Colorado river in Arizona
by RicardMN Photography
Title
Colorado river in Arizona
Artist
RicardMN Photography
Medium
Photograph
Description
Colorado river and mountains from the US-93 S in Willow Beach area, Arizona, near the Hoover Dam.
The Colorado River is one of the principal rivers of the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The 1,450-mile-long (2,330 km) river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. and two Mexican states. Starting in the central Rocky Mountains in the U.S., the river flows generally southwest across the Colorado Plateau and through the Grand Canyon before reaching Lake Mead on the Arizona–Nevada border, where it turns south toward the international border. After entering Mexico, the Colorado approaches the mostly dry Colorado River Delta at the tip of the Gulf of California between Baja California and Sonora.
Known for its dramatic canyons, whitewater rapids, and eleven U.S. National Parks, the Colorado River system is a vital source of water for 40 million people in southwestern North America. The river and its tributaries are controlled by an extensive system of dams, reservoirs, and aqueducts, which in most years divert its entire flow for agricultural irrigation and domestic water supply. Its large flow and steep gradient are used for generating hydroelectric power, and its major dams regulate peaking power demands in much of the Intermountain West. Intensive water consumption has dried up the lower 100 miles (160 km) of the river, which has rarely reached the sea since the 1960s.
Willow Beach is located on the Arizona side of the Colorado River between Lake Mead and Lake Mohave. Both Lake Mead and Lake Mohave are part of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area administered by the U.S. National Park Service.
Willow Beach was a trade major center for Mojave and Virgin Ancestral Pueblo people along the routes between Coastal California and the American Southwest between 500 and 1200 CE.
Uploaded
May 16th, 2017
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