The Colorado River Compact is a 1922 agreement among seven U.S. states in the basin of the Colorado River in the American Southwest governing the allocation of the river's water among the parties of the interstate compact. The agreement was signed at a meeting at Bishop's Lodge, near Santa Fe, New Mexico by representatives of the seven states. 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... A U.S. state is any one of the fifty states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, together with the District of Columbia and Palmyra Atoll (an uninhabited incorporated unorganized territory), form the United States of America. ... Basin has several meanings: A watershed, which may be called also a hydrological basin or catchment basin. ... Colorado River in the Grand Canyon from Desert View The Colorado River is a river in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately 1,450 mi (2,333 km) long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. ... The Southwest region of the United States is drier than the adjoining Midwest in weather; the population is less dense and, with strong Spanish-American and Native American components, more ethnically varied than neighboring areas. ... The allocation of production and consumption is a key element of any model of economics. ... For the Second World War frigate class, see River class frigate The Murray River in Australia A river is a large natural waterway. ... Water (from the Old English word wæter; c. ... An interstate compact is an agreement between two or more U.S. states. ... Look up Agreement in Wiktionary, the free dictionary An agreement may be an agreement in beliefs, rules, practices (policies), or conduct. ... Santa Fe (Spanish, Holy Faith) (full form: La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís, English: Royal City of the Holy Faith of St. ...

The compact divides river basin into two areas, the Upper Basin (comprising Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) and the Lower Basin (Nevada, Arizona and California). The compact requires the Upper Basin states to deliver water at a rate of 7.5 million acre feet per year (293 m³/s), averaged over a moving ten-year average. Based on historical rainfall patterns, the amount specified in the compact was assumed to allow a roughly equal division of water between the two regions. The states within each basin were required to divide their 7.4 million acre foot per year (289 m³/s) share allotment among themselves. The compact enabled the widespread irrigation of the Southwest, as well as the subsequent development of state and federal water works projects under the United States Bureau of Reclamation. Such projects included Hoover Dam and Lake Powell. This is the article on the state. ... State nickname: Land of Enchantment Other U.S. States Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Governor Bill Richardson Official languages English and Spanish Area 315,194 km² (5th)  - Land 314,590 km²  - Water 607 km² (0. ... State nickname: Beehive State Other U.S. States Capital Salt Lake City Largest city Salt Lake City Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. ... State nickname: Equality State Other U.S. States Capital Cheyenne Largest city Cheyenne Governor Dave Freudenthal (D) Official languages English Area 253,554 km² (10th)  - Land 251,706 km²  - Water 1,851 km² (0. ... State nickname: Silver State, Battle Born State (official) Other U.S. States Capital Carson City Largest city Las Vegas Governor Kenny Guinn (R) Official languages None Area 286,367 km² (7th)  - Land 284,396 km²  - Water 1,971 km² (0. ... State nickname: The Grand Canyon State, The Copper State Other U.S. States Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Governor Janet Napolitano (D) Official languages English Only State Area 295,254 km² (6th)  - Land 294,312 km²  - Water 942 km² (0. ... State nickname: The Land of poo Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold pooface (R) Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... An acre foot is a unit of volume commonly used in the United States in reference to large-scale water resources, such as reservoirs, aqueducts, canals, and river flows. ... Irrigation in the Heart of the Sahara Irrigation (in agriculture) is the replacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops. ... The United States Bureau of Reclamation (Formerly the United States Reclamation Service) is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior which oversees water development projects in the western United States. ... Hoover Dam Hoover Dam (36° 0′ 56″ N 114° 44′ 16″ W) is a concrete gravity-arch dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between Arizona and Nevada. ... Lake Powell is a man-made reservoir on the Colorado River, straddling the border between Utah and Arizona. ...

The compact was the fruit of several years of negotiations among the states. The seven states had previously formed the League of the Southwest in 1919 to promote development along the river. Two years later in 1921, Congress (which by the United States Constitution has authority over all interstate agreements) authorized the states to enter into a compact for allocation of the river resources. The agreement was approved by Congress in 1922, the same year it was signed. As part of the compact, the name of the river was standardized along its length. Previously the portion of the river upstream from its confluence with Green River had been known locally as the "Grand River". The standardized was somewhat opposed by many local residents in Utah and Colorado, and the new name was enforced locally by acts of the state legistlatures in both states in the early 1920s. The League of the Southwest was a 1919 alliance formed among U.S. states in the basin of the Colorado River with the intention of promoting development, in particular irrigation of cropland for agriculture, along the river. ... 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1921 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Seal of the Congress. ... Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Syng inkstand, with which the Constitution was signed The Constitution of the United States is the supreme... The Green River, a tributary of the Colorado, is shown highlighted on a map of the western United States The Green River is a tributary of the Colorado River, 730 mi (1,175 km) long, in the western United States. ... Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America as the Roaring Twenties. // Events and trends Technology John T. Thompson invents Thompson submachine gun, also known as Tommy gun John Logie Baird invents the first working mechanical television system (1925) Charles Lindbergh becomes the first person to...

The current specific annual allotments in the Lower Basin were established in 1928 as part of the Boulder Canyon Project. They are: 1928 was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The agreement was controversial even at the time, however. Arizona, for example, was dissatisfied with its alloment and refused to ratify the agreement until 1944 [1]. The specific allotments were disputed by Arizona until the United States Supreme Court upheld the amount in the 1963 decision in Arizona v. California. The agreement ended many years of dispute, clearing the way for the Central Arizona Project, authorized by Congress in 1968. 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... 1963 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Central Arizona Project Aqueduct (CAP) is a 336 mi (541 km) diversion canal in Arizona in the United States. ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

In recent years, the compact has become the focus of even sharper criticism, in the wake of a protracted decrease in rainfall in the region. Specifically, the amount of water allocated was based on an expectation that the river's average flow was 16.4 million acre feet per year (641 m³/s). Subsequent tree ring studies, however, have concluded that the long-term average water flow of the Colorado is approximately 13.5 million acre feet per year (528 m³/s). Many analysts have concluded that the compact was negotiated in a period of abnormally high rainfall, and that the recent drought in the region is in fact a return to historically typical patterns. The decrease in rainfall has led to widespread dropping of reservoir levels in the region, in particular at Lake Powell, created by the Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, where the exposure of long-inundated canyons has prompted calls for the deliberate permanent extinction of the reservoir. Pinus taeda Cross section showing annual rings Cheraw, South Carolina Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the method of scientific dating based on the analysis of tree ring patterns. ... A drought is an extended period where water availability falls below the statistical requirements for a region. ... Generally, a reservoir is something that can hold matter or energy. ... Lake Powell is a man-made reservoir on the Colorado River, straddling the border between Utah and Arizona. ... Glen Canyon Dam Glen Canyon Dam is a dam on the Colorado River at Page, Arizona. ... 1963 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

As of 2005, the crisis has forced the seven states and the federal government to begin initial steps towards a possible renegotiation of the agreement. 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Lawrence J. MacDonnell et al. (October 1995). "The Law of the Colorado River: Coping with Severe Sustained Drought". Water Resources Bulletin 31:825-836.