The Colorado River ('Aha Kwahwat in Mojave), or the Red River, is a river in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately 2,330 km (1,450 mi) long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The natural course of the river flows from 25 km (16 mi) north of Grand Lake, Colorado into the Gulf of California, but the heavy use of the river as an irrigation source for the Imperial Valley h...
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The Colorado River ('Aha Kwahwat in Mojave), or the Red River, is a river in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately 2,330 km (1,450 mi) long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The natural course of the river flows from 25 km (16 mi) north of Grand Lake, Colorado into the Gulf of California, but the heavy use of the river as an irrigation source for the Imperial Valley has desiccated the lower course of the river in Mexico such that it no longer consistently reaches the sea.
The watershed of the Colorado River covers 629,100 km (242,900 sq mi) in parts of six U.S. states and two Mexican provinces. Total flows of the river range from 113 m/s (4,000 cu ft/s) in droughts to 28,000 m/s (990,000 cu ft/s) in severe floods. With the construction of massive power dams on the lower course of the river, flows of over 2,000 m/s (71,000 cu ft/s) are unusual. The mean flow of the river was 620 m/s (22,000 cu ft/s) during...
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