1.
Colorado Desert
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Californias Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately 7 million acres including the heavily irrigated Coachella, the Colorado Desert is home to many unique flora and fauna, many of which can be found nowhere else on the planet. The majority of the Colorado Desert lies at a low elevation, below 1,000 feet. Although the highest peaks of the Peninsular Range reach elevations of nearly 10,000 feet, in this region, the geology is dominated by the transition of the tectonic plate boundary from rift to fault. The southernmost strands of the San Andreas Fault connect to the northern-most extensions of the East Pacific Rise, consequently, the region is subject to earthquakes, and the crust is being stretched, resulting in a sinking of the terrain over time. The Colorado Deserts climate distinguishes it from other deserts, the region experiences greater summer daytime temperatures than higher-elevation deserts and almost never experiences frost. In addition, the Colorado Desert experiences two seasons per year, especially toward the southern portion of the region, the more northerly Mojave Desert usually has only winter rains. The west coast Peninsular Ranges, or other west ranges, of Southern California–northern Baja California, block most eastern Pacific coastal air and rains, producing an arid climate. Other short or longer-term weather events can move in from the Gulf of California to the south and these include remnants of Pacific hurricanes, storms from the southern tropical jetstream, and the northern ITCZ. The regions terrestrial habitats include creosote bush scrub, mixed scrub, including yucca and cholla cactus, desert saltbush, sandy soil grasslands, higher elevations are dominated by pinyon pine and California juniper, with areas of manzanita and Coulter pine. In addition to hardy perennials, more than half of the plant species are herbaceous annuals. In the southern portion of the region, the additional moisture supplied by summer rainfall fosters the germination of annual plants and supports smoketree, ironwood. The unique Joshua tree can be found in Joshua Tree National Park, common desert wildlife include mule deer, bobcat, desert kangaroo rat, cactus mouse, black-tailed jackrabbit, Gambels quail, and red-diamond rattlesnake. The best place to spot wildlife is at the wetland refuges along the Colorado River, Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, in the Colorado Deserts arid environment, aquatic and wetland habitats are limited in extent but are critically important to wildlife. Two of the regions most significant aquatic systems are the Salton Sea, in some places, summer rains produce short-lived seasonal pools that host uncommon species like Couchs spadefoot toad. Desert fan palm oases are rare ecological communities found only in the Colorado Desert, the only palm native to California, Washingtonia filifera, grows at the oases. Some sub-regions of the Colorado Desert contain endemic flora, many unique communities, particularly aquatic and dune systems, are limited in distribution and separated by vast expanses of inhospitable, arid desert terrain. Even limited human disturbances can have deleterious effects on the endemic
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.
Riverside County, California
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Riverside County, California is one of fifty-eight counties in the U. S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,189,641, making it the 4th-most populous county in California, the name was derived from the city of Riverside, which is the county seat. Riverside County is included in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, the county is also included in the Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA Combined Statistical Area. There is a concentration of sprawling tract housing communities around Riverside and along the Interstate 10,15. Roughly rectangle-shaped, Riverside County covers 7,208 square miles in Southern California, geographically, the county is mostly desert in the central and eastern portions, but has a Mediterranean climate in the western portion. Most of Joshua Tree National Park is located in the county, the resort cities of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage, and Desert Hot Springs are all located in the Coachella Valley region of Riverside County. Large numbers of Los Angeles area workers have moved to the county in recent years to take advantage of affordable housing. Along with neighboring San Bernardino County, it was one of the fastest growing regions in the prior to the recent changes in the regional economy. In addition, smaller, but significant, numbers of people have been moving into Southwest Riverside County from the San Diego-Tijuana metropolitan area, the cities of Temecula and Murrieta accounted for 20% of the increase in population of the county between 2000 and 2007. The indigenous peoples of what is now Riverside County are the Luiseño, Cupeño, the Luiseño lived in the Aguanga and Temecula Basins, Elsinore Trough and eastern Santa Ana Mountains and southward into San Diego County. The Cahullia lived to the east and north of the Luiseño in the valleys, Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains. The first European settlement in the county was a Mission San Luis Rey de Francia estancia or farm, grain and grapes were grown here. In 1819, the Mission granted land to Leandro Serrano, mayordomo of San Antonio de Pala Asistencia for the Mission of San Luis Rey for Rancho Temescal, following Mexican independence and the 1833 confiscation of Mission lands, more ranchos were granted. New Mexican colonists founded the town of La Placita on the east side of the Santa Ana River at the extremity of what is now the city of Riverside in 1843. When the initial 27 California counties were established in 1850 the area known as Riverside County was divided between Los Angeles County and San Diego County. In 1853 the eastern part of Los Angeles County was used to create San Bernardino County, between 1891 and 1893 several proposals, and legislative attempts, were put forth to form new counties in Southern California. These proposals included one for a Pomona County and one for a San Jacinto County, none of the proposals were adopted until a measure to create Riverside County was signed by Governor Henry H. Markham on March 11,1893. The new county was created from parts of San Bernardino County, on May 2,1893, seventy percent of voters approved the formation of Riverside County
4.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
5.
Body of water
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Body of Water is a musical conceived by Tony Kienitz and Tanna Herr with music by Jim Walker. It entails the life of fourteen teens left behind in a war crisis. The show was the production of A Theatre Near U. The show was adapted from music written by Jim Walker, the music for the show was nominated for Best Original Music by the San Francisco Bay Area Critics Circle Excellence in Theatre Awards. The album is available on iTunes here, the overall reception of Body of Water was positive. He also praised the music by Jim Walker as wonderfully raw, cryptic, richard Conema of Talkin Broadway and member of the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle agreed with Jarrett on the music and choreography. He also said that the actors of the show are the adult performers of the future. These young people are doing work and many aspire to be professional actors. He also commended producing theatre company A Theatre Near U, saying that A Theatre Near U may have just fired the first shot in a revolution to determine the future of Youth Theatre
6.
Endorheic basin
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Such a basin may also be referred to as a closed or terminal basin or as an internal drainage system. However, in a basin, rain that falls within it does not flow out but may only leave the drainage system by evaporation. The bottom of such a basin is occupied by a salt lake or salt pan. Endorheic regions, in contrast to regions which flow to the ocean in geologically defined patterns, are closed hydrologic systems. Their surface waters drain to inland terminal locations where the water evaporates or seeps into the ground, endorheic water bodies include some of the largest lakes in the world, such as the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea, the worlds largest saline inland sea. Most endorheic basins are arid, although there are notable exceptions, such as the Valley of Mexico, the Lake Tahoe region. Endorheic basins can be massively and rapidly affected by change and excessive water removal. An exorheic lake naturally remains at a level, so water flow into the lake may be many times more than is needed to maintain its present size. In contrast, an endorheic basin does not have enough inflow that it overflows to the ocean, endorheic lakes are bodies of water that do not flow into the sea. Most of the water falling on Earth finds its way to the oceans through a network of rivers, lakes, however, there is a class of water bodies that are located in closed or endorheic watersheds where the topography prevents their drainage to the oceans. These endorheic watersheds are often called terminal lakes or sink lakes, endorheic lakes are usually in the interior of a landmass, far from an ocean in areas of relatively low rainfall. Their watersheds are often confined by natural geologic land formations such as a mountain range, the inland water flows into dry watersheds where the water evaporates, leaving a high concentration of minerals and other inflow erosion products. Over time this input of erosion products can cause the lake to become relatively saline. Endorheic regions can occur in any climate but are most commonly found in desert locations, the Black Sea was likely such a lake, having once been an independent hydrological system before the Mediterranean Sea broke through the terrain separating the two. Lake Bonneville was another such lake, overflowing its basin in the Bonneville flood, malheur/Harney Lake in Oregon is normally cut off from drainage to the ocean, but has an outflow channel to the Malheur River that is normally dry, but flows in years of peak precipitation. Examples of relatively humid regions in endorheic basins often exist at high elevation and these regions tend to be marshy and are subject to substantial flooding in wet years. The area containing Mexico City is one case, with annual precipitation of 850 mm. Endorheic regions tend to be far inland with their boundaries defined by mountains or other features that block their access to oceans
7.
Rift lake
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The Rift Valley lakes are a group of lakes in the East African Rift that runs north-south through the eastern side of the African continent, from Ethiopia in the north to Malawi in the south. These lakes include some of the oldest, largest, and deepest lakes in the world, many are freshwater ecoregions of great biodiversity, while others are alkaline soda lakes supporting highly specialised organisms. The Rift Valley lakes are known for the evolution of at least 800 cichlid fish species that live in their waters. More species are expected to be discovered, the World Wildlife Fund has designated these lakes as one of its Global 200 priority ecoregions for conservation. In this article, the lakes are listed, generally in order from north to south. Lakes such as Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika have formed in the valleys of the East African Rift zone. Hide another face, dissolved within are billions of cubic meters of methane and more still of carbon dioxide. The Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes are the northernmost of the African Rift Valley lakes, most of the Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes do not have an outlet, and most are alkaline. South of the Ethiopian highlands, the valley splits into two major troughs. The Eastern Rift is home to the Kenyan Rift Valley lakes, the Kenyan section of the Rift Valley is home to eight lakes, of which three are freshwater and the rest alkaline. Of the latter, the soda lakes of the Eastern Rift Valley have crystallised salt turning the shores white and are famous for the large flocks of flamingo that feed on crustaceans. Lake Baringo, second largest of the Kenyan Rift Valley lakes,80 square miles, elevation 1,000 metres, freshwater Lake Bogoria, shallow soda lake, a national preserve. 34 square kilometres, elevation 990 metres Lake Elmenteita, shallow soda lake, Lake Logipi, a shallow hot-spring fed soda lake in the Suguta Valley just south of Lake Turkana. Lake Magadi, shallow soda lake near the border with Tanzania. Lake Naivasha,160 square kilometres although it varies somewhat with rainfall, elevation 1,890 metres, freshwater Lake Nakuru,40 square kilometres, elevation 1,759 metres Lake Turkana, the largest of the Kenyan lakes, on the border of Kenya and Ethiopia. The lakes of the Western or Albertine Rift, with Lake Victoria, include the largest, deepest and they are also referred to as the Central African lakes. Lakes Albert, Victoria, and Edward are part of the Nile River basin, Lake Victoria, with an area of 68,800 square kilometres, is the largest lake in Africa. It is not in the valley, instead occupying a depression between the eastern and western rifts formed by the uplift of the rifts to either side
8.
Inflow (hydrology)
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In hydrology, the inflow of a body of water is the source of the water in the body of water. It can also refer to the volume of incoming water in unit time. All bodies of water have multiple inflows, but often, one inflow may predominate, however, in many cases, no single inflow will predominate and there will be multiple primary inflows. For a lake, the inflow may be a river or stream that flows into the lake. Inflow may also be, strictly speaking, not flows, but rather precipitation, inflow can also be used to refer to groundwater recharge. The dictionary definition of inflow at Wiktionary
9.
Alamo River
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The Alamo River flows west and north from the Mexicali Valley across the Imperial Valley. The 52-mile-long river drains into the Salton Sea, the resulting flood poured down the canal and breached an Imperial Valley dike. The Alamo and New Rivers continued to flow, but at a lesser rate, the river was named after the Spanish name for the Fremont cottonwood that grows in the region. In most places, the river is a ravine with a small watercourse at the bottom. Lake Cahuilla Salton Sea Tributaries of the Salton Sea
10.
Whitewater River (California)
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The Whitewater River is a small permanent stream in western Riverside County, California, with a small upstream section in southwestern San Bernardino County. Its headwaters are in the San Bernardino Mountains and mouth—terminus in the Colorado Desert, the Whitewater River is in the endorheic Salton Sea drainage basin. The community of Whitewater is named after the river, in 2001 Huell Howser Productions, in association with KCET/Los Angeles, featured the river and nearby community in Californias Gold. The Whitewater River has three significant tributaries, the North, Middle and South Forks, all within the Sand to Snow National Monument. The North Fork begins in the zone at about 10,000 on San Gorgonio Mountain and descends steeply southeast to the Middle Fork. The South Fork flows northeast through a wooded canyon, joining the Middle Fork lower down. The upper watershed is in the San Gorgonio Wilderness and San Bernardino National Forest, below the confluences the arroyo is at least 1/2 mile wide, paved with accumulations of boulders, gravel and sand brought down by floods and brushy except in stream channels cleared by floodwaters. Due to floods and shifting channels there is almost no riparian forest development, the Pacific Crest Trail enters the arroyo from the north and follows it downstream to a trailhead at the Whitewater Preserve, owned by The Wildlands Conservancy. A few fish have escaped upstream, establishing a population of wild. These fish are confined to places where there is shade or tributaries with cooler water, apparently they are not sufficiently adapted to elevated summer temperatures to colonize the rest of the stream. Below the PCT trailhead the enclosing hills fall away so the arroyo exits from the San Bernardino Mountains near Morongo Valley into the western Coachella Valley, the San Gorgonio River which rises further west on the south side of San Gorgonio Mountain then joins it. Before approaching Palm Springs, the Whitewater River is fed imported water from the Colorado River Aqueduct, during rare floods, surface water may reach the endorheic basin of the Salton Sea, below sea level. Bureau of Land Management – Whitewater resources The Trust for Public Land, Whitewater Howser, Whitewater Preserve – Californias Golden Parks
11.
Discharge (hydrology)
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In hydrology, discharge is the volume rate of water flow that is transported through a given cross-sectional area. It includes any suspended solids, dissolved chemicals, or biologic material in addition to the water itself, GH Dury and MJ Bradshaw are two hydrologists who devised the models showing the relationship between discharge and other variables in a river. The units that are used to express discharge include m³/s, ft³/s and/or acre-feet per day. For example, the discharge of the Rhine river in Europe is 2,200 cubic metres per second or 190,000,000 cubic metres per day. A commonly applied methodology for measuring, and estimating, the discharge of a river is based on a form of the continuity equation. In storm hydrology, an important consideration is the streams discharge hydrograph, the stream rises to a peak flow after each precipitation event, then falls in a slow recession. Because the peak flow also corresponds to the water level reached during the event. The amount of precipitation correlates to the volume of water that flows out of the river. The relationship between the discharge in the stream at a given cross-section and the level of the stream is described by a rating curve, average velocities and the cross-sectional area of the stream are measured for a given stream level. The velocity and the give the discharge for that level. After measurements are made for different levels, a rating table or rating curve may be developed. Once rated, the discharge in the stream may be determined by measuring the level, if a continuous level-recording device is located at a rated cross-section, the streams discharge may be continuously determined. Larger flows can transport more sediment and larger particles downstream than smaller flows due to their greater force, larger flows can also erode stream banks and damage public infrastructure
12.
Drainage basin
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A drainage basin or catchment area is any area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet, such as into a river, bay, or other body of water. Drainage basins connect into other drainage basins at elevations in a hierarchical pattern, with smaller sub-drainage basins. Other terms used to describe drainage basins are catchment, catchment basin, drainage area, river basin and water basin. In closed drainage basins the water converges to a point inside the basin, known as a sink, which may be a permanent lake. The drainage basin acts as a funnel by collecting all the water within the covered by the basin. Each drainage basin is separated topographically from adjacent basins by a perimeter, drainage basins are similar but not identical to hydrologic units, which are drainage areas delineated so as to nest into a multi-level hierarchical drainage system. Hydrologic units are defined to allow multiple inlets, outlets, or sinks, in a strict sense, all drainage basins are hydrologic units but not all hydrologic units are drainage basins. Drainage basins of the oceans and seas of the world. Grey areas are endorheic basins that do not drain to the oceans, the following is a list of the major ocean basins, About 48. 7% of the worlds land drains to the Atlantic Ocean. The two major mediterranean seas of the world also flow to the Atlantic, The Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico basin includes most of the U. S. The Mediterranean Sea basin includes much of North Africa, east-central Africa, Southern, Central, and Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the areas of Israel, Lebanon. Just over 13% of the land in the world drains to the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Oceans drainage basin also comprises about 13% of Earths land. It drains the eastern coast of Africa, the coasts of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, Burma, antarctica comprises approximately eight percent of the Earths land. The five largest river basins, from largest to smallest, are the basins of the Amazon, the Río de la Plata, the Congo, the Nile, and the Mississippi. The three rivers that drain the most water, from most to least, are the Amazon, Ganga, endorheic drainage basins are inland basins that do not drain to an ocean. Around 18% of all land drains to endorheic lakes or seas or sinks, the largest of these consists of much of the interior of Asia, which drains into the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea, and numerous smaller lakes. Some of these, such as the Great Basin, are not single drainage basins but collections of separate, in endorheic bodies of standing water where evaporation is the primary means of water loss, the water is typically more saline than the oceans. An extreme example of this is the Dead Sea, drainage basins have been historically important for determining territorial boundaries, particularly in regions where trade by water has been important
13.
Cubic kilometre
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The cubic metre or cubic meter is the SI derived unit of volume. It is the volume of a cube with one metre in length. An alternative name, which allowed a different usage with metric prefixes, was the stère, another alternative name, no longer widely used, was the kilolitre. A cubic metre of water at the temperature of maximum density and standard atmospheric pressure has a mass of 1000 kg. At 0 °C, the point of water, a cubic metre of water has slightly less mass,999.972 kilograms. It is sometimes abbreviated to cu m, m3, M3, m^3, m**3, CBM, abbreviated CBM and cbm in the freight business and MTQ in international trade. See Orders of magnitude for a comparison with other volumes
14.
Below sea level
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This is a list of places below mean sea level that are on land. Places in tunnels, mines, basements, dug holes, under water, under ice, places where seawater and rainwater is pumped away are included. Lake Eyre, Australia, −16 m, lowest land in Australia Lake Frome, Australia, −6 m Lake Blanche and it is subglacial, meaning that it is permanently covered by the largest ice cap in the world. Therefore, it is not included in any list on the page, if the ice melted it would be covered by sea. Extreme points of Earth List of countries by lowest point List of submarine topographical features Adjustable Sealevel Map. flood. firetree. net
15.
Bombay Beach, California
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Bombay Beach is a census-designated place in Imperial County, California, United States. It is located on the Salton Sea 4 miles west-southwest of Frink and is the lowest community in America, the population was 295 at the 2010 census, down from 366 in 2000. It is part of the El Centro, California Metropolitan Statistical Area, Bombay Beach is located at 33°21′03″N 115°43′47″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has an area of 0.9 square miles. Bombay Beach is located on the east shore of the Salton Sea, a berm now protects the west end of the town, but a portion of the town beyond the berm is either submerged or is half-buried in mud. The town of Bombay Beach is located in Southern Californias Sonoran Desert, Bombay Beach marks the southern end of the San Andreas fault. The 2010 United States Census reported that Bombay Beach had a population of 295, the population density was 313.5 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Bombay Beach was 223 White,37 African American,8 Native American,1 Asian,0 Pacific Islander,22 from other races, Hispanic or Latino of any race were 59 persons. The Census reported that 295 people lived in households,0 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, there were 7 unmarried partnerships, and 1 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 97 households were made up of individuals and 51 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 1.69. There were 68 families, the family size was 2.54. The median age was 58.5 years, for every 100 females there were 113.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.6 males, there were 449 housing units at an average density of 477.1 per square mile, of which 115 were owner-occupied, and 60 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 15%, the vacancy rate was 16%. 198 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 97 people lived in housing units. As of the census of 2000, there were 366 people,178 households, the population density was 363.8 people per square mile. There were 440 housing units at a density of 437.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 71% White, 19% Black or African American, 1% Native American, 0% Asian, 4% from other races, 19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race
16.
Desert Shores, California
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Desert Shores is a census-designated place in Imperial County, California, US. It is part of the El Centro Metropolitan Statistical Area, the town is located at the western shore of the Salton Sea in the Imperial Valley, within the Colorado Desert ecoregion. It is 36 miles west-northwest of Calipatria, according to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 0.7 square miles, all land. The population was 1,104 at the 2010 census, up from 792 in 2000, the 2010 United States Census reported that Desert Shores had a population of 1,104. The population density was 1,619.9 people per square mile, the racial makeup of Desert Shores was 709 White,8 African American,26 Native American,4 Asian,1 Pacific Islander,307 from other races, and 49 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 848 persons, the Census reported that 1,104 people lived in households,0 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 were institutionalized. There were 29 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1 same-sex married couples or partnerships,80 households were made up of individuals and 42 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.21, there were 245 families, the average family size was 3.84. The median age was 29.9 years, for every 100 females there were 108.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.4 males, there were 421 housing units at an average density of 617.7 per square mile, of which 225 were owner-occupied, and 119 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4. 2%, the vacancy rate was 2. 4%. 704 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 400 people lived in housing units. As of the census of 2000, there were 792 people,279 households, the population density was 1,208.4 people per square mile. There were 406 housing units at a density of 619.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 73. 5% White,1. 4% Black or African American,0. 9% Native American,0. 3% Asian,21. 1% from other races,60. 9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 29. 0% of all households were made up of individuals and 18. 3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.8 and the average family size was 3.6. In the CDP, the population was out with 26. 9% under the age of 18,8. 5% from 18 to 24,25. 4% from 25 to 44,18. 8% from 45 to 64. The median age was 37 years, for every 100 females there were 128.2 males
17.
Salton City, California
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Salton City is a census-designated place in Imperial County, California. The population was 3,763 at the 2010 census, up from 978 in 2000 and it is the largest Imperial County development on the Salton coast. It is part of the El Centro, California Metropolitan Statistical Area, the town was developed in the 1950s and established in 1958 primarily by M. In the 1970s, most of the buildings constructed along the shoreline, in the 1980s, the Imperial Irrigation District took proactive water conservation measures to reduce the flow of unused canal water into the Salton Sea. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, as salinity and suspected pollution levels in the Salton Sea increased, most of the original tourist related structures fell during this time, including the Truckhaven Cafe, the Salton Bay Yacht Club hotel and restaurant, and the Holly House motel and restaurant. In the 2000s, development in Salton City began to rise as a result of the escalating California housing market, cheap land and housing costs, improvements to Highway 86, and a casino opened by Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians attracted new residents. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has an area of 21.1 square miles. This area makes Salton City the largest city or town in terms of area in the Imperial Valley. Salton City is located on flat ground. Several washes flow from the mountains to the west creating small gorges where any flowing run-off will drain into the Salton Sea. The vegetation of the CDP consists of sparse desert shrub, however. Salton City is positioned between the slope of the Peninsular Ranges and the western coast of the Salton Sea. To the north of the CDP are Salton Sea Beach and Desert Shores, Salton City is approximately 50 miles from the Imperial County seat of El Centro and 110 and 115 miles respectively from the coastal San Diego County cities of Oceanside and San Diego. This area has an amount of sunshine year round due to its stable descending air. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Salton City has a desert climate. However, Salton City experiences its own due to the proximity of the warm lake waters. Humidity is significantly higher along the shore during the warmer months, from May through September. Its climate can mimic a Subtropical Climate at times, with exceptionally high dewpoints for an arid desert, once winds prevail from the northwest, the climate is similar to other areas in Imperial County, which are not along the sea
18.
Salton Sea Beach, California
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Salton Sea Beach is a census-designated place in Imperial County, California, located 2.5 miles southeast of Desert Shores. The population was 422 at the 2010 census, up from 392 at the 2000 census and it is part of the El Centro, California Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was the location of the Salton Sea Naval Auxiliary Air Station, Salton Sea Beach is located along the western shore of the Salton Sea, to the north of Salton City and to the south of Desert Shores along California State Route 86. The Salton Sea has a high salt content and is surrounded by salt flats which can easily be broken using ones hand. The 2010 United States Census reported that Salton Sea Beach had a population of 422, the population density was 1,400.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of Salton Sea Beach was 309 White,6 African American,4 Native American,2 Asian,2 Pacific Islander,82 from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 229 persons. The census reported that 422 people lived in households and none were institutionalized or in non-institutionalized group quarters, there were 8 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships and 3 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 74 households were made up of individuals and 46 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.38. There were 94 families, the family size was 3.36. 109 people were under the age of 18,41 aged 18 to 24,71 aged 25 to 44,93 aged 45 to 64 and 108 were 65 years of age or older, for every 100 females there were 128.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 118.9 males, there were 338 housing units at an average density of 1,122.0 per square mile, of which 125 were owner-occupied and 52 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3. 4%, the vacancy rate was 12. 9%. 304 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 118 people lived in housing units. At the 2000 census, there were 392 people,200 households and 111 families residing in the CDP, the population density was 1,258.9 per square mile. There were 384 housing units at a density of 1,233.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 73. 2% White,2. 0% African American,3. 3% Native American,0. 5% Asian,17. 9% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 22. 5% of the population. 41. 5% of all households were made up of individuals and 28. 0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.0 and the average family size was 2.6. 16. 8% of the population were under the age of 18,4. 3% from 18 to 24,14. 5% from 25 to 44,24. 2% from 45 to 64, the median age was 60 years
19.
San Andreas Fault
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The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that extends roughly 800 miles through California. It forms the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, and its motion is right-lateral strike-slip. The fault was first identified in 1895 by Professor Andrew Lawson of UC Berkeley and it is often described as having been named after San Andreas Lake, a small body of water that was formed in a valley between the two plates. However, according to some of his reports from 1895 and 1908, following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Lawson concluded that the fault extended all the way into southern California. In 1953, geologist Thomas Dibblee astounded the scientific establishment with his conclusion that hundreds of miles of lateral movement could occur along the fault. A project called the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth near Parkfield, Monterey County, is drilling into the fault to improve prediction and this is the approximate location of the epicenter of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The fault returns onshore at Bolinas Lagoon just north of Stinson Beach in Marin County, from Fort Ross the northern segment continues overland, forming in part a linear valley through which the Gualala River flows. It goes back offshore at Point Arena, after that, it runs underwater along the coast until it nears Cape Mendocino, where it begins to bend to the west, terminating at the Mendocino Triple Junction. The central segment of the San Andreas fault runs in a direction from Parkfield to Hollister. The southern segment begins near Bombay Beach, California, box Canyon, near the Salton Sea, contains upturned strata associated with that section of the fault. The fault then runs along the base of the San Bernardino Mountains, crosses through the Cajon Pass. These mountains are a result of movement along the San Andreas Fault and are called the Transverse Range. In Palmdale, a portion of the fault is easily examined at a roadcut for the Antelope Valley Freeway, the fault continues northwest alongside the Elizabeth Lake Road to the town of Elizabeth Lake. As it passes the towns of Gorman, Tejon Pass and Frazier Park and this restraining bend is thought to be where the fault locks up in Southern California, with an earthquake-recurrence interval of roughly 140–160 years. Northwest of Frazier Park, the runs through the Carrizo Plain. The Elkhorn Scarp defines the fault trace along much of its length within the plain, the southern segment, which stretches from Parkfield in Monterey County all the way to the Salton Sea, is capable of an 8. 1-magnitude earthquake. At its closest, this fault passes about 35 miles to the northeast of Los Angeles. Such a large earthquake on this segment would kill thousands of people in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, and surrounding areas
20.
Imperial Valley
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The Imperial Valley lies in Californias Imperial County. It is located in southeastern Southern California, and is the site of an area largely centered on the city of El Centro. The Valley is bordered by the Colorado River to the east and, in part, farther west lies the San Diego and Imperial County border. S. State of California and Baja California, the culture of the area blends those of the United States and Mexico, due to its regional history and geographic location along the international border. The Imperial Valley economy is based on agriculture, Imperial Valley was so named by the Imperial Land Company, in hopes of attracting settlers. Having done that it is now the home of the El Centro metropolitan area, locally, the terms Imperial Valley and Imperial County are used synonymously. The Imperial Valley extends southward for 50 miles from the end of the Salton Sea into Mexico. Part of a trough stretching from the Coachella Valley to the Gulf of California and its hot desert climate is characterized by daily temperature extremes. It was once part of the Gulf of California, from which it was cut off by the deposits of the Colorado River Delta Fan as it carved out the Grand Canyon. Bordered by sand dunes and barren mountains, it was uninhabited until 1901, flood-waters in 1905–07 destroyed the irrigation channels and created the Salton Sea now filled by the New River and irrigation run-off. The rivers in the part of the Salton Sea river basin flow south to north. The valley is bordered by the Colorado River to the east and, in part, farther west lies the border with San Diego County and to the south the international boundary between the US state of California and Baja California, Mexico. To the north is the boundary with the Inland Empires Riverside County and its Coachella Valley, during winter months the Valley averages more than eight hours of sunshine a day, receiving the most sunlight of any place in the United States. Historically, the lowest minimum temperature recorded in the Imperial Valley was 16 °F on January 22,1937. The highest maximum temperature recorded was 121 °F on July 28,1995. The lowest maximum temperature was 42 °F, recorded on January 24,1949, the highest monthly mean temperature was 95.9 °F, recorded in August 1969 and the lowest mean temperature was 42.3 °F in February 1939. The 85-year average annual rainfall is 2.93 inches with June being the driest month, the only recorded snowfall in the Valley occurred on December 12,1932. Snow began falling at 8,45 p. m. in the southwest portion of Imperial Valley,4 inches of snow was reported that day
21.
Coachella Valley
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It is the northernmost extent of the vast trough which includes the Salton Sea, the Imperial Valley and the Gulf of California. The San Andreas Fault crosses the valley from the Chocolate Mountains in the southeast corner, the fault is easily visible along its northern length as a strip of greenery against an otherwise bare mountain. The Chocolate Mountains are home to a United States Navy live gunnery range and are mostly off-limits to the public, in comparison to the Inland Empire, some people refer to the IEs sub-region Coachella Valley as the Desert Empire to differentiate it from the neighboring Imperial Valley. Geographers and geologists sometimes call the area, along with the Imperial Valley to the south, the valley connects with the Greater Los Angeles area to the west via the San Gorgonio Pass, a major transportation corridor that includes I-10 and the Union Pacific Railroad. The valley is part of the 13th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, the famous desert resort cities of Palm Springs and Palm Desert lie in the Coachella Valley.5 million annual conventioneers and tourists. The local population rounds up to almost 500,000 in April, declines to 200,000 in July, there is some contention as to the origin of the name. Early maps show the area as Conchilla, the Spanish word for seashell, since the area was once a part of a vast inland sea, tiny fossilized mollusk shells can be found in just about every remote area. Local lore explains the change in the name from Conchilla to Coachella as a made by the map-makers contracted to transcribe the data supplied by the Southern Pacific Railroads survey party. Rather than redraw the expensive maps, the railroad chose to begin calling the area by the misspelled name Coachella rather than its traditional name Conchilla. Some believe that the name Coachella was simply made up, cindarella Courtney was the first non-Indian child born in Indio in 1898. The first boy, David Elgin, was born in 1899, the coming in 1926 of U. S. So too did the coming of State Highway 111 in the early 1930s, the standard was refined and adopted worldwide. Doctor McCarroll is memorialized by a stretch of I-10 through Indio named in her honor, the Coachella Valley was popular among celebrities from Frank Sinatra to Dakota Fanning who came and continue to come to enjoy vacations and winter homes in the desert resort community. Also it became a real estate destination in the 1980s and 1990s no longer limited to senior citizens, winter residents. Families with young children and young adults interested in Palm Springs and surrounding communities for lower cost housing. In a 2003 Condé Nast publication review, Palm Springs was ranked one of the top 10 global vacation destinations, and the smallest one in population. The area is surrounded on the southwest by the Santa Rosa Mountains, by the San Jacinto Mountains to the west and these mountains peak at around 11,000 feet and tend to average between 5,000 and 7,000 feet. Elevations on the Valley floor range from 1600 ft above sea level at the end of the Valley to 250 ft below sea level around Mecca
22.
Salton Sink
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The Salton Sink is a geographic sink within the Salton Trough in the Coachella and Imperial valleys of southeastern California. It is in the Colorado Desert subregion of the Sonoran Desert ecoregion, drainage to the endorheic sink collects in the Salton Sea, which occupies the lowest area of the sink. The Salton Sink is the low area within the Salton Trough. The Salton Trough is a result of crustal stretching and sinking by the actions of the San Andreas Fault. The Brawley seismic zone forms the southeast end of the basin, the Salton Buttes are rhyolite lava domes within the basin which were active 10,300 years BP. A large lake, Lake Cahuilla, existed in the area from about 20,500 to 3,000 years ago, a beach mark outlines the shoreline of ancient Lake Cahuilla where archeologists found rock fish traps and charred remains of razorback sucker and bonytail bones. High water lines suggest the basin has filled many times, creating a lake some 105 miles in length and its most recent incarnation is evidenced by fish traps found some 30 feet below the high-water mark that were estimated to be between 300 and 1,000 years old. In recent times, the 1862 Colorado River flood waters reached the Salton Sink, filling it, in 1884 and 1891 the Colorado River had escapement flow into the Salton Sink. The 1891 flood created a lake covered an area 30 miles long and 10 miles wide. A larger 1905 Colorado flood escaped into a canal, forming the Alamo and New Rivers. A1907 dam prevents flood escapements, but leakage still occurs to the Salton Sea
23.
Southern California
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Southern California, often abbreviated as SoCal, is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises Californias 10 southernmost counties. The region is described as eight counties, based on demographics and economic ties, Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara. The more extensive 10-county definition, which includes Kern and San Luis Obispo counties, is used and is based on historical political divisions. Southern California is an economic center for the state of California. The 8-county and 10-county definitions are not used for the greater Southern California Megaregion, the megaregions area is more expansive, extending east into Las Vegas, Nevada and south across the Mexican border into Tijuana.5 million people. With over 22 million people, Southern California contains roughly 60 percent of Californias population, located east of Southern California is the Colorado Desert and the Colorado River at the border with Arizona. The Mojave Desert is located at the border with the state of Nevada while towards the south is the Mexico–United States border, within Southern California are two major cities, Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as three of the countrys largest metropolitan areas. With a population of 3,792,621, Los Angeles is the most populous city in California and the second most populous in the United States. South of Los Angeles and with a population of 1,307,402 is San Diego, the second most populous city in the state and the eighth most populous in the nation. The counties of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, and Riverside are the five most populous in the state, the motion picture, television, and music industry are centered in the Los Angeles area in Southern California. Hollywood, a district within Los Angeles, gives its name to the American motion picture industry, headquartered in Southern California are The Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures, Universal, MGM, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Brothers. Universal, Warner Brothers, and Sony also run major record companies, Southern California is also home to a large homegrown surf and skateboard culture. Companies such as Vans, Volcom, Quiksilver, No Fear, RVCA, some of the worlds biggest action sports events, including the X Games, Boost Mobile Pro, and the U. S. Open of Surfing, are all held in Southern California. Southern California is also important to the world of yachting, the annual Transpacific Yacht Race, or Transpac, from Los Angeles to Hawaii, is one of yachtings premier events. The San Diego Yacht Club held the Americas Cup, the most prestigious prize in yachting, from 1988 to 1995, Southern California is home to many sports franchises and sports networks such as Fox Sports Net. Many locals and tourists frequent the Southern California coast for its popular beaches, the desert city of Palm Springs is popular for its resort feel and nearby open spaces. Southern California is not a geographic designation and definitions of what constitutes Southern California vary. Geographically, Californias North-South midway point lies at exactly 37°958.23 latitude, around 11 miles south of San Jose, however, when the state is divided into two areas, the term Southern California usually refers to the 10 southernmost counties of the state
24.
Sea level
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Mean sea level is an average level of the surface of one or more of Earths oceans from which heights such as elevations may be measured. A common and relatively straightforward mean sea-level standard is the midpoint between a low and mean high tide at a particular location. Sea levels can be affected by factors and are known to have varied greatly over geological time scales. The careful measurement of variations in MSL can offer insights into ongoing climate change, the term above sea level generally refers to above mean sea level. Precise determination of a sea level is a difficult problem because of the many factors that affect sea level. Sea level varies quite a lot on several scales of time and this is because the sea is in constant motion, affected by the tides, wind, atmospheric pressure, local gravitational differences, temperature, salinity and so forth. The easiest way this may be calculated is by selecting a location and calculating the mean sea level at that point, for example, a period of 19 years of hourly level observations may be averaged and used to determine the mean sea level at some measurement point. One measures the values of MSL in respect to the land, hence a change in MSL can result from a real change in sea level, or from a change in the height of the land on which the tide gauge operates. In the UK, the Ordnance Datum is the sea level measured at Newlyn in Cornwall between 1915 and 1921. Prior to 1921, the datum was MSL at the Victoria Dock, in Hong Kong, mPD is a surveying term meaning metres above Principal Datum and refers to height of 1. 230m below the average sea level. In France, the Marégraphe in Marseilles measures continuously the sea level since 1883 and it is used for a part of continental Europe and main part of Africa as official sea level. Elsewhere in Europe vertical elevation references are made to the Amsterdam Peil elevation, satellite altimeters have been making precise measurements of sea level since the launch of TOPEX/Poseidon in 1992. A joint mission of NASA and CNES, TOPEX/Poseidon was followed by Jason-1 in 2001, height above mean sea level is the elevation or altitude of an object, relative to the average sea level datum. It is also used in aviation, where some heights are recorded and reported with respect to sea level, and in the atmospheric sciences. An alternative is to base height measurements on an ellipsoid of the entire Earth, in aviation, the ellipsoid known as World Geodetic System 84 is increasingly used to define heights, however, differences up to 100 metres exist between this ellipsoid height and mean tidal height. The alternative is to use a vertical datum such as NAVD88. When referring to geographic features such as mountains on a topographic map, the elevation of a mountain denotes the highest point or summit and is typically illustrated as a small circle on a topographic map with the AMSL height shown in metres, feet or both. In the rare case that a location is below sea level, for one such case, see Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
25.
Death Valley
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Death Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California. It is one of the hottest places in the world at the height of summertime along with deserts in Africa, Death Valleys Badwater Basin is the point of the lowest elevation in North America, at 282 feet below sea level. This point is 84.6 miles east-southeast of Mount Whitney, Death Valleys Furnace Creek holds the record for the highest reliably recorded air temperature in the world,134 °F on July 10,1913. This has been contested by other weather experts and it is located mostly in Inyo County, California. It has an area of about 3,000 sq mi, the highest point in Death Valley itself is Telescope Peak in the Panamint Range, which has an elevation of 11,043 feet. Death Valley is one of the best geological examples of a basin and it lies at the southern end of a geological trough known as Walker Lane, which runs north into Oregon. The valley is bisected by a right lateral slip fault system, represented by the Death Valley Fault. The eastern end of the left lateral Garlock Fault intersects the Death Valley Fault, Furnace Creek and the Amargosa River flow through the valley but eventually disappear into the sands of the valley floor. Death Valley also contains salt pans, according to current geological consensus, at various times during the middle of the Pleistocene era, inland lakes formed in Death Valley. Lake Manly received water overflowing from a chain of other Pleistocene lakes, Death Valley has a subtropical, hot desert climate, with long, extremely hot summers and short, warm or mild winters, as well as little rainfall. As a general rule, lower altitudes tend to have higher temperatures, when the sun heats the ground, that heat is then radiated upward, but the dense below-sea-level air absorbs some of this radiation and radiates some of it back towards the ground. In addition, the valley walls trap rising hot air and recycle it back down to the valley floor. This process is important in Death Valley, as it provides its specific climate. The valley is surrounded by mountains, while its surface is flat and devoid of plants, so much of the suns heat can reach the ground, absorbed by soil. When air at ground level is heated, it begins to rise, moving up past steep, high mountain ranges, which then cools slightly, sinking back down towards the valley more compressed. This air is reheated by the sun to a higher temperature, moving up the mountain again, whereby the air moves up and down in a circular motion in cycles. This heated air increases ground temperature markedly, forming the hot wind currents that are trapped by atmospheric pressure and mountains, Death Valley holds temperature records because it has an unusually high number of factors that lead to high atmospheric temperatures. The depth and shape of Death Valley influence its summer temperatures, the valley is a long, narrow basin 282 feet below sea level, yet is walled by high, steep mountain ranges
26.
Surface runoff
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Surface runoff is the flow of water that occurs when excess stormwater, meltwater, or other sources flows over the Earths surface. Surface runoff is a component of the water cycle. It is the agent in soil erosion by water. Runoff that occurs on the surface before reaching a channel is also called a nonpoint source. If a nonpoint source contains man-made contaminants, or natural forms of pollution the runoff is called nonpoint source pollution, a land area which produces runoff that drains to a common point is called a drainage basin. When runoff flows along the ground, it can pick up soil contaminants including petroleum, pesticides, surface runoff can be generated either by rainfall, snowfall or by the melting of snow, or glaciers. Snow and glacier melt occur only in areas cold enough for these to form permanently, typically snowmelt will peak in the spring and glacier melt in the summer, leading to pronounced flow maxima in rivers affected by them. The determining factor of the rate of melting of snow or glaciers is both air temperature and the duration of sunlight, in high mountain regions, streams frequently rise on sunny days and fall on cloudy ones for this reason. In areas where there is no snow, runoff will come from rainfall, however, not all rainfall will produce runoff because storage from soils can absorb light showers. This occurs when the rate of rainfall on a surface exceeds the rate at which water can infiltrate the ground and this is called flooding excess overland flow, Hortonian overland flow, or unsaturated overland flow. This more commonly occurs in arid and semi-arid regions, where rainfall intensities are high and this occurs largely in city areas where pavements prevent water from flooding. When the soil is saturated and the depression storage filled, and rain continues to fall, the level of antecedent soil moisture is one factor affecting the time until soil becomes saturated. This runoff is called saturation excess overland flow or saturated overland flow, soil retains a degree of moisture after a rainfall. This residual water moisture affects the soils infiltration capacity, during the next rainfall event, the infiltration capacity will cause the soil to be saturated at a different rate. The higher the level of antecedent soil moisture, the more quickly the soil becomes saturated, once the soil is saturated, runoff occurs. After water infiltrates the soil on a portion of a hill, the water may flow laterally through the soil. This is called subsurface return flow or throughflow, any remaining surface water eventually flows into a receiving water body such as a river, lake, estuary or ocean. Urbanization increases surface runoff by creating more impervious surfaces such as pavement and it is instead forced directly into streams or storm water runoff drains, where erosion and siltation can be major problems, even when flooding is not
27.
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
28.
List of lakes in California
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There are more than 3,000 named lakes, reservoirs, and dry lakes in the U. S. state of California. In terms of area covered, the largest lake in California is the Salton Sea and it occupies 376 square miles in the southeast corner of the state, but because it is shallow it only holds about 7,500,000 acre feet of water. Tulare Lake in the San Joaquin Valley was larger, at approximately 690 square miles, in terms of volume, the largest lake on the list is Lake Tahoe, located on the California–Nevada border. It holds roughly 36 cubic miles of water and it is also the largest freshwater lake by area, at 191 sq mi, and the deepest lake, with a maximum depth of 1,645 feet. Among freshwater lakes entirely contained within the state, the largest by area is Clear Lake, many of Californias large lakes are actually reservoirs, artificial bodies of fresh water. In terms of area and volume, the largest of these is Lake Shasta, which formed behind Shasta Dam in the 1940s. The dam can impound 4,552,000 acre feet of water over 29,740 acres, Lake Elsinore, which covers 3,000 acres, is billed as the largest natural freshwater lake in Southern California. The list is alphabetized by the name of the lake, with the lake, of. To sort on a different column, click on the arrows in the header row, Geographic coordinates, approximate elevations, alternative names, and other details may be obtained by following the Geographic Names Information System links in the third column. Note, Lakes grow and shrink due to precipitation, evaporation, releases, for this reason, many of the surface areas tabulated below are very approximate. For reservoirs, the areas at maximum water storage are indicated, reservoirs used for flood control are seldom allowed to reach maximum storage
29.
Acre foot
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As the name suggests, an acre-foot is defined as the volume of one acre of surface area to a depth of one foot. Since an acre is defined as a chain by a furlong, there are two definitions of an acre-foot, depending on whether the foot used is an international foot or a U. S. survey foot. As a rule of thumb in U. S. water management, one acre-foot is taken to be the water usage of a suburban family household. In some areas of the desert Southwest, where water conservation is followed and often enforced, one acre-foot/year is approximately 893 gallons per day. One acre-foot is approximately equivalent to 1.233 megalitres, Cubic metres per second Cubic feet per second List of unusual units of measurement United States customary units Units of measurement
30.
Quantification Settlement Agreement
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The implementation of the agreement has been controversial, as critics have argued that the agreement was passed without proper environmental review. The impact on the environment has been cited by opponents. In addition, a drought affecting the state of California has complicated the debate about effective water control policies. Prior to the agreement, there was little environmental impact on the ecologically fragile Salton Sea. If upheld by the courts, the conditions will remain in force for up to 75 years, in the 1920s, farmers in the Imperial Valley were using the Colorado River and Salton Sea as sources for irrigation water. In addition to fish, migratory birds have long inhabited the region, most notably, salt, selenium and pesticides are carried into the sea with agricultural return flows, which originates largely from Imperial Valley farms. With the post-World War II population growth in Southern California, there has been a demand for water sources to supply both urban and existing agricultural areas. The Colorado River currently supplies approximately a quarter of the water for these areas, along with increased water demand, a protracted drought throughout the state has complicated the debate about effective water control and usage policies. S. The agreement was a compromise that divided available water resources between the environmentally fragile Imperial Valley and the heavily populated areas of Southern California. Among California agricultural regions, the Imperial Valley uses a portion of the Colorado River water that is allotted to the state each year. Approximately 3.1 million of the 4.4 million acre feet of water the state receives annually from the Colorado River is used by the Imperial Irrigation District. At one time a thriving ecosystem formed following an accident in 1905. The Quantification Settlement Agreement intended to provide a pathway for restoring this ecosystem, in addition to the purported environmental benefits, the Quantification Settlement Agreement is of particular importance to the Imperial Valley region due to the economic conditions of the area. Some potential improvements to this include the installation of improved pumping systems. Although the agreement went into effect in 2003, it was almost immediately challenged by groups of local farmers, despite these challenges, the water transfers outlined in the agreement started on time and canal lining conservation projects have been completed. The Coachella Canal lining project was completed in 2006, and the All-American Canal lining project finished in 2010, while those conservation numbers are important to the agreement, the total amount of water transferred to the water authorities is set to increase significantly in 2018. The Imperial Irrigation District faced significant criticism in 2012 when it was reported that it was not conserving as much water as stipulated under the Quantification Settlement Agreement, the Imperial Irrigation District is required to deliver its water quota through conservation, rather than delivery from existing sources. Some have noted that this would be difficult for a region that depends heavily on water for irrigation purposes
31.
Salinity
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Salinity is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water. This is usually measured in g salt k g sea water, a contour line of constant salinity is called an isohaline – or sometimes isohale. Salinity in rivers, lakes, and the ocean is conceptually simple, conceptually the salinity is the quantity of dissolved salt content of the water. Salts are compounds like sodium chloride, magnesium sulfate, potassium nitrate, the concentration of dissolved chloride ions is sometimes referred to as chlorinity. Operationally, dissolved matter is defined as that which can pass through a fine filter. Salinity can be expressed in the form of a mass fraction, Seawater typically has a mass salinity of around 35 g/kg, although lower values are typical near coasts where rivers enter the ocean. Rivers and lakes can have a range of salinities, from less than 0.01 g/kg to a few g/kg. The Dead Sea has a salinity of more than 200 g/kg, whatever pore size is used in the definition, the resulting salinity value of a given sample of natural water will not vary by more than a few percent. A bottled seawater product known as IAPSO Standard Seawater is used by oceanographers to standardize their measurements with enough precision to meet this requirement, measurement and definition difficulties arise because natural waters contain a complex mixture of many different elements from different sources in different molecular forms. The chemical properties of some of these depend on temperature and pressure. Many of these forms are difficult to measure with high accuracy, different practical definitions of salinity result from different attempts to account for these problems, to different levels of precision, while still remaining reasonably easy to use. For many purposes this sum can be limited to a set of eight major ions in natural waters, the major ions dominate the inorganic composition of most natural waters. Exceptions include some pit lakes and waters from some hydrothermal springs, the concentrations of dissolved gases like oxygen and nitrogen are not usually included in descriptions of salinity. However, carbon dioxide gas, which when dissolved is partially converted into carbonates and bicarbonates, is often included. Silicon in the form of acid, which usually appears as a neutral molecule in the pH range of most natural waters. The term salinity is, for oceanographers, usually associated with one of a set of measurement techniques. As the dominant techniques evolve, so do different descriptions of salinity, the distinctions between these different descriptions are important to physical oceanographers but are obscure and confusing to nonspecialists. Salinities were largely measured using titration-based techniques before the 1980s, titration with silver nitrate could be used to determine the concentration of halide ions to give a chlorinity
32.
Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean, the oceans current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means peaceful sea, important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan, trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality, from 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and he named it Mar del Sur because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Castilian expedition of world circumnavigation starting in 1519, Magellan called the ocean Pacífico because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century, sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands, the Aru Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan, in 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history, Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In the 16th and 17th century Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a Mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers, as the only known entrance from the Atlantic the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western end of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines, Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest, one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, Japan, in Oceania, France got a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations
33.
Great Salt Lake
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The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U. S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the Western Hemisphere, and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around 1,700 square miles, for instance, in 1963 it reached its lowest recorded size at 950 square miles, but in 1988 the surface area was at the historic high of 3,300 square miles. In terms of area, it is the largest lake in the United States that is not part of the Great Lakes region. The lake is the largest remnant of Lake Bonneville, a prehistoric lake that once covered much of western Utah. The three major tributaries to the lake, the Jordan, Weber, and Bear rivers together deposit around 1.1 million tons of minerals in the each year. As it is endorheic, it has very high salinity, far saltier than seawater, which makes swimming similar to floating and its shallow, warm waters cause frequent, sometimes heavy lake-effect snows from late fall through spring. The Great Salt Lake is a remnant of a larger prehistoric lake called Lake Bonneville. At its greatest extent, Lake Bonneville spanned 22,400 square miles, nearly as large as present-day Lake Michigan, and roughly ten times the area of the Great Salt Lake today. Bonneville reached 923 ft at its deepest point, and covered much of present-day Utah and small portions of Idaho, Lake Bonneville existed until about 16,800 years ago, when a large portion of the lake was released through the Red Rock Pass in Idaho. With the warming climate, the lake began to dry, leaving the Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake, Sevier Lake. While the lake was known by local Native Americans, it entered written history through the records of Silvestre Vélez de Escalante. No name was given to it at the time, and it was not shown on the map by Bernardo Miera y Pacheco, in 1824, it was observed, apparently independently, by Jim Bridger and Etienne Provost. Shortly thereafter other trappers saw it and walked around it, most of the trappers, however, were illiterate and did not record their discoveries. As oral reports of their findings made their way to those who did make records, Escalante had been on the shores of Utah Lake, which he named Laguna Timpanogos. It was the larger of the two lakes that appeared on Mieras map, other cartographers followed his lead and charted Lake Timpanogos as the largest lake in the region. As people came to know of the Great Salt Lake, they interpreted the maps to think that Timpanogos referred to the Great Salt Lake, on some maps the two names were used synonymously. In time Timpanogos was dropped from the maps and its association with Utah Lake was forgotten. Fremont led the first scientific expedition to the lake, but with winter coming on and that happened in 1850 under the leadership of Howard Stansbury
34.
Pleistocene
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The Pleistocene is the geological epoch which lasted from about 2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the worlds most recent period of repeated glaciations. The end of the Pleistocene corresponds with the end of the last glacial period, the Pleistocene is the first epoch of the Quaternary Period or sixth epoch of the Cenozoic Era. In the ICS timescale, the Pleistocene is divided into four stages or ages, all of these stages were defined in southern Europe. In addition to this subdivision, various regional subdivisions are often used. Charles Lyell introduced the term pleistocene in 1839 to describe strata in Sicily that had at least 70% of their molluscan fauna still living today and this distinguished it from the older Pliocene Epoch, which Lyell had originally thought to be the youngest fossil rock layer. The Pleistocene has been dated from 2.588 million to 11,700 years before present and it covers most of the latest period of repeated glaciation, up to and including the Younger Dryas cold spell. The end of the Younger Dryas has been dated to about 9640 BC, the IUGS has yet to approve a type section, Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point, for the upper Pleistocene/Holocene boundary. The proposed section is the North Greenland Ice Core Project ice core 75°06 N 42°18 W, the lower boundary of the Pleistocene Series is formally defined magnetostratigraphically as the base of the Matuyama chronozone, isotopic stage 103. Above this point there are notable extinctions of the calcareous nanofossils, Discoaster pentaradiatus, the Pleistocene covers the recent period of repeated glaciations. The name Plio-Pleistocene has, in the past, been used to mean the last ice age. The revised definition of the Quaternary, by pushing back the date of the Pleistocene to 2.58 Ma. Pleistocene climate was marked by repeated glacial cycles in which continental glaciers pushed to the 40th parallel in some places and it is estimated that, at maximum glacial extent, 30% of the Earths surface was covered by ice. In addition, a zone of permafrost stretched southward from the edge of the sheet, a few hundred kilometres in North America. The mean annual temperature at the edge of the ice was −6 °C, during interglacial times, such as at present, drowned coastlines were common, mitigated by isostatic or other emergent motion of some regions. The effects of glaciation were global, antarctica was ice-bound throughout the Pleistocene as well as the preceding Pliocene. The Andes were covered in the south by the Patagonian ice cap, there were glaciers in New Zealand and Tasmania. The current decaying glaciers of Mount Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro, glaciers existed in the mountains of Ethiopia and to the west in the Atlas mountains. In the northern hemisphere, many glaciers fused into one, the Cordilleran ice sheet covered the North American northwest, the east was covered by the Laurentide
35.
Gulf of California
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The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland. It is bordered by the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, rivers which flow into the Gulf of California include the Colorado, Fuerte, Mayo, Sinaloa, Sonora, and the Yaqui. The gulfs surface area is about 160,000 km2, the Gulf is thought to be one of the most diverse seas on the planet, and is home to more than 5,000 species of micro-invertebrates. Home to over a people, Baja California is one of the longest peninsulas in the world. Parts of the Gulf of California are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the southern limit of the Gulf of California as, A line joining Piastla Point in Mexico, and the southern extreme of Lower California. The Gulf of California is 1,126 km long and 48–241 km wide, with an area of 177,000 km2, a depth of 818.08 m. Transition zones exist between regions, and they usually vary for each individual species. The temperature of the water in the Gulf of California generally experiences lows of 16 °C in winter, but temperatures can vary greatly in the gulf, and the water is almost always warmer by the coast than the open ocean. For example, the waters surrounding La Paz reach 30 °C in August, while the waters in neighboring city Cabo San Lucas, occasionally, the northern Gulf of California will go through significantly cold winters. The water in the Northern Gulf can sometimes drop below 8 °C, the animals most susceptible to the large decrease in water temperature include macroscopic algae and plankton. As part of process, the East Pacific Rise propagated up the middle of the Gulf along the seabed. This extension of the East Pacific Rise is often referred to as the Gulf of California Rift Zone, the Gulf would extend as far as Indio, California, except for the tremendous delta created by the Colorado River. This delta blocks the sea from flooding the Mexicali and Imperial Valleys, volcanism dominates the East Pacific Rise. The island of Isla Tortuga is one example of ongoing volcanic activity. Furthermore, hydrothermal vents due to extension tectonic regime, related to the opening of the Gulf of California, are found in the Bahía de Concepción, the narrow sea is home to a unique and rich ecosystem. The unusual resident populations of fin whales and sperm whales do not migrate annually, the area near the delta of the Colorado river has a small remnant population of the totoaba fish. This region has historically been a magnet for world-class sport fishing activities, the region also has a rich history as a commercial fishery. However, the data vary wildly according to the species being studied, moreover, changes in terrestrial ecology, such as the vast reduction in flow from the Colorado River into the Gulf, have negatively affected fisheries, particularly in the northern region
36.
Indio, California
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Indio is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, located in the Coachella Valley of Southern Californias Colorado Desert region. It lies 23 miles east of Palm Springs,77 miles east of Riverside and it is about 98 miles north of Mexicali, Baja California on the U. S. -Mexican border. The word Indio is Spanish for Indian, the population was 76,036 in the 2010 United States Census, up from 49,116 at the 2000 census, an increase of 55%. Railroad line construction east out of Los Angeles began in 1873, trains were operated to Colton on July 16,1875, and to Indio on May 29,1876. Moving on eastward from Indio, the reached the west bank of the Colorado River opposite Yuma on May 23,1877. There was delay in getting military authority to lay tracks across the Yuma Indian reservation, but the rail-head of the T & P was at a standstill far off in Texas, so Southern Pacific continued building eastward. The City of Indio came about because of the need of a point for the Southern Pacific Railroad between Yuma, Arizona and Los Angeles. The engines needed to be re-filled with water, at first, the-would-be city was called Indian Wells, but because of so many other areas already called that, Indio – after a Spanish variation of the word Indian – was chosen. After the railroads arrival in 1876, Indio really started to grow, the first permanent building was the craftsman style Southern Pacific Depot station and hotel. Southern Pacific tried to make life as comfortable as it could for their workers in order to them from leaving such a difficult area to live in at the time. It was at the center of all life in the desert with a fancy dining room. While Indio started as a town, it soon became agricultural. However, water also was a problem for Indio and the city was flooded several times until the storm water canals were created throughout the Coachella Valley. Businessmen and women found this last frontier land of the continental United States as a place to start fresh. Dr. Harry Smiley and his wife Nell were early residents and stayed in Indio after their car broke down on the way to Los Angeles and became people of influence and helped shape the area. A. G. Tingman was an early storeowner and first Postmaster of Indio, later Dr. June Robertson McCarroll became a leading philanthropist as well as successful doctor in Indio. But even though these early founders of the city are considered pioneers, Indio established itself quickly and kept up with all the trends as they were brought in by the railroads. By the turn of the 20th century, Indio was already more than a railroad town
37.
Endorheic
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Such a basin may also be referred to as a closed or terminal basin or as an internal drainage system. However, in a basin, rain that falls within it does not flow out but may only leave the drainage system by evaporation. The bottom of such a basin is occupied by a salt lake or salt pan. Endorheic regions, in contrast to regions which flow to the ocean in geologically defined patterns, are closed hydrologic systems. Their surface waters drain to inland terminal locations where the water evaporates or seeps into the ground, endorheic water bodies include some of the largest lakes in the world, such as the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea, the worlds largest saline inland sea. Most endorheic basins are arid, although there are notable exceptions, such as the Valley of Mexico, the Lake Tahoe region. Endorheic basins can be massively and rapidly affected by change and excessive water removal. An exorheic lake naturally remains at a level, so water flow into the lake may be many times more than is needed to maintain its present size. In contrast, an endorheic basin does not have enough inflow that it overflows to the ocean, endorheic lakes are bodies of water that do not flow into the sea. Most of the water falling on Earth finds its way to the oceans through a network of rivers, lakes, however, there is a class of water bodies that are located in closed or endorheic watersheds where the topography prevents their drainage to the oceans. These endorheic watersheds are often called terminal lakes or sink lakes, endorheic lakes are usually in the interior of a landmass, far from an ocean in areas of relatively low rainfall. Their watersheds are often confined by natural geologic land formations such as a mountain range, the inland water flows into dry watersheds where the water evaporates, leaving a high concentration of minerals and other inflow erosion products. Over time this input of erosion products can cause the lake to become relatively saline. Endorheic regions can occur in any climate but are most commonly found in desert locations, the Black Sea was likely such a lake, having once been an independent hydrological system before the Mediterranean Sea broke through the terrain separating the two. Lake Bonneville was another such lake, overflowing its basin in the Bonneville flood, malheur/Harney Lake in Oregon is normally cut off from drainage to the ocean, but has an outflow channel to the Malheur River that is normally dry, but flows in years of peak precipitation. Examples of relatively humid regions in endorheic basins often exist at high elevation and these regions tend to be marshy and are subject to substantial flooding in wet years. The area containing Mexico City is one case, with annual precipitation of 850 mm. Endorheic regions tend to be far inland with their boundaries defined by mountains or other features that block their access to oceans
38.
Lake Cahuilla
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Lake Cahuilla is a prehistoric lake in California and northern Mexico. Located in the Coachella and Imperial Valleys, it covered areas of 5,700 square kilometres to a height of 12 metres above sea level during the Holocene. Earlier stages during the Pleistocene reached even higher levels, up to 31–52 metres above sea level, the lake overflowed close to Cerro Prieto into the Rio Hardy, eventually draining into the Gulf of California. The lake formed several times over during the Holocene when water from the Colorado River was diverted into the Salton Trough and this tectonic depression forms the northern basin of the Gulf of California, but was separated from the sea proper by the growth of the Colorado River Delta. Such changes in river courses may have been caused by earthquakes among the numerous faults that cross the region, conversely, it is possible that the weight of the water itself triggered earthquakes. During its existence it formed well developed strandlines and various beach deposits such as gravel bars, the lake existed in several stages during the past 2,000 years, periodically drying and refilling and eventually disappearing sometime after 1580. In 1905-1907, the Salton Sea formed in parts of the basin of Lake Cahuilla. Today the former lake bed forms the regions of the Imperial. The Algodones Dunes were formed from sand deposited by Lake Cahuilla, during its existence, the lake supported a rich biota with fish, bivalves and vegetation on its shorelines. In turn these resources supported human populations on its shores, as evidenced by a number of archeological sites, the lake may have had profound effects on population genetics and language history of the surrounding regions. The name Lake Cahuilla was used in 1907 by William Phipps Blake, the lake is named after the Cahuilla, who refer to the lake in their oral tradition. A second name is Blake Sea, after William Phipps Blake, the Cahuilla themselves named the lake paul, and their mythology states that when their creator paulnevolent was cremated, tears turned the lake salty. The name Lake LeConte was coined in 1902 by Gilbert E. Bailey, in 1980, M. R. Waters applied the term to cover all lakes of Holocene age in the Salton Basin. This name is derived from Joseph Le Conte, a geography professor, presently, the name Lake Cahuilla applies to the reservoir at the northern end of the Coachella Canal, in the Coachella Valley. Lake Cahuilla is also the name of a station in California. Lake Cahuilla formed in the region of the present-day Salton Sea and it extended over the southern end of Coachella Valley in the north, through the Imperial Valley in the south, and down to the Cerro Prieto area in Baja California. This area was known as the Colorado Desert. Currently,5,400 square kilometres of the land is below sea level, the Salton Trough extends 225 kilometres northwest and has a width of 110 kilometres at the border
39.
Library of Congress
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The Library of Congress is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the de facto national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States, the Library is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D. C. it also maintains the Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, which houses the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. The Library of Congress claims to be the largest library in the world and its collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 450 languages. Two-thirds of the books it acquires each year are in other than English. The Library of Congress moved to Washington in 1800, after sitting for years in the temporary national capitals of New York. John J. Beckley, who became the first Librarian of Congress, was two dollars per day and was required to also serve as the Clerk of the House of Representatives. The small Congressional Library was housed in the United States Capitol for most of the 19th century until the early 1890s, most of the original collection had been destroyed by the British in 1814, during the War of 1812. To restore its collection in 1815, the bought from former president Thomas Jefferson his entire personal collection of 6,487 books. After a period of growth, another fire struck the Library in its Capitol chambers in 1851, again destroying a large amount of the collection. The Library received the right of transference of all copyrighted works to have two copies deposited of books, maps, illustrations and diagrams printed in the United States. It also began to build its collections of British and other European works and it included several stories built underground of steel and cast iron stacks. Although the Library is open to the public, only high-ranking government officials may check out books, the Library promotes literacy and American literature through projects such as the American Folklife Center, American Memory, Center for the Book, and Poet Laureate. James Madison is credited with the idea for creating a congressional library, part of the legislation appropriated $5,000 for the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress. And for fitting up an apartment for containing them. Books were ordered from London and the collection, consisting of 740 books and 3 maps, was housed in the new Capitol, as president, Thomas Jefferson played an important role in establishing the structure of the Library of Congress. The new law also extended to the president and vice president the ability to borrow books and these volumes had been left in the Senate wing of the Capitol. One of the only congressional volumes to have survived was a government account book of receipts and it was taken as a souvenir by a British Commander whose family later returned it to the United States government in 1940. Within a month, former president Jefferson offered to sell his library as a replacement
40.
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
41.
Imperial Canal
–
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
42.
Dike (construction)
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A levee, dike, dyke, embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels. It is usually earthen and often parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastlines, the word levee, from the French word levée, is used in American English. It originated in New Orleans a few years after the founding in 1718 and was later adopted by English speakers. The name derives from the trait of the ridges being raised higher than both the channel and the surrounding floodplains. The modern word dike or dyke most likely derives from the Dutch word dijk, the 126 kilometres long Westfriese Omringdijk was completed by 1250, and was formed by connecting existing older dikes. The Roman chronicler Tacitus even mentions that the rebellious Batavi pierced dikes to flood their land, the word dijk originally indicated both the trench and the bank. It is closely related to the English verb to dig, in Anglo-Saxon, the word dic already existed and was pronounced as dick in northern England and as ditch in the south. Similar to Dutch, the English origins of the lie in digging a trench. This practice has meant that the name may be given to either the excavation or the bank, thus Offas Dyke is a combined structure and Car Dyke is a trench though it once had raised banks as well. In the midlands and north of England, and in the United States, a dike is what a ditch is in the south, a property boundary marker or small drainage channel. Where it carries a stream, it may be called a dike as in Rippingale Running Dike. The Weir Dike is a dike in Bourne North Fen, near Twenty and alongside the River Glen. In the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads, a dyke may be a ditch or a narrow artificial channel off a river or broad for access or mooring, some longer dykes being named. In parts of Britain, particularly Scotland, a dyke may be a field wall, Levees can be mainly found along the sea, where dunes are not strong enough, along rivers for protection against high-floods, along lakes or along polders. Furthermore, levees have been built for the purpose of empoldering, the latter can be a controlled inundation by the military or a measure to prevent inundation of a larger area surrounded by levees. Levees have also built as field boundaries and as military defences. More on this type of levee can be found in the article on dry-stone walls, Levees can be permanent earthworks or emergency constructions built hastily in a flood emergency. When such a bank is added on top of an existing levee it is known as a cradge
43.
Arroyo (creek)
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An arroyo, also called a wash, is a dry creek, stream bed or gulch that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain. Flash floods are common in arroyos following thunderstorms, in Latin America any small river might be called an arroyo, even if it flows continually all year and is never dry. The Arabic terms rambla or wadi are used in North Africa, arroyos provide a water source to desert animals. The desert dry wash biome is restricted to the arroyos of the southwestern United States, arroyos can be natural fluvial landforms or constructed flood control channels. The term usually applies to a sloped or mountainous terrain in xeric, flash flooding can cause the deep arroyos or deposition of sediment on flooded lands. This can lower the level of the surrounding area, making it unsuitable for agriculture. However a shallow water table lowered in desert arroyo valleys can reduce saline seeping and alkali deposits in the topsoil, research has been conducted in the hydrological modeling relative to arroyos. Natural arroyos are made through the known as arroyo-cutting. This occurs in regions such as New Mexico, where heavy rains can lead to enlargement of rivers cutting into surrounding rock creating ravines which are dry under normal weather conditions. It is argued, however, whether these excessively stormy periods are the cause of arroyo-cutting as other factors such as long-term climate changes must also be taken into account. Arroyo cutting which occurred in the 1900s in the southwestern United States caused serious farming issues such as a water table. In agriculture areas in climates needing irrigation, farmers relied on small constructed arroyos, acequias, zanjas or aqueduct channels. An example of larger constructed arroyos is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, there are several miles of open-air concrete lined drainage channels that drain an area into the main North Diversion Channel, a tributary of the Rio Grande joining upstream of Albuquerque. After the San Juan Project Water Treatment Plant here, the Rio Grandes flow exceeding that needed for the silvery minnow habitat is available for municipal water supply diversion. Signs are posted at the constructed arroyos warning to keep out due to danger of flash flooding, the Arroyo Seco and Los Angeles River are more famous examples in Southern California of former natural arroyo seasonal watercourses that became constructed open drainage system arroyos
