According to Webster's Dictionary, agriculture is defined as the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock and, to varying degrees, preparation and marketing. resulting products. Essentially, agriculture is a key part of a thriving and sustainable community for the seven billion people on our planet Earth. The Colorado River is a key resource for sustaining necessary agriculture. From its headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California in Mexico, the Colorado River stretches more than 1,400 miles in its entirety. Surrounding the river, the Colorado River Basin covers more than 256,000 square miles across the southwestern United States, providing valuable support to a large number of systems (Cohen et al. V). This crucial resource supports over thirty million people, four million acres of farmland, seven states, the two largest reservoirs in the United States, and the largest irrigation canal in the world (water uses) . Although agriculture is still by far Colorado's largest water consumer, more than ninety percent of the Colorado River Basin's pasture and cropland receives Colorado River water as a supplement to support growth (Cohen et al. V). With this incredible amount of water comes a very big concern: are these water use practices sustainable over a longer period of time? If not, how can we combat the lasting effects of unsustainable water use? Agriculture and irrigation have long been a part of the Colorado River Basin and the desert southwest. Irrigation is the artificial supply of water to land, an integral part of the Colorado River and its basin. More than 1,500 years ago, the Hohokam irrigated more than 200,000...... middle of paper ......g The Colorado River will require Congressional action. Np, and Web. April 14, 2014. .McChesney, John. "Colorado River Crisis: Do Farmers Have the Water to Solve It?". » Colorado River Crisis: Do Farmers Have the Water to Solve It? Np, and Web. April 14, 2014. .N/A. Colorado River. Sd Wyofile, Glen Canyon. Slow Disaster: Dwindling Colorado River Will Demand Congressional Action - Learn more: http://wyofile.com/amack/slow-disaster-dwindling-colorado-river-will-demand-congressional-action/#sthash. OjfNgNQl.dpuf. Internet. April 14, 2014.N/A. Colorado River Basin. Nd Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program, N/A. Map of the Colorado River Basin. Internet. April 14. 2014.