Cadillac Desert
Encyclopedia
Cadillac Desert, by Marc Reisner
, is a 1986 book published by Viking
(ISBN 0-14-017824-4) about land development and water policy in the western United States. Subtitled The American West and its Disappearing Water, it gives the history of the Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and their struggle to remake the American West. The book's main conclusion is that development-driven policies, formed when settling the West was the country's main concern, are having serious long-term negative effects on the environment and water quantity. The book was revised and updated in 1993.
A four-part television documentary based on the revised book was produced by KTEH
-TV, the PBS affiliate in San Jose, California
, in 1996. The parts are entitled Mulholland
’s Dream, An American Nile, The Mercy of Nature, and The Last Oasis.
Marc Reisner
Marc Reisner was an American environmentalist and writer best known for his book Cadillac Desert, a history of water management in the American West....
, is a 1986 book published by Viking
Viking Press
Viking Press is an American publishing company owned by the Penguin Group, which has owned the company since 1975. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim...
(ISBN 0-14-017824-4) about land development and water policy in the western United States. Subtitled The American West and its Disappearing Water, it gives the history of the Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and their struggle to remake the American West. The book's main conclusion is that development-driven policies, formed when settling the West was the country's main concern, are having serious long-term negative effects on the environment and water quantity. The book was revised and updated in 1993.
A four-part television documentary based on the revised book was produced by KTEH
KTEH
KQEH is a public television station in San Jose, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area as a PBS member station on channel 54. The station is owned by Northern California Public Broadcasting with sister-stations KQED in San Francisco and KQET in Watsonville, the latter mirroring KQED.Until...
-TV, the PBS affiliate in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, in 1996. The parts are entitled Mulholland
William Mulholland
William Mulholland was the head of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, in Los Angeles. He was responsible for building the water aqueducts and dams that allowed the city to grow into one of the largest in the world. His methods of obtaining water for the city led to disputes collectively...
’s Dream, An American Nile, The Mercy of Nature, and The Last Oasis.
Topics discussed
- John Wesley PowellJohn Wesley PowellJohn Wesley Powell was a U.S. soldier, geologist, explorer of the American West, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions...
- Powell Geographic Expedition of 1869Powell Geographic Expedition of 1869The Powell Geographic Expedition was a groundbreaking 19th century U.S. exploratory expedition of the American West, led by John Wesley Powell in 1869, that provided the first-ever thorough investigation of the Green and Colorado rivers, including the first known passage through the Grand Canyon...
- Rain follows the plowRain follows the plowRain follows the plow is the conventional name for a now-discredited theory of climatology that was popular throughout the American West and Australia during the late 19th century. The phrase was employed as a summation of the theory by Charles Dana Wilber:God speed the plow......
- William MulhollandWilliam MulhollandWilliam Mulholland was the head of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, in Los Angeles. He was responsible for building the water aqueducts and dams that allowed the city to grow into one of the largest in the world. His methods of obtaining water for the city led to disputes collectively...
- Owens ValleyOwens ValleyOwens Valley is the arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States, to the east of the Sierra Nevada and west of the White Mountains and Inyo Mountains on the west edge of the Great Basin section...
- California Water WarsCalifornia Water WarsThe California Water Wars were a series of conflicts between the city of Los Angeles, farmers and ranchers in the Owens Valley of Eastern California, and environmentalists. As Los Angeles grew in the late 1800s, it started to outgrow its water supply. Fred Eaton, mayor of Los Angeles, realized that...
- NAWAPA
- Hoover DamHoover DamHoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
- Grand Coulee DamGrand Coulee DamGrand Coulee Dam is a gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation. It was constructed between 1933 and 1942, originally with two power plants. A third power station was completed in 1974 to increase its energy...
- Los Angeles Department of Water and PowerLos Angeles Department of Water and PowerThe Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is the largest municipal utility in the United States, serving over four million residents. It was founded in 1902 to supply water and electricity to residents and businesses in Los Angeles and surrounding communities...
- Central Arizona Project
- Floyd DominyFloyd DominyFloyd E. Dominy was the Nebraska-born Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner from May 1, 1959 to December 1, 1969. Dominy joined the Bureau in 1946. He was the Assistant Commissioner from 1957 to 1958.- References :*...
- Teton DamTeton DamThe Teton Dam was a federally built earthen dam on the Teton River in southeastern Idaho, set between Fremont and Madison counties, USA, which when filling for the first time suffered a catastrophic failure on June 5, 1976. The collapse of the dam resulted in the deaths of 11 peopleand 13,000 head...
- St. Francis DamSt. Francis DamThe St. Francis Dam was a concrete gravity-arch dam, designed to create a reservoir as a storage point of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. It was located 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles, California, near the present city of Santa Clarita....
See also
- Cadillac DesertCadillac Desert (film)Cadillac Desert: Water and the Transformation of Nature is an American four-part documentary series about water, money, politics, and the transformation of nature. The film was produced and directed by Jon Else and Linda Harrar.-Synopsis:...
, a 1997 documentary based mostly on this book.