Smith Fork is a tributary of 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 ...

that flows in Gunnison and

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...

counties in western Colorado. The river is signed as "Smith Fork Creek" where it goes under

Colorado State Highway 92 State Highway 92 (SH 92) is a long state highway that runs between the small Colorado communities of Hotchkiss, Colorado, Hotchkiss and Sapinero, Colorado, Sapinero. SH 92's western terminus is at U.S. Route 50 in Colorado, US 50 (US&nb ...

Crawford, Colorado The Town of Crawford is a Statutory Town in Delta County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 403 at the 2020 United States Census. The surrounding mesas and valleys support a farming and ranching community. History Crawford was fo ...

. The river begins at the confluence of the North Smith Fork Gunnison River and South Smith Fork in the

West Elk Mountains The West Elk Mountains are a high mountain range in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Colorado. They lie primarily within the Gunnison National Forest, and part of the range is protected as the West Elk Wilderness. The range is primarily l ...

. Smith Fork joins the

in the

Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area The Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area is a National Conservation Area located in west-central Colorado near Montrose. It is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as part of the National Landscape Conservation System National ...

. East of Crawford, a small dam, called the Smith Fork Diversion Dam, diverts water from Smith Fork and carries it to

Crawford Reservoir Crawford Dam (National ID # CO00556) impounds water for Crawford Reservoir in Delta County, Colorado about a mile south of the town of Crawford. The earthen dam was completed in 1962 by the United States Bureau of Reclamation with a height of 162 ...

via the Smith Fork Feeder Canal.United States. Bureau of Reclamation
Smith Fork Project
The canal was built as part of the Smith Fork Project, one of the component projects of the

Colorado River Storage Project The Colorado River Storage Project is a United States Bureau of Reclamation project designed to oversee the development of the upper Colorado River basin. The project provides hydroelectric power, flood control and water storage for participati ...

. The river flows through a mountainous and hilly terrain, with the landmark

Needle Rock Needle Rock Natural Area is located at the western edge of the West Elk Mountains of Colorado. The surrounding terrain is characterized by laccolithic mountains flanked by precipitous cliffs, extensive talus aprons, forested mesas, canyons, and s ...

nearby.

References

{{authority control Gunnison River Rivers of Colorado Rivers of Gunnison County, Colorado Rivers of Delta County, Colorado Tributaries of the Colorado River in Colorado

See also

References