Dolores River

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Dolores River, a tributary of the Colorado, is shown highlighted on a map of the western United States

The Dolores River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 250 mi (402 km) long, in the U.S. states of Colorado and Utah.

It rises in southwestern Colorado near Dolores Peak and Mt. Wilson in the San Miguel Mountains. It flows southwest, past the town of Dolores, where it turns, flowing north and northwest. It flows through the Dolores River Canyon before receiving the San Miguel River in Montrose County and crossing into Utah, where it joins the Colorado in Grand County near the Fisher Towers.

The river was explored and possibly named by Juan Maria Antonio Rivera during an 1765 expedition from Santa Fe.

The Dolores is navigable by small boats from the San Miguel River to its mouth with the Colorado. However the river is extensively used for irrigation and during low water years is wholly unnavigable.

[edit] See also

List of Colorado rivers

Colorado River system
Dams and aqueducts (see US Bureau of Reclamation)
Shadow Mountain Dam \| Granby Dam \| Glen Canyon Dam \| Hoover Dam \| Davis Dam \| Parker Dam \| Palo Verde Diversion Dam \| Imperial Dam \| Laguna Dam \| Morelos Dam \| Colorado River Aqueduct \| San Diego Aqueduct \| Central Arizona Project Aqueduct \| All-American Canal \| Coachella Canal \| Redwall Dam
Natural features
Colorado River \| Rocky Mountains \| Colorado River Basin \| Grand Lake \| Sonoran desert \| Mojave desert \| Imperial Valley \| Colorado Plateau \| Grand Canyon \| Glen Canyon \| Marble Canyon \| New River \| Paria Canyon \| Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez \| Salton Sea
Tributaries
Dirty Devil River \| Dolores River \| Escalante River \| Gila River \| Green River \| Gunnison River \| Kanab River \| Little Colorado River \| Paria River \| San Juan River \| Virgin River
Major reservoirs
Fontenelle Reservoir \| Flaming Gorge Reservoir \| Taylor Park Reservoir \| Navajo Reservoir\| Lake Powell \| Lake Mead \| Lake Mohave \| Lake Havasu
Dependent states
Arizona \| California \| Colorado \| Nevada \| New Mexico \| Utah (See: Colorado River Compact)
Designated areas
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area \| Lake Mead National Recreation Area