1.
Interstate 8
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Interstate 8 is an Interstate Highway in the southwestern United States. It runs from the edge of Mission Bay at Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in San Diego, California, almost at the Pacific Ocean, to the junction with I-10, just southeast of Casa Grande. Crossing the Colorado River into Arizona, I-8 continues through the city of Yuma across the Sonoran Desert to Casa Grande and these were later replaced by U. S. Route 80 across California and part of Arizona, and Arizona State Route 84 between Gila Bend and Casa Grande. The Arizona portion of the road was starting in the 1960s. The route was completed in 1975 through California, and by 1977 through Arizona, I-8 is part of the National Highway System, a network of roadways important to the countrys economy, defense, and mobility. The freeway begins at the intersection of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Nimitz Boulevard in San Diego, for its first few miles, it parallels the San Diego River floodway. Near Old Town San Diego, I-8 intersects with I-5 as well as with Rosecrans Avenue, as the freeway enters Mission Valley, it continues eastward, bisecting the area known as Hotel Circle that has several hotels. I-8 then has interchanges with SR163, I-805, and I-15 and its continuation, SR15, in La Mesa, the route intersects SR125. The freeway intersects with SR79 in the national forest before passing through the La Posta, in Boulevard, I-8 has an interchange with the eastern end of SR94. I-8 straddles the San Diego—Imperial county line for a few miles before turning east, at the Mountain Springs/In Ko Pah grade, the freeway is routed down two separate canyons, as it descends 4,000 feet in 11 miles. In places, the median is over 1.5 miles wide, the route enters the Imperial Valley, where it intersects with SR98, a highway leading to Calexico, and passes near the Desert View Tower. I-8 then goes through Coyote Wells before entering the city of El Centro several miles later, in El Centro, I-8 intersects with SR86 and SR111, both north–south routes which connect to I-10 in the Coachella Valley, north of the Salton Sea. SR115 and SR98 end at I-8 east of El Centro, the route also has the lowest above-ground elevation of any Interstate at 52 feet below sea level near El Centro. The freeway then traverses the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area and intersects with SR186 leading south to Baja California Norte, I-8 runs parallel to the All-American Canal across the desert for roughly 55 miles. At points in eastern Imperial County, the Mexican border is less than half a mile south of the Interstate, I-8 then passes through Felicity and Winterhaven before crossing the Colorado River on a bridge into Yuma, Arizona. It is officially known as the Border Friendship Route from San Diego to the Arizona state line, the Interstate is signed as the Ocean Beach Freeway west of I-5. Between Old Town and El Cajon, I-8 is called the Mission Valley Freeway, I-8 enters Arizona from California at the Colorado River bridge at Yuma. It initially heads south through Yuma until the interchange with US95, west of Wellton, the highway takes a northeasterly course, paralleling the Gila River and passing to the south of Roll
2.
Imperial County, California
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Imperial County is a county in the U. S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 174,528, the county seat is El Centro. Established in 1907, it was the last county to be formed in California, Imperial County comprises the El Centro, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is also part of the Southern California border region, the smallest but most economically diverse region in the state and it is located in the Imperial Valley, in the far southeast of California, bordering both Arizona and Mexico. The Imperial Valley is a pot of Anglo-American and Chicano/Latino cultures. On the American side, the majority of residents are of Mexican American heritage, the entire valley is a multi-ethnic mixture of whites, Asian Americans, some African Americans and Native Americans. In 2014, Imperial County had the second highest percentage of unemployed people of any county in the United States, Spanish explorer Melchor Díaz was one of the first Europeans to visit the area around Imperial Valley in 1540. The explorer Juan Bautista de Anza also explored the area in 1776, years later, after the Mexican-American War, the northern half of the valley was annexed by the U. S. while the southern half remained under Mexican rule. Small scale settlement in natural aquifer areas occurred in the early 19th century, in 1905, torrential rainfall in the American Southwest caused the Colorado River to flood, including canals that had been built to irrigate the Imperial Valley. Since the valley is partially below sea level, the waters never fully receded, but collected in the Salton Sink in what is now called the Salton Sea, Imperial County was formed in 1907 from the eastern portion of San Diego County. Much of the Imperial Land Companys land also existed in Mexico, the objective of the company was commercial crop farming development. By 1910, the company had managed to settle and develop thousands of farms on both sides of the border. The Mexican Revolution soon after severely disrupted the companys plans, nearly 10,000 farmers and their families in Mexico were ethnically cleansed by the rival Mexican armies. By the 1950 census, over 50,000 residents lived in Imperial County alone, most of the population was year-round but would increase every winter by migrant laborers from Mexico. Until the 1960s, the farms in Imperial County provided substantial economic returns to the company, currently, El Centro has one of the U. S highest unemployment rates and ranks one of the states poorest counties or have a lower than state and national average annual household income. Fort Yuma is located on the banks of the Colorado River in Winterhaven, first established after the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, it was originally located in the bottoms near the Colorado River, less than 1-mile below the mouth of the Gila River. It was to defend the newly settled community of Yuma, Arizona on the side of the Colorado River. In March 1851 the post was moved to an elevation on the Colorados west bank, opposite the present city of Yuma, Arizona
3.
History of California's state highway system
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The state highway system in the U. S. state of California dates back to 1896, when the state took over maintenance of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road. Construction of a connected system began in 1912, after the states voters approved an $18 million bond issue for over 3000 miles of highways. The last large addition was made by the California State Assembly in 1959, the 58 mile road had been operated as a toll road until 1886, when El Dorado County bought it, the county deeded the road to the state on February 28,1896. Funding was only enough for minimal improvements, including a bridge over the South Fork American River in 1901. Also in 1895, on March 27, the created the three-person Bureau of Highways to coordinate efforts by the counties to build good roads. The bureau traveled to every county of the state in 1895 and 1896 and prepared a map of a system of state roads. Several more state highways were legislated in the decade. This new department, in addition to duties, was to maintain all state highways. On March 22,1909 the State Highways Act was passed and this law authorized the Department of Engineering to issue $18 million in bonds for a continuous and connected state highway system that would connect all county seats. To this end, the department created the three-member California Highway Commission on August 8,1911 to take charge of the construction. As with the 1896 plan by the Bureau of Highways, the Highway Commission traveled the state to determine the best routes, construction began in mid-1912, with groundbreaking on Contract One - now part of SR82 in San Mateo County - on August 7. Noteworthy portions of the built by the commission included the Ridge Route in southern California. This gave the Department of Engineering an additional $12 million to complete the original system, at this time, each route was assigned a number from 1 to 34, this system of labeling routes, although never marked with signs, remained until the 1964 renumbering. Where not serving as extensions of existing routes, these -, the three bond issues together totaled 5560 miles, of which just over 40% was completed or under construction in mid-1920. The Department of Engineering became part of the new Department of Public Works in 1921, in order to pay for the roads, a 2-cent per gallon gasoline tax was approved in 1923. The legislature continued to add highways to the system, including the Mother Lode Highway in 1921 and the Arrowhead Trail in 1925. In January 1928, the California State Automobile Association and Automobile Club of Southern California, Highways along several of the most major state highways. The California Toll Bridge Authority was created in 1929 to acquire and operate all toll bridges on highways, including the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge
4.
Colorado River
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The Colorado River is one of the principal rivers of the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The 1, 450-mile-long Colorado River drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U. S. starting in the central Rocky Mountains in the U. S. 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 Colorados 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 of the river, beginning with small bands of nomadic hunter-gatherers, Native Americans have inhabited the Colorado River basin for at least 8,000 years. Most native peoples that inhabit the basin today are descended from groups that settled in the region beginning about 1,000 years ago. Europeans first entered the Colorado Basin in the 16th century, when explorers from Spain began mapping and claiming the area, early contact between Europeans and Native Americans was generally limited to the fur trade in the headwaters and sporadic trade interactions along the lower river. After most of the Colorado River basin became part of the U. S. in 1846, several expeditions charted the Colorado in the mid-19th century – one of which, led by John Wesley Powell, was the first to run the rapids of the Grand Canyon. American explorers collected valuable information that would later be used to develop the river for navigation, lesser numbers settled in the upper basin, which was the scene of major gold strikes in the 1860s and 1870s. Large engineering works began around the start of the 20th century, with guidelines established in a series of international. The U. S. federal government was the driving force behind the construction of dams and aqueducts in the river system, although many state. Most of the dams in the river basin were built between 1910 and 1970, the system keystone, Hoover Dam, was completed in 1935. The Colorado is now considered among the most controlled and litigated rivers in the world, as demands for Colorado River water continue to rise, the level of human development and control of the river continues to generate controversy. The Colorado begins at La Poudre Pass in the Southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, after a short run south, the river turns west below Grand Lake, the largest natural lake in the state. As it flows southwest, it gains strength from many tributaries, as well as larger ones including the Blue, Eagle. In a few areas, such as the marshy Kawuneeche Valley near the headwaters, arcing northwest, the Colorado begins to cut across the eponymous Colorado Plateau, a vast area of high desert centered at the Four Corners of the southwestern United States. In Utah, the Colorado flows primarily through the slickrock country and this is one of the most inaccessible regions of the continental United States. Here, the San Juan River, carrying runoff from the slope of Colorados San Juan Mountains, joins the Colorado from the east. S
5.
Alamo Canal
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The Alamo Canal was a 14 mi long waterway that connected the Colorado River to the head of the Alamo River. The canal was constructed to provide irrigation to the Imperial Valley, a small portion of the canal was located in the United States but the majority of the canal was located in Mexico. The Alamo Canal is also known as the Imperial Canal, historically, the Colorado River flowed to the Gulf of California, however in times of the spring floods the Colorado River would overflow its banks and also drain into the Alamo River. Flow from the Alamo River then drained to the Salton Sink area of the Colorado Desert, such overflow had been observed in 1884,1891,1892, and 1895. The Alamo Canal was the first attempt to create that diversion and it was engineered by George Chaffey of the California Development Company starting in 1900. The canal intake and temporary wooden headgates were initially located in the United States at Pilot Knob due to the availability of a rock foundation. The canal then crossed the border with Mexico and ran parallel to the Colorado River for approximately 4 miles and this path was selected to avoid the expensive engineering that would otherwise be required if the canal were to traverse the Algodones Dunes. A small amount of water was first delivered to the Imperial Valley in 1901. In 1906 work was completed on the permanent concrete headgates at Hanlon Heading, in 1904 heavy silting greatly reduced the water-carrying capacity of the canal. Imperial Valley farmers, under financial stress, pressured the California Development Company to resolve the problem. During the subsequent seasonal floods of 1904 through to late 1906, at various times during this period the entirety of the Colorado River was diverted into the canal. Rockwoods action in ordering the breach was later described as a blunder so serious as to be practically criminal, multiple failed attempts were made to close the diversion and establish a controlled flow via headgates. On January 27,1907 the flooding was stopped after substantial intervention by the Southern Pacific Company. The rate of loss through aquifer replenishment and evaporation in the Salton Sink was much less than the massive inflow of the Colorado River via the third diversion of the Alamo Canal. As a direct result of the decision to create canal intakes from the Colorado River without headgates the Salton Sea was formed, ongoing provision of water to the Imperial Valley from the Alamo Canal ensured that the Salton Sea would remain intact through the lifetime of the canal. The initial flooding of the Salton Sink destroyed the New Liverpool Salt Company works, on January 10,1908 the owners of the works were awarded a judgement against the California Development Company of $458,246.23. Southern Pacific, which incurred considerable costs repairing the breaches, held a judgement against California Development of $3,772,128.52. By June,1915 a total of $5,049,554.78 was owed to creditors and this debt triggered the bankruptcy of California Development, with all assets passed to Southern Pacific
6.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
7.
Mexico
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Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a federal republic in the southern half of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States, to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean, to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea, and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometers, Mexico is the sixth largest country in the Americas by total area, Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states and a federal district that is also its capital and most populous city. Other metropolises include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana, pre-Columbian Mexico was home to many advanced Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya and Aztec before first contact with Europeans. In 1521, the Spanish Empire conquered and colonized the territory from its base in Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Three centuries later, this territory became Mexico following recognition in 1821 after the colonys Mexican War of Independence. The tumultuous post-independence period was characterized by instability and many political changes. The Mexican–American War led to the cession of the extensive northern borderlands, one-third of its territory. The Pastry War, the Franco-Mexican War, a civil war, the dictatorship was overthrown in the Mexican Revolution of 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the countrys current political system. Mexico has the fifteenth largest nominal GDP and the eleventh largest by purchasing power parity, the Mexican economy is strongly linked to those of its North American Free Trade Agreement partners, especially the United States. Mexico was the first Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and it is classified as an upper-middle income country by the World Bank and a newly industrialized country by several analysts. By 2050, Mexico could become the fifth or seventh largest economy. The country is considered both a power and middle power, and is often identified as an emerging global power. Due to its culture and history, Mexico ranks first in the Americas. Mexico is a country, ranking fourth in the world by biodiversity. In 2015 it was the 9th most visited country in the world, Mexico is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G8+5, the G20, the Uniting for Consensus and the Pacific Alliance. Mēxihco is the Nahuatl term for the heartland of the Aztec Empire, namely, the Valley of Mexico, and its people, the Mexica and this became the future State of Mexico as a division of New Spain prior to independence. It is generally considered to be a toponym for the valley became the primary ethnonym for the Aztec Triple Alliance as a result. After New Spain won independence from Spain, representatives decided to name the new country after its capital and this was founded in 1524 on top of the ancient Mexica capital of Mexico-Tenochtitlan
8.
California State Legislature
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The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U. S. state of California. It is a body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house. New legislators convene each new session, to organize, in the Assembly and Senate Chambers, respectively. Aside from the recess, the legislature is in session year-round, the Democratic Party currently holds supermajorities in both chambers of the California Legislature. The state senate currently consists of 27 Democrats and 13 Republicans, except for the period from 1995 to 1996, the Assembly has been in Democratic hands since the 1970 election. The Senate has been in Democratic hands continuously since 1970, the first Californian State House was originally a hotel in San Jose owned by businessman Pierre Don Pedro Sainsevain and his associates. The State Legislature currently meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento, members of the Assembly are elected from 80 districts and serve two-year terms. Members of the Senate are elected from forty districts and serve four-year terms, twenty Senate seats are up for election at each two-year election cycle. Term limits were established in 1990 following the passage of Proposition 140. In June 2012, voters approved Proposition 28 which allows legislators to serve a maximum of 12 years without regard to whether the years are served in the State Assembly or the State Senate. The proceedings of the California State Legislature are briefly summarized in regularly published journals, which show votes, reports produced by California executive agencies, as well as the Legislature, were published in the Appendices to the Journals from 1849 to 1970. Since the 1990s, the legislature has provided a video feed for its sessions. Due to the expense and the obvious political downside, California did not keep records of actual speeches made by members of the Assembly. As a result, reconstructing legislative intent outside of an acts preamble is extremely difficult in California for legislation passed before the 1990s. Since 1993, the Legislature has hosted a web/ftp site in one form or another, the most sought-after legislative committee appointments are to banking, agriculture and insurance. A bill is a proposal to change, repeal, or add to existing state law, an Assembly Bill is one introduced in the Assembly, a Senate Bill, in the Senate. Bills are designated by number, in the order of introduction in each house, for example, AB16 refers to the 16th bill introduced in the Assembly. The numbering starts afresh each session, there may be one or more extraordinary sessions
9.
Yuma, Arizona
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Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the corner of the state. Yuma is the city of the Yuma, Arizona Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the United States Census Bureau, the 2014 estimated population of the Yuma MSA is 203,247, more than 85,000 retirees make Yuma their winter residence. The areas first settlers for thousands of years were Native American cultures and their descendants now occupy the Cocopah and Quechan reservations. In 1540, Spanish colonial expeditions under Hernando de Alarcon and Melchior Diaz visited the area, the Colorado River narrows to slightly under 1,000 feet wide in one area. Military expeditions that crossed the Colorado River at the Yuma Crossing include Juan Bautista de Anza, the Mormon Battalion, during and after the California Gold Rush to the late 1870s, the Yuma Crossing was known for its ferry crossings for the Southern Emigrant Trail. This was considered the gateway to California, as it was one of the few spots where travelers could cross the otherwise very wide Colorado River. Following the United States establishing Fort Yuma, two towns developed one mile down river, the one on the California side was called Jaeger City, named after the owner of Jaegers Ferry, which crossed the river there. It was for a time the larger of the two, with the Butterfield Overland Mail office and station, two blacksmiths, a hotel, two stores, and other dwellings, the other was called Colorado City. Developed on the side of the river in what is now Arizona by speculator Charles Poston. When started, it was just north of the border between Mexican-ruled Sonora, Mexico and California, after the Gadsden Purchase by the United States, the town bordered on the Territory of New Mexico. This area was designated as the Territory of Arizona in 1863, the county of San Diego collected taxes from there for many years. From 1853 a smaller settlement, Arizona City, grew up on the ground across from the fort and was organized under the name of its post office in 1858. It had adobe dwellings, two stores and two saloons, Colorado City and Jaeger City were almost completely destroyed by the Great Flood of 1862 and had to be rebuilt on higher ground. At that time Colorado City became part of Arizona City and it took the name Yuma in 1873. From 1854, Colorado City was the major stop for traffic up. After the 1862 flood, it part of Arizona City
10.
El Centro, California
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El Centro is also the largest American city to lie entirely below sea level. The city, located in the far corner of California, is near the major Southern California city of San Diego. Founded in 1906, W. F. Holt and C. A. Barker purchased the land on which El Centro was eventually built for about $40 per acre and invested $100,000 in improvements. As one historian of valley life put it, in five months El Centro went from a barley field to a city. It is home to retail, transportation, wholesale, and agricultural industries, there are also two international border crossings nearby for commercial and noncommercial vehicles. The citys population was 42,598 at the 2010 census, spanish explorer Melchor Díaz was one of the first Europeans to visit the area around El Centro and Imperial Valley in 1540. The explorer Juan Bautista de Anza also explored the area in 1776, years later, after the Mexican-American War, the northern half of the valley was annexed by the U. S. while the southern half remained under Mexican rule. Small scale settlement in natural aquifer areas occurred in the early 19th century, originally part of San Diego County, the Imperial Valley was settled by farmers once water from the Colorado River was diverted via canals to irrigate the desert valley floor. In 1906, the land on which El Centro was later built was purchased by W. F. Holt, by 1907 Imperial County was incorporated into California and by then much of the valley was successfully irrigated. Before the town began, the railroad had established a station, Barker, a friend of the landowner. The first post office in El Centro opened in 1905, the City of El Centro was incorporated on April 16,1908. By 1910, the population of the city had reached 1,610, one reason for this rapid growth was El Centros becoming the county seat of Imperial County. Population growth was slow, but accelerated in the 1930s, and again in the 1940s, by the mid-1940s, El Centro had become the second largest city in the Imperial Valley, with a population of about 11,000 people. El Centro had also become the location of the Imperial Irrigation District administrative offices, Imperial Valley Mall opened on the southeast side of the city in 2005. The nearby Algodones Dunes, the largest dune field in the US, draws thousands of visitors each year, the Salton Sea lies 30 miles north of El Centro, but water sport enthusiasts head to the Colorado River,50 miles to the east near Yuma, Arizona. The El Centro Naval Air Facility 10 miles to the west is home to the annual Blue Angels flight maneuvering event, stark Field is home of a minor league baseball team El Centro Imperials of the Arizona Summer League. Mexico is 10 miles away, which offers big city amenities like museums, a zoo, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.1 square miles, of which over 99% is land. El Centro is located in the Imperial Valley, the city is 50 feet below sea level and the largest city in the United States below sea level
I-8 near Winterhaven
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CR S24 (Araz Road)
