point serves as the park's focal point. Canyonlands' entrance is close
to Arches', and the two parks make a nice two-day outing. The Colorado River is
not crossed by a highway. It can be explored in about two or three weeks, with
several side trips to some of the most interesting places in the United States.
