Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water

One of Reisner’s central arguments in Cadillac Desert is how precarious the water situation in the West is. This situation is not something new. The Hohokam, a civilization that lived near the confluence of the Salt, Verde, and Gila rivers, thrived for over 1,000 years. They were one of the first agricultural societies in the Southwest and practiced irrigation. The area they called home is one of the hottest in Arizona and North America more broadly. One possible reason the Hohokam were able become agriculturalists in this region is the climate is thought to have been considerably wetter. When it turned back to dry, the civilization vanished. The Hohokam might also have waterlogged their fields due to the abundance of water, causing salt buildup, which eventually poisoned parts of the land. This scenario might also have contributed to their demise. As Reisner notes, “the mysterious disappearance of Hohokam civilization seems linked to water: they either had too little or used too much” (257). This is exactly the problem that the West faces today.

Like the Hohokam, the United States built a desert civilization during wetter years. The Colorado River Compact’s negotiators based their allotment amounts for the basin states on the river’s having a 17.