. California fish and game. Fisheries -- California; Game and game-birds -- California; Fishes -- California; Animal Population Groups; Pêches; Gibier; Poissons. THE FISHERY OF THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER 137. Fig. 64. Desert vegetation and the willow-cottonwood association. between Blythe and Parlter. Feb. 1942. Colorado River (Larrea), bur-sage {Franseria)—t\iQ list is long—may be common. But these are upland plants. Nor are the plants of the washes such as cats- claw {Acacia), or of the mesquite (Prosopis) and saltbush {Atriplex) thickets above the riparian zone usually of importance to the ri
. California fish and game. Fisheries -- California; Game and game-birds -- California; Fishes -- California; Animal Population Groups; Pêches; Gibier; Poissons. THE FISHERY OF THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER 137. Fig. 64. Desert vegetation and the willow-cottonwood association. between Blythe and Parlter. Feb. 1942. Colorado River (Larrea), bur-sage {Franseria)—t\iQ list is long—may be common. But these are upland plants. Nor are the plants of the washes such as cats- claw {Acacia), or of the mesquite (Prosopis) and saltbush {Atriplex) thickets above the riparian zone usually of importance to the river. There are, however, several plants which through their proximity to the river are of much greater importance. Foremost among these are: willows (/S^afe), Cottonwood (Po2>(<ius/remowfn), seepwillow {Baccharis glutinosa), Tamarix (often called salt-cedar, locally), and arrowweed {Phichea sericea). These plants, in various combinations, often form dense stands or jungles along the areas inundated by high water. Those which become covered, even in part, offer shelter for fishes. They provide some food directly as in the form of seeds and leaves; other food, indi- rectly, either through fertilization of the water or as a source of insect food. The capriciousness of the Colorado has and still does cause it to change its course frequently. When this occurs these plants are destroyed with a subsequent enrichment of the water. It is true that this enrich- ment may be a very temporary one in the main channel. IIoAvever, it should be of considerable value in the quieter water where such debris may lodge long enough to decay. Wliere the water level has been raised artificially one finds large areas where not only the plants of the willow- I'.ottonwood association have been inundated, but where the water has covered many less strictly riparian species. Mesquite and saltbushes may persist for some time as submerged zones of shelter. Grinnell (1914) has devoted a study to the
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