Geography of Arizona of which the one most vital to Arizona is the Central Arizona Project. The Central Arizona Project, which is 336 miles (541 km) long, diverts of water from Lake Havasu City into central and southern Arizona. The river is also utilized for hydroelectric power through various dams along the river. The dams on the Colorado River, going downstream, are the Glen Canyon Dam, Hoover Dam, Davis Dam, Parker Dam, Imperial Dam, Laguna Dam, and the Morelos Dam. The Gila River is long, and extends from southwestern New Mexico to its confluence with the Colorado River near Yuma. While the upper
Steamboats of the Colorado River Colorado route, and was the model for all the steamboats on the river thereafter. From 1859, prospectors dispersed up the Colorado River valley in the next few years, finding gold deposits along the river as far as the Black Canyon. In 1860, gold was found across the Colorado River from Potholes in Arizona, in placers at La Laguna. The strikes that followed in the next four years would make George A. Johnson and his two partners wealthy. By March 1861, the secession crisis had led to the closing of the Butterfield Overland Mail. February 19, 1861, the Bascom Affair led