You might find histories of Fresno County, California interesting. When settlers showed up, it was essentially river running through a desert landscape. They d

You might find histories of Fresno County, California interesting. When settlers showed up, it was essentially river running through a desert landscape. They dug canals to support agriculture and the landscape greened up substantially. A lot of water law and patented water development tech happened in Fresno County. It's essentially a modern "hanging gardens of Babylon" situation and no one seems to talk about it. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29696251 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29696251