What is the Gulf of California?
Located in between Baja California and Mexico, This gulf is home to 891 fish, 181 bird, 34 marine mammal, and 7 marine reptile species making this one of the Western Hemisphere’s most diverse seas. It is the site of tourism for Mexico and Southern California together. However, this bio-diverse beauty is at risk because of 2 factors; Over fishing and lack of resources. Since over-fishing is not the main idea of this website, it will not be explained in detail but feel free to find it in the Dictionary.
How are Water Shortages in the Colorado River affecting the Gulf of California?
The Gulf needs water and sediment to survive. These 2 resources were deposited from the Colorado River but due to water shortages and dams, the Gulf is lacking these resources. In the past, the Colorado river would deposited between 77 and 91 million tons of sediment into the Gulf every year. Constant amounts of sediment is a survival need for the plants and small animals. Today, most of the sediment is caught behind the walls of the Hoover Dam and the Glen Canyon Dam. Along with the dams, human consumption has reduced the amount of water that reaches the Gulf. This lack of water can cause salinity which will lead to a negative impact on the habitats of many plant and animal species that lived in the Gulf for centuries. Furthermore, the salinity of the lower Colorado River is changing due to lack of flow. Originally, the lower Colorado river had a salt content of 50 ppm, but by 1960 that had shot up to over 2,000 ppm. This is causing millions of dollars in damaged crops that use this water, both in the US and in Mexico.