Despite being over 200 miles from the city limits of Los Angeles, the majority of the land in this photograph is owned by the City of Los Angeles. Via various underhanded dealings, representatives from LA bought the land adjacent to the Owens River in 1905 and thereby secured the rights to the water from this region through a legal transaction known as the Law of Prior Appropriation. Most of the water from the Owens River is fed into aquaducts and siphons that transport the water through... more »
Despite being over 200 miles from the city limits of Los Angeles, the majority of the land in this photograph is owned by the City of Los Angeles. Via various underhanded dealings, representatives from LA bought the land adjacent to the Owens River in 1905 and thereby secured the rights to the water from this region through a legal transaction known as the Law of Prior Appropriation. Most of the water from the Owens River is fed into aquaducts and siphons that transport the water through the Owens Valley, across the Mojave Desert, and finally to LA. The agriculture in the Owens Valley was severely effected by the diversion of water and has changed the appearance of the landscape and the livelihood of the area's residents. « less
