Colorado River Basin

E321362

drainage basin river basin watershed

The Colorado River Basin is the vast watershed in the western United States and northern Mexico that collects and channels water from multiple states and tributaries into the Colorado River, supporting major ecosystems, agriculture, and cities across an arid region.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (20)

Label	Occurrences
Colorado River basin	80
Colorado River Basin canonical	57
Colorado River watershed	27
Upper Colorado River Basin	11
Colorado River system	7
Colorado River Valley	3
Colorado River watershed region	2
Colorado River Basin (hydrologic region)	1
Colorado River Basin (via Gila River)	1
Colorado River basin (pre-diversion natural outflow to Gulf of California)	1
Colorado River basin (via transmountain diversion)	1
Colorado River basin via Colorado-Big Thompson Project	1
Colorado River drainage basin	1
Colorado River hydrologic region (USGS classification context)	1
Colorado River region	1
Colorado River valley	1
Grand Canyon drainage basin	1
Green River–Colorado River system	1
Upper Colorado River system	1
upper Colorado River basin	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T2638856 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Colorado River Basin
Context triple: [Eldorado Mountains, drainageBasin, Colorado River Basin]

A. San Luis Rey River basin
The San Luis Rey River basin is a watershed region in northern San Diego County, California, that has long served as the homeland and cultural heartland of the Luiseño people.
B. Mono River basin
The Mono River basin is a West African watershed spanning parts of Togo and Benin, known for its role in regional agriculture, hydropower, and biodiversity.
C. San Juan River basin
The San Juan River basin is a Central American watershed that drains Lake Nicaragua and surrounding regions through the San Juan River toward the Caribbean Sea.
D. Missouri River Basin
The Missouri River Basin is a vast drainage area in the central United States that collects water from the Missouri River and its tributaries across multiple states and parts of Canada.
E. Colorado River
The Colorado River is a major waterway of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, renowned for carving the Grand Canyon and serving as a crucial water source for arid regions and Indigenous communities.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Colorado River Basin
Target entity description: The Colorado River Basin is the vast watershed in the western United States and northern Mexico that collects and channels water from multiple states and tributaries into the Colorado River, supporting major ecosystems, agriculture, and cities across an arid region.

A. San Luis Rey River basin
The San Luis Rey River basin is a watershed region in northern San Diego County, California, that has long served as the homeland and cultural heartland of the Luiseño people.
B. Mono River basin
The Mono River basin is a West African watershed spanning parts of Togo and Benin, known for its role in regional agriculture, hydropower, and biodiversity.
C. San Juan River basin
The San Juan River basin is a Central American watershed that drains Lake Nicaragua and surrounding regions through the San Juan River toward the Caribbean Sea.
D. Missouri River Basin
The Missouri River Basin is a vast drainage area in the central United States that collects water from the Missouri River and its tributaries across multiple states and parts of Canada.
E. Colorado River
The Colorado River is a major waterway of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, renowned for carving the Grand Canyon and serving as a crucial water source for arid regions and Indigenous communities.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (90)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	drainage basin ⓘ river basin ⓘ watershed ⓘ
area	approximately 246000 square miles ⓘ approximately 637000 square kilometers ⓘ
climate	arid ⓘ semi-arid ⓘ
containsCity	Denver metropolitan area (partially via transbasin diversions) ⓘ linked to: Denver–Aurora–Lakewood metropolitan area Las Vegas ⓘ linked to: Las Vegas, Nevada Los Angeles (served via imported Colorado River water) ⓘ Mexicali ⓘ Phoenix ⓘ Salt Lake City (partially via diversions) ⓘ San Diego (served via imported Colorado River water) ⓘ Tucson ⓘ Yuma ⓘ linked to: Yuma, Arizona
country	Mexico ⓘ United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
crossesEcoregion	Baja California Desert ⓘ linked to: Baja California desert Colorado Plateau ⓘ Mojave Desert ⓘ Rocky Mountains ⓘ Sonoran Desert ⓘ
drainedBy	Colorado River ⓘ
drainsInto	Gulf of California ⓘ
facesIssue	chronic water scarcity ⓘ climate change impacts ⓘ declining reservoir levels ⓘ drought ⓘ ecosystem degradation ⓘ overallocation of water rights ⓘ salinity problems ⓘ
governedBy	Colorado River Compact ⓘ Law of the River ⓘ Mexican Water Treaty of 1944 ⓘ Upper Colorado River Basin Compact ⓘ
hasMajorDam	Davis Dam ⓘ Glen Canyon Dam ⓘ Hoover Dam ⓘ Imperial Dam ⓘ Parker Dam ⓘ
hasMajorReservoir	Lake Havasu ⓘ Lake Mead ⓘ Lake Powell ⓘ
hasRegion	Lower Colorado River Basin ⓘ linked to: Lower Colorado River region Upper Colorado River Basin ⓘ linked to: Colorado River Basin
hasTributary	Bill Williams River ⓘ Dolores River ⓘ Gila River ⓘ Green River ⓘ Gunnison River ⓘ Little Colorado River ⓘ Paria River ⓘ San Juan River ⓘ Virgin River ⓘ
includesState	Arizona ⓘ California ⓘ linked to: California, United States Colorado ⓘ Mexico (Baja California and Sonora) ⓘ linked to: Baja California Nevada ⓘ New Mexico ⓘ Texas (small portion) ⓘ Utah ⓘ Wyoming ⓘ
irrigatesArea	Central Arizona Project service area ⓘ linked to: Central Arizona Project Imperial Valley ⓘ Yuma Valley ⓘ
locatedIn	Northern Mexico ⓘ Western United States ⓘ linked to: western United States
mainPrecipitationSource	snowpack in the Rocky Mountains ⓘ
managedBy	U.S. Bureau of Reclamation ⓘ linked to: Bureau of Reclamation binational institutions of the United States and Mexico ⓘ state water agencies ⓘ
populationServed	approximately 40 million people ⓘ
supportsEcosystem	Colorado River Delta ⓘ desert wetlands ⓘ riparian habitats ⓘ
supportsSector	agriculture ⓘ energy production ⓘ tourism and recreation ⓘ urban development ⓘ
supportsSpecies	Yuma clapper rail ⓘ linked to: Ridgway's rail endangered fish species such as humpback chub ⓘ endangered fish species such as razorback sucker ⓘ southwestern willow flycatcher ⓘ
usedFor	hydroelectric power generation ⓘ industrial water use ⓘ irrigation ⓘ municipal water supply ⓘ recreation ⓘ

How these facts were elicited