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<br />~ <br />0) <br /> <br />i..... <br /> <br />C\l <br />C. <br />o <br /> <br />COLORADO RIVER <br /> <br />The Colorado River is one of rhe major rivers of the United States and the largest river in <br />the Southwest. Its main stream flows for 1,700 miles within the United States and 50 miles <br />in Mexico, where it empties into the Gulf of California. With its tributaries, it flows through <br />or forms the boundaries of seven states of the Union, namely, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, <br />New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and California. <br /> <br />TRIBUTARIES <br /> <br />Largest of the tributaries of the Colorado River is the Green River, which flows through <br />Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. Another principal tributary is the San Juan, which drains <br />mountain slopes and plateaus in Colorado and New Mexico. And in the upper reaches of <br />the river's system there are the Gunnison, the Yampa, Little Colorado, the White, Duchesne, <br />Price, and San Rafael rivers. Below the Grand Canyon, the Virgin River joins the Colorado, <br />and still further to the south are the Williams and Gila rivers. <br /> <br />BASIN AREA <br /> <br />The basin of the Colorado River covers one-twelfth of the entire land area of continental <br />United States. It has a total area of 252,000 square miles, with 250,000 square miles within <br />the United States and 2,000 square miles within the Republic of Mexico. <br /> <br />The river rises in the snowcapped western slopes of the Rocky Mountains. In these lofty <br />mountain areas there are hundreds of peaks reaching up more than 13,000 feet, and many <br />exceeding 14,000 feet in elevation. After rushing down the slopes of countless mountain <br />ridges, the river enters a series of deep canyons. It travels a good part of its length in gorges <br />and chasms cut hundreds and sometimes thousands of feet below the adjacent mesas and <br />plateaus. Most famous of these canyons is the spectacular Grand Canyon of the Colorado. <br />Here the river has carved out a channel more than a mile deep. Guide books of world travelers <br />list it as one of the great wonders of the world. <br /> <br />In the lower 200 miles of its length the river passes down through relatively flat mesas <br />and valleys. It is the only river with tributaries entirely within the United States which <br />travels for the greater parr of its course through desert country. It is a vital water supply <br />source for the states within its basin, and is the only water source for large areas in Nevada, <br />Arizona, and California. <br /> <br />[5] <br />