The North Fork Cache la Poudre River (locally called the North Fork) is a tributary of the Cache la Poudre River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed March 25, 2011 in north central Colorado in the United States. It drains a mountainous area of north central

Larimer County Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 359,066. The county seat and most populous city is Fort Collins. The county was named for William Larimer, Jr., the founder of Denver. ...

northwest of Fort Collins on the western side of the

Laramie Foothills Laramie is derived from a French surname ''LaRamie'' and often refers to Laramie, Wyoming, or one of the places named after it. Places *Laramie (CTA Blue Line station), a former station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system *Laramie (CTA ...

. It rises in remote northwestern Larimer County in the foothills of the

Roosevelt National Forest The Roosevelt National Forest is a National Forest located in north central Colorado. It is contiguous with the Colorado State Forest as well as the Arapaho National Forest and the Routt National Forest. The forest is administered jointly with ...

east of the

Medicine Bow Range The Medicine Bow Mountains are a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains that extend from northern Colorado into southern Wyoming. The northern extent of this range is the sub-range the Snowy Range. From the northern end of Colorado's Never Summer ...

. It flows generally east, passing south of Virginia Dale, where it is impounded by the Halligan Reservoir. It turns roughly south, flowing past Livermore and joining the main branch of the Poudre from the north near the mouth of the Poudre Canyon between Poudre Park and Teds Place. The valley of the North Fork was historically used a trail route between the Colorado Piedmont and the

Laramie Plains The Laramie Plains is an arid highland at an elevation of approx. in south central Wyoming in the United States. The plains extend along the upper basin of the Laramie River on the east side of the Medicine Bow Range. The city of Laramie is the ...

, including the Cherokee Trail and the

Overland Trail The Overland Trail (also known as the Overland Stage Line) was a stagecoach and wagon trail in the American West during the 19th century. While portions of the route had been used by explorers and trappers since the 1820s, the Overland Trail w ...

. The valley of the North Fork later became the route of the Union Pacific Railroad, and later of

U.S. Highway 287 U.S. Route 287 (US 287) is a north–south (physically northwest–southeast) United States highway. At long, it is the second longest three-digit U.S. Route, behind US 281. It serves as the major truck route between Fort Worth and Ama ...

between Fort Collins and Laramie, Wyoming. Communities in the valley of the North Fork include Livermore.

References

Rivers of Larimer County, Colorado Rivers of Colorado Tributaries of the Platte River {{Colorado-river-stub

See also

References