The Western Desert /

What states are the Western Desert located in?

California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico

What deserts make up the western desert?

The Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan and the Great Basin

How much land does the Western Desert take up?

200 000 km²

What major cities are in the Western Desert?

Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tuscan

Aquifer

Large store of water that lie beneath some hot desert regions

Western Desert - How much of the USAs fruit and veg does the Coachella Valley produce?

20%

Western Desert - How many people does the Hoover Dam employ?

5000

Western Desert - How much energy does the Sonoran Solar Project create?

Enough for 100 000 homes

Western Desert - How many visitors does Lake Mead get annually

2 000 000

Western Desert - What elements are mined in the Western Desert?

Copper, Zinc, Lead, Uranium

Western Desert - What are the most densely populated areas of the Western Desert?

Southwest California - Los Angeles, San Diego, more than 200 people per km²

Central California, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tuscan - 40-199 people per km^2#

Western Desert - What are the most sparsley densely populated areas of the Western Desert?

Central Nevada, Northen Arizona, and Southern Utah - 1-4 people per km²

Carrying Capacity of Land

Refers to how easy it is to survive in an area, eg. the Mojave’s Death Valley has a low carrying capacity due to the intense heat

Give 3 ways houses are adapted to cope with the climate

Flat rooves to collect rainwater

Solar panels to generate electricity

Underground rooms which are cooler

Give three adavantages of building dams in the desert

HEP

Provides locals with a water source

Water supply for agriculture

Give four disadvantages of building dams in the desert

Less water downstream

Expensive

Trapping silt reduces deposition further downstream

Reservoirs in hot environments lead to wastage due to high evaporation rates

Western Desert - Hoover Dam - What was lacking in the arid southwest?

Reliable water source

Western Desert - Hoover Dam - What river had to be diverted into canals?

Colorado River

Western Desert - Hoover Dam - What type of dam is it?

Arch - gravity

Western Desert - Hoover Dam - Why was the Colorado River unreliable for agriculture?

Erratic flow / frequent floods

Western Desert - Hoover Dam - How big is it?

221m tall by 379m wide

Western Desert - Hoover Dam - How much water can Lake Mead hold?

x2 Colorado River annual flow

Western Desert - Hoover Dam - What were the impacts of building the dam?

Destroyed communities

Devestated Colorado River ecosystem

Western Desert - How much energy does the Hoover dam provide annually, to how many people?

4 billion kw hours, 1.3 billion people

Water security

the reliable availabilty of an acceptable quantity and quality for health, livelihoods and production

Water Insecurity

When water availabilty is not enough to ensure the population of an area enjoys good health, livelihood and earnings. This can be caused by water insufficiency or poor water quality

Western Desert - To what cities does Colorados reservoirs bring water to?

Phoenix

Alburquerque

San Diego

Los Angeles

Las Vegas

Western Desert - What is a negative impact of the Hoover Dam on Native people

Loss of sacred sites and burial grounds

Western Desert - Give to examples of animal species that have declined due to the Hoover dam?

Kanab snail

Willow flycatcher

Western Desert - What has increased usage of water for agriculture and industry meant for people living in the Southwest?

Water shortages

Western Desert - Silt builds up behind the dam which leads to cooling what affect does this have on the ecoystem?

Loss of species

Western Desert - What is the total agricultural benefit of irrigation per year?

$1.5 billion

Western Desert - 1.4 million acres of irrigated land in the Colorado River basin provide how much of the USAs crops and livestock?

15% crops

13% livestock

Western Desert - How many new species of bird have been spotted at Lake Mead?

Around 250 eg egret and blue heron

Western Desert - How many people visit the Hoover Dam and its water sports industry per year?

700 000

Western Desert - Why does low population density make accessibility a challenge?

There are few roads, most places are instead linked by major highways

Western Desert - What has prevented road building in the Western Desert?

The dangerous climate

Western Desert - Railway lines only connect what?

Major settlements

Western Desert - Airports are only found in…

Major cities