Colorado River Basin
Approximately 246,000 square miles are encompassed by the Colorado River Basin drainage area. It includes all of AZ and parts of CA, CO, NM, NV, UT and WY. With headwaters in west-central Wyoming and northeast CO, the Colorado River is about 1,450 miles long and eventually flows across the international border into Mexico.
Outside of the basin the Colorado River and its tributaries supply municipal water to the public in Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, and San Diego. About 40 million people, both within and outside of the basin, utilize the waters of the Colorado River. Nearly 4 million acres of agricultural lands, including the Imperial Valley in California via the All American Canal, are irrigated using water from the Colorado River Basin.
A complex system of interstate compacts, international treaties, and Supreme Court decrees govern management of the water. Surface water distribution within the Colorado River Basin is controlled by the Bureau of Reclamation through management of large Federal water projects like Hoover Dam (Lake Mead) and Glen Canyon Dam (Lake Powell).
Powell 150 (SCREE)…Sesquicentennial Colorado River Exploring Expedition launched on May 24, 2019 from the banks of Expedition Island in Green River, WY to embark on a 70 day river journey which retraced the route of John Wesley Powell & his men from 1869. After rowing 1,000+ miles, organizing the logistics for 63 unique individuals to join/leave the trip and facilitating five outreach events, SCREE ended their expedition on the shores of Lake Mead on August 1, 2019.
Ten Tribes Partnership…”The Ten Tribes Partnership is a coalition of Upper and Lower Basin Tribes that have come together to claim their seat at the table and raise their voices in the management of the Colorado River as water challenges persist. Formed in 1992, the goal of the Ten Tribes Partnership is to increase the influence of tribes in Colorado River management & provide support for the protection and use of tribal water resources.” (Courtesy Ten Tribes Partnership)
Bureau of Reclamation (Upper Colorado River Basin)
Bureau of Reclamation (Lower Colorado River Basin)
Bureau of Reclamation (Home Page)…Select a Dam or Project on Right Side of Home Page.
American Rivers …headquarters in Washington D.C.
Living Rivers (Colorado Riverkeeper)…based out of Moab, UT.
Rivers Edge West…headquarters in Grand Junction, CO.
CRWUA…“The Colorado River Water Users Association is a non-profit, non-partisan organization providing a forum for exchanging ideas and perspectives on Colorado River use and management with the intent of developing and advocating common objectives, initiatives and solutions.”
Lake Powell Marina’s …includes Hall’s Crossing Marina, Bullfrog, Dangling Rope and Wahweap.
American Whitewater National Rivers Database (Permit Info, Flow Info and Release Info)
1983 High Water Report by Chuck Zemach chronicles his trip on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon during the historic floods in the summer of 1983. An informative and riveting first hand account.
Photo Credit: Green River Lakes in Wind River Range, WY, circa 1950’s. Photo by Finis Mitchell archived @ the American Heritage Center.