Sluice Gate - Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR - California
Posted by: 
PeterNoG
N 33° 10.592 W 115° 37.364
11S E 628407 N 3671701
This sluice gate is in the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Reserve only a few hundred feet from the Salton Sea which is 227 feet below sea level.
Waymark Code: WMAR4Q
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 02/15/2011
Views: 6
A very large area of the Imperial Valley is under sea level and relies on water from the Colorado River (about 60 miles away) for irrigation.
1901: Imperial Canal brings water from the Colorado River to the Imperial Valley.
1904: Silt blocks the Imperial Canal preventing it from supplying water to the Imperial Valley.
1905: Temporary diversion of the Colorado River, constructed to replace water from the blocked canal, is breached by floodwaters. The Colorado River changes course and flows into what was know as the Salton Sink.
1906: Floodwaters continue to fill Salton Sea, washing away a chain of lakes along the route and threatening Imperial Valley’s fledgling agriculture industry.
Nowadays thousands of acres in the Imperial Valley have been transformed from desert to prime farmland which produces over $1 billion of crops annually and accounts for nearly 50% of the employment.
Starting with the All-American Canal, water is brought to the Imperial Valley via a vast network of canals, .
and it is criss-crossed with drainage ditches and there are sluice gate everywhere.
Name of Waterway.: Pumice Drain and Vail Lateral Drain 4-A
Roughly when was the Waterway created?: early 1900's
Is this waterway working?: Working
What is the condition of the sluice gate?: Excellent working order
What is/was the water used for?: Irrigation
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Visit Instructions:
Please take photo of your visit.