Huerfano River is a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...
in
Pueblo
In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
and
Huerfano 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.
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed March 31, 2011
Description
The river flows from a source on
Blanca Peak
Blanca Peak (Navajo: ) is the fourth highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The ultra-prominent peak is the highest summit of the Sierra Blanca Massif, the Sangre de Cristo Range, and the Sangre ...
in the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
)
, country= United States
, subdivision1_type= States
, subdivision1=
, parent= Rocky Mountains
, geology=
, orogeny=
, area_mi2= 17193
, range_coordinates=
, length_mi= 242
, length_orientation= north-south
, width_mi= 120
, w ...
of
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 ...
. It joins the Arkansas in
Pueblo County
Pueblo County ( or ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,162. The county seat is Pueblo. The county was named for the historic city of Pueblo which took its name from the Spanish lan ...
just south of the town of
Boone. One major tributary is the
Cucharas River
Cucharas River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 31, 2011 tributary of the Huerfano River that flows from a source in Huerfano County, Colorado, southwest of ...
.
The Huerfano River was named after the nearby
Huerfano Butte
Huerfano Butte (; ) is a volcanic plug or hypabyssal plug located north of Walsenburg in Huerfano County, Colorado, United States. Named ''Huérfano'' (English: orphan) by early Spanish explorers, it rises above the south side of the Huerfano ...
. Huerfano is derived from a Spanish name meaning "orphan", so named from the butte's remote location.
See also
*
List of rivers of Colorado
This is a list of streams in the U.S. State of Colorado.
__TOC__
Alphabetical list
The following alphabetical list includes many important streams that flow through the State of Colorado, including all 158 named rivers. Where available, t ...
References
External links
Rivers of Colorado
Tributaries of the Arkansas River
Rivers of Huerfano County, Colorado
Rivers of Pueblo County, Colorado
{{Colorado-river-stub