Why is the Colorado River the most endangered river in America?

Washington — American Rivers today named the Colorado River's Grand Canyon America's Most Endangered River of 2023, citing the harm that climate change and outdated river management have caused to the river's unique cultural and ecological values.



People Also Ask

The Colorado River is drying up due to a combination of chronic overuse of water resources and a historic drought. The dry period has lasted more than two decades, spurred by a warming climate primarily due to humans burning fossil fuels.

MORE DETAILS

The Colorado River might not dry up completely. But there's a good chance it won't provide enough water for the 40 million people who depend on it. No one knows when this could happen, but many experts think the drought will only worsen, which means we need to save water.

MORE DETAILS

Colorado River crisis is so bad, lakes Mead and Powell are unlikely to refill in our lifetimes. Boaters are dwarfed by a white bathtub ring around Lake Mead.

MORE DETAILS

The 5 Most Polluted Rivers in the US
  • The Ohio River. Manufacturers design steel-hulled boats to last for 20 years or more. ...
  • New River. The trouble at the U.S. southern border involves more than immigration. ...
  • The Mississippi River. ...
  • The Cuyahoga River. ...
  • The Delaware River.


MORE DETAILS

The Colorado River Is Drying Up: How This Impacts the Grand Canyon's Future. The Colorado River runs roughly 1,450 miles in its entirety, originating in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park and gaining momentum from snowmelt and tributaries as it winds south towards Mexico.

MORE DETAILS

If the water levels dip much lower, the Colorado's northernmost reservoir won't have enough in the tank to both fill Lake Mead downstream and generate any hydropower, which would have devastating effects on the electricity grid in the western US.

MORE DETAILS

What happens if Lake Mead dries up forever? If Lake Mead were to run out of water, the Hoover Dam would no longer be able to generate power or provide water to surrounding cities and farms. The Colorado River would essentially stop flowing, and the Southwest would be in a major water crisis.

MORE DETAILS

The river is about 30 feet deep in lower reaches of the Grand Canyon; it is not more than 10 feet in the upper reaches above the Grand Junction, Colo. Near Lees Ferry, Ariz., the river's rate of flow is about 8 million gallons per minute (gpm); at the mouth it is about 2 million gpm.

MORE DETAILS