Blue River (Colorado)
Encyclopedia
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
.
It rises in southern Summit County
Summit County, Colorado
Summit County is the 19th most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 23,538 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Breckenridge...
, on the western side of the continental divide
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 connected to the open sea...
in the Ten Mile Range
Tenmile Range
The Tenmile Range is a mountain range in U.S. state of Colorado. The range is an extension of the Mosquito Range which is part of the Rocky Mountains. The two ranges are effectively the same range. They are split only by the Continental Divide and name. The Tenmile Range is on the west side of...
, near Quandary Peak
Quandary Peak
Quandary Peak is a fourteener in the US state of Colorado and the highest peak in the Tenmile Range, a northern extension of the Mosquito Range. It is the 12th, 13th, or 14th highest peak in Colorado, depending on how it is ranked. It has nearly the same elevation as Castle Peak and Mount Evans...
. It flows north past Blue River
Blue River, Colorado
Blue River is a statutory town in Summit County, Colorado, United States. The population was 685 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Blue River is located at ....
and Breckenridge
Breckenridge, Colorado
Established in 1859, the historic town of Breckenridge is a home rule municipality that is the county seat of Summit County, Colorado, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the town had a population of 4,540. The town also has many part-time residents, as many people have vacation homes in the area...
, then through the Dillon Reservoir near Dillon
Dillon, Colorado
Dillon is a home rule municipality in Summit County, Colorado, United States. The population was 802 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dillon is located at ....
. North of Dillon it flows NNW along the eastern slope of the Gore Range
Gore Range
The Gore Range is a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of north central Colorado in the United States. The range runs for approximately 60 miles northwest-to-southeast, through western Grand and Summit counties, and eastern Routt and Eagle counties...
and joins the Colorado at Kremmling
Kremmling, Colorado
Kremmling is a Statutory Town in Grand County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,578 at the 2000 census. The town sits along the upper Colorado River in the lower arid section of Middle Park between Byers Canyon and Gore Canyon...
.
The Green Mountain Dam, 13 miles (20.9 km) upstream from Kremmling, forms the Green Mountain Reservoir
Green Mountain Reservoir
Green Mountain Reservoir lies at the northern end of Summit County, Colorado along the Blue River. Built between 1938 and 1942 as part of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, the reservoir and its dam store water that is diverted to the cities in the Front Range Urban Corridor...
, providing hydroelectric power and diversionary water for irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
, as part of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project
Colorado-Big Thompson project
The Colorado-Big Thompson Project is a water diversion project in Colorado designed to collect West Slope mountain water from the headwaters of the Colorado River and divert it to Colorado's Front Range and plains...
.
See also
- List of rivers of Colorado
- List of tributaries of the Colorado River