Photo shows reunion of Colorado River, Gulf of California in Mexico
A photo taken Thursday afternoon by Francisco Zamora of the Tucson, Ariz.-based Sonoran Institute shows the Colorado River meeting tidal waters from the Gulf of California for the first time in about 20 years. (Francisco Zamora/Sonoran Institute)
A photo taken Thursday shows the Colorado River meeting tidal waters from the Gulf of California for the first time in about 20 years.
The river stopped regularly flowing to the sea in the 1960s as dams were built and water was diverted for cities and farms upstream in the United States and Mexico.
The water now flowing into the gulf comes from an experimental man-made flood launched in late March to help restore native willow and cottonwood trees along the old river channel.
The “pulse flow” is slated to end Sunday, severing the river’s brief connection to the sea once again.
