1: Describe the location of the Salton Sea. What is the climate and geography of the area?

The Salton Sea is in California near the San Andreas Fault. It gets 3 inches of rain per year. 2: How did the Salton Sea form? It was part of the Gulf of California but the Colorado River silt blocked it off and separated it. Explain what role humans played. It was created by humans using the Colorado River for irrigation systems in the nearby counties. 3: What is the present condition of this body of water? How has it changed over the last 25 years? Why? Its water is used as a dump site for wastewater. In the last 25 years, the counties have dumped water from their counties into the sea, flowing in chemicals and other residue. 4: Describe several ways the Salton Sea has altered the ecosystem of the region. Explain the stability of that ecosystem. How is it changing over time? The Salton Sea has an increasing salinity, but also different species of birds. 5: Outline 3 environmental and 3 economic reasons the Salton Sea is important. Environmental: -Ecosystem supported -Stop for migrating birds -Fishery is one of the most productive in the world Economic: -Provides jobs for fishery -Funding for local government -Money from boat competitions

6: What steps are being taken to remediate the Salton Sea? What are the chances of success? Explain. Some steps are debates of whether to continue dumping agriculture discharge, or to add more freshwater due to its salinity. Both have arguments for and against whether it will succeed. 7: Compare the similarities and differences between the Salton Sea and Lake Chad in SubSaharan Africa. (Make a VENN Diagram)

Lake Chad
Outlet to the ocean Shrinking in size

Salton Sea
Increasing salinity NO outlet to the ocean

The Aral Sea 1: Where is the Aral Sea located? It is located between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. 2: Which rivers mainly supply the Aral Sea? The rivers include Naryn and Kara Darya. 3: What government agency is responsible for the Aral Sea and its plight? The World Bank Uzbek agency is responsible. 4: Why was the water supply to the Sea diverted? It was used for cotton growing and other crops for exports. 5: What resources did the Aral Sea supply to the local inhabitants? It supplied fish and jobs to the locals. 6: Describe 3 negative environmental effects of the fading of this sea. The effects are leftover chemicals, human diseases, and a lack of freshwater. 7: Describe 3 economic impacts in the region because of the water diversion. The fishing industry lost money and jobs, abandoned ships from the lack of water, and less food/ crops for the nation. 8: How is the situation of the Salton Sea similar to the Aral Sea? How is it different? It is similar due to both having the impact of humans using it too much and increasing salinity. The Salton Sea received too much wastewater while the Aral Sea water was taken from it for crops.

9: How would you describe this region today, other than as a sea? It is an abandoned ship graveyard. 10: Explain five health effects on people related to the vanishing Aral Sea. Health effects include lung cancer, lung disease, asthma, heart disease, hepatitis, and typhoid fever. 11: How can the Aral Sea be realistically rehabilitated? It can be left alone until it revives back to its original state. 12: Compare the situation in Mono Lake, California with that of the Aral Sea How did the Mono Lake problem arise? The Mono Lake water was diverted for Los Angeles, and brought problems to the lake. Describe 3 ways the problems of Mono Lake are similar to those of the Aral Sea. Mono Lake water was also diverted, which caused an impact of the ecosystem, and brought problems to jobs of the locals. Outline three ways the problems of Mono Lake differ. Mono Lake is a much smaller lake compared to Aral Sea, Aral Sea has an output of rivers while Mono Lake does not. 13: Summarize the proposal and actions to remediate Mono Lake. Mono Lake diversion was stopped and water went to the lake than the homes of Los Angeles residents. Colorado River Basin 1: Compare water diversion influences on the Colorado River with those on the Salton Sea and the Aral Sea. Describe three ways they are different. They are different due to Colorado River having an input and output towards the rivers and streams. 2: Look at the map- Where is the source of the Colorado River? The source is the La Poudre Pass Lake. What are some of the main tributaries and their source? Some include Gila River, San Juan River, and Green River. What is the most important origin of the water in the Colorado River? The most important origin is the mountain tops. 3: Politics: Who decides where the water in the river system goes? How is the resource divided between the various states in the watershed and beyond? The governments decide where the water goes. It is spoken with each state. 4: How do the individual states use the water? Who are the top five consumers of the water? The top five consumers are California, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico.

5: Describe some of the conflicts that arise over water use. How are they usually resolved? They are resolved by payments or fines. 6: How are conflicts between public and private use managed? They are managed by the Colorado River Salinity Control program. 7: Serious differences with Mexico exist concerning the amount of water the Mexicans receive from the river. Explain why this problem exists and what can be done to work out this dispute between the countries. This is a problem due to the Colorado River extending into Mexico. It can be solved by countries talking about different strategies to maximize water usage in each country. 8: The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers cross international boundaries in their path to the Persian Gulf. Why is this problem potentially greater than the one that exists on the Colorado River? This is more of a problem because of the importance of water in the dryer region. 9: Compare the problem of water diversions on the Yangtze River in China with those of the Colorado River. Both would and created problems for millions of people depending on the water that was turned to the agriculture. 10: The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River is very controversial. Why is this dam being built? The dam is being built because it can potential stop floods that can kill locals and provide electricity in a cleaner way. 11: Describe how this dam differs from dams on the Colorado River, such as the Glen Canyon Dam or Hoover Dam, with respect to: the disruption of human life impact on the environment archaeology local culture and natural beauty The Three Gorges Dam is a dam as big as the San Francisco Bridge. It can provide power to millions without the use of burning coal. However it has ruined millions of years old of history as well as brought people more problems like landslides. The dam is a much larger scale and is a barrier to ecosystems. Water Diversion- FRQ Q: The Colorado River runs 1,450 from the headwaters of the Rocky Mountains to the

Gulf of California. The primary source of Colorado River water is melting Rocky Mountain snowpack. Once the river descends from the Rockies, it flows through a landscape that is dominated by desert. Colorado River water carries a high load of sediment. The river has many dams, aqueducts and canals that divert the water in order to supply for electricity, irrigation, recreation, and domestic use. a: Describe and discuss two environmental issues associated with water diversion projects. Identify two benefits other than agriculture and recreation that people derive from that system of dams. With water diverted, there is less water for animals. The food chain is disrupted. Two benefits include electricity for energy, and the storage of water from dams. b: If there is a shortage of water, decisions will have to be made as to whether the water should be diverted to urban areas, agricultural areas, or natural ecosystems. Make an argument for diverting water for urban consumption, and an argument for permitting the water to flow to natural areas. Urban areas provide residents homes where they will need to sleep, eat, and drink. Without water to those areas, you will lose profit and people. Natural areas provide us serenity and peace from our problems. Without water to those areas, there will be less aesthetic beauty and peace for those who will need. c: Identify another example (other than the Colorado River) of a large-scale water diversion project. Discuss two environmental problems that have resulted or might result from this project. Another diversion project was diverting from the Yangtze River. There could potentially be a decrease in freshwater available, and dams built on the river can potentially kill the wildlife there. d; Identify two possible environmental consequences of climate change on the hydrology of the Colorado River system. Climate change can decrease the levels of the Colorado River from the snowcaps. This would alter the ecosystems downstream. Climate change can also bring less freshwater to those in cities. e: In addition to impacts on the Colorado River system, climate change is impacting the hydrology of coastal ecosystems. Identify and describe TWO possible consequences of climate change on coastal ecosystems. Climate change is altering food chains. Animals who need specific temperatures will be affected if water temperature changes. If altered food chains occur, then the top predators will experience a die-off due to less food available.