The San Luis Valley is a region in south-central Colorado with a small portion overlapping into New Mexico. The Rio Grande with headwaters in the San Juan Mountains about seven miles east of Silverton, Colorado flows through the San Luis Valley and then south into New Mexico. It contains 6 counties and portions of 3 others. The San Luis Valley was ceded to the United States by Mexico following the Mexican–American War. Hispanic settlers began moving north and settling in the valley after the United States made a treaty with the Utes and established a fort. Prior to the Mexican war the Spanish and Mexican governments had reserved the valley to the Utes, their allies. During the 19th century Anglo settlers settled in the valley and engaged in mining, ranching, and irrigated agriculture. Today the valley has a diverse Anglo and Hispanic population.
The Uncompahgre River is a tributary of the Gunnison River, approximately 75 mi (121 km) long, in southwestern Colorado in the United States. Lake Como at 12,215 ft (3723m) in northern San Juan County, in the Uncompahgre National Forest in the northwestern San Juan Mountains is the headwaters of the river. It flows northwest past Ouray, Ridgway, Montrose, and Olathe and joins the Gunnison at Confluence Park in Delta.
The Price River is a 137-mile-long (220 km) southeastward flowing river in Carbon, Utah and Emery counties in eastern Utah. It is tributary to the Green River, itself a tributary to the Colorado River.
The Cimarron River, flowing entirely in New Mexico, was also known as La Flecha or Semarone. Its headwaters are Moreno, Sixmile, and Cieneguilla creeks in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, which feed into Eagle Nest Dam. From the dam, it runs for 60 miles (97 km) to below the city of Springer, New Mexico in the Taylor Springs area, where it flows into the Canadian River, the southwesternmost major tributary flowing into the Mississippi River via the Arkansas River sub-basin.
Lake Marcel is a private reservoir and community in unincorporated Carnation, Lake Marcel-Stillwater, King County, Washington, United States, in the foothills of the Cascades.
Sangre de Cristo Pass, elevation 9,468-foot (2,886 m), is a mountain pass in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the U.S. State of Colorado. The pass is located immediately north of U.S. Highway 160 one half mile northwest of North La Veta Pass. The pass separates Costilla County from Huerfano County, the Rio Grande drainage basin from the Arkansas River basin, and the headwaters of Sangre de Cristo Creek from those of Oak Creek.
Trinchera Creek is a tributary of the Rio Grande in Costilla County, Colorado in the United States. It flows west from a source in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to a confluence with the Rio Grande.
John Martin Reservoir is a reservoir on the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado. Built and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, it is used for flood control, irrigation, and recreation. John Martin Reservoir State Park lies on its shore.
Sanchez Reservoir lies in far southcentral Colorado, west of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Costilla County. Its inflows include Ventero Creek and the Sanchez Canal, a diversion canal that takes water from Culebra Creek and two other creeks.
Mountain Home Reservoir is a reservoir and state wildlife area in Costilla County, Colorado, near Fort Garland. Frozen in winter, the reservoir lies at 2,483 meters elevation on the western slope of the Culebra Range of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in southern Colorado.
Costilla Creek is a tributary of the Rio Grande in Colorado and New Mexico.
Sangre de Cristo Creek is a stream in Costilla County, Colorado. It starts atop La Veta Pass in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The creek flows alongside Highway 160 as it descends from the top of the pass into the San Luis Valley.
DeWeese Reservoir is located in northern Custer County, Colorado between the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Wet Mountains. The reservoir is owned by the DeWeese-Dye Ditch and Reservoir Company, which uses the water it stores to irrigate agricultural crops around Lincoln Park and Brookside in Fremont County, Colorado.
Grape Creek is a tributary of the Arkansas River that flows through Custer and Fremont counties in South-Central Colorado. The creek drains much of the Wet Mountain Valley, located between the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Wet Mountains in Custer County.
The San Luis Hills are a group of small mountain ranges in Conejos and Costilla counties in the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado. The individual mountain ranges that make up the San Luis Hills include the Fairy Hills, the Brownie Hills, the Piñon Hills, and the South Piñon Hills. The San Luis Hills' highest point is Flat Top, elevation 9,206 feet
Terrace Reservoir is located in Conejos County, Colorado northwest of the town of Capulin. It is surrounded by the Rio Grande National Forest. The reservoir is owned by the Terrace Irrigation Company, which uses the water it stores to irrigate agricultural crops in the nearby San Luis Valley.
Lake Avery is a reservoir in Rio Blanco County, Colorado about 20 miles southeast of the town of Meeker. The reservoir is owned by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and its dam impounds Big Beaver Creek, a tributary of the White River. Lake Avery is also called Big Beaver Reservoir, but it is unclear whether the name has changed or whether the reservoir just has two names.
