20 Major Facts About The Colorado River: The Colorado River is known as Rio Colorado in Spanish. It is the 5th longest river in the United States. It is about 2,330 kilometers long. Here are the list of 20 major facts about the Colorado River.
20 Major Facts About The Colorado River
1. The Colorado River is one of the principal rivers in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico.
2. The Colorado River is the 5th longest river in the United States. It is about 2,330 km long.
3. The name ‘Colorado’ derives from the Spanish language for ‘colored reddish’ due to its heavy silt load.
4. The Colorado River originates at La Poudre Pass in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
5. The Colorado River flows through 7 U.S. states: Wyoming, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona.
6. It is estimated that the Colorado River is over 5 million years old.
7. The Grand Canyon is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. It was carved by the Colorado River over millions of years.
8. The Colorado River Basin consists of 246,000 square miles, which makes it the 7th largest drainage basin in North America.
9. The Colorado River is the lifeblood of the arid southwest, which provides water to over 40 million people in seven U.S. states and Mexico.
10. The Hoover Dam is one of the largest dams in the world. It was built on the Colorado River in the 1930s to provide hydroelectric power and water.
11. The major tributaries of the Colorado River are the Green River, Gunnison River, Virgin River, Gila River, Little River, and San Juan River.
12. The Colorado River also provides irrigation water to more than 5 million acres of land.
13. There are 11 national parks are located along the banks of the Colorado River.
14. The River of Law is the nickname of the Colorado River due to the high number of legal disagreements over its water.
15. The Colorado River was known as the Red River due to the particles of silt carried in its water.
16. The Glen Canyon Dam was built in 1963 over the Colorado River, which trapped the colored silt behind the dam and the Colorado River stopped looking red.
17. Between Mexico and Arizona, 17 miles of the international boundary are made up of the Colorado River.
18. The depth of the Colorado River varies from about 6 feet and, in some places, to over 100 feet.
19. Whitewater rafting is a very popular activity conducted on the Colorado River in the United States.
20. The Colorado River Compact (CRA) was signed in 1922 to allocate the river’s water among the seven U.S. states sharing its resources.
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