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This exploration delves into the intricate relationship between erosion, precipitation, and water resources in the American West. It covers key hydrological concepts, including the hydrologic cycle and water allocation, with a focus on historical perspectives from figures like Zebulon Pike and John Wesley Powell. The impact of landslides, prairie landscapes, and early perceptions of desert environments will also be discussed. This analysis aims to shed light on the legal considerations surrounding water rights, crucial for sustainable water use in arid regions.
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Topics for today • Erosion and precipitation • Movie about landslides • Hydrology Chapter 9 • 1.1. Overview • 1.2 Hydrologic cycle (p 246-250) • 1.3 Water recourses • Water use • Water in the west • 1.4 Legal considerations – water rights • Allocation of water • Colorado case
Historical perspective • “Pike described the lands he had seen as “The Great American Desert,” a name and an image which stuck to the area for over 50 years. He recalled that the deserts were like those of Africa, and that there were “tracts of many leagues where the wind had thrown up the sand in all the fanciful form of the ocean’s rolling wave; and on which not a speck of vegetable matter existed.”Zebulon Pike (early 1800s) • “Great American desert” Stephen Long • “Go west young man” Horace Greeley • “Rain follows the plow” Unknown source
