Hydrology of the Navajo Nation

This page was written by Erin Klauk as part of the DLESE Community Services Project: Integrating Research in Education.

The Navajo Nation, which lies on the Colorado Plateau, is drained by the Colorado River and its tributaries, the Green River, San Juan River and Little Colorado River (CO Plateau (more info) ).

Generally, the aquifers in the Colorado Plateau area are composed of permeable, moderately to well-consolidated sedimentary rocks. These rocks range in age from Permian to Tertiary and vary greatly in thickness, lithology, and hydraulic characteristics. The principal aquifers on the Navajo Nation are the Mesaverde aquifer, the Dakota-Glen Canyon aquifer system, and the Coconino-De Chelly aquifer (Robson and Banta, 1993 (more info) ).


Current, up to date information on the surface water, ground water and water quality can be obtained here (more info) . For more information about water quality and the environment, visit the environmental impacts page.

To further investigate the hydrology of the Navajo Nation, follow the links below.

Hydrology of the Colorado Plateau

Resources containing information about the hydrology on the Navajo Nation.

Contaminated Hydrology

Resources containing information about contaminated hydrology on the Navajo Nation.

 

For ideas on how to use these webpages in a classroom, a Study Guide is provided.