The Piedra River (also known as El Rio De La Piedra Parada, Pedra, Rio, and Rio Piedre) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

in the

U.S. 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 ...

state of

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 ...

. It drains parts of Archuleta, Hinsdale, and

Mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

counties along a mainstem length of about . The river flows through a series of isolated box canyons, emptying into the San Juan River at

Navajo Lake Navajo Lake is a reservoir located in San Juan County and Rio Arriba County in northwestern New Mexico, in the southwestern United States. Portions of the reservoir extend into Archuleta County in southern Colorado. The lake is part of the ...

. Its name stems from the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

word, ''piedra'', meaning ''rock''.

Course

The Piedra River is formed by the confluence of its East Fork and Middle Fork, deep in the

San Juan Mountains The San Juan Mountains is a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The area is highly mineralized (the Colorado Mineral Belt) and figured in the gold and silver mining industry ...

. The Middle Fork, larger of the two, rises in a bowl-shaped valley in the

San Juan National Forest The San Juan National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering over 1,878,846 acres (2,935.7 sq mi, or 7,603.42 km²) in western Colorado. The forest occupies land in Archuleta, Conejos, Dolores, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mineral, Montezu ...

. It flows southwards, and forms the Piedra after a journey of . The East Fork starts at a small unnamed lake in the

Rio Grande National Forest Rio Grande National Forest is a 1.86 million-acre (7,530 km²) U.S. National Forest located in southwestern Colorado. The forest encompasses the San Luis Valley, which is the world's largest agricultural alpine valley, as well as one of the ...

and flows southwest for about . The Piedra flows through open meadows, then drops into a canyon, receiving O'Neal Creek from the left and Williams, Weimuche and Sand Creeks from the right. The river angles to the southwest and receives the First Fork Piedra River from the right, and after the confluence, flows more in a southerly direction. It receives Heffin and Yellowjacket Creeks, both from the right, and at the confluence with the latter, flows past the town of Piedra and crosses under

U.S. Highway 160 U.S. Route 160 (US 160) is a 1,465 mile (2,358 km) long east–west United States highway in the Midwestern and Western United States. The western terminus of the route is at US 89 five miles (8 km) west of Tuba City, Arizo ...

. Its canyon widens into a valley, and flowing south-southeast alongside a ridge, the river receives Devil Creek from the left and receives Stollsteimer Creek from the left at Stollsteimer. The river then angles southwest, now running alongside State Highway 151. It enters Navajo Reservoir near the town of Arboles, near the

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

state line. Its confluence with the San Juan River, inside Navajo State Park, is drowned under the waters of the reservoir.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Colorado Tributaries of the Colorado River in Colorado Rivers of Archuleta County, Colorado Rivers of Hinsdale County, Colorado Rivers of Mineral County, Colorado San Juan Mountains (Colorado)

Course

See also

References