Owens Valley

The Owens River is a river in eastern California in the United States, approximately 120 mi (193 km) long. It drains into an arid ranching basin, called the Owens Valley, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The site of a long-running chapter of the bitter California Water Wars, the river formerly drained into Owens Lake but has been entirely diverted for irrigation and drinking water. Owens River with Los Angeles Aqueduct © 2004 Matthew Trump File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 402. ... Ranching is the raising of cattle or sheep on rangeland, although one might also speak of ranching with regard to less common livestock such as elk, bison or emu. ... Owens Valley is the arid ranching valley of the Owens River in southeastern California in the United States. ... The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range that is almost entirely in eastern California. ... The California Water Wars was a struggle between Los Angeles, California and people living elsewhere (including the Owens Valley) over water rights. ... High-altitude aerial view of 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. ... Drinking water Drinking water is water that is intended to be drunk by humans. ...

Description

The river rises in the Sierra Nevada in southwestern Mono County, approximately 20 mi (32 km) south of Mono Lake and 25 mi (40 km) east of Yosemite Village. It flows southeast across the Long Valley Caldera, through Lake Crowley reservoir, then descends through the 10 mi (16 km) Owens River Gorge, emerging at the north end of the Owens Valley north of Bishop. In the area around Bishop, it is diverted through many ditches to irrigate the surrounding farming region. It flows south-southeast through the Owens Valley between the Sierra Nevada on the west and the White and Inyo mountains on the east, past Big Pine. Approximately 10 mi (16 km) south-southeast of Big Pine, most of the remaining river is diverted into the Los Angeles Aqueduct, completed in 1913 to supply drinking water to Los Angeles. The remaining river flows in a trickle through the southern valley, flanked by the Los Angeles Aqueduct, past Lone Pine, entering the lake bed of now-dry Owens Lake at the southern end of the valley. Mono County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of California, to east of the Sierra Nevada between Yosemite National Park and Nevada. ... Mono Lake, showing nearby Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park Mono Lake is an alkaline and hypersaline lake in California, United States that is a critical nesting habitat for several bird species and is one of the most productive ecosystems in North America. ... Yosemite redirects here. ... Long Valley Caldera is a depression in eastern California that is adjacent to Mammoth Mountain. ... Lake Crowley is a reservoir on the upper Owens River in southern Mono County, California in the United States. ... Gelmersee is a reservoir in Switzerland. ... Bishop is a city located in Inyo County, California, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 3,575. ... The White Mountains along the east side of the Owens Valley The White Mountains of California are a small mountain range that runs along the eastern side of the upper Owens Valley, just across from the Sierra Nevada. ... The Inyo Mountains The Inyo Mountains are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada mountains in eastern California in the United States. ... Big Pine is a census-designated place located in Inyo County, California. ... There are two Los Angeles Aqueducts--the original Los Angeles Aqueduct was designed by William Mulholland (an Irish immigrant who became a self-taught engineer and head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power) and completed in 1913 to deliver water from the Owens River to the city... 1913 (MCMXIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Nickname: City of Angels Official website: http://www. ... Lone Pine is a census-designated place located in Inyo County, California. ...

The acquisition of water rights for the Los Angeles Aqueduct under the direction of William Mulholland was highly controversial and led to violence and sabotage by local residents in the 1920s. The diversion of water and the subsequent desiccation of Owens Lake remains highly controversial. The re-establishment of the lake has been a long-time goal of the California environmentalist community. William Mulholland (1855–1935) was a prominent and influential water-services engineer in Southern California. ... It has been suggested that Roaring Twenties be merged into this article or section. ... Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. ... Environmentalism is the support of or involvement with the environmental movement by environmentalists. ...

See the California Water Wars article for a detailed history of the water wars. The California Water Wars was a struggle between Los Angeles, California and people living elsewhere (including the Owens Valley) over water rights. ...

See also

• List of rivers in the Great Basin

This is a list of rivers in the enclosed Great Basin of North America Amargosa River - Death Valley (Nevada, California) Bear River - Great Salt Lake (Utah, Wyoming, Idaho) Carson River - Carson Sink (Nevada) Humboldt River - Humboldt Sink (Nevada) Little Humboldt River North Fork Humboldt River Reese River Jordan River - Great...

External links

• LA Weekly article on desiccation of the valley