Colorado River Activity Book

Learn about the , the Grand Canyon, and the importance of water for the environment and the people and creatures who depend on it!

An educational activity book for 8-12 year olds, created by Jess Simpson, Jacob Mobley, and Emily Busse

The Story of the Colorado River

For millions of years the Colorado river has brought water down from the Rocky mountains, through the deserts of what is now the Southwestern United States, and finally into Mexico and out to the Pacific Ocean, sculpting canyons as it rushed over rocky cliffs. Eventually it would create one of the largest canyons in the entire world, the Grand Canyon, and provide a life source for all the people, plants, and animals that lived along its nearly 1500 mile path.

For most of time, the people that lived along the river were Native Americans. Many different tribes lived within the Colorado river watershed, each with their own language, culture, and customs. One thing they all had in common was the belief that the water in the river was sacred and should be protected. They knew that their lives depended on it, as did the lives of the fish and other animals that they needed to survive. They grew squash and corn in their gardens and caught fish from the river, and for 12,000 years they lived there in harmony with the land.

When European settlers came, they wanted to live there too, and took much of the land that had belonged to the native peoples. Eventually more and more of them came and began living in big cities and they needed big farms to feed all the people and water for their crops. They wanted electricity for their homes and so they decided to build a big to capture all the water coming down from the mountains. That way they could keep as much water as they needed for their crops, and use the power generated by the in their growing cities.

By this time, there were lots of people living in the states all along the river who were dependent on the water from the Colorado river. They wanted to make sure there would be enough for everybody, so the government got the states together and made a deal, dividing the water in the river up like a pie, giving everyone a slice. What they didn’t realize is that they were in a very wet period, where rain was falling more often than it normally does, making the river flows bigger than they usually are. But because the white settlers hadn’t been living in the area very long, they didn’t know their mistake. So they gave everyone a big slice of the Colorado pie, thinking there would be enough to go around. Then they built a great big dam, the

biggest in the world, to control the flow of the river. But eventually the rains didn’t come as frequently, and the weather returned to being hot and dry. The water sitting in the big created by the dams began to dry up. Soon there was not enough water to go around. Water wasn’t even reaching the ocean anymore. The fish had nowhere to go. But no one wanted to give up their rights to the water, everyone was scared of not having enough.

Now lots of people are coming together to try and figure out how to solve this problem. Native Americans, farmers, city dwellers, environmentalists, and the Mexican and United States government are trying to work together to come up with a plan to make sure everyone gets enough water, and there is still some left in the river for all the life that depends on it. A few years ago, a group of dedicated people made a temporary deal that meant that some people would give up some of their slice of pie in order to send water down to the river delta for the first time in 40 years. A huge surge of water was released from the dam, and water flowed out to the sea like it used to before the dams were built. People who lived near the water celebrated, and new plants began to grow. It reminded everyone of how it used to be when the people lived in harmony with the river and the land. Many people are still working together to make sure that the water in the Colorado river gets shared fairly, and used wisely, so hopefully it will once again reach the ocean.

Colorado River Map

By Shannon1 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65868008

Colorado River Facts

★ The Colorado River flows through 7 states (5 US; 2 MX)

★ The river’s source is in the La Poudre Pass in the Rocky Mountains of

Colorado State.

★ It is 1,450 miles long

★ It carved out the Grand Canyon,

which is over a mile deep!

★ Indigenous people have lived

along the river for 20,000 years

★ Eleven different tribes still live

along the river, the six largest

are the Zuni, Navajo, Hopi,

Havasupai, Hualapai, and

Yavapai-Apache.

★ In 1935 the US gov’t built the on the Colorado, which was

at that time, the largest dam in the world

★ River flow is now controlled by an extensive system of dams,

aqueducts, and reservoirs.

★ Hoover Dam, Roosevelt Dam, Coolidge Dam, and

are well known dams along the CO River.

★ The water from the CO river is used for farmers to grow crops and

also provides drinking water to about 40 million people in cities

★ CO River Watershed reaches 246,000 mi2 → 7th largest on the

continent

★ 1600+ species of plants in the watershed

★ Has been experiencing 14 years of drought

★ Generates 10 billion kilowatt hours annually

★ Lake Mead (the largest on the CO River) had drained 140 ft

in the past 15 years

★ Continued lowering river levels may result in water rationing in the

SW

Mix & Match (Draw a line to connect the question to the correct number)

When was the Hoover Dam built? 12,000 years

How long have tribes lived along the river? 1,450 miles

How long has there been a drought 1935

How long is the CO River? 40 million

How much has Lake Mead drained in the last 15 years? 140 ft

How many people does the CO River supply water to for various reasons? 14 years

Who Lives in the River?

Droppy ● H20 → 2 parts hydrogen/one part oxygen ● 74% of water used in AZ is for agriculture ● 20 year drought has lowered water level of Lake Mead to 40% of its capacity ● Historically, most of the water has been stored in snowpacks-- warmer temp trends has increased the amount of water that falls as rain ○ This means less water reserves in the summer months when it is needed most ● “The river’s long-term average flow is about 12 to ​ 15 million acre-feet, in a good year. Meanwhile, ​ the lower basin states — , California, and Nevada — use 7.5 million acre-feet” (Wood) ○ Upper basin states - Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico ● Drought plan / water use cutbacks in place to ensure there is enough water for everybody ● Native Americans hold 20% of the Colorado river basin’s water rights

Chubz ● evolved around 3-5 million years ago ● Minnow family ● its body is uniquely formed to help it survive in its whitewater habitat ● Listed as endangered by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1967; given full protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ● Actions being taken to recover humpback chub include: ○ Managing water to provide adequate instream flows to create beneficial water flow

○ Constructing fish passages and screens at major diversion dams to provide endangered fish with access to hundreds of miles of critical habitat ● the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers in the Grand Canyon of Arizona, is a stable population of about 12,000 adults.

Condor ● Decline in numbers was already evident to observers by 1890 ● Condors are scavengers. Eats carrion ● Reproduce slowly ● Changing habitat has affected their diets ● wingspan of 9.5 feet ● There are currently 3 wild populations of condors: Arizona/Utah, California, and Baja California. ● Condors can fly hundreds of miles per day searching for food, using thermal updrafts and their aerodynamic bodies to conserve energy and fly very efficiently. ● California condors can live into their 60s. The oldest condors in the Arizona/Utah flock hatched in 1995. ● Unlike vultures, which use their sense of smell to find food, condors use their vision. ● Condors nest and roost on ledges and caves in cliff faces. This

protects them from predators on the ground.

● Condors do not have territories and travel daily, often roosting in a

different place each night

● Most have obvious number tags on one or both wings identifying the

individual.

Map of dams along the CO river (pinterest)

Droppy’s Adventure Down the Colorado

Test Your Knowledge!

1. Name 3 CO River Tributaries: a. ______b. ______c. ______2. Where is the source of the CO River?

3. Do condors use vision or smell to locate food?

4. Name 2 dams or reservoirs located along the CO River a. ______b. ______5. Where does the CO River meet the ocean?

6. What US states does the CO River flow through? a. ______b. ______c. ______d. ______e. ______

7. What famous canyon did the CO River form?

8. What is the majority of AZ water used for?

9. What may happen if water levels continue to drop in the Southwest?

10. What indigenous tribes live along or near the CO River ?

What You Can Do to Help ● Brushing Your Teeth ○ Turn off the tap tightly when you brush your teeth ○ Even a slow drip can add up: One drip every second adds up to five gallons per day! ● Drinking Water ○ Designate one glass for your drinking water each day, or refill a water bottle. ● Educate your friends and family ○ Learn about where your water comes from ○ Tell your parents to vote for the environment ● Laundry ○ Reuse towels and clothes that aren't that dirty! Less to wash! ● Showers ○ 5 minute showers instead of a bath ○ Baths can use up to 70 gallons of water ● Plants ○ When ice cubes are leftover from your drink, don’t throw them out. Pour them on a plant. ○ When rinsing fruits and veggies save the grey water and water a plant! ● Toys

○ Avoid toys that require a constant flow of water

Resources and References https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/native-american-stories-grand-canyon https://watershed.ucdavis.edu/education/classes/ecogeomorphology-gra nd-canyon-2016/flogs/brief-history-water-rights-colorado-river http://www.arizonawaterfacts.com/water-your-facts https://e360.yale.edu/features/on-the-water-starved-colorado-river-droug ht-is-the-new-normal

How we are incorporating STI/OSPI Standards (Elementary Pathway 1) https://www.k12.wa.us/student-success/resources-subject-area/time-imme morial-tribal-sovereignty-washington-state/elementary-curriculum/elemen tary-pathway-1

❏ Instructional booklet paired with board game teaches core concepts about water rights, the water cycle, and the importance of clean water to communities downstream ❏ Personifies the issue by incorporating cute characters to represent different aspects of the river ecosystem ❏ Promotes advocacy / interest by providing a call to action / short list of things you can do to preserve water sanctity ❏ Information about the proposed Colorado River Project (series of four dams in the grand canyon) and how / why this is opposed by tribes ❏ Talk about the importance / sacred value of the grand canyon and the water and life it supports