In honor of Colorado River Day 2025, I pulled together a stack of books and past Mountain & Prairie podcast episodes that dig into the Colorado River Basin. Some zoom in on the river itself; others take a wider look at the environmental, agricultural, historical, and cultural forces shaping the basin as a whole.
The whole point of Mountain & Prairie is to make these complex Western issues accessible, understandable, and—dare I say—fun. So think of this as a mini-library for better grasping the Colorado River’s outsized influence on everything west of the 100th meridian.
BOOKS
Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey
The Secret Knowledge of Water by Craig Childs
Losing Eden by Sara Dant
The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko
A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko
Downriver by Heather Hansman
Encounters with the Archdruid by John McPhee
The Grand Canyon: Between River and Rim by Pete McBride
The Colorado River: Chasing Water by Pete McBride
Where the Water Goes by David Owen
Life After Dead Pool by Zac Podmore
Cadillac Desert by Mark Reisner
Brave the Wild River by Melissa L. Sevigny
This America of Ours by Nate Schweber
Beyond the Hundredth Meridian by Wallace Stegner
These are just a few of the books that either I have read or come highly recommended by podcast guests. If I missed any of your favorites, send me a message and I’ll add them in!
PODCASTS
Header photo by Ed.
