The North Fork South Platte River is a tributary of the

South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/ Mountain West. It ...

, approximately 50 miles (80 km) long, in central

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, 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 wes ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The river is located near the headwaters of the South Platte in the

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 ...

southwest of

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, draining a rugged area of the

Front Range The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountered ...

just south of the basin of Clear Creek. It rises at the continental divide near

Webster Pass (Colorado) Webster Pass, elevation , is a mountain pass that crosses the Continental Divide in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado in the United States. Originally known as Handcart Pass, the name changed in the 1870s after the Webster brothe ...

in northwestern Park County, flows through a canyon to the southeast, and is joined by Geneva Creek at the town of

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

. Downstream from Grant it is followed by U.S. Highway 285 until Bailey, where it cuts through a remote section of the foothills. It joins the South Platte from the west at the lower end of the

Platte Canyon The Platte Canyon is a deep, narrow, scenic gorge on the South Platte River in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The canyon is southwest of Denver on the border between Jefferson and Douglas counties. The canyon is at the entrance to the mountai ...

in the mountains approximately 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Denver. The lower part of the river is flanked by several small mountain communities, including Buffalo Creek and Foxton, in the extended geographic region of the Platte Canyon. The basin of the river is separated from South Park to the south by

Kenosha Pass Kenosha Pass, elevation , is a high mountain pass located in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States. The pass is located in the Rocky Mountains southwest of Denver, Colorado, just northeast of the town of Fairplay, Colora ...

. The lower 10 miles (16 km) of the river form part of the boundary between

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

and

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

counties.

References

Rivers of Colorado Tributaries of the Platte River Rivers of Park County, Colorado Rivers of Jefferson County, Colorado Rivers of Douglas County, Colorado {{Colorado-river-stub

See also

References