Colorado Western Slope
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Colorado Western Slope
The Western Slope is the part of the state of Colorado west of the Continental Divide. Bodies of water west of the Divide flow toward the Pacific Ocean; water that falls and flows east of the Divide heads east toward the Gulf of Mexico. The Western Slope encompasses about 33% of the state, but has just 10% of the state's residents. The eastern part of the state, including the San Luis Valley and the Front Range, is the more populous portion of the state. Location The Western Slope includes Delta, Dolores, Eagle, Garfield, Grand, Gunnison, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mesa, Moffat, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, Routt, San Juan, San Miguel, and Summit counties and portions of Archuleta, Mineral, and Saguache counties. The Western Slope has about 70% of the state's water. The Colorado River and its tributaries divide the region into north and south at Grand Junction, Colorado. The area has a climate similar to that of the Great Basin. History Prehistory Pal ...
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Continental Divide
A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not connected to the open sea. Every continent on earth except Antarctica (which has no known significant, definable free-flowing surface rivers) has at least one continental drainage divide; islands, even small ones like Killiniq Island on the Labrador Sea in Canada, may also host part of a continental divide or have their own island-spanning divide. The endpoints of a continental divide may be coastlines of gulfs, seas or oceans, the boundary of an endorheic basin, or another continental divide. One case, the Great Basin Divide, is a closed loop around an endoreic basin. The endpoints where a continental divide meets the coast are not always definite since the exact border between adjacent bodies of water is usually not clearly defined. The I ...
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Moffat County, Colorado
Moffat County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,292. The county seat is Craig. With an area of 4,751 square miles, it is the 2nd largest county by area in Colorado, behind Las Animas County. Moffat County comprises the Craig, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Steamboat Springs-Craig, CO Combined Statistical Area. History Displacement of the Native People The first recorded humans in northwestern Colorado were the Ute tribes. The Spanish expedition of Dominguez-Escalante of 1776 reached just south of what would be Moffat County and noted the area and inhabitants, but did not offer detailed information. In the early 1820s, William H. Ashley organized a major expedition of trappers into the Green River area of the county beginning the first use of the area's resources by Europeans. John C. Freemont would lead the first organized exploration of Moffat County on his return from C ...
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Colorado River (U
The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states. The name Colorado derives from the Spanish language for "colored reddish" due to its heavy silt load. Starting in the central Rocky Mountains of Colorado, it flows generally southwest across the Colorado Plateau and through the Grand Canyon before reaching Lake Mead on the Arizona–Nevada border, where it turns south toward the international border. After entering Mexico, the Colorado approaches the mostly dry Colorado River Delta at the tip of the Gulf of California between Baja California and Sonora. Known for its dramatic canyons, whitewater rapids, and eleven U.S. National Parks, the Colorado River and its tributaries are a vital source of water for 40 million people. An extensive system of dams, reservoi ...
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Saguache County, Colorado
Saguache County (suh-WATCH ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,368. The county seat is Saguache. History Saguache County was formed December 29, 1866 in the Territory of Colorado when it was extracted from the northern half of Costilla County. A partition from Lake County on February 9, 1872, added the northwest section of the present-day county. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.05%) is water. It is the 7th largest of Colorado's 64 counties. Adjacent counties * Chaffee County - north * Fremont County - northeast * Custer County - east * Huerfano County - southeast * Rio Grande County - south *Alamosa County - south * Mineral County - southwest * Hinsdale County - southwest *Gunnison County - northwest Major Highways * U.S. Highway 285 * State Highway 17 * State Highway 112 * State Highway 114 National protected areas *Great Sand D ...
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Mineral County, Colorado
Mineral County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 865, making it the third-least populous county in Colorado, behind San Juan County and Hinsdale County. The county seat and only incorporated municipality in the county is Creede. The county was named for the many valuable minerals found in the mountains and streams of the area. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. Adjacent counties *Saguache County - northeast * Rio Grande County - east *Archuleta County - south * Hinsdale County - west Major Highways * U.S. Highway 160 * State Highway 149 National protected areas *Rio Grande National Forest *San Juan National Forest *La Garita Wilderness *Weminuche Wilderness Trails and byways *Colorado Trail *Continental Divide National Scenic Trail *Lake Fork National Recreation Trail *Silver Thread Scenic Byway Demographics At the 2000 ...
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Archuleta County, Colorado
Archuleta County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,359. The county seat and the only incorporated municipality in the county is Pagosa Springs. History Archuleta County was created by the Colorado legislature on April 14, 1885, out of western Conejos County. It was named for Jose Manuel Archuleta, "head of one of the old Spanish families of New Mexico", and in honor of his son Antonio D. Archuleta, who was the Senator from Conejos County at the time. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water. Adjacent counties *Mineral County, Colorado - north *Rio Grande County, Colorado - northeast *Conejos County, Colorado - east *Rio Arriba County, New Mexico - south *San Juan County, New Mexico - southwest *La Plata County, Colorado - west *Hinsdale County, Colorado - northwest Airport * Stevens Field Major Highways * U.S. Highway 84 * U.S. ...
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Summit County, Colorado
Summit County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,055. The county seat and largest town is Breckenridge. Summit County comprises the Breckenridge, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Summit County was organized as one of the seventeen original Colorado counties by the First Territorial Legislature on November 1, 1861. It was named for the many mountain summits in the county. Until February 2, 1874, its boundaries included the area now comprising Summit County, Grand County, Routt County, Moffat County, Garfield County, Eagle County, and Rio Blanco County. In 1874, the northern half of the original Summit County was split off to form Grand County; with the creation of Garfield and Eagle counties in 1883, Summit County arrived at its present boundaries. In addition, Summit County has seen two major boom eras. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is ...
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San Miguel County, Colorado
San Miguel County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,072. The county seat is Telluride. The county is named for the San Miguel River. History San Miguel County was given the Spanish language name for "Saint Michael" due to the nearby San Miguel River. On 27 February 1883, Ouray County was split to form San Miguel County. Originally the San Miguel County portion was to retain the name Ouray County with the new portion called Uncompahgre County. Mining operators in the San Juan mountain area of Colorado formed the San Juan District Mining Association (SJDMA) in 1903, as a direct result of a Western Federation of Miners proposal to the Telluride Mining Association for the eight-hour day, which had been approved in a referendum by 72 percent of Colorado voters. The new association consolidated the power of thirty-six mining properties in San Miguel, Ouray, and San Juan counties. The SJDMA refused to consider any ...
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San Juan County, Colorado
San Juan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 705, making it the least populous county in Colorado. The county seat and the only incorporated municipality in the county is Silverton. The county name is the Spanish language name for " Saint John", the name Spanish explorers gave to a river and the mountain range in the area. With a mean elevation of 11,240 feet (3426 meters), San Juan County is the highest county in the United States. History Long before European settlement, the area was regularly explored by the Anasazi, and later the Utes, who hunted and lived in the San Juans during the summer. There is also speculation that Spanish explorers and fur traders ventured into the area in the 1600s and 1700s. Permanent settlement in the area surrounding present-day San Juan County began in 1860, near the end of the Colorado Gold Rush. These first settlers were a group of prospectors lead by Charles Baker, ...
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Routt County, Colorado
Routt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 24,829. The county seat is Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Steamboat Springs. Routt County comprises the Steamboat Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Placer gold was found near Hahns Peak in 1864 as part of the Colorado Gold Rush.Voynick, S.M., 1992, Colorado Gold, Missoula: Mountain Press Publishing Company, Routt County was created out of the western portion of Grand County, Colorado, Grand County on January 29, 1877. It was named in honor of John Long Routt, the last territorial and first state governor of Colorado. The western portion of Routt County was split off to form Moffat County, Colorado, Moffat County on February 27, 1911. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.3%) is water. Adjacent counties *Carbon County, Wyoming, Carbon County, Wyoming - north *Jac ...
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Rio Blanco County, Colorado
Rio Blanco County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,529. The county seat is Meeker. The name of the county is the Spanish language name for the White River which runs through it. History Rio Blanco County was created on March 25, 1889, when it was split from Garfield County. The town of Meeker became the county seat. On May 17, 1973, Rio Blanco County became one of two counties in Colorado to have a peaceful nuclear explosion as a part of Operation Plowshare. There were three nearly simultaneous explosions targeted at fracking oil, all detonated as Project Rio Blanco. The other county is Garfield County under Project Rulison. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.06%) is water. Adjacent counties * Moffat County - north * Routt County - northeast * Garfield County - south * Uintah County, Utah - west Major Highways * State Highway 13 * Sta ...
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Pitkin County, Colorado
Pitkin County is a county in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,358. The county seat and largest city is Aspen. The county is named for Colorado Governor Frederick Walker Pitkin. Pitkin County has the seventh-highest per capita income of any U.S. county. Measured by mean income of the top 5% of earners, it is the wealthiest U.S. county. Pitkin County is included in the Glenwood Springs Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Edwards-Glenwood Springs Combined Statistical Area. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (0.3%) is water. The county's highest point is Castle Peak, a fourteener with a height of . It is south of Aspen on the Gunnison County border. Adjacent counties *Eagle County – northeast * Lake County – east * Chaffee County – southeast *Gunnison County – south * Mesa County – west * Garfield County – northwest Major highways * S ...
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