Dams
-In the Upper Basin the major dams are the Blue Mesa Dam, the Fontenelle Dam, Green Mountain Dam, McPhee Dam, and the Navajo Dam.
-In the Lower Basin the major dams are the Bartlett Dam, the Mormon Flat Dam, the New Waddell Dam, the Painted Rock Dam, and the Theodore Roosevelt Dam.
-The major tributaries are the Gila River, the San Juan River, the Green River, and the Gunnison River
(http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Ce-Cr/Colorado-River-Basin.html)
-In the Lower Basin the major dams are the Bartlett Dam, the Mormon Flat Dam, the New Waddell Dam, the Painted Rock Dam, and the Theodore Roosevelt Dam.
-The major tributaries are the Gila River, the San Juan River, the Green River, and the Gunnison River
(http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Ce-Cr/Colorado-River-Basin.html)
Spotlight! The Gila River
The Gila River is a 649 mile tributary of the Colorado River. It runs through New Mexico and Arizona. It drains a watershed of almost 60,000 square miles. Before European exploration, indigenous people inhabited the area around the river for at least 2,000 years.
(https://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/GilaRiverFactSheet.pdf)
(https://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/GilaRiverFactSheet.pdf)
Change- now and then
-increasing development in the northwest
-increasing temperatures
-because of climate change, 20% decrease in total water flowing through the Colorado river (see image for example)
-the low water level will have a negative impact on the river basin
-immediate impacts on environment when dams were built: erosion and habitats destroyed.
(http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Ce-Cr/Colorado-River-Basin.html)
(image from http://www.i4u.com/2014/10/82801/colorado-river-conservation-starts)
-increasing temperatures
-because of climate change, 20% decrease in total water flowing through the Colorado river (see image for example)
-the low water level will have a negative impact on the river basin
-immediate impacts on environment when dams were built: erosion and habitats destroyed.
(http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Ce-Cr/Colorado-River-Basin.html)
(image from http://www.i4u.com/2014/10/82801/colorado-river-conservation-starts)