Precipitation history of the Colorado Plateau region, 1900-2000

Abstract

The Colorado Plateau covers 210,000 km 2 (130,000 mi 2) of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. Management of this region?s resources requires an understanding of how its climate has varied in the past and may change in the near future. Recent studies by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other scientists suggest that the region may become drier for the next 2 to 3 decades, in a pattern similar to the drought of 1942?1977. The region?s population has increased fourfold since the mid-1950s, creating the possibility of severe consequences if such a drought were repeated.