Colorado River

Welcome, observant traveler, to a comprehensive exploration of the Colorado River. This is not merely a geographic feature; it is the absolute, defining lifeblood of the western United States. …

We begin our journey not with a roaring waterfall, but in a remarkably quiet, marshy meadow located at La Poudre Pass, high on the western side of Rocky Mountain National Park. Here, just kilometers west of the Continental…

Following the nascent river several miles down into the Kawuneeche Valley, we arrive at a wide, beautiful meadow bordering the water. At first glance, this is simply a pristine, quiet clearing in the Rocky Mountain wilderness. …

As we continue our descent, we arrive at a geological feature known locally as Little Yellowstone. The trail brings us to the edge of a steep, plunging ravine. …

Having descended from the high Rockies, the Colorado River now cuts a wide, muddy path through the spectacular red rock deserts of eastern Utah. We focus our attention on the stretch of river near Moab, an area that has become…

As the river flows south toward the Arizona border, its natural course is violently interrupted by the greatest engineering marvels—and perhaps the greatest environmental hubris—of the 20th century. We are now examining the…

Between the two failing reservoirs, the Colorado River executes its ultimate masterpiece: the Grand Canyon. Running for over 270 miles, plunging a mile deep into the earth, this canyon is the supreme, irrefutable evidence of the…

As we conclude our comprehensive journey down the Colorado River—from its quiet, bubbling source in the alpine meadows of the Rocky Mountains to its dry, exhausted terminus in the Mexican desert—we are left with a profound,…