SPACEPHOTOS

A section of the Colorado River from north of Davis Dam to southwest of Parker Dam, an extensive area of the southwestern United States desert for which the Colorado River supplies much moisture, is featured in this photograph. Cultivated field patterns are visible north of Lake Havasu, where the width of the Colorado River floodplain is sufficient for agriculture. The two imposing mountain ranges on the California side of the Colorado River are the Whipple Mountains and Turtle Mountains. The Black Mountains, visible at the bottom center of the photograph, presented a highway engineering obstacle: Interstate Highway 40, which follows the route of the light, narrow, linear valley between the Black Mountains and the Mohave Mountains to the south, was required to make a loop around the southern end of the mountains. Three distinctive dry lakes near the top of the photograph are, from east to west, Danby, Cadiz, and Bristol.