Tag: Nevada

Nevada, often referred to as the “Silver State,” is located in the western United States. Renowned for its vast deserts and striking mountain ranges, the state boasts a diverse landscape that includes the arid Mojave Desert in the south and the forested Sierra Nevada mountains in the west. The state is famously home to Las Vegas, a vibrant city known for its bustling casinos, entertainment venues, and nightlife. Beyond the glitz of Las Vegas, Nevada offers rich history in its ghost towns, a legacy of the 19th-century mining boom. The state also features significant natural attractions, such as Lake Tahoe and Great Basin National Park, offering a wide range of outdoor activities. Nevada’s economy is driven by tourism, mining, and, increasingly, technology, making it a dynamic state with a blend of natural beauty and modern attractions.

General Jesup – Colorado River Steamship

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The General Jesup (also spelled Jessup) was a pioneering side-wheel paddle steamer that operated on the Colorado River from 1854 to about 1859. It was the second steamboat on the river (after the short-lived Uncle Sam) and the first to prove sustained, commercially successful steam navigation on this difficult waterway. Named for U.S. Army Quartermaster General Thomas S. Jesup, whose department held the key supply contracts, the vessel transformed logistics for remote military posts, opened the lower Colorado to regular trade, and supported early exploration and settlement in what is now Arizona, California, and southern Nevada.

Background and Construction

Fort Yuma, established near the confluence of the Gila and Colorado rivers, faced extreme supply challenges in the early 1850s. Overland wagon trains from San Diego or other California points cost $500–$800 per ton. Earlier attempts at river transport—including barges and the underpowered Uncle Sam (a 65-foot side-wheeler assembled in 1852 that reached the fort but later sank)—had limited success.

In late 1853, George Alonzo Johnson, with partners Benjamin M. Hartshorne and Captain Alfred H. Wilcox, formed George A. Johnson & Company and secured the U.S. Army contract to supply Fort Yuma. Learning from prior failures, they shipped the prefabricated parts of a stronger side-wheel steamer from San Francisco aboard a brig (often identified as the General Viel). The components were landed at a site in the upper tidewater/estuary of the Colorado River (in present-day Mexican territory) and reassembled there. The General Jesup reached Fort Yuma with its first cargo on January 18, 1854.

Design Principles and Specifications

The boat was purpose-built for the Colorado’s extreme conditions: strong currents, shifting sandbars, snags, seasonal low water, and a remote desert setting with no established shipyards.

Key design features included:

  • Shallow draft and flat-bottomed hull — Approximately 30 inches (76 cm) of draft when loaded (some accounts note as little as 24 inches light), allowing it to operate over sandbars that would ground deeper vessels.
  • Side-wheel propulsion — Paddle wheels mounted on the sides provided strong thrust against the river’s current. Overall beam was about 27 feet including the paddle guards (17 feet at the hull).
  • Power and capacity — A 50- to 70-horsepower steam engine (sources vary slightly) capable of carrying roughly 50 tons of cargo (some reports cite up to 60 tons). Length was 104 feet.
  • Prefabrication and modular assembly — Built in sections in San Francisco for transport by sea and reassembly at the river mouth, a practical solution for the isolated location.
  • Cargo-focused layout — Prioritized freight capacity over passenger accommodations or luxury fittings, with a wooden hull typical of mid-19th-century western riverboats.
  • Fuel logistics support — Success depended not only on the boat itself but on the establishment of wood yards along the lower river, often staffed by Cocopah people who supplied cut wood for the boilers.

These principles—shallow draft, adequate power, side-wheel drive suited to confined waters, and on-site assembly—directly addressed the lessons of the Uncle Sam and earlier failed efforts. Later Colorado River boats shifted toward stern-wheel designs (better for some river conditions and maneuverability) with even shallower drafts, but the General Jesup demonstrated that steam navigation was viable.

Operational History and Role in Expanding Trade

The General Jesup quickly established a reliable service. It made round trips from the Gulf of California (estuary/delta landings) to Fort Yuma in only four or five days, carrying full cargoes at $75 per ton. A single trip could generate around $4,000 in revenue—highly profitable for the era—and Johnson’s operation reportedly grossed substantial monthly sums. This dramatically undercut overland costs and made regular supply of the fort (and nearby settlements) feasible.

Beyond military logistics, the steamer catalyzed broader economic activity. It transported goods for settlers, early merchants, and later mining interests. Wood yards and regular schedules created infrastructure that supported growth at places like Yuma Crossing. In 1857–1858 the General Jesup pushed farther upriver under Johnson’s initiative (partly in competition with the U.S. Army’s Explorer expedition under Lt. Joseph C. Ives). It reached points near El Dorado Canyon / Pyramid Canyon (hundreds of miles above the mouth, in the area of present-day Lake Mohave), demonstrating that the upper river was navigable for practical purposes at certain water stages and supporting military interest in the region (including later establishment of Fort Mohave). The boat also carried troops and supplies during related campaigns.

The vessel faced the hazards typical of the Colorado: a boiler explosion in 1854 (while tied up, killing the engineer and scalding others), another serious incident later, and a sinking after striking a submerged rock near Picacho Landing on the return from its historic upriver voyage (it was raised, towed to Fort Yuma, and repaired). By 1859 the worn-out General Jesup was dismantled; it was replaced by the larger, more powerful stern-wheeler Cocopah (and other boats in Johnson’s growing fleet).

Legacy

The General Jesup proved that steam navigation could open the Colorado River corridor as a practical trade artery. It lowered transport costs enough to sustain military posts, encouraged settlement and commerce along the lower river, and paved the way for the larger fleet of the Colorado Steam Navigation Company era. That network ultimately moved thousands of tons of freight annually—supporting mining booms (La Paz, El Dorado Canyon, and others), military needs, and regional development—until railroads largely displaced river steamers in the late 19th century. As the first truly successful steamboat on the Colorado, the General Jesup marked the beginning of a distinctive chapter in Southwestern frontier transportation history.

Hoover Dam

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Hoover Damn Bypass seen from the top with Hoover Damn. Photo by James L Rathbun
Hoover Damn Bypass seen from the top with Hoover Damn. Photo by James L Rathbun

Hoover Dam (originally authorized as Boulder Dam or the Boulder Canyon Project) is a concrete arch-gravity dam in Black Canyon on the Colorado River, on the Arizona–Nevada border about 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas. Built between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression, it stands 726.4 feet high, stretches 1,244 feet along its crest, is 660 feet thick at the base and 45 feet at the crest, and contains about 3.25 million cubic yards of concrete (roughly 4.4 million cubic yards including appurtenant works). It creates Lake Mead, one of the largest reservoirs in the United States by capacity (historically around 28–32 million acre-feet depending on sedimentation surveys and measurement basis).

Why It Was Built

Hoover Dam takes shape from the concrete columns in which it was poured (shot from cableway control tower downstream on Nevada rim, so looking upstream)
Hoover Dam takes shape from the concrete columns in which it was poured (shot from cableway control tower downstream on Nevada rim, so looking upstream)

In the early 20th century, the Colorado River was both a vital resource and a destructive force for the arid Southwest. Seasonal floods devastated farmland (most dramatically in 1905–1907, when the river broke through irrigation canals and created the Salton Sea in California’s Imperial Valley), while dry periods left water supplies unreliable. Growing cities such as Los Angeles needed dependable municipal water, and the region sought hydroelectric power to support development.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (then the Reclamation Service) saw a large multipurpose dam as the solution: flood control, irrigation water storage and delivery (including via the later All-American Canal to the Imperial and Coachella Valleys), municipal supply, river regulation, and hydropower. Power sales were intended to make the project self-supporting by repaying construction costs. Early advocates included Arthur Powell Davis of the Reclamation Service. Herbert Hoover, as Secretary of Commerce, strongly supported the project and helped resolve interstate water disputes.

A major political obstacle was allocating the river’s water among the seven basin states (Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California). Upper Basin states feared Lower Basin (especially California) development would claim most of the water under prior-appropriation rules. In 1922, Hoover chaired negotiations that produced the Colorado River Compact. It divided the basin at Lee Ferry, Arizona, allocating 7.5 million acre-feet annually to each basin (with the Lower Basin allowed an additional 1 million acre-feet under certain conditions) and requiring the Upper Basin not to deplete flows at Lee Ferry below 75 million acre-feet over any 10-year period. Arizona initially refused to ratify; the Compact became effective after six states approved it.

Photograph of the Hoover Dam (formerly Boulder Dam) from Across the Colorado River; From the series Ansel Adams Photographs of National Parks and Monuments, compiled 1941 - 1942, documenting the period ca. 1933 - 1942
Photograph of the Hoover Dam (formerly Boulder Dam) from Across the Colorado River; From the series Ansel Adams Photographs of National Parks and Monuments, compiled 1941 – 1942, documenting the period ca. 1933 – 1942

Congress authorized the project via the Boulder Canyon Project Act, signed by President Calvin Coolidge on December 21, 1928. The Act ratified the Compact (with California limited to 4.4 million acre-feet of the Lower Basin share), authorized the dam and related works (including the All-American Canal), and apportioned Lower Basin water roughly as California 4.4 million acre-feet, Arizona 2.8 million, and Nevada 0.3 million. President Hoover proclaimed the Compact effective in 1929. A later 1944 treaty allocated 1.5 million acre-feet annually to Mexico.

How the Site Was Chosen

Surveys of potential dam sites along the lower Colorado began in the early 1900s. The 1922 Fall-Davis Report recommended a high dam “at or near Boulder Canyon.” Boulder Canyon sites offered strong granite foundations but presented problems: one was crossed by a geologic fault; others were too narrow for construction camps or spillways; accessibility was poorer; and depth to bedrock was greater in places.

Further investigations (including the Weymouth Report) compared Boulder and nearby Black Canyon (about 20 miles downstream). Black Canyon was selected primarily for practical advantages: greater accessibility (a railroad spur could more easily connect from Las Vegas), shallower depth to solid bedrock in key locations, a narrower gorge with steeper walls, lower construction cost for a given height, and somewhat greater reservoir capacity for the same dam height. Geologic conditions were judged adequate (though Boulder’s granite was sometimes rated superior for load-bearing). The project retained the “Boulder Canyon” name even after the site shift. An independent Colorado River Board later confirmed the upper Black Canyon site.

The design chosen was a massive concrete arch-gravity dam (convex upstream face), developed under Bureau engineer John L. Savage and others. It transfers water pressure into the canyon walls while relying on its own weight for stability—an ultra-conservative approach after the 1928 St. Francis Dam failure raised safety concerns.

Construction

Six Companies, Inc. (a joint venture of major contractors including Utah Construction, Bechtel, Kaiser, Morrison-Knudsen, and others) won the contract in March 1931 with a bid of about $48.9 million—the largest U.S. government construction contract to that point. Work began in the spring of 1931 under Bureau construction engineer Walker Young and Six Companies superintendent Frank Crowe.

Key challenges included extreme desert heat, isolation, and the need to divert the entire river. Workers blasted four massive diversion tunnels (two on each side of the river, roughly 56 feet in diameter and totaling several miles in length) through the canyon walls. The river was diverted in November 1932. Cofferdams protected the site; the riverbed was excavated to solid rock; and canyon walls were scaled of loose rock. Concrete placement began June 6, 1933, and the last dam concrete was poured May 29, 1935. Cooling pipes embedded in the concrete controlled the heat of hydration so the massive structure would not crack. The dam began impounding water in February 1935, forming Lake Mead. Power generation started in late 1936. The project finished more than two years ahead of the seven-year contract schedule and was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on September 30, 1935.

Roughly 21,000 people worked on the project at various times (peak employment over 5,000). Conditions were harsh; official figures record around 96–112 worker deaths from construction accidents (the exact total varies by counting method and whether indirect causes are included). Boulder City was built as a planned community for workers and their families. The dam was initially called Hoover Dam by the Hoover administration, renamed Boulder Dam under Roosevelt, and officially restored as Hoover Dam by Congress in 1947.

The Hoover Damn Bypass Bridge viewed from the Colorado River - Photo by James L Rathbun
The Hoover Damn Bypass Bridge viewed from the Colorado River – Photo by James L Rathbun

Hydropower revenues repaid the federal construction costs decades later. The powerplant (nameplate capacity roughly 2,080 MW after later uprates, with 17 main turbines) has historically supplied electricity to utilities in Arizona, Nevada, and California.

Current Struggles with Low Water

Lake Mead and the broader Colorado River system have been under severe stress from a multi-decade megadrought (intensified by climate change, higher temperatures, and increased evaporation), combined with chronic overuse relative to long-term average flows. The original Compact allocations assumed higher average river flows (around 16–17+ million acre-feet) than the observed long-term average (closer to 14–15 million acre-feet, and significantly lower in recent decades).

As of late August 2026, Lake Mead stood near record-low elevations for the modern period—approximately 1,038.87 feet, about 26% full (storage roughly 6.9 million acre-feet on a ~26 million acre-feet capacity basis used in some daily reporting). This is well below the full-pool elevation of about 1,220 feet and marks new lows relative to recent historical records (surpassing previous lows from 2022 in some metrics). Levels have continued a multi-year decline, with further drops expected until the next major snowmelt runoff.

Low water reduces hydropower generation because lower “head” (water pressure/height above the turbines) decreases output. Capacity falls sharply at lower elevations; generation has already been substantially reduced from historical averages, with further declines projected. Minimum power pool is around 950 feet (with some older turbines limited higher); dead pool (where water can no longer pass the dam by gravity) is about 895 feet. The reservoir remains above these critical thresholds but with a narrowing buffer.

Shortage declarations under existing guidelines have already triggered cuts in Lower Basin deliveries. Federal operating guidelines for 2027–2028 and the post-2026 framework emphasize protecting critical elevations at both Lake Mead and upstream Lake Powell (itself also near or at record lows). Measures include reduced releases from Powell to protect its infrastructure and power generation, mandatory and voluntary reductions in Lower Basin consumptive use (on the order of 1.25 million acre-feet annually plus additional conservation in early years of the new guidelines), and efforts to balance the system. Arizona faces particularly large percentage cuts under priority-based shortage sharing. Power production at Hoover is expected to remain constrained, raising costs for replacement energy and affecting ratepayers.

These challenges highlight the tension between the river’s engineered development (which enabled vast agricultural and urban growth in the Southwest) and the physical limits of a variable, arid basin under climate pressure. Ongoing negotiations among the basin states, tribes, Mexico, and the federal government focus on reducing overall use to match available supply while protecting critical infrastructure and ecosystems.

Hoover Dam remains an engineering landmark, a National Historic Landmark, and a major tourist destination, while continuing to serve its original purposes of flood control, water storage, and power generation—albeit under increasingly constrained hydrologic conditions.

Arthur Powell Davis

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Arthur Powell Davis (February 9, 1861 – August 7, 1933)
Arthur Powell Davis (February 9, 1861 – August 7, 1933)

Arthur Powell Davis (February 9, 1861 – August 7, 1933) was an American civil engineer, hydrographer, topographer, and geographer who played a pivotal role in the early 20th-century development of water resources in the American West. As Director of the U.S. Reclamation Service (predecessor to the Bureau of Reclamation) from 1914 to 1923, he was a leading architect of comprehensive federal plans to control and develop the Colorado River. He is widely regarded as a key conceptual founder of the Boulder Canyon Project (which produced Hoover Dam) and broader multipurpose river-basin development.

Early Life and Education

Davis was born on a farm near Decatur, Illinois, the nephew of the famed explorer and geologist John Wesley Powell (leader of the 1869 Colorado River expedition through the Grand Canyon). His family connections and early exposure to the West shaped his career. He attended local schools and Kansas State Normal School before earning a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Columbian University (now George Washington University) in Washington, D.C., in 1888.

He married Elizabeth (Preston/Brown) Davis in 1888; they had several daughters. He co-founded the National Geographic Society in 1888 and later held leadership roles in engineering societies. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1921) and the American Philosophical Society (1927).

Early Career with the U.S. Geological Survey

Through his uncle’s influence, Davis joined the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as an assistant topographer around 1882–1884. He worked extensively in the Rocky Mountain region and the Southwest (New Mexico, Arizona, and California), gaining firsthand knowledge of arid lands and the Colorado River Basin. He advanced to topographer and, by 1895, to hydrographer in charge of government stream measurements.

His early international work included hydrographic examinations of potential Nicaragua and Panama Canal routes (late 1890s–early 1900s). He later consulted on irrigation and flood control in Puerto Rico, China, Turkestan (under both Tsarist and Soviet governments), and other regions, and contributed to Panama Canal studies.

Leadership in the Reclamation Service

Davis joined the newly created Reclamation Service (established under the 1902 Reclamation Act) early in its history. He rose to Chief Engineer around 1906–1908 and was appointed Director on December 10, 1914, succeeding Frederick Haynes Newell. He held the post until the agency’s name changed to the Bureau of Reclamation on June 18, 1923; he retired the next day.

Under his leadership the Service built major irrigation and storage works, including the Roosevelt Dam (Salt River), Shoshone and Arrowrock dams (each the world’s tallest at the time of completion), Elephant Butte Dam (Rio Grande), the Gunnison Tunnel, and the Strawberry Tunnel. He was among the first to strongly advocate multipurpose dams in which hydroelectric power generation would help amortize overall project costs—a principle that became central to later federal water development.

Role in Controlling and Developing the Colorado River

Davis’s most enduring contribution was his long-term vision for the Colorado River. Influenced by his uncle’s explorations and his own surveys, he recognized the river’s interstate and international character (flowing through seven U.S. states and into Mexico) and argued that only the federal government could coordinate its development at the necessary scale.

As early as 1902 he publicly called for the “gradual comprehensive development of the Colorado River by a series of large storage reservoirs,” with a high dam on the lower river as the keystone. He promoted basin-wide planning for flood control, irrigation storage, domestic water supply, and power generation rather than fragmented local projects.

In 1922, during his directorship, the Reclamation Service produced the influential report Problems of Imperial Valley and Vicinity (Senate Document 142, 67th Congress), commonly known as the Fall-Davis Report (after Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall and Davis). It examined reservoir sites, justified a high dam in the Boulder Canyon area, analyzed water supply and needs, and provided foundational data used by the Colorado River Compact Commission. The report and Davis’s advocacy helped frame the river’s problems as national in scope and laid groundwork for the Boulder Canyon Project Act and construction of Hoover (originally Boulder) Dam. Contemporaries, including engineers involved in the project, later called him the “father of the Boulder Canyon Project.”

Davis opposed purely local or piecemeal schemes (such as an early standalone All-American Canal proposal) when they conflicted with a coordinated multipurpose federal plan. His emphasis on power revenues to support large storage dams helped make ambitious Colorado River projects financially and politically viable. Shortly before his death he was appointed consulting engineer on the Boulder Dam project. Davis Dam (completed later on the lower Colorado, downstream from Hoover Dam) was named in his honor.

Later Years and Legacy

After leaving the Reclamation Service, Davis served as chief engineer and general manager of the East Bay Municipal Utility District in the Oakland, California, area (roughly 1923–1930). He also worked as a consulting engineer on irrigation projects in the Soviet Union (Turkestan and Transcaucasia) in the early 1930s.

He died in Oakland on August 7, 1933, at age 72 and was buried in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C., alongside his wife.

Davis combined technical expertise, bureaucratic skill, and a progressive-era faith in expert-led federal action and efficiency. While he did not live to see Hoover Dam completed, his early vision, surveys, advocacy for multipurpose development, and the Fall-Davis Report were instrumental in transforming the Colorado River from an uncontrolled, flood-prone waterway into a managed system of storage, power, and irrigation infrastructure that shaped the modern American Southwest.

Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

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Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

The raccoon (also spelled racoon), scientifically known as Procyon lotor, is a medium-sized nocturnal mammal native to North America and commonly called the common raccoon, North American raccoon, or northern raccoon. It is easily recognized by its distinctive black facial “mask,” pointed muzzle, grayish-brown dense fur, and bushy tail marked with several dark rings. Highly adaptable and intelligent, raccoons have extremely dexterous front paws that allow them to manipulate objects and forage effectively; their species name lotor (Latin for “washer”) refers to their habit of dipping food in water. Other names include the colloquial “coon,” the popular nickname “trash panda” (for their urban scavenging), Spanish mapache, French raton laveur (“washing rat”), and German Waschbär (“wash-bear”). Raccoons are omnivores found in forests, wetlands, and cities across much of the continent, where their clever, opportunistic nature has made them both familiar and sometimes notorious neighbors to humans.

Description (Physical Characteristics)

The raccoon is a medium-sized, stocky mammal with a bear-like body, short legs, and a plantigrade (flat-footed) gait. Adults typically measure 40–70 cm (16–28 in) in head-body length, with a bushy tail of 20–40 cm (usually around 25 cm / 10 in). Shoulder height is 23–30 cm (9–12 in). Weight varies widely by region, sex, season, and food availability—generally 5–12 kg (11–26 lb), though extremes range from about 2 kg to over 26 kg (4–57 lb). Northern populations and males tend to be larger; some northern animals can store up to 50% body fat for winter.

Fur is dense and grayish to reddish-brown or buff, with a lighter underside; the dense underfur provides insulation. The most distinctive features are the black “bandit” facial mask (framed by white fur around the eyes and snout), rounded ears often edged in white, and a ringed tail with 4–10 black bands (tip usually dark). Front paws are highly dexterous, resembling slender human hands with five fingers and sensitive vibrissae (whiskers) on the digits; hind feet also have five toes. Raccoons are excellent climbers and capable swimmers.

Sexual dimorphism is moderate: males are typically 10–30% heavier than females.

Scientific Classification

KingdomAnimalia
Phylum Chordata
ClassMammalia
OrderCarnivora
FamilyProcyonidae
GenusProcyon
SpeciesProcyon lotor

Common names include northern raccoon, common raccoon, and coon. It is the largest and most widespread member of the procyonid family (which also includes coatis, kinkajous, and ringtails).

Behavior

Raccoons are primarily nocturnal, with peak activity often before midnight, though they may forage diurnally when food is abundant or conditions favor it (e.g., low tide). They are intelligent and have excellent problem-solving abilities and long-term memory (solving tasks and retaining solutions for at least three years in studies). Their sensitive forepaws allow precise manipulation of objects, unlocking containers, and foraging by touch.

They are largely solitary outside the breeding season and mother-young groups. Females raise litters alone; several individuals may share dens in cold weather or congregate at rich food sources. Home ranges vary widely (often 1–3 km in diameter, larger for males or in resource-poor areas). They den in tree cavities, hollow logs, burrows of other animals, rock crevices, brush piles, abandoned buildings, attics, culverts, or storm drains. In northern regions they enter periods of winter dormancy (not true hibernation), living off fat reserves and potentially losing significant body weight, while remaining metabolically active.

They are agile climbers that escape danger by ascending trees and are known for adaptability, including urban “nuisance” behaviors such as raiding trash. When threatened they can be aggressive.

Habitat

Preferred habitats are deciduous and mixed forests, especially near water (streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, marshes, swamps, and bottomland hardwoods). They thrive in areas offering den sites (tree cavities preferred for rearing young), food diversity, and water for drinking and foraging.

Due to high adaptability they occupy a wide range of environments: coastal marshes, mangroves, farmlands, prairies (favoring woodlots and wetlands), mountainous areas (generally below ~2,000 m), and especially urban/suburban settings where they use human structures and garbage. They avoid extensive open fields or pure pine forests when better options exist but can persist in diverse landscapes as long as water and shelter are available.

Range (Geographic Distribution)

Native range spans much of North and Central America: from southern Canada (Nova Scotia to British Columbia) across nearly the entire contiguous United States (absent or sparse in parts of the northern Rocky Mountains and Great Basin), through Mexico, and south to Panama.

They have been introduced outside this range, notably to parts of Europe (Germany, France, and others), the Caucasus, Japan, and some Caribbean islands (some of which host populations sometimes treated historically as distinct taxa). Multiple subspecies exist (around 20–22 recognized), varying mainly in size and coat details; the eastern raccoon (P. l. lotor) and Upper Mississippi Valley raccoon (P. l. hirtus) are among the most widespread.

Food Sources (Diet)

Raccoons are opportunistic omnivores—among the most flexible mammalian diets. Rough averages: ~40% invertebrates, ~33% plant material, ~27% vertebrates, with strong seasonal and local variation.

  • Plant foods: Fruits (berries, grapes, cherries, apples, persimmons, etc.), nuts and acorns (especially important in fall/winter for fat storage), seeds, grains (notably corn), and other vegetation.
  • Animal foods: Crayfish and other aquatic invertebrates, insects, worms, mollusks, frogs, fish, bird eggs, small mammals, birds, carrion, and occasionally reptiles.
  • Human-associated: Garbage, pet food, crops, and garden produce are heavily exploited in urban and rural areas.

They forage by touch, often near water, and may dunk food (the species name lotor means “washer”), though this is more tactile exploration than true washing. Diet shifts with season: more animal matter in spring, soft mast (fruits) in summer, hard mast and high-calorie items in fall.

Additional Notes
Lifespan in the wild is typically short (often 2–3 years on average) due to predation, vehicles, hunting/trapping, and disease; captive individuals can live 20+ years. Primary predators include coyotes, bobcats, large owls, and alligators (in the south). Raccoons play ecological roles as seed dispersers and mesopredators and are highly successful due to intelligence and behavioral flexibility.

This report synthesizes established biological data on Procyon lotor. Populations are generally secure (IUCN Least Concern) across most of the native range owing to adaptability.

San Jorge – Colorado River Steamship

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The San Jorge was a small screw-propeller steamship that operated briefly on the lower Colorado River and into the Gulf of California in 1901 as part of the late-era commercial navigation on the river.

It belonged to the Mexican-Colorado Navigation Company, a short-lived operator formed in Los Angeles by Alphonso B. Smith, W. S. Twogood, and E. E. Busby. The company ran vessels from Yuma, Arizona, between 1901 and 1907, competing in the final phase of Colorado River steamboating after railroads had already captured most long-distance traffic. Its fleet included the San Jorge (1901), the paddle-wheel launch Retta (1900–1905), and the sternwheeler St. Vallier (1901–1907).

Design and Construction

The San Jorge was a propeller-driven (screw) steamer measuring approximately 38 feet in length and 9 feet in beam, with a very shallow draft of about 18 inches. It was built in Chicago, shipped to the Colorado River, and launched at Yuma in June 1901.

Unlike the dominant sternwheel paddle steamers that characterized Colorado River navigation for decades (such as the Gila, Mohave II, or Cochan), the San Jorge used a screw propeller. This design choice reflected an attempt at a more compact, potentially more efficient vessel suited to open-water runs into the Gulf of California rather than the river’s shifting sandbars, shallow channels, and debris. Sternwheelers excelled on the shallow, variable Colorado because their large paddlewheels at the stern provided good traction in low water and could be more easily repaired or protected. Screw propellers, by contrast, were more vulnerable to damage from sand, snags, and the river’s muddy bottom and proved less ideal for the shallow inland stretches. The San Jorge’s small size and light draft made it suitable for coastal/gulf service connecting to the river mouth, but its propellers were poorly adapted to the river proper.

Contemporary accounts note practical limitations: on its maiden return voyage from the Gulf around early June 1901, it ran out of coal and was delayed for about two weeks. Disposition records simply note it went “to the Gulf” in July 1901, with little further documented river service under the company.

Role in Expanding (and Sustaining) Trade

Colorado River steamboating began in the early 1850s primarily to supply the isolated U.S. Army post at Fort Yuma more cheaply than overland wagon freight from California ports. George A. Johnson & Company (later the Colorado Steam Navigation Company) dominated for decades, carrying military supplies, mining equipment, ore, settlers, and passengers between the Gulf of California (via Port Isabel and related landings) and upriver points as far as the Virgin River area in high water. Peak traffic supported mining booms (La Paz, Eldorado Canyon, Searchlight, etc.), military posts, and early settlement.

By 1901 the era was in steep decline. The Southern Pacific Railroad reached Yuma in 1877 and other lines followed, undercutting steamboat rates and volumes. The Mexican-Colorado Navigation Company entered as a late competitor, aiming at residual local freight, passenger traffic, and connections into Mexican waters of the Gulf of California (including runs toward San Jorge Bay, roughly 75 miles below the river mouth). The San Jorge was specifically intended for these gulf runs, supporting trade links between Yuma and coastal points while the company’s other boats (Retta and later St. Vallier) handled more upriver work.

Its contribution to “expanding” trade was limited and late-stage. It helped sustain short-haul and cross-border connections after the main boom years, when railroads already dominated long-haul movement of goods and people. The company competed with remaining Colorado Steam Navigation Company vessels (such as the Cochan) for mining-related freight and passengers on the lower river. Operations faced the same challenges that had always marked the Colorado: shifting channels, low water, snags, and fuel shortages. Broader commercial navigation effectively ended with the completion of Laguna Dam (about 14 miles above Yuma) in 1909, which blocked the channel; residual activity continued only a few more years.

In summary, the San Jorge was a minor, specialized vessel in the twilight of Colorado River steam navigation—a small screw steamer built for gulf connections rather than the classic shallow-draft sternwheelers that had opened the lower river to reliable commerce decades earlier. Its short documented career illustrates both the ingenuity applied to the difficult waterway and the rapid displacement of river steam by rail and, ultimately, dams. Primary details derive from Richard E. Lingenfelter’s Steamboats on the Colorado River, 1852–1916 and contemporary vessel lists.