Imperial
By: by William T. Vollmann.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: PowerHouse Books
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Brooklyn, NY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 223
ISBN-13: 9781576874899
Subjects: Imperial Valley (Calif. and Mexico) -- Pictorial works; Imperial Valley (Calif. and Mexico) -- Photographs
Genres: Pictorial works; Photographs
Description: The Imperial Valley of southeastern California and the U.S./Mexico border is a land of great progress and crushing failure, home to a past that includes migrant workers, Mexican laborers, struggling farmers, corporate exploitation, pollution, the forgotten paradise of the Salton Sea, and underground tunnels that housed illegal Chinese immigrants, brothels, and gambling dens. Even at the turn of the twentieth century, few settled in the Imperial Valley because of its hot desert climate and lack of water. In 1901, the Imperial Land Company recognized the area's soil potential and diverted the waters of the Colorado River to it, in effect transforming wasteland into productive farmland. Named for the corporation that brought it to life, the Imperial Valley, its surrounding regions (including the Coachella and Mexicali Valleys), and the people who live there are the subjects of this photographic study.