Chapter 12 and 13: Water shortage and Population Expansion Expansion. How does this affect Gallup?

In Chapters 12 and 13,  two underlying  issues for the Rocky Mountains region and the Intermontane West is water shortage and rapid influx in the population. Rain shadow effects , moderate to extreme arid lands  in both regions,  and little to almost no precipitation in some areas of the region  ( heavy snow falls in  allocates most of the water for agricultural regions  ) has made water usage and distribution  for residential, agricultural and commercial  areas a very sought after resource. The rapid and numerous influx of people to some areas Such as Las Vegas, Utah, and  high urban developments in Colorado and Denver also impact the distribution of resources and  create environmental  degradation with many serious outcomes to the regions. Gallup, New Mexico belongs to the Intermontane region described in the book. Gallup has an average precipitation of about 7 inches, about 40 percent occurring between July and September. The population growth of Gallup since  2000 has increased almost an 7 percent.

References

1. The Rocky Mountain Climate Organization http://www.rockymountainclimate.org/drought.htm

2. Hardwick, S. W., F. M. Shelley, and D. G. Holtgrieve. The Geography of North America: Environment, Political Economy, and Culture. 2. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. Print

Drought in the Rocky Mountains.

Suburbs in Las Vegas, Nevada