SoCal Photo Essay

Here are some photos [click to see full size] from my recent 850 mile trip around Southern California. I spent the first days in Long Beach, and then went to Fountain Valley, Imperial Valley, Palo Verde Irrigation District (HQ in Blythe, on the AZ border), and then Los Angeles.

I was shocked to see SNOW in the mountains. It rained alot, but rain doesn't help if it cannot be stored as snowpack for the summer.


This was my first view of the Imperial Valley (about 35 mi from El Centro on I-8)


In El Centro, I saw a LOT of alfalfa (and other forage crops) being grown and harvested. I'll discuss the economics of this practice elsewhere (see Tagg's water chat, above).


This is the "Central Main Canal" -- it's earth-lined, and that matters because nobody in IID uses groundwater. Tailwater is gathered and drained into the Salton Sea.


A zanjero (irrigation ditch "wrangler") floods the fields -- making the birds happy.


I camped here on my way between IID and PVID. Perhaps "growing alfalfa in the desert" is not too far wrong :)


This photo (taken at PVID) shows both seepage from the canal and salinity of the water. One reason that IID and PVID farmers have to flood their land is to make sure that there is enough water to flush salts into the drainage ditch. Salinity is about 800ppm coming in and 3,000ppm going out.


This view looks the other direction. Notice the "Colorado River" sign :)


Notice how green the earth is without irrigation water.


On my way out of the area, I drove past the largest concentration of windmills I've seen. There were hundreds, and many owe their lives to government subsidies.