The principal

tributaries 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 drainag ...

of 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 drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

are the Gila River, the San Juan River, the

Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada * Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...

, and the

Gunnison River The Gunnison River is located in western Colorado, United States and is one of the largest tributaries of the Colorado River. Description The river flows east to west and has a drainage area of according to the USGS. The drainage basin of ...

Tributary tree

The following is a tree demonstrating the points at which the major and minor

of the

branch off from the main river and from each other. *(Source-upstream) ** Fraser River ** Muddy Creek ** Blue River *** Snake River *** Tenmile Creek ** Piney River ** Eagle River *** Gore Creek **

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 ...

*** Fryingpan River *** Crystal River ** Plateau Creek **

***

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Quee ...

**** Slate River *** Taylor River *** Tomichi Creek **** Cochetopa Creek **** Quartz Creek ***

Lake Fork Gunnison River Lake Fork Gunnison River or (Lake Fork) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 18, 2011 tributary of the Gunnison River in Colorado. The river's source is Sloan Lake ...

**** Henson Creek ***

Uncompahgre River The Uncompahgre River is a tributary of the Gunnison River, approximately 75 mi (121 km) long, in southwestern Colorado in the United States. Lake Como at 12,215 ft (3723m) in northern San Juan County, in the Uncompahgre National ...

*** Smith Fork ***

North Fork Gunnison River The North Fork Gunnison River (locally known as the North Fork) is a tributary of the Gunnison River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 18, 2011 in southwestern ...

** Little Dolores River **

Dolores River The Dolores River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Colorado and Utah. The river drains a rugged and arid region of the Colorado Plateau west of the San Juan Mountains. Its name derives from the Sp ...

*** West Dolores River *** San Miguel River **

*** Big Sandy River *** Blacks Fork *** Henry's Fork ***

Sheep Creek Sheep Creek is a geographical place name. With variations, the name is given to hundreds of bodies of water, roads, canals, reservoirs and populated areas in the United States and other countries. It is the name of a tributary to Lockyear Creek in ...

*** Carter Creek *** Cart Creek *** Crouse Creek *** Vermillion Creek ***

Yampa River The Yampa River flows through northwestern Colorado in the United States. Rising in the Rocky Mountains, it is a tributary of the Green River (Colorado River), Green River and a major part of the Colorado River system. The Yampa is one of the f ...

**** Bear River **** Elk River ****

Little Snake River The Little Snake River is a tributary of the Yampa River, approximately long, in southwestern Wyoming and northwestern Colorado in the United States. It rises near the continental divide, in Routt National Forest in northern Routt County, C ...

*** Jones Hole Creek ***

Duchesne River The Duchesne River ( ), located in the Uintah Basin region of Utah in the western United States, is a tributary of the Green River. The watershed of the river covers the Northeastern corner of Utah. The Duchesne River is long,U.S. Geological S ...

*** White River *** Willow River ***

Price River The Price River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 30, 2020 southeastward flowing river in Carbon, Utah and Emery counties in eastern Utah. It is a tributary to ...

**** White River **** Range Creek ***

San Rafael River The San Rafael River is a tributary of the Green River, approximately long, in east central Utah, United States. The river flows across a sparsely populated arid region of the Colorado Plateau, and is known for the isolated, scenic gorge through ...

** Dark Canyon **

Dirty Devil River The Dirty Devil River is an tributary of the Colorado River, located in the U.S. state of Utah. It flows through southern Utah from the confluence of the Fremont River and Muddy Creek before emptying into the Colorado River at Lake Powell. Cour ...

*** Muddy Creek ***

Fremont River The Fremont River is a long river in southeastern Utah, United States that flows from the Johnson Valley Reservoir, which is located on the Wasatch Plateau near Fish Lake, southeast through Capitol Reef National Park to the Muddy Creek near Ha ...

Escalante River The Escalante River is a tributary of the Colorado River. It is formed by the confluence of Upper Valley and Birch Creeks near the town of Escalante in south-central Utah, and from there flows southeast for approximately before joining Lake P ...

** San Juan River *** East Fork San Juan River ***

West Fork San Juan River West Fork San Juan River is a tributary of the San Juan River in Minerala and Archuleta counties in Colorado, United States. The stream flows from a source near South River Peak in Mineral County to a confluence with the East Fork San Jua ...

**** Wolf Creek ***

Navajo River Navajo River ( apj, Lóolahó) is a tributary of the San Juan River. It flows from a source in the South San Juan Wilderness of Conejos County, Colorado southwest past Chromo, Colorado. The river dips into New Mexico, passing just north of Dul ...

*** Piedra River ***

Los Pinos River Los Pinos River is a tributary of the San Juan River in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The stream flows from a source near Weminuche Pass in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado to a confluence with the San Juan ...

***

Animas River Animas River (''On-e-mas''; es, Río de las Ánimas) is a river in the western United States, a tributary of the San Juan River (Colorado River), San Juan River, part of the Colorado River, Colorado River System. The Animas-La Plata Water Pro ...

****

Florida River Florida River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 21, 2011 tributary of the Animas River in La Plata County, Colorado. The river's source is Lillie Lake in the W ...

*** La Plata River ***

Chaco River Chaco River is a river tributary to the San Juan River in San Juan County, New Mexico. Its mouth lies at an elevation of 4,918 feet / 1,499 meters. Its source is located at an elevation of 6,050 feet / 1,844 meters at , its confluence with Chaco ...

*** Mancos River ***

Chinle Creek Chinle Creek is a tributary stream of the San Juan River in Apache County, Arizona and San Juan County, Utah. Its source is at , the confluence of Laguña Creek and the Chinle Wash arroyo. Its name is derived from the Navajo word ''ch'inili' ...

Paria River The Paria River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in southern Utah and northern Arizona in the United States. It drains a rugged and arid region northwest of the Colorado, flowing through roadless slot canyons along part ...

** Little Colorado River ***

Zuni River The Zuni (Zuñi) River is a tributary of the Little Colorado River in the southwestern United States. It has its origin in Cibola County, New Mexico, in the Zuñi Mountains at the Continental Divide. The river flows off the western slopes of the ...

**** Rio Nutria, tributary to the Zuni River **** Rio Pescado, tributary to the Zuni River ***

Puerco River The Puerco River or Rio Puerco is a tributary of the Little Colorado River in northwestern New Mexico and northeastern Arizona. It flows through arid terrain, including the Painted Desert. Name The Puerco River is sometimes called Rio Puerco ...

** Bright Angel Creek ** Crystal Creek (Arizona) ** Tapeats Creek *** Thunder River ** Deer Creek ** Kanab Creek **

Havasu Creek Havasu Creek is a stream in the U.S. state of Arizona associated with the Havasupai people. It is a tributary to the Colorado River, which it enters in the Grand Canyon. Stream course and features Havasu Creek is the second largest tributary ...

Diamond Creek Diamond Creek is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 23 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Nillumbik local government area. Diamond Creek recorded a population of 12,503 at the 20 ...

Virgin River The Virgin River is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. states of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. The river is about long.Calculated with Google Maps and Google Earth It was designated Utah's first wild and scenic river in 2009, during the ...

***

Meadow Valley Wash The Meadow Valley Wash is a southern Nevada stream draining the Meadow Watershed that is bordered on three sides by the Great Basin Divide. The wash's Lincoln County head point is in the Wilson Creek Range, and the wash includes two upper co ...

*** Muddy River **

Las Vegas Wash Las Vegas Wash is a 12-mile-long channel (an "arroyo" or "wash") which feeds most of the Las Vegas Valley's excess water into Lake Mead. The wash is sometimes called an ''urban river'', and it exists in its present capacity because of an urban po ...

Bill Williams River The Bill Williams River is a river in west-central Arizona where it, along with one of its tributaries, the Santa Maria River, form the boundary between Mohave County to the north and La Paz County to the south.''Arizona Atlas & Gazetteer,'' D ...

*** Santa Maria River *** Big Sandy River ** Gila River *** San Francisco River **** Tularosa River *** San Pedro River *** Santa Cruz River *** Salt River **** Black River **** Tonto Creek ****

Verde River The Verde River ( Yavapai: Haka'he:la) is a major tributary of the Salt River in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is about long and carries a mean flow of at its mouth. It is one of the largest perennial streams in Arizona. Description The ...

***** Oak Creek ***

Agua Fria River The Agua Fria River (Spanish for "cold water") is a long intermittent stream which flows generally south from east-northeast of Prescott in the U.S. state of Arizona. Prescott draws much of its municipal water supply from the upper Agua Fria w ...

***

Hassayampa River The Hassayampa River ( Yavapai: Hasaya:mvo or ʼHasayamcho:) is an intermittent river, the headwaters of which are just south of Prescott, Arizona, and flows mostly south towards Wickenburg, entering the Gila River near Hassayampa. Although the r ...

Hardy River The Hardy River ( es, Río Hardy) is a -long Mexican river formed by residual agricultural waters from the Mexicali Valley, and running into the Colorado River. The river is believed to have been an ancient channel of the Colorado, as well as the ...

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 Ca ...

-(Sea of Cortez)

References

River and Tributary Locations determined by examining maps available at USGS national atla

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Tributaries Of The Colorado River Colorado River

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 ...

Tributary tree

See also

References