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Crystal River [1] | |
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![]() Crystal River at Redstone, with Chair Mountain in distance | |
![]() Map of Roaring Fork drainage basin, including the Crystal River | |
Location | |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
- location | Confluence of North Fork Crystal River and South Fork Crystal River |
- coordinates | 39°03′32″N107°06′15″W / 39.05889°N 107.10417°W |
Mouth | |
- location | Confluence with Roaring Fork River |
- coordinates | 39°25′07″N107°14′10″W / 39.41861°N 107.23611°W Coordinates: 39°25′07″N107°14′10″W / 39.41861°N 107.23611°W |
- elevation | 6,060 ft (1,850 m) |
Basin features | |
Progression | Roaring Fork—Colorado |
The Crystal River is a tributary of the Roaring Fork River, approximately 40 mi (64 km) long, in western Colorado in the United States. It drains a glacial valley, called the Coal Basin, south of Carbondale which was historically known as a center of coal mining in southwestern Colorado. It rises in northern Gunnison County in the Elk Mountains on the north side of Schofield Pass, passing through the ghost town of Crystal City, still inhabited by a few summer residents. It then flows north past Marble, then into Pitkin County past Redstone. It joins the Roaring Fork below Carbondale. State Highway 133 follows the river along much of its route north of Marble.
Roaring Fork River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 70 miles (110 km) long, in west central Colorado in the United States. The river drains a populated and economically vital area of the Colorado Western Slope called the Roaring Fork Valley or Roaring Fork Watershed, which includes the resort city of Aspen and the resorts of Aspen/Snowmass.
Colorado is a state of the Western United States encompassing most of the southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. It is the 8th most extensive and 21st most populous U.S. state. The estimated population of Colorado was 5,695,564 on July 1, 2018, an increase of 13.25% since the 2010 United States Census.
A glacier is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight; it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. Glaciers slowly deform and flow due to stresses induced by their weight, creating crevasses, seracs, and other distinguishing features. They also abrade rock and debris from their substrate to create landforms such as cirques and moraines. Glaciers form only on land and are distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface of bodies of water.
From Crystal City to Marble the river flows through the Crystal River Canyon, a narrow valley with numerous snowslide runs, rockfalls, and other hazardous terrain. Although it is locally known as a fishing and hiking attraction the unpaved and largely un-maintained mining road, designated Gunnison County Road 3 on Mapquest, is nearly impassable to vehicles other than ATVs and off-road motorcycles. A four-wheel-drive jeep tour is operated out of Marble, but only operates during the summer when the road is not blocked by snow, mud, or rock slides.
The Town of Carbondale is a Home Rule Municipality in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 6427 at the 2010 United States Census. The town is located in the Roaring Fork Valley, downstream from Aspen and upstream from the mouth of the Roaring Fork River at Glenwood Springs. The town proper sits on the south bank of the river, at the confluence of the Crystal River. Carbondale's horizon is dominated by the 12,953 ft tall Mount Sopris several miles to the south of town.
The Gunnison River is a tributary of the Colorado River, 164 miles (264 km) long, in the Southwestern state of Colorado. It is the largest tributary of the Colorado River in Colorado, with a mean flow of 2,570 cu ft/s (73 m3/s).
The Lackawanna River is a 40.8-mile-long (65.7 km) tributary of the Susquehanna River in northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. It flows through a region of the northern Pocono Mountains that was once a center of anthracite coal mining in the United States. It starts in north Wayne County, Pennsylvania and ends in east Luzerne County, Pennsylvania in Duryea, Pennsylvania. The lower reaches of the river flow through the urban areas of Scranton, which grew around its banks in the 19th century as an industrial center. Its name comes from a Lenni Lenape word meaning "stream that forks".
The North Fork Gunnison River is a tributary of the Gunnison River, 33.5 miles (53.9 km) long, in southwestern Colorado in the United States. It drains part of the southwestern flank of the Elk Mountains northeast of Delta.
McClure Pass is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of western Colorado in the United States.
The Elk Mountains are a high, rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of west-central Colorado in the United States. The mountains sit on the western side of the Continental Divide, largely in southern Pitkin and northern Gunnison counties, in the area southwest of Aspen, south of the Roaring Fork River valley, and east of the Crystal River. The range sits west of the Sawatch Range and northeast of the West Elk Mountains. Much of the range is located within the White River National Forest and the Gunnison National Forest, as well as the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness and Raggeds Wilderness. The Elk Mountains rise nearly 9,000 ft. above the Roaring Fork Valley to the north.
Mount Sopris is a twin-summit mountain in the northwestern Elk Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 12,965-foot (3,952 m) mountain is located in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of White River National Forest, 6.6 miles (10.7 km) north by northeast of the community of Redstone in Pitkin County, Colorado, United States.
The Roaring Fork Valley is a geographical region in western Colorado in the United States. The Roaring Fork Valley is one of the most affluent regions in Colorado and the U.S. as well as one of the most populous and economically vital areas of the Colorado Western Slope. The Valley is defined by the valley of the Roaring Fork River and its tributaries, including the Crystal and Fryingpan River. It includes the communities of Aspen, Snowmass Village, Basalt, Carbondale, and Glenwood Springs. Mount Sopris and the Roaring Fork River serve as symbols of the Roaring Fork Valley.
State Highway 82 is an 85.3-mile-long (137.3 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Colorado. Its western half provides the principal transportation artery of the Roaring Fork Valley on the Colorado Western Slope, beginning at Interstate 70 (I-70) and U.S. Highway 6 in Glenwood Springs southeast past Carbondale, Basalt and Aspen. From there it continues up the valley to cross the Continental Divide at Independence Pass. On the Eastern Slope, it follows Lake Creek past some of Colorado's highest mountains to Twin Lakes Reservoir, where it ends at US 24 south of Leadville.
Crystal is a ghost town on the upper Crystal River in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. It is located in the Elk Mountains along a four-wheel-drive road 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Marble and 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Crested Butte. Crystal was a mining camp established in 1881 and after several decades of robust existence, was all but abandoned by 1917. Many buildings still stand in Crystal, but its few residents live there only in the summer.
Roaring Fork Conservancy is the watershed conservation organization for the Roaring Fork Watershed in west central Colorado, which operates to raise public awareness of the protection of the Roaring Fork Watershed. Roaring Fork Conservancy programs include water quality monitoring, river and water research, land and water conservation, river stewardship, and river and water education for students and adults. Roaring Fork Conservancy works collaboratively with local citizens, governments, agencies and partner organizations to protect rivers and streams of the Roaring Fork Watershed.
Cattle Creek is a census-designated place (CDP) in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 641.
North Fork Crystal River is a tributary of the Crystal RIver in Gunnison County, Colorado. The stream flows from a source in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness to a confluence with the South Fork Crystal River in the White River National Forest that forms the Crystal River. Class VI rapids not usually run, do not attempt to run at peak or high flows. Short but very continuous whitewater.
South Fork Crystal River is a tributary of the Crystal River in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. The stream's source is the confluence of Rock Creek and the East Fork in the White River National Forest. It flows through Crystal Canyon to a confluence with the North Fork Crystal River that forms the Crystal River.
East Fork South Fork Crystal River is a tributary of the South Fork Crystal River in Gunnison County, Colorado. The stream's source is on the west side of West Maroon Peak in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. It flows west to a confluence with Rock Creek in the White River National Forest that forms the South Fork Crystal River.
Coal Brook is a tributary of the Lackawanna River in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 2.2 miles (3.5 km) long and flows through Fell Township and Carbondale. The watershed of the stream has an area of 1.93 square miles (5.0 km2). The stream experiences flow loss and is impaired by flow alterations and metals. Most of its length is heavily impacted by past mining and the lower reaches are in an underground culvert. The Coal Brook Colliery was historically in the stream's watershed. Coal Brook is a first-order stream and is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery.
Smith Fork is a tributary of the Gunnison River that flows in Gunnison and Delta counties in western Colorado. The river is signed as "Smith Fork Creek" where it goes under Colorado State Highway 92 in Crawford, Colorado.
Henson Creek is a stream in Hinsdale County, Colorado, United States. It rises near Sunshine Mountain in the San Juan Mountains. It merges with Lake Fork Gunnison River in the town of Lake City, Colorado.
Neal, Roger (2002). Crystal... What Really Happened. Crystal Tale Books. ISBN 1-893270-12-2.
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.