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Multi purpose schemes- The River Colorado Multi purpose schemes- The River Colorado

Multi purpose schemes- The River Colorado - PowerPoint Presentation

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Uploaded On 2016-03-14

Multi purpose schemes- The River Colorado - PPT Presentation

Why was it dammed How has it affected the lives of the local people Where is the River Colorado Now using the atlas complete your map following the instructions on the side Why was the river dammed ID: 255253

lake water las vegas water lake vegas las river effects year desert million dam dammed mead powell aquifers environment cities local oases

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Presentation Transcript

Slide1

Multi purpose schemes- The River Colorado

Why was it dammed?

How has it affected the lives of the local people?Slide2

Where is the River Colorado?

Now using the atlas- complete your map following the instructions on the sideSlide3

Why was the river dammed?

Much of the area the river runs through is desert and area twice as big as the UK

Early settlers dammed the river to provide water to local cities and towns- much of this comes from the snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains

It also regulated the flow of the river to ensure a constant supply of water to cities such as Las Vegas and Phoenix

25 million people in the SW rely on this supplySlide4

The Hoover Dam

In Boulder Canyon

Lake Mead and Lake Powell are two largest man made lakes in the USASlide5

What are the effects of the dam?

Using the sheet you have be given colour in the bubbles to show the effects of the dam in the following categories

Social

Economic

Environmental

PoliticalSlide6

What other effects are there?

400,000 ha of land is irrigated for farming (most of it in California’s Imperial Valley)

Lake Mead and Lake Powell are major tourist centres

Lake Powell offers sailing, power boating, water skiing and fishing and attracts over 2 million visitors a year

The photo above was taken on July 26

th

2007, 7

th

year of drought, lake level dropped more than 100 ft- lowest level since the late 1960’s.Slide7

Impacts in Las Vegas

Annual rainfall of 50mm

90% of water from Lake Mead

Much of the water is lavish and wasteful- lawns, parks, golf courses and swimming pools are seen as essential and can only be maintained by irrigation

Major tourist destination- over 37 million visitors a year

Water is becoming increasingly scarceSlide8

So what are the solutions for Las Vegas?

‘Grass for Cash’- the city pays householders $1 for every square foot of lawn they remove

They hope they will replace them with Cacti and other desert plants

Pumping water from aquifers (permeable rocks underground) or oases- but what are the issues with this?Slide9

Aquifers in the Mojave Desert

This is north of Las Vegas

The oases in the desert such as Ash Meadows are rich in wildlife- 239 species of bird, 27 mammals, 20 reptiles, 5 amphibians and 7 fish

25 of which are nowhere else in the world

These are protected as national wildlife refugesSlide10

The potential effects

The Las Vegas Water Authority wants to pump around 2 million cubic metres of groundwater each year from the aquifer

It will lower the water table

Springs will dry up

The unique environment will be destroyedSlide11

Some questions…

How will Las Vegas meet the demands of its growing population and tourism industry?

How important is the natural environment compared to urban lifestyles and jobs?