Power and Control in the Imperial Valley
Nature, Agribusiness, and Workers on the California Borderland, 1900-1940

Benny J. Andrés (Author)

9781623494636

Paperback / softback, published 30 April 2016

288 pages, 14 black & white photographs
23.3 x 15.7 x 1.5 cm, 0.385 kg

Power and Control in the Imperial Valley examines the evolution of irrigated farming in the Imperial-Mexicali Valley, an arid desert straddling the California-Baja California border. Bisected by the international boundary line, the valley drew American investors determined to harness the nearby Colorado River to irrigate a million acres on both sides of the border. The ""conquest"" of the environment was a central theme in the history of the valley.

Colonization in the valley began with the construction of a sixty-mile aqueduct from the Colorado River in California through Mexico. Initially, Mexico held authority over water delivery until settlers persuaded Congress to construct the All-American Canal. Control over land and water formed the basis of commercial agriculture and in turn enabled growers to use the state to procure inexpensive, plentiful immigrant workers.