Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
reservoirs (Fig. 16-7). Irrigation between Lakin
and Garden City north of the Arkansas River is
conducted mainly with surface water diverted
from the river; however, ground water supports
irrigation south of the river valley and
elsewhere. The combination of surface- and
ground-water extraction consumes essentially
all the available water. As shown in the satellite
image, the Arkansas River channel dries up
between Lakin and Garden City.
The region immediately north of Garden
City contains numerous playa basins of various
types. Many are shallow, elongated depres-
sions that occur in clusters with parallel align-
ment (see Fig. 3-24). These depressions were
presumably formed by wind erosion of the
unconsolidated loess (silty loam) sediment.
Some of the deeper ones contain small peren-
nial lakes, but many are dry most years and
have been converted for agriculture. Across
the southern High Plains, “playas are islands
in the vast sea of crop monoculture that is
virtually devoid of any diversity of habitat”
(Steiert and Meinzer 1995, p. 2). In addition to
providing wetland habitats, playas are impor-
tant points for ground-water recharge to the
High Plains aquifer.
Playa basins of western Kansas bear a remark-
able similarity to pocosins, also known as
Figure 16-1.
Bridge over Royal Gorge just west of
Cañon City, Colorado. The Arkansas River and a
railroad line are visible at the bottom of the deep
canyon. Photo by J.S. Aber.
A
B
Figure 16-2.
Cuchara River valley draining the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near La Veta in south-central Colorado.
A. Small irrigation ditch and water-l ow structure. B. Harvested hay bales in a wet meadow with the Culebra Range
in the background. Photos by J.S. Aber.
