|
The
Colorado River
Facts
|
Country
|
USA
|
|
States
it flows through
|
Colorado,
Utah and Arizona
|
|
Length
|
2320
kilometres
|
|
Number
of tributaries
|
About
5
|
|
Source
|
Rocky
Mountains
|
|
Mouth
|
Gulf
of California
|
Location
The
source of the Colorado
river is high in the Rocky mountains. Melting snow from glaciers
keeps the river flowing across the desert areas lower down in its course.
Half way down the Colorado river, it enters many
gorges. The most famous gorge it enters is the Grand Canyon (2 kilometres
deep and 29 kilometres wide). The Colorado river has also created some
spectacular meanders in
these gorges, the most famous one being Horseshoe Bend. The Colorado
river travels mainly through a desert landscape when it leaves the Grand
Canyon. Its mouth is in
the Gulf of California. The river is sometimes a red colour and this
is made by the red colour of the sediment which it erodes.
Dams
across the Colorado River
The
Colorado river used to flood occasionally and other years it would dry
up completely. The American government built several dams across the
river so that they could control its flow better and stop it from flooding.
The Boulder Dam and the Hoover Dam are two dams built across the river.
These dams also make hydroelectricity.
The Hoover Dam
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