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Colorado River Country
A comprehensive history of the region drained by the Colorado River and the people who have passed through and settled in that region over the past four hundred years.
238 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
9 people want to read
About the author
David Lavender
74 books16 followersDavid Sievert Lavender was a well-known historian of the Western United States, nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize, who is best remembered by many for his River Runners of the Grand Canyon.
Lavender spent most of his life in Ojai, California. An articulate and deeply knowledgeable speaker on the political and social history of the American West, he often spoke at the annual Telluride Film Festival.
Lavender spent most of his life in Ojai, California. An articulate and deeply knowledgeable speaker on the political and social history of the American West, he often spoke at the annual Telluride Film Festival.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 2, 2023
This excellent book covers the history of the area that surrounds and contains the Colorado River and its tributaries. It's not America's largest river, but it definitely wins the title of most scenic. Beginning at Grand Lake in Colorado (The upper portion was originally named the "Grand River" until 1921) it flows over the Rockies, through the CO Plateau, cuts off Utah's southeast corner, zig zags through the red rock and deep canyons of Arizona, and proceeds through the desert until it theoretically reaches the Gulf of California, for a total of about fourteen hundred miles from trickling stream to oozing mud that actually gives up miles short of the sea. There are now fourteen dams within the Colorado River System, the most notable being the Hoover and Glen Canyon.
Stated on the Bureau of Reclamation website:
That about sums it up. Creating, building, expanding, and might I add: destroying.
There were many other to be dam projects that luckily were derailed by environmentalists such as David Brower. But trying to hold back the government from building any dams at all would have been more difficult than trying to hold back the CO River with just your body. By the start of the 20th century, population in the southwest was rising, energy demands increasing, technology advancing, so the damming was a no brainer. And indeed, none of these dams are looked on today as a mistake. They are symbols of achievement, of advancement, of human's triumph over nature. Scant times before has triumph had such a bitter taste. Before reading this book I did not understand -could not even begin to understand - the extent of the irreparable damage these dams have done. That's because, like the politicians and engineers who made the dams happen, I didn't appreciate the history and essence of that which was being drowned by millions of acre-feet of water.
Paleo-Indians date back to about 12,000 B.C., hunting mammoth and other game in the Colorado River Basin. At about 5500 B.C. a new culture, the Desert People become prominent in the region. Agricultural practices originating in Mexico drifted northward, food being grown in muddy areas with irrigated canals. Many of the petroglyphs and pictographs left on the canyon walls are from this time. The Hohokam and Anasazi built whole villages in canyon caves. Dangerous secret trails that consisted of ledges, chipped toe holds and handholds, and ladders lay created vast networks for traveling or escape from enemies. Groups split up and drifted to different regions, giving rise to Native American tribes such as the Hopi, Navajo, Apache, and Utes.
The Spanish arrived in the region in 1528. After traveling from Florida along the coast and being held captive by indigenous tribes, four of the foreigners escaped and traveled as far as the Gila River before retreating south. Looking for that lost city of gold, Coronado explored next, laying eyes on the Grand Canyon. Juan de Onate followed soon after, exploring the Basin and going up as far as Kansas. In the 1700's Franciscan missionaries attempting to convert natives explored the Colorado River looking for places to ford it and connect their missions by road. The Green was first explored by American trappers in the 1820's when the newly independent Mexico opened its borders. Soon after sections were being explored by boat. Little by little sections were explored. 1869 saw the first comprehensive study of the river with the Powell Expedition. Mormon traveled the area extensively giving rise to many of the cities in southern Utah today.
The region has a rich history. It will never again be like it was in the old days: intact, undisturbed, continuos. But for all the exploiting of it, it has endured. While we will never be able to see what Powell saw as he floated through Glen Canyon, we can take what's left and piece it back together in our minds. We wonder at these creations of nature 10 million years in the making, not only because of their beauty, but because they bring to the forefront of our minds mankind's inability to imagine the subsequent creations of 10 million years from now that are beginning to form as we speak, and thus, the unfathomable creativity of nature.
Stated on the Bureau of Reclamation website:
The Future – Hydroelectric power is important to the United States. Growing populations and modern technologies require vast amounts of electricity for creating, building, and expanding. Hydropower currently supplies about 10 percent of the electrical generating capacity of the US.
That about sums it up. Creating, building, expanding, and might I add: destroying.
There were many other to be dam projects that luckily were derailed by environmentalists such as David Brower. But trying to hold back the government from building any dams at all would have been more difficult than trying to hold back the CO River with just your body. By the start of the 20th century, population in the southwest was rising, energy demands increasing, technology advancing, so the damming was a no brainer. And indeed, none of these dams are looked on today as a mistake. They are symbols of achievement, of advancement, of human's triumph over nature. Scant times before has triumph had such a bitter taste. Before reading this book I did not understand -could not even begin to understand - the extent of the irreparable damage these dams have done. That's because, like the politicians and engineers who made the dams happen, I didn't appreciate the history and essence of that which was being drowned by millions of acre-feet of water.
Paleo-Indians date back to about 12,000 B.C., hunting mammoth and other game in the Colorado River Basin. At about 5500 B.C. a new culture, the Desert People become prominent in the region. Agricultural practices originating in Mexico drifted northward, food being grown in muddy areas with irrigated canals. Many of the petroglyphs and pictographs left on the canyon walls are from this time. The Hohokam and Anasazi built whole villages in canyon caves. Dangerous secret trails that consisted of ledges, chipped toe holds and handholds, and ladders lay created vast networks for traveling or escape from enemies. Groups split up and drifted to different regions, giving rise to Native American tribes such as the Hopi, Navajo, Apache, and Utes.
The Spanish arrived in the region in 1528. After traveling from Florida along the coast and being held captive by indigenous tribes, four of the foreigners escaped and traveled as far as the Gila River before retreating south. Looking for that lost city of gold, Coronado explored next, laying eyes on the Grand Canyon. Juan de Onate followed soon after, exploring the Basin and going up as far as Kansas. In the 1700's Franciscan missionaries attempting to convert natives explored the Colorado River looking for places to ford it and connect their missions by road. The Green was first explored by American trappers in the 1820's when the newly independent Mexico opened its borders. Soon after sections were being explored by boat. Little by little sections were explored. 1869 saw the first comprehensive study of the river with the Powell Expedition. Mormon traveled the area extensively giving rise to many of the cities in southern Utah today.
The region has a rich history. It will never again be like it was in the old days: intact, undisturbed, continuos. But for all the exploiting of it, it has endured. While we will never be able to see what Powell saw as he floated through Glen Canyon, we can take what's left and piece it back together in our minds. We wonder at these creations of nature 10 million years in the making, not only because of their beauty, but because they bring to the forefront of our minds mankind's inability to imagine the subsequent creations of 10 million years from now that are beginning to form as we speak, and thus, the unfathomable creativity of nature.
August 23, 2007
Ah, well-written, engaging history! Hooray!
This is a history of the Colorado River, or, more accurately, of all of the people caught in its spell. It's a lovely book, not written for specialists but obviously well-researched by someone who is a giant of Coloradan and Western history, as well as a Colorado native and a climber of Colorado's peaks.
This is a history of the Colorado River, or, more accurately, of all of the people caught in its spell. It's a lovely book, not written for specialists but obviously well-researched by someone who is a giant of Coloradan and Western history, as well as a Colorado native and a climber of Colorado's peaks.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews