The Conejos River is a tributary of the
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...
, approximately long,
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed March 31, 2011 in south-central
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
in the United States. It drains a scenic area of the eastern
San Juan Mountains west of the
San Luis Valley.
Description
It rises from snowmelt along the
continental divide west of
Conejos Peak in western
Conejos County, approximately northeast of
Pagosa Springs. It flows briefly northeast, through
Platoro Reservoir, then southeast through the
Rio Grande National Forest, then east along the
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
border through a scenic canyon. It enters the southwestern corner of the San Luis Valley from the west near
Conejos and joins the Rio Grande from the west approximately 15 mi (24 km) southeast of
Alamosa. It is impounded at Platoro Reservoir for
flood
A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...
control and to manage
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...
in the San Luis Valley, as part of the
San Luis Valley Project of the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
The river is wide and shallow along much of its course. It descends steeply in several areas, including Pinnacle Canyon, a popular destination for
whitewater rafting.
Off-limits to white settlement during the
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...
years, the river was the site of early land grants to settlers from the government of
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
in the 1830s. The first settlement of 50 families along the river, in the
Guadalupe Grant in 1833, was destroyed in an attack by
Native Americans. José Jacques established the first white settlement on the river in 1851. The town of Conejos was founded in 1854 by
Lafayette Head, who later became the first lieutenant governor of Colorado.
See also
*
List of Colorado rivers
*
List of tributaries of the Rio Grande
References
External links
USGR: San Luis Valley Project
{{authority control
Tributaries of the Rio Grande
Rivers of Colorado
Rivers of Conejos County, Colorado
San Juan Mountains (Colorado)
San Luis Valley of Colorado