This was what I grew up with ... not sure it solved all the problems it was intended to solve ... just saying
Key date on Salton Sea, 1905 ...
"Altogether the chain of lakes along the Colorado River consisting of Lake Powell, Lake Mead, Lake Mojave, Lake Havasu, and Imperial Reservoir hold 63
million acre feet of water. Because of the many reservoirs, evaporation and seepage accounts for bet
ween fifteen to twenty percent (over 2.6 million acre feet) of the river’s estimated average annual flow of 15 million acre feet. California’s total
annual allotment of Colorado River water is 4.4 million acre feet of which 3.1 million acre feet are allotted to the Imperial Valley Irrigation
District alone, leaving 1.3 million acre feet for all of municipal Southern California. Only 1.5 million acre
feet of the Colorado’s total average annual flow is allotted by treaty to Mexico."
Originally posted by David K
Does the Gila River flow... or does Arizona consume all its water before it reaches the Colorado?
The Gila River flows into the Colorado River but at at times very little water reaches it and at other times it is pretty substantial.
In the past I have kayaked where it enters the Colorado in the Yuma area.
Originally posted by wessongroup
This was what I grew up with ... not sure it solved all the problems it was intended to solve ... just saying
Key date on Salton Sea, 1905 ...
"Altogether the chain of lakes along the Colorado River consisting of Lake Powell, Lake Mead, Lake Mojave, Lake Havasu, and Imperial Reservoir hold 63
million acre feet of water. Because of the many reservoirs, evaporation and seepage accounts for bet
ween fifteen to twenty percent (over 2.6 million acre feet) of the river’s estimated average annual flow of 15 million acre feet. California’s total
annual allotment of Colorado River water is 4.4 million acre feet of which 3.1 million acre feet are allotted to the Imperial Valley Irrigation
District alone, leaving 1.3 million acre feet for all of municipal Southern California. Only 1.5 million acre
feet of the Colorado’s total average annual flow is allotted by treaty to Mexico."
".............Wonder if putting a shipping canal into the Salton Sea (from the SOC) could help the Delta as a byproduct in
any way. Salton Sea is at the do or die stage now...would give the economy/wildlife a lift to reinvigorate it with fresh seawater......"
Now, THAT would be an engineering FEAT.
Given the Two-Hundred and Fifty feet vertical difference between the two.
The Salton Sea surface is well below sea level... and water runs downhill, so the issue is a canal and a gate/ lock that doesn't let the entire Sea of
Cortez in! I think El Centro is not ready to have a beach just yet?
When I used to fish just below Hoover dam I was reminded by the hawser rings in the narrow canyon that big paddle wheelers hauled themselves past the
rapids there and were able to get a good distance up into what is now Lake Mead. Maybe David has some history on it that would be fun to read.
Call me a SKEPTIC on that one BUT, having seen Old footage of the rapids through the Grand-Canyon before the Dam was built,
I can't conceive of an Upriver voyage.
Originally posted by MrBillM
Call me a SKEPTIC on that one BUT, having seen Old footage of the rapids through the Grand-Canyon before the Dam was built,
I can't conceive of an Upriver voyage.
Certainly not above the present upper limits of Lake Mead, but the paddle boats DID reach just short of entering the lower Grand Canyon according to
my understanding. The rapids of Grand are daunting, and have been for eons.
Mr. Google just showed me that a paddlewheeler, Explorer, went as far up the river (500 miles) to Black Canyon (that's the current site of Hoover dam)
in 1858. FWIW
Originally posted by MrBillM
".............Wonder if putting a shipping canal into the Salton Sea (from the SOC) could help the Delta as a byproduct in
any way. Salton Sea is at the do or die stage now...would give the economy/wildlife a lift to reinvigorate it with fresh seawater......"
Now, THAT would be an engineering FEAT.
Given the Two-Hundred and Fifty feet vertical difference between the two.
Its one of the ideas thrown around to help the Salton Sea. Granted, it may not be the most practical....on the other hand it would be nice to put in
on the Salton Sea and boat to the Gulf. It would, I imagine, drastically improve the dismal economy of the Salton area, but whether the cost is
justified, who knows.
Was the boat used by Lieutenant Ives in his 1857-1858 expedition authorized by the Secretary of War to determine to what extent the Colorado River was
suitable for Steamboat Traffic.
His voyage terminated at the LOWER end of the Grand Canyon at which point he traveled overland.
There is an excellent book which I liberated (and paid for) from the library on the subject which includes a brief history of exploration from 1539
and extensively covers the history of the Salton Sink diversions, including the author's personal voyages into the diversions beginning in 1890.
The Colorado Delta
American Geographical Society Publication no. 19
By Godfrey Sykes - Research Associate - Carnegie Institution of Washington.
Originally published in 1937 and republished 1970.
Published as a scholarly work, it is Slow reading at times, but includes a wealth of scientific data.
There are a multitude of illustrations, photos and maps dating back to the original Spanish explorations, none of which extended northward of the
mouth of the river since they determined that there was no profit in doing so.
The steamboat traffic which developed post-Civil War was to transport supplies from San Francisco to Fort Yuma since it became increasingly difficult
to supply overland. The river traffic was terminated in 1877 with the arrival of the Southern Pacific railroad and its purchase of all the shipping
rights.
Good stuff, Bill. I know Godfrey Sikes granddaughter, Diane, and she is a huge explorer in her own right. I provided logistics for her in a paddle
down the Delta, and down the SOC to Gonzaga several years ago with some friends.
An interesting article on the canal idea, with the added bonus of energy storage/production. Not that I'm that crazy about large container ships in
the Salton Sea but it would be necessary to pay for the construction:
Originally posted by Mexitron
An interesting article on the canal idea, with the added bonus of energy storage/production. Not that I'm that crazy about large container ships in
the Salton Sea but it would be necessary to pay for the construction:
ALL The musings over the restoration of the Salton Sump are simply meaningless recreation.
There will NEVER be the significant funds available to take remedial action OR the political will (outside of California) to
pursue the idea with any seriousness.
The area serves its current purpose (mostly as a runoff depository) well enough and its "possible" use for other purposes doesn't justify the
enormous expense necessary to achieve those goals.
The same can be said to a certain extent for the "surge" experiment. Except for the odd (and growing odder) exceedingly wet years, there will NEVER
be sufficient excess water in the system to restore the Delta to any extent.
Originally posted by Mexitron
An interesting article on the canal idea, with the added bonus of energy storage/production. Not that I'm that crazy about large container ships in
the Salton Sea but it would be necessary to pay for the construction:
"If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it is fierce and hostile and sullen.
The stone mountains pile up to the sky and there is little fresh water. But we know we must go back
if we live, and we don't know why." - Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt
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