The Fryingpan River is a tributary of the

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 ...

, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed March 18, 2011 in

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

and Pitkin counties in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, United States.

History

The reason for the unusual name of the river is that when a group of trappers were attacked by a band of Ute Native Americans, only two men survived, one of whom was injured. Leaving his wounded friend in a cave close by, the last man left to summon help, but not before hanging a

frying pan A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab han ...

in a tree so that he could find the cave again on his return.

Geography

It rises in northeastern

Pitkin County 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 sev ...

, in the

White River National Forest White River National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest in northwest Colorado. It is named after the White River (Green River), White River that passes through its northern section. It is the most visited National Forest ...

in the Sawatch Mountains along the western side of the

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 ...

. It flows westward along the county line between Pitkin and

Eagle County Eagle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 55,731. The county seat is the Town of Eagle and the most populous community is Edwards. The county is named for the Eagle River. Eagl ...

. Below Meredith, it is dammed to form the Ruedi Reservoir. It joins the Roaring Fork below

Basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

. A portion of the river's water is diverted to the east side of the continental divide for irrigation and drinking water via the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project.

References

External links

Rivers of Eagle County, Colorado Rivers of Pitkin County, Colorado Rivers of Colorado Roaring Fork Valley Tributaries of the Colorado River in Colorado {{Colorado-river-stub

History

Geography

See also

References

External links