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Exploring the beautiful nature of California


California Nature:  Colorado River


The Colorado River is approximately 1,450 miles long. The natural course of the river flows from the Continental Divide at La Poudre Pass in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, into the Gulf of California between the Baja California peninsula and mainland Mexico.

Who would guess that the Southwest gets its water supply from the Colorado river that runs right though the middle of three major deserts on its way to the Sea of Cortez?

The Colorado river and the use of its water has shaped the history of the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, which all depend on the Colorado River and its tributaries for water. Behind Hoover Dam, Lake Mead holds almost a two-year supply of water from the Colorado River.
The Colorado river travels through seven states and numerous dams For millions of years the Colorado River has left its mark on the land. Since the river was formed, it has been hard at work cutting great chasms, including the Grand Canyon, as it carved its 1,400-mile course from Colorado's Rocky Mountains to the Sea of Cortez.

Early settlers along the Colorado tried to alter the river's impact on the land by diverting its waters for irrigation. But each year the Colorado, fed by melting snows in the spring and early summer, flooded low-lying lands along its route, destroying lives, crops, and property. In late summer and early fall, the river often dried to a trickle, too low to divert. Without water, crops and livestock withered and died.

The cycle of either too much or too little water limited the river's usefulness. To protect the low-lying valleys from flooding, and to assure a stable, year-round water supply, the river had to be tamed. A disastrous flood in California's Imperial Valley, which occurred when the river changed its course in 1905, provided additional incentive for its control and regulation.
The Colorado River rises on the Continental Divide at La Poudre Pass, in Rocky Mountain National Park, about 25 miles north of Lake Granby. At the river's headwater, the Continental Divide forms the boundary between the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean watersheds of North America, between Colorado's Grand and Larimer counties, and the northern boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Several groups of ancient nomadic people, descended from Uto-Aztecan speakers, sparsely populated the Colorado Plateau thousands of years ago. In about 6,000 B.C., the Hisatsinom, predecessor of the Puebloan peoples, emerged near the Four Corners region around the San Juan River, while about 500 B.C., people of the Fremont culture began to populate the area around the Green River and the eastern part of the Great Basin. It was not until about 700 A.D. that the ancestral Puebloans began to cultivate crops for food, and the famous cliff dwellings for which they are best known did not come into being until past 1000 A.D.
A 233 mile stetch of the Colorado river in California nature is a great recreational area It is believed that during the severe droughts of the three centuries surrounding the 13th century, many of the peoples that once inhabited the upper regions of the Colorado watershed migrated to the Rio Grande valley and the Painted Desert in the Little Colorado River region. Many of the people in the Hopi and Zuni tribes of the Sonoran Desert, as well as the Acoma and Laguna people on the Rio Grande, are believed to be descended from the ancient inhabitants of the northeastern Colorado Plateau.

A 233-mile stretch of the Colorado River has become a year-round recreation area for motor boaters, paddlers, water-skiers, and fishermen. To enjoy a safe trip on the Colorado, boaters need to become familiar with the characteristics of the area that make boating on this desert waterway unique. In addition, since the river forms a natural boundary between California and Arizona, boaters should know the boating laws for both states. Boaters are advised to travel downstream on the California side of the river and upstream on the Arizona side.
The Colorado River covers a lot of ground on its way to the sea. There are many great areas to visit to get a view of the river and the landscape that it has created.

Famous for some of the most spectacular scenery and whitewater in the world, the Colorado River runs quiet and smooth near its end where it forms the California-Arizona boundary. From a put-in at Moabi Regional Park, California, the river enters Havasu National Wildlife Refuge and Topock Gorge, approximately 18 miles of serene and strikingly beautiful paddling.

The Colorado runs through some of the hottest desert terrain in the Southwest. Temperatures often exceed 110 degrees in the summer. The clear blue sky, and subsequent direct sun rays, should be taken into account when planning your outing.
 
 
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