Francisco Rosas, San Luis Rio Colorado, March 25, 2014, by John Fleck

SAN LUIS RIO COLORADO – Morelos Dam, the last dam on the Colorado, normally diverts the river’s entire flow west, into the Canal Reforma, for farms in the Mexicali valley. In Spanish, it’s called “Presa Morelos,” where “presa” means “dam.” But Francisco Rosas, a Mexicali farmer, told me that it has a second meaning – to capture, or the animal you killed:

“‘Presa’ to a Mexican means ‘You caught it.'”

As we spoke, water was filling the sandy bed of the normally dry Colorado downstream from Presa Morelos, and kids splashed happily. “It’s something new for them,” Rosas said.