Environment

Rare Sight: Colorado River Reaches Gulf

For the first time in 16 years, freshwater from the Colorado River has flowed into the salty waters of the Gulf of California.

On Thursday (May 15) a high tide surged past a stubborn sandbar and connected the river with the Sea of Cortez, said Francisco Zamora, director of the Colorado River Delta Legacy Program for the Sonoran Institute. Because of water use upstream, little flow from the 1,450-mile Colorado River [2,330 kilometres] has reached the sea in 50 years.

The reunion is the end of a 53-day journey for the long-planned Colorado River pulse flow, an artificial flood meant to restore the river's parched delta. The water comes from an international agreement called Minute 319. The plan allocates about 1 percent of the river's flow to a five-year experiment that will mimic spring floods in the delta. The goal is bring back the plants and animals that once thrived in the river's outlet.