Skip to main content
Access to this video is a benefit for members through PBS Passport.

Up Next

Back to Show
In the America's with David Yetman

The Lower Colorado River: Dwindling Lifeblood of the Southwest

Season 9 Episode 903

Forty million people rely on water released from Lake Mead, on the Colorado River not far from booming Las Vegas, a world leader in water conservation. Far downstream huge canals de-water the river, as farmers look to technology to maintain their productivity; Californians deliver water to their vast population and land; and Mexico receives its entitlement.

Support Provided By
Season
Colon’s Spain and the Quest for Western Lands
26:46
Exploring Huelva, its surroundings and its wealth of cultural and historical influences.
As the Waters of Lake Powell Recede
26:46
The falling water levels of Lake Powell reveal fragments of ancient peoples.
Whales and Their Offspring in San Ignacio Lagoon
26:46
Protecting whales and cultivating the friendship between people and the gentle giants.
The Salton Sea: Life and death in an inland ocean
26:46
Exploring a once booming tourist mecca that is now a nearly dead body of water.
The Northern Jaguar Preserve
26:46
Conservation groups work for the ideal habitat for jaguars, mountain lions and ocelots
The wild and explosive past of northwest New Mexico
26:46
The natural monuments that define the territories of native peoples in New Mexico.
Ancient peoples of the Colorado Plateau
26:46
Explore how southwestern U.S. native peoples established the Colorado Plateau.
Slickrocks and Monuments in the Four Corners
26:46
Explore the Four Corners portion of the Colorado Plateau.
Arizona Volcanoes
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:46
Arizona's landscape is the product of millions of years of volcanic explosions.
Mexican Carnival
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:46
Mexico has two Carnival parades like no others in the states of Puebla and Morelos.
Brazil’s Butantan Institute: Where Venomous Critters Find a Welcome
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:46
The Butantan Institute in São Paulo houses venomous creatures that protect human lives.
Re-claiming the Gulf in Baja California
Unlock with PBS Passport
26:46
The arrival of crowds and developers threaten unusual features of Baja California.
Active loading indicator