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

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 c...