You move slowly, but hop quickly when it is this hot; 110F to 116F all week. Air-conditioning is what makes the modern Yuma work. How did they do it a hundred years ago? Agriculture is why people live here and the Imperial Valley 50 miles West in California. Cotton is just beginning to be picked, wheat was done about 2 months ago. Carrots, lettuce, melons, onions, alfalfa, grasses, corn, dates, oranges, lemons, almost every fruit and vegetable is grown in the region. Very few frosts, little bad weather, 2"-3" rain per year, everything irrigated with Colorado River water.
Other big industries are the military air services because of the almost unlimited days of flying weather. Desert training and testing are another item that relies on our unique hot climate and desert terrain.
Another interesting detail about the area is the altitude; Yuma about 100 feet above sea level, Imperial Valley about 40 to 150 feet below and the Sultan Sink about 265 feet below. The Sink was flooded in about 1903-4 when a diversion dam on the Colorado River broke and the river flowed into the area for about 2 years.
Armchair
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