Colorado Water History

Click through the presentation below for a basic orientation to Colorado's water history.

These websites will introduce you to a few of Colorado's current water organizations and issues.

There are many more organizations, issues, and websites! Use the Colorado Water Center's list of agencies and organizations. Or search online with keywords such as "Colorado," "water," and the geographical feature or issue you are researching.

• Irrigation Age
  • Find issues from the late 19th and early 20th century through the USDA's NWISRL publications, HathiTrust, the Internet Archive, and Google Books.

• University of Denver Water Law Review
  • Access the journal's archive of articles (2012-present).

• Colorado Groundwater Atlas
  • ​Quick reference for information about Colorado's groundwater and groundwater policy.

• Colorado Encyclopedia
  • Includes many articles about state water issues, people, and places, as well as a timeline of Colorado water history.

• Colorado Historic Newspapers
  • Cross-search old newspapers from across the state.

• Colorado River Basin map
  • Comprehensive map of the basin, issued in May 2021.

For a longer (though slightly out-of-date!) list, try Colorado Water History: A Bibliography. Compiled in 2008 by Nikolai A. Kryloff and Patricia J. Rettig, this bibliography lists nearly 250 books, theses, and dissertations.

Also (because good bibliographies are a treasure!):