An initiative of the Center for Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder

Photos: Grand Canyon rafting, fall 2019

This page features photos of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park during a rafting trip in fall 2019. The Colorado River carved the Grand Canyon over eons, but...

Photos: Santa Cruz River in Tucson, February 2021

This page features photos of the Santa Cruz River in Tucson, Arizona. The Santa Cruz begins in southern Arizona, dips into northern Mexico, and meets the Gila River, a...

Crop-switching in the megadrought

Farmers in Arizona are hoping that guayule, a hardy plant that produces natural rubber, can become a profitable crop requiring far less water than alfalfa, corn and cotton. Gary...
Grand Canyon National Park photo

Proposed Tusayan development threatens Grand Canyon National Park

As a developer seeks an easement in the Kaibab National Forest, the character of surrounding towns and parks could drastically change.

The megadrought hits Lake Powell

In the 1960s, Glen Canyon Dam created Lake Powell, the 186-mile-long reservoir intended to store Colorado River flows from the Rocky Mountains. With the flows reduced by drought and...

Map: Explore drone, aerial and terrestrial imagery from The Water Desk

Use this interactive map to browse our expanding collection of free-to-use photos and videos captured by drones, planes and ground-based photographers.

Drone videos and photos: Gila River near Winkelman, Arizona

See download info This page features drone footage and still imagery of the Gila River, near Winkelman, Arizona, just upstream from its confluence with the San Pedro River. The Gila...

Drone videos and photos: Salt River near Theodore Roosevelt Lake, Arizona

This page features drone footage and still imagery of the Salt River, near Theodore Roosevelt Lake in Arizona. The Salt River, which runs for about 200 miles, is a...

Video: Selling water

Should Colorado River water be used to grow alfalfa or subdivisions in the Phoenix metropolitan area?

Photos: Navajo Generating Station, Arizona, December 2019

This page features photos of Navajo Generating Station, a large coal-fired power plant near Page, Arizona that was decommissioned in 2019. The power plant was built, in part, to...