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The Palo Verde Valley (Spanish: Valle de Palo Verde) is located in the Lower Colorado River Valley, next to the eastern border of Southern California with Arizona, United States. It is located on the Colorado Desert within the Sonoran Desert south of the Parker Valley. Most of the valley is in Riverside County, with the southern remainder in Imperial County. La Paz County borders to the east on the Colorado River.

The region is the ancestral home of several Native American tribes: the Quechan, the Chemehuevi and Matxalycadom or Halchidhoma, some who have Indian reservations in California and Arizona along the Colorado and Gila Rivers today.

Geography

The Palo Verde Valley is part of the Sonoran Desert's Colorado Desert. The Big Maria Mountains are north of the valley, and the Colorado River forms the valley's boundaries to the east and south. Other mountains nearby are the McCoy Mountains to the west (north in Interstate 10), the Chocolate Mountains to the south, the Little Maria Mountains to the northwest, and the Dome Rock Mountains to the east.

Features

Agriculture is the valley's most important industry since indigenous farming. Crops include melons, alfalfa, cotton and vegetables. The Palo Verde Irrigation District (PVID), with its water sourced from the Palo Verde Diversion Dam, controls the canal system for these fields. Dating back to Thomas Henry Blythe's filing in 1877, the PVID has the most senior Colorado River water rights of any California agency.

The city of Blythe is in the center of the Palo Verde Valley and is the only incorporated community. Other communities include Mesa Verde, Ripley, and Palo Verde. Across the Colorado from the southern edge of the Palo Verde Valley is Cibola Valley.

Water transfers to MWD

In a 2005 agreement, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) negotiated with PVID in Blythe to fallow, or idle, farm land for 35 years. The deal will transfer water that would have been used for farming in the area of Blythe, Ripley and Palo Verde to MWD.

According to a 1990 pilot study, water diversions and fallowed farm land reduced farming employment. The MWD provided $6 million in a development fund to reimburse the community for losses caused by shifting water to urban areas.

California currently uses more than its allotted share of water from the Colorado River. The transfer agreement also seeks to address over-use of river water. It is partly designed to reduce overall diversions from the river.

In 2015, MWD purchased more than 12,000 acres (4,900 hectares) in the valley in addition to 9,000 acres (3,600 hectares) owned as of 2004, and is now PVID's biggest landowner. The Irvine Ranch Water District also purchased 3,100 acres (1,300 hectares). On August 4, 2017, PVID filed a lawsuit against MWD over the latter's most recent land purchase and six land leases, which was accused of illegally obtaining water rights.

Transportation

Interstate 10 goes through the Palo Verde Valley in an east-west direction across Blythe. US Route 95 goes through the northeastern part of the Valley. California State Route 78's northern terminus is near the valley's western edge from Interstate 10.

The Blythe Airport is west of the valley.

Rail transportation by the Arizona and California Railroad served the valley until 2007.

Public transportation, by bus is operated by Palo Verde Valley Transit Agency, which offers lifeline service to the Coachella valley. FlixBus and Greyhound Lines also serve the community of Blythe on their routes between Los Angeles and Phoenix.

See also

• Parker Valley

References

1. New York Times - La búsqueda de agua atraviesa fronteras
2. Imperial Valley Press - Ejecutan federales operativo en sembradío ilegal de marihuana
3. "Blythe Area Chamber of Commerce - Visitor's Guide". Retrieved 2014-11-13.
4. Underwood, Jackson (2005). "Ethnohistoric and Ethnographic Context For The North Baja Pipeline" (PDF). Proceedings of the Society for California Archaeology. 18. Retrieved 2014-11-13.
5. Roth, George (1977). "The Calloway Affair of 1880: Chemehuevi Adaptation and Chemehuevi-Mohave Relations". Journal of California Anthropology. 4 (2).
6. Palo Verde Historical Museum and Society (2005). Blythe and the Palo Verde Valley. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-3072-7.
7. Perry, Tony (2015-08-15). "Palo Verde Valley farmers and MWD find fallowing deal a win-win, so far". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2016-09-21.
8. United States. Bureau of Reclamation (1921). Preliminary Report on Problems of Imperial Valley and Vicinity, Required by Act of Congress, Approved May 18, 1920: Public No. 208, 66th Congress. Printed for Use of the Committee on Irrigation of Arid Lands, House of Representatives (41 U.S. Statutes, 600) January, 1921. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 69.
9. * Bureau of Reclamation PDF file on water situation.
10. James, Ian (2017-09-28). "A new fight over water in the California desert, with echoes of 'Chinatown'". Desert Sun. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
11. "FAA Information about Blythe Airport (BLH)".
12. shop.flixbus.com https://shop.flixbus.com/search?departureCity=490d29d8-7151-4e05-86df-68fba4f000be&arrivalCity=1225fb13-2255-4263-a50f-08d088678438&route=Los+Angeles,+CA-Phoenix-Tempe,+AZ&rideDate=12.06.2024&adult=1&_locale=en_US&features%5Bfeature.enable_distribusion%5D=1&features%5Bfeature.train_cities_only%5D=0&features%5Bfeature.auto_update_disabled%5D=0&features%5Bfeature.webc_search_station_suggestions_enabled%5D=0&features%5Bfeature.darken_page%5D=1&atb_pdid=8404e949-b0e2-4d02-86cd-afa845476508&_sp=f9066fff-53d6-48ad-bda0-13d1243e726c&_spnuid=4d103bb2-d967-4c8e-820a-59ea0437c583_1718210769531. Retrieved 2024-06-12. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
13. "Bus Routes Overview | Greyhound". www.greyhound.com. Retrieved 2024-06-12.

External links

• Blythe Area Chamber of Commerce
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Palo Verde Valley

v t e Colorado River system
Jurisdictions	United States Arizona California Colorado Nevada New Mexico Utah Wyoming Mexico Baja California Sonora
Canyons	Byers Canyon Gore Canyon Red Gorge Glenwood Canyon De Beque Canyon Horsethief Canyon Ruby Canyon Westwater Canyon Cataract Canyon Narrow Canyon Glen Canyon Grand Canyon Marble Canyon Granite Gorge Middle Granite Gorge Lower Granite Gorge Grand Wash Canyon Iceberg Canyon Virgin Canyon Boulder Canyon Black Canyon Pyramid Canyon Mohave Canyon
Natural features	River course Rocky Mountains Colorado River Basin Colorado Plateau Grand Lake Horseshoe Bend Sonoran Desert Mojave Desert Lower Colorado River Valley Mohave Valley Parker Valley Palo Verde Valley Colorado Desert Alamo River New River Salton Sea Imperial Valley Delta Montague Island Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez
Tributaries	Blue River Dirty Devil River Dolores River Escalante River Eagle River Fraser River Gila River Green River Gunnison River Kanab Creek Little Colorado River Paria River Roaring Fork River San Juan River Thunder River/Tapeats Creek Virgin River Las Vegas Wash Williams Fork Río Hardy
Engineering	Mainstem dams Shadow Mountain Granby Windy Gap Grand Valley Price-Stubb Glen Canyon Hoover Davis Parker Headgate Rock Palo Verde Imperial Laguna Morelos Major reservoirs Fontenelle Reservoir Flaming Gorge Reservoir Blue Mesa Reservoir Navajo Lake Lake Powell Lake Mead Lake Mohave Lake Havasu Imperial Reservoir Theodore Roosevelt Lake San Carlos Lake Aqueducts and canals Grand Ditch Colorado River Aqueduct San Diego Aqueduct Central Arizona Project All-American Canal Alamo Canal Coachella Canal Water projects Boulder Canyon Project Colorado–Big Thompson Project Colorado River Storage Project Grand Valley AVA Yuma Project
Designated areas	Arches National Park Canyonlands National Park Colorado National Monument Dead Horse Point State Park Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Grand Canyon National Park Lake Mead National Recreation Area Rocky Mountain National Park
Related topics	Arizona v. California Colorado River Board of California Colorado River Compact Floyd Dominy Lee's Ferry International Boundary and Water Commission Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Rapids and features U.S. Bureau of Reclamation William Mulholland

33°21′27″N 114°42′32″W / 33.35750°N 114.70889°W / 33.35750; -114.70889

• Blythe, California
• Valleys of the Lower Colorado River Valley
• Valleys of California
• Valleys of Riverside County, California
• Valleys of Imperial County, California