OCR Text |
Show 13 drainage area of this great basin is 7,500 square miles, 1,000 of which are in Mexico.33 While not part of the natural drainage area of the Colorado River, this basin is proximate thereto and parts of it are irrigated therefrom. The Salton Basin is a great saucer-like depression with elevations near sea level at its outer rim and dropping below sea level towards the center.36 The low point of the Basin is 273 J4 feet below sea level,87 and the lowest portion of the Basin, now filled with water, is called the Salton Sea.88 In 1956 the water level in the Sea was approximately 234 feet below sea level.88 The Salton Basin is separated on the east from the Colorado River and Basin by a chain of desert mountains and sand hills running to the international border. The southernmost range is called the Chocolate Mountains. Within the Salton Basin, the natural drainage is into the Salton Sea.40 In both the Lower and Upper Basins, because of the prevailing arid and semi-arid conditions, most kinds of agriculture can be successfully practiced only by means of irrigation." However, there are significant geographical and climatic contrasts between the two Basins. Above the canyon section the Colorado River Basin lies at relatively high elevations in contrast to the comparatively low elevations below the canyon section. Thus, in the Upper Basin the growing season is relatively short, 90-120 days; in the Lower Basin the growing season is much longer, lasting in many places throughout the year.42 The extreme aridity of climate and the long growing season in the Lower Basin SBTr. 6461, 6468, 7411 (Dowd). «eTr. 627-628 (Akin). »TTr. 6444, 6469, 7410 (Dowd). ™Tr. 628 (Akin). 3»Calif. Ex. 246. 40Tr. 626-629 (Akin). "Ariz. Ex. 1000, p. 15. aIbid., Tr. 570 (Akin). |
Source |
Original Report: State of Arizona, complainant v. State of California, Palo Verde Irrigation District, Imperial Irrigation District, Coachella Valley County Water District, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, City of Los Angeles, California, City of San Diego, California, and County of San Diego, California |