Colorado River too much of the lower basin allotment; in 1944 a compromise was reached in which Arizona would get a firm allocation of , but only if California's allocation was prioritized during drought years. These and nine other decisions, compacts, federal acts and agreements made between 1922 and 1973 form what is now known as the Law of the River. On September 30, 1935, the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) completed Hoover Dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River. Behind the dam rose Lake Mead, the largest artificial lake in the U.S., capable of holding more than two
The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons by John Wesley Powell is a classic of American exploration literature. It is about the Powell Geographic Expedition of 1869 which was the first trip down the Colorado River by boat, including the first trip through the Grand Canyon. Powell's first written accounts of his exploration appeared in the January, February and March 1875 editions of "Scribner’s Monthly" as "The Canons of the Colorado". The Smithsonian published it in book form in 1875 under title "Report of the Exploration of the Colorado