Resources: Background readings
Browse our background reading resources.
Colorado River Basin
Helpful online resources for learning more about the Colorado River Basin.
1922 Colorado River Compact
1922 Colorado River Compact Meeting Transcripts
The Fourth National Climate Assessment...
Defining The Water Desk’s scope and water journalism
The Water Desk is a new independent journalism initiative. We're starting up at a pivotal moment for both the news industry and water sector.
Photos: Colorado River and tributaries, April 2019
This photo gallery features images shot during a road trip along the Colorado River and two of its tributaries in Colorado: the Blue River and White River.
DateApril...
Decades later, abandoned mines continue to haunt Colorado’s waterways
According to a 2017 study, there are over 23,000 abandoned mines across Colorado and 1,800 miles of streams that are impaired due to pollutants related to acid mine drainage.
Video and photos: Colorado River drone footage near Moab
This page features drone-captured footage and photos of the Colorado River near Moab, Utah.
The imagery shows the Colorado as it approaches Moab, with State Route 128 bordering the river.
After...
Some Western cities offer residents “cash for grass” to reduce irrigation
A study in 2016 showed that lawns are the largest irrigated crop in America.
Data viz: surveying Colorado River Basin maps
This collection of Colorado River Basin maps includes public domain images and other cartographic resources for depicting the watershed.
Photos: Front Range aerials, May 2019
This photo gallery features images shot during a Lighthawk aerial tour of water-related sites along Colorado's Front Range.
After departing from Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield, the flight...
A dry subject: how scientists map drought conditions
Scientists have a variety of measures of drought, but some are starting to use the term "aridification" to describe the long-term drying of the Southwest.