The North Fork Gunnison River (locally known as the North Fork) is a tributary of the Gunnison River, 33.5 miles (53.9 km) long,[4] in southwestern Colorado in the United States. It drains part of the southwestern flank of the Elk Mountains northeast of Delta.
It is formed in the mountains of northwestern Gunnison County by the confluence of Muddy Creek and Anthracite Creek. The confluence is located along State Highway 133 on the south side of McClure Pass. It descends to the southwest through a widening valley past Somerset, Paonia, and Hotchkiss. It joins the Gunnison in eastern Delta County downstream from the Black Canyon between Delta and Hotchkiss. The valley of the river, called the North Fork Valley, has a temperate climate that has historically been a center of fruit growing in southwestern Colorado. It is also a regional center of the coalmining industry, centered on the mining town of Somerset in the upper valley. Modern coal mining operations are highly visible along the upper valley walls. The creeks at the headwaters of the river pass through areas of highly erodible shale, resulting in high concentrations of sediment during springtime runoff.
north, fork, gunnison, river, locally, known, north, fork, tributary, gunnison, river, miles, long, southwestern, colorado, united, states, drains, part, southwestern, flank, mountains, northeast, delta, river, near, paonia, colorado, locationcountryunited, st. The North Fork Gunnison River locally known as the North Fork is a tributary of the Gunnison River 33 5 miles 53 9 km long 4 in southwestern Colorado in the United States It drains part of the southwestern flank of the Elk Mountains northeast of Delta North Fork Gunnison RiverThe river near Paonia Colorado LocationCountryUnited StatesStateColoradoPhysical characteristicsSourceRocky Mountains coordinates38 56 35 N 107 21 8 W 38 94306 N 107 35222 W 38 94306 107 35222 1 elevation6 470 ft 1 970 m 2 MouthGunnison River coordinates38 46 58 N 107 50 12 W 38 78278 N 107 83667 W 38 78278 107 83667 1 elevation5 096 ft 1 553 m 2 Basin size741 sq mi 1 920 km2 3 Discharge locationBelow Paonia 3 minimum4 4 cu ft s 0 12 m3 s average227 cu ft s 6 4 m3 s 3 maximum3 990 cu ft s 113 m3 s It is formed in the mountains of northwestern Gunnison County by the confluence of Muddy Creek and Anthracite Creek The confluence is located along State Highway 133 on the south side of McClure Pass It descends to the southwest through a widening valley past Somerset Paonia and Hotchkiss It joins the Gunnison in eastern Delta County downstream from the Black Canyon between Delta and Hotchkiss The valley of the river called the North Fork Valley has a temperate climate that has historically been a center of fruit growing in southwestern Colorado It is also a regional center of the coal mining industry centered on the mining town of Somerset in the upper valley Modern coal mining operations are highly visible along the upper valley walls The creeks at the headwaters of the river pass through areas of highly erodible shale resulting in high concentrations of sediment during springtime runoff See also EditList of rivers in Colorado List of tributaries of the Colorado RiverReferences Edit a b U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System North Fork Gunnison River USGS GNIS a b Google Earth elevation for GNIS coordinates a b c Water Data Report Colorado 2003 from Water Resources Data Colorado Water Year 2003 USGS U S Geological Survey National Hydrography Dataset high resolution flowline data The National Map accessed March 18 2011 This article related to a river in Colorado is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title North Fork Gunnison River amp oldid 955967490, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
