Gore Creek is a tributary of the
Eagle River, approximately long, in
Eagle County
Eagle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 55,731. The county seat is the Town of Eagle and the most populous community is Edwards. The county is named for the Eagle River.
Eagl ...
,
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 t ...
, United States,
Description
The river drains an area of 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 in ...
at the south end of the
Gore Range
The Gore Range (elevation approximately 12,000 ft) is a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of north central Colorado in the United States.
Geography
The range runs for approximately 60 miles (100 km) northwest-to-southeast, through ...
through Gore Valley. It rises on the
Eagle County
Eagle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 55,731. The county seat is the Town of Eagle and the most populous community is Edwards. The county is named for the Eagle River.
Eagl ...
-
Summit County border along the high crest of the Gore Range, in the
White River National Forest
White River National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest in northwest Colorado. It is named after the White River (Green River), White River that passes through its northern section. It is the most visited National Forest ...
, approximately north of
Vail Pass
Vail Pass is a mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado. The pass was named for Charles Vail, a highway engineer and director of the Colorado State Highway Department from 1930 to 1945.
Vail Pass lies on the boundary between E ...
, descending to the west through a narrow gorge, receiving Black Gore Creek from the south. Downstream of this confluence, it runs alongside the route of
U.S. Highway 6
U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War Grand Army of the Republic, veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast fr ...
(built in 1940) and
Interstate 70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...
. It flows through
Vail
Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the numer ...
and joins the Eagle River from the east, approximately west of Vail.
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed March 18, 2011
While the downstream portions of Gore Creek remain a Gold Medal Brown Trout fishery, the health of aquatic life in the creek has come into question.
Due to low counts of aquatic macroinvertebrates, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment placed Gore Creek on a state list of impaired waterways in 2011.
This raised the alarm in communities along the creek and a team of organizations including the Eagle River Watershed Council, Eagle River Water and Sanitation District and the Town of Vail have come together to restore Gore Creek.
These organizations are calling on citizens and visitors of the Gore Creek Watershed not to pour pollutants down storm sewers, to replace lawns and pavement with native plants and to follow all manufacturer-recommended guidelines when applying fertilizers or pesticides, especially on windy days or when rain is in the forecast. Efforts like these can go a long way toward keeping harmful pollutants out of the creek and helping revive important aquatic insect populations that trout and other wildlife depend on.
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 ...
*
List of tributaries of the Colorado River
The principal tributaries of the Colorado River of North America are the Gila River, the San Juan River, the Green River, and the Gunnison River.
Tributary tree
The following is a tree demonstrating the points at which the major and minor trib ...
References
External links
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Rivers of Eagle County, Colorado
Rivers of Colorado
Tributaries of the Colorado River in Colorado