The Land Desk

The Land Desk

As the Colorado River shrinks, desert towns grow

Kanab gets a bunch of new development, Imperial Irrigation District scoffs at farmland solar

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Jonathan P. Thompson
Jul 08, 2025
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🥵 Aridification Watch 🐫
A houseboat docks on the mudflats near Wahweap Marina during the summer of 2021, when reservoir levels dropped perilously low. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.

If Lake Powell is like a big thermometer gauging the hydrologic health of the Upper Colorado River Basin, then it’s running a high fever.

In one case, the fever analogy is a bi…

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