As one of several Focus Area Studies within the USGS National Water Census (NWC), the USGS has completed a 3-year study of water availability and use in the Colorado River Basin.
National Water Census • Colorado River Basin • Evapotranspiration • Snowpack • Water Use • Groundwater Discharge
![Colorado Basin Focus Area Study Map](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/CRB-map-circ1384.png?itok=28qnNnNB)
The Colorado River is about 1,450 miles long, with headwaters in Colorado and Wyoming, and eventually flows across the international border into Mexico. The drainage basin area of about 246,000 square miles includes all of Arizona, and parts of California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. The Colorado River is an important water resource for areas outside of the basin, including Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, and San Diego for public (municipal) supply, and the Imperial Valley in California for agricultural water supplies. The river and its tributaries provide water to nearly 40 million people, both within and outside of the basin, and irrigates nearly 5.5 million acres of agricultural lands (Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study (usbr.gov, 2012)).
Water management is governed by a complex system of international treaties, interstate compacts, and Supreme Court decrees. The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) plays a major role in the control and distribution of surface water within the Colorado River Basin through management of large Federal water projects like Glen Canyon Dam (Lake Powell) and Hoover Dam (Lake Mead).
In discussions with Reclamation and its partners, the Focus Area Study identified several components of the water budget in the Colorado River Basin for in-depth focused study.
National Water Census • Colorado River Basin • Evapotranspiration • Snowpack • Water Use • Groundwater Discharge
Below are related science components of the Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study.
National Modeled Water Atlas
Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study: Evapotranspiration
Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study: Snowpack Hydrodynamics
Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study: Water Use
Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study: Groundwater discharge to streams
Below are publications associated with the Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study.
Estimates of water use and trends in the Colorado River Basin, Southwestern United States, 1985–2010
Snow sublimation in mountain environments and its sensitivity to forest disturbance and climate warming
Comparison of U.S. Geological Survey and Bureau of Reclamation water-use reporting in the Colorado River Basin
Increasing aeolian dust deposition to snowpacks in the Rocky Mountains inferred from snowpack, wet deposition, and aerosol chemistry
Comparison of methods for quantifying surface sublimation over seasonally snow-covered terrain
Characterization of mean transit time at large springs in the Upper Colorado River Basin, USA: A tool for assessing groundwater discharge vulnerability
The importance of base flow in sustaining surface water flow in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Evaluating Landsat 8 evapotranspiration for water use mapping in the Colorado River Basin
U.S. Geological Survey National Water Census: Colorado River Basin Geographic Focus Area Study
Regional scale estimates of baseflow and factors influencing baseflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin
A new approach for continuous estimation of baseflow using discrete water quality data: Method description and comparison with baseflow estimates from two existing approaches
On the downscaling of actual evapotranspiration maps based on combination of MODIS and landsat-based actual evapotranspiration estimates
As one of several Focus Area Studies within the USGS National Water Census (NWC), the USGS has completed a 3-year study of water availability and use in the Colorado River Basin.
National Water Census • Colorado River Basin • Evapotranspiration • Snowpack • Water Use • Groundwater Discharge
![Colorado Basin Focus Area Study Map](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/CRB-map-circ1384.png?itok=28qnNnNB)
The Colorado River is about 1,450 miles long, with headwaters in Colorado and Wyoming, and eventually flows across the international border into Mexico. The drainage basin area of about 246,000 square miles includes all of Arizona, and parts of California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. The Colorado River is an important water resource for areas outside of the basin, including Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, and San Diego for public (municipal) supply, and the Imperial Valley in California for agricultural water supplies. The river and its tributaries provide water to nearly 40 million people, both within and outside of the basin, and irrigates nearly 5.5 million acres of agricultural lands (Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study (usbr.gov, 2012)).
Water management is governed by a complex system of international treaties, interstate compacts, and Supreme Court decrees. The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) plays a major role in the control and distribution of surface water within the Colorado River Basin through management of large Federal water projects like Glen Canyon Dam (Lake Powell) and Hoover Dam (Lake Mead).
In discussions with Reclamation and its partners, the Focus Area Study identified several components of the water budget in the Colorado River Basin for in-depth focused study.
National Water Census • Colorado River Basin • Evapotranspiration • Snowpack • Water Use • Groundwater Discharge
Below are related science components of the Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study.
National Modeled Water Atlas
Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study: Evapotranspiration
Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study: Snowpack Hydrodynamics
Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study: Water Use
Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study: Groundwater discharge to streams
Below are publications associated with the Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study.