The San Rafael River is a tributary of 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 ...
, approximately long, in east central
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, United States.
The river flows across a sparsely populated arid region of the
Colorado Plateau, and is known for the isolated, scenic gorge through which it flows.
Description
The river rises in northwestern
Emery County
Emery County is a county in east-central Utah, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 10,976. Its county seat is Castle Dale, and the largest city is Huntington.
History Prehistory
Occupation of the San Rafael ...
, approximately southeast of
Castle Dale, by the confluence of Cottonwood, Huntington, and Ferron creeks, which provide its headwaters in the
Wasatch Plateau
The Wasatch Plateau is a plateau located southeast of the southernmost part of the Wasatch Range in central Utah. It is a part of the Colorado Plateau.
Geography
The plateau has an elevation of and includes an area of . Its highest point in the ...
region. It flows east-southeast along the north side of the
Coal Cliffs and the prominent
anticline
In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is the ...
called the
San Rafael Swell
The San Rafael Swell is a large geologic feature located in south-central Utah, United States about west of Green River. The San Rafael Swell, measuring approximately , consists of a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limesto ...
, passing north of Window Butte (Window Blind Peak) and through two narrow
slot canyon
A slot canyon is a long, narrow channel or drainageway with sheer rock walls that are typically eroded into either sandstone or other sedimentary rock. A slot canyon has depth-to-width ratios that typically exceed 10:1 over most of its length and ...
s in
Coconino Sandstone
Coconino Sandstone is a geologic formation named after its exposure in Coconino County, Arizona. This formation spreads across the Colorado Plateau province of the United States, including northern Arizona, northwest Colorado, Nevada, and Utah.
...
called the Upper and Lower Black Box. This area is known as the San Rafael Gorge, sometimes called the "Little Grand Canyon". (Actually, the "Little Grand Canyon" is a few miles upstream where the San Rafael passes between the Wedge on the north and Sid's Mountain and No Man's Mountain on the south). After passing through the
San Rafael Reef
The San Rafael Reef is a geologic feature located in Emery County in central Utah, part of the Colorado Plateau. Approximately 75 miles (120 km) long, it is the name given to the distinctive eastern edge of the San Rafael Swell. Composed pr ...
it enters the 15 miles (24 km) long
San Rafael Valley
The San Rafael Valley is a high intermontane grass valley in eastern Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The valley is bounded to the west by the Patagonia Mountains, to the north and northeast by the Canelo Hills and to the east by the Huachuca Mountain ...
, where it joins 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 ...
from the west, approximately south of the town of
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 ...
. The San Rafael is the last major tributary of the Green River before it joins 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 watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...
in
Canyonlands National Park.
Diversion tunnels at the headwaters of the river in the
Manti-La Sal National Forest provide
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...
water to
Sanpete County on the west side of the
Wasatch Plateau
The Wasatch Plateau is a plateau located southeast of the southernmost part of the Wasatch Range in central Utah. It is a part of the Colorado Plateau.
Geography
The plateau has an elevation of and includes an area of . Its highest point in the ...
.
See also
*
List of rivers of Utah
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of Utah in the United States, sorted by watershed.
Colorado River
The Colorado River is a major river in the Western United States, emptying into the Gulf of California. Rivers are listed upstream by ...
*
List of tributaries of the Colorado River
References
External links
The San Rafael Swell
{{authority control
Rivers of Utah
Tributaries of the Green River (Colorado River tributary)
Canyons and gorges of Utah
San Rafael Swell
Tributaries of the Colorado River in Utah