 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
| South Fork South Platte River [1] | |
|---|---|
The river near Hartsel, Colorado. | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | Park County, Colorado 39°07′42″N106°10′39″W / 39.12833°N 106.17750°W |
| River mouth | Confluence with Middle Fork South Platte River 8,776 ft (2,675 m) 39°00′40″N105°44′25″W / 39.01111°N 105.74028°W Coordinates: 39°00′40″N105°44′25″W / 39.01111°N 105.74028°W |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | South Platte—Platte— Missouri—Mississippi |
The South Fork South Platte River is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately 45 miles (72 km) long, [2] in central Colorado in the United States. It is located near the headwaters of the South Platte in Park County, Colorado and drains part of the intermontane grassland basin of South Park. It forms the South Platte by its confluence with the Middle Fork South Platte River in southern South Park. [3]
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West. Its drainage basin includes much of the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado; much of the populated region known as the Colorado Front Range and Eastern Plains; and a portion of southeastern Wyoming in the vicinity of the city of Cheyenne. It joins the North Platte River in western Nebraska to form the Platte, which then flows across Nebraska to the Missouri. The river serves as the principal source of water for eastern Colorado. In its valley along the foothills in Colorado, it has permitted agriculture in an area of the Colorado Piedmont and Great Plains that is otherwise arid.
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.
The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.
It rises on the eastern flank of the Mosquito Range, below Weston Pass north of Buffalo Peaks in the Pike National Forest. It descends through a short narrow gorge to the southeast, then turns east to emerge into the eastern side of South Park approximately 10 miles (16 km) south of the town of Fairplay. It turns south, skirting the base of the mountains and flowing along the eastern side of U.S. Highway 285, then turns east, winding in a course that roughly follows U.S. Highway 24. It joins the Middle Fork to form the main branch of the South Platte near the community of Hartsel.
The Mosquito Range is a high mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States. The peaks of the range form a ridge running north-south for approximately 40 miles (64 km) from southern Summit County on the north end, then along the boundary between Lake and Park counties. The ranges forms a high barrier separating the headwaters of the Arkansas River near Leadville from South Park and the headwaters of the South Platte River near Fairplay. The highest peak in the range is Mount Lincoln at an elevation of 14,286 ft. Other fourteeners in the range are Quandary Peak, Mount Bross (14,172 ft), Mount Democrat (14,148 ft), and Mount Sherman (14,036 ft).
The Pike National Forest is located in the Front Range of Colorado, United States, west of Colorado Springs including Pikes Peak. The forest encompasses 1,106,604 acres (4,478 km²) within Clear Creek, Teller, Park, Jefferson, Douglas and El Paso counties. The major rivers draining the forest are the South Platte and Fountain Creek. Rampart Reservoir, a large artificial body of water, is located within the forest.
Fairplay is the statutory town that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Park County, Colorado, United States. Fairplay is located in South Park at an elevation of 9,953 feet (3,034 m). The town is the fifth-highest incorporated place in the State of Colorado. The population was 679 at the U.S. Census 2010.
