The Colorado River
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The Colorado River
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 ...
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Horseshoe Bend (Arizona)
Horseshoe Bend is a horseshoe-shaped incised meander of the Colorado River located near the town of Page, Arizona, United States. It is also referred to as the "east rim of the Grand Canyon." Horseshoe Bend is located downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, about southwest of Page. It is accessible via hiking a round trip from a parking area just off U.S. Route 89 within southwestern Page. The land south of the Bend's parking area, trail, and overlook are on the Navajo Nation territory. Horseshoe Bend can be viewed from the steep cliff above. The overlook is above sea level, and the Colorado River is at above sea level, making it a drop. Geology Horseshoe Bend is a superb example of an entrenched meander. Six million years ago, the region around Horseshoe Bend was much closer to sea level, and the Colorado River was a meandering river with a nearly level floodplain. Between six and five million years ago, the region ...
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Blythe, California
Blythe is a city in eastern Riverside County, California, United States. It is in the Palo Verde Valley of the Lower Colorado River Valley region, an agricultural area and part of the Colorado Desert along the Colorado River, approximately east of Los Angeles and west of Phoenix. Blythe was named after Thomas Henry Blythe, a San Francisco financier, who established primary water rights to the Colorado River in the region in 1877. The city was incorporated on July 21, 1916. The population was 18,317 at the 2020 census. History Etymology Blythe was named after Thomas Henry Blythe, a San Francisco businessman and entrepreneur. Mr. Blythe established primary water rights to the Colorado River in the southwestern California region in 1877. The town was originally named Blythe City, by Thomas Blythe himself, but the name was shortened to simply ''Blythe'' around the time the first post office was opened in 1908. Early years In the early or mid-1870s, William Calloway (kn ...
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Roaring Fork River
Roaring Fork River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in west central Colorado in the United States. The river drains a populated and economically vital area of the Colorado Western Slope called the Roaring Fork Valley or Roaring Fork Watershed, which includes the resort city of Aspen and the resorts of Aspen/Snowmass. It rises in the Sawatch Range in eastern Pitkin County, on the west side of Independence Pass on the continental divide. It flows northwest past Aspen, Woody Creek, and Snowmass. It receives the Fryingpan River at Basalt. below Carbondale, it receives the Crystal River from the south. It joins the Colorado in Glenwood Springs. The entire area that drains into the Roaring Fork River is known as the Roaring Fork Watershed. This area is and about the same size as the state of Rhode Island. The river flows through canyons along most of its route and is a popular destination for recreation whitewater rafting. The river supplies water th ...
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Eagle River (Colorado)
The Eagle River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed March 18, 2011 in west central Colorado in the United States. It rises in southeastern Eagle County, at the continental divide, and flows northwest past Gilman, Minturn, Avon. Near Wolcott, it turns west, flowing past Eagle and Gypsum, and joins the Colorado at Dotsero, in western Eagle County. Its flow ranges from in late summer of dry years to during spring runoff. Acid mine drainage from the abandoned Eagle Mine has entered the river. See also * List of rivers of Colorado * List of tributaries of the Colorado River The principal tributaries of the Colorado River of North America are the Gila River, the San Juan River, the Green River, and the Gunnison River. Tributary tree The following is a tree demonstrating the points at which the major and minor trib ... References ...
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Blue River (Colorado)
The Blue River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 18, 2011 in the U.S. state of Colorado. It rises in southern Summit County, on the western side of the continental divide in the Ten Mile Range, near Quandary Peak. It flows northwards past Blue River and Breckenridge, then through the Dillon Reservoir near Dillon. The west portal for the "Roberts Tunnel" is at the base of Dillon Reservoir. The Roberts Tunnel is a trans-basin diversion, built by Denver Water in 1962, that diverts water under the Continental Divide from the Colorado River basin into the South Platte River Basin. The east portal is approximately one mile upstream of Grant, Colorado.Park County Local History Archives. Roberts Tunnel Photo 1439, accessed June 13, 2018. North of Dillon, the river flows north-northwest along the eastern slope of the Gore Range and joins the Col ...
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Fraser River (Colorado)
The Fraser River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 18, 2011 in north central Colorado in the United States. It drains a large portion of the Middle Park basin in Grand County in the Rocky Mountains west of Boulder and southwest of Rocky Mountain National Park. It rises at the continental divide on the north side of Berthoud Pass in the Arapaho National Forest. It flows NNW past Winter Park, Fraser, and Tabernash, and joins the Colorado River from the south two miles west of Granby. Fishing The Fraser holds wild rainbows, browns, brooks, and cutthroats. The Fraser River starts near Berthoud Pass. As it runs north for its first 8 miles, it is on National Forest land and is publicly accessible. The river is narrow and shallow here, but worthy of fishing. From Winter Park to Fraser, the river can be accessed by the Fraser River Trail (hiking ...
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Colorado River Delta
The Colorado River Delta is the region where the Colorado River flows into the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez) in eastern Mexicali Municipality in the north of the state of Baja California in northwesternmost Mexico. The delta is part of a larger geologic region called the Salton Trough. Historically, the interaction of the river's flow and the ocean's tide created a dynamic environment, supporting freshwater, brackish, and saltwater species. Within the delta region, the river split into multiple braided channels and formed a complex estuary and terrestrial ecosystems. The use of water upstream and the accompanying reduction of freshwater flow has resulted in the loss of most of the wetlands of the area, as well as drastic changes to the aquatic ecosystems. However, a scheme is currently in place which aims to rejuvenate the wetlands by releasing a pulse of water down the river delta. Natural history Until the early 20th century, the Colorado River ran fre ...
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Gulf Of California
The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexico, Mexican mainland. It is bordered by the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, and Sinaloa with a coastline of approximately . Rivers that flow into the Gulf of California include the Colorado River, Colorado, Fuerte River, Fuerte, Mayo River (Mexico), Mayo, Sinaloa River, Sinaloa, Sonora River, Sonora, and the Yaqui River, Yaqui. The surface of the gulf is about . Maximum depths exceed because of the complex geology, linked to plate tectonics. The gulf is thought to be one of the most diverse seas on Earth and is home to more than 5,000 species of micro-invertebrates. Parts of the Gulf of California are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Geography History The marine expeditions of Fortún ...
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Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in the southwestern United States. Depending on differing definitions between Canada and the U.S., its northern terminus is located either in northern British Columbia's Terminal Range south of the Liard River and east of the Trench, or in the northeastern foothills of the Brooks Range/ British Mountains that face the Beaufort Sea coasts between the Canning River and the Firth River across the Alaska-Yukon border. Its southernmost point is near the Albuquerque area adjacent to the Rio Grande rift and north of the Sandia–Manzano Mountain Range. Being the easternmost portion of the North American Cordillera, the Rockies are distinct from the tectonically younger Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada, which both lie farther to its west. The ...
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La Poudre Pass
La Poudre Pass (elevation ), a high mountain pass, is located in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States. The pass straddles the Continental Divide, and separates the headwaters of La Poudre Pass Creek, which joins the Cache la Poudre River and eventually empties into the Gulf of Mexico, from the headwaters of the Colorado River, which drains into the Gulf of California. At the pass, the Continental Divide is the boundary between Grand and Larimer counties, and is also the northern boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park. The pass itself is a broad, flat, swampy area. In the wet meadow just south of the divide, the Colorado River begins its course as a tiny stream emerging from this area which included the small La Poudre Pass Lake. The Rocky Mountain National Park La Poudre Pass Ranger Station is also located in the pass.''Fall River Pass, Colorado,'' 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1958 (1985 rev.) The pass is traversed by a hiking trail, by t ...
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Topock, Arizona
Topock ( Mojave: Tuupak) (pronounced ''/'Toe-pock'/'' by locals) is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population within the CDP was 2. Topock and the surrounding region have a ZIP Code of 86436; in 2010, the population of the 86436 ZCTA was 2,104, almost all of whom live in the Golden Shores CDP to the north. Topock lies between Bullhead City and Lake Havasu City and southeast of Needles, California, on the California–Arizona border. It is known for being a boating town as well as being home to the Old Trails Bridge, Old Trails Arch Bridge which used to be the old Route 66 bridge featured in the film ''The Grapes of Wrath (film), The Grapes of Wrath''. The crossings of the Colorado River at Topock, including the Old Trails Arch Bridge, are also featured prominently in the opening credits of the movie ''Easy Rider''. Topock Marina is located just off Interstate 40 in Arizon ...
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