Tarryall Creek 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 long,
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
accessed March 25, 2011 in
Park County in central
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the 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 western edge of the ...
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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. It drains a rural portion of north and central
South Park
''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand ...
, an intermontane grassland 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 ...
. It rises in the high Rockies in several forks along the
Continental Divide
A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not c ...
in the
Pike National Forest southwest of
Boreas Pass. It descends to the southwest through a short canyon, emerging into South Park near
Como, Colorado
Como is an unincorporated community in Park County in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of zip code 80432 is 439, including surrounding subdivisions in a 15 mile radius. M ...
. It crosses
U.S. Highway 285 east of
Red Hill Pass northeast of
Fairplay, the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
of
Park County, then meanders towards the southeast, joining the South Platte from the east in the southeastern corner of South Park.
The creek was one of the most active locations for the prospecting of
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
during the
Colorado Gold Rush
The Pike's Peak Gold Rush (later known as the Colorado Gold Rush) was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 185 ...
in 1859. The "Tarryall diggings" and other nearby sites on the west side of
South Park
''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand ...
attracted thousands of prospectors over
Ute Pass Ute Pass may refer to:
* Ute Pass (Medicine Bow Mountains), a mountain pass in the Medicine Bow Mountains of Colorado, United States.
* Ute Pass (Park Range), a mountain pass on the Continental Divide of the Americas in the Park Range of Colorado ...
and
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 ...
, and the towns of
Tarryall and
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilto ...
, both now completely vanished, were soon founded along the creek. There are no towns on the upper creek today.
See also
*
List of rivers of Colorado
This is a list of streams in the U.S. State of Colorado.
__TOC__
Alphabetical list
The following alphabetical list includes many important streams that flow through the State of Colorado, including all 158 named rivers. Where available, t ...
References
Rivers of Colorado
Colorado Mining Boom
Rivers of Park County, Colorado
Tributaries of the Platte River
{{Colorado-river-stub