Morelos Dam. Laguna Diversion Dam. Imperial Dam. Palo Verde Dam. Headgate Rock Dam. Parker Dam. Davis Dam. Hoover Dam. Glen Canyon Dam. Price-Stubb Dam. Grand Valley Diversion Dam. Windy Gap Dam. Granby Dam. Shadow Mountain Dam. Blue Mesa Dam. Dillon Dam. Flaming Gorge Dam. Fontenelle Dam. Green Mountain Dam. Joes Valley Dam. McPhee Dam. Morrow Point Dam. Navajo Dam. Ridges Basin Dam. Ridgway Dam. Ruedi Dam. Scofield Dam. Soldier Creek Dam. Starvation Dam. Taylor Park Dam. Vallecito Dam. Williams Fork Dam. Wolford Mountain Dam.
Above is a list of dams that are on the Colorado River and is a good reason why the Colorado River looks like this as it approaches the Sea of Cortez.
I guess I was getting bored. I remembered a place I have not been to in quite a while. Sonoita is a small town in the desert south of Nogales, so I decided to go down there. It is far enough away from here to feel far away.
I took the old road east out of Mexicali. It runs more or less parallel to the Mexico/US border. It is a paved road now, but I remember when I was young there was nothing out here. In those times there was not even the road there. It was just miles and miles of desert, just a set of tire tracks that the people followed. The mesquites, palo verde, and cachanilla brush on either side of the road made the it seem like being inside a tunnel.
The first town I wanted to stop at was called San Luis del Colorado. As you can tell by the name, it is on the Colorado River. My brother Roberto ran a lumberyard there for many years so I am quite familiar with the town and the road.
This is an old photo I took many years ago. That’s my brother above the letter X. As you can see they also sold cement, paint, and other construction supplies.
I remember back then, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the river looked a lot like what you see in this photo below. We crossed the river many times on a ferry that looked a lot like this one. The only difference was that I would not let the children get out and walk around, especially Joe. He had a wonderful energy and liked it to get into a lot of mischief. I think he reminds me of me when I was that age.
Back to my present memories, it has been more than fifty years since the Colorado has flowed into the sea. The city of San Luis built a bridge to cross the river a long time ago but with the river looking like this they could have saved some money.
Today, for the past few years, there had been many people who are trying to save the Delta region of this River. Last March, 2014, water was released. It was called a pulse flow and enough water was released to reached the sea of Cortez. Scientists and concerned citizens on both sides were encouraged by this effort. You may read about another release of water in the near future. Let’s hope it happens.
Here is a link you can use a to find out more about this story.
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