Colorado River:

Length: 2,334Km

Source: La Poudre Pass Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park

Mouth: Gulf of California

Elevation: 10,175 ft (3,101 m)

The Colorado River supplies water to over 25 million people and irrigates around 3.5 million acres of farmland

More water is exported from the Colorado River’s basin than any other river basin worldwide

The river is popular for all sorts of sports including rafting, canoeing, kayaking, jet skiing, fishing, tubing,
wakeboarding and many more

Upper Course

The upper course of the Colorado River is found in the Rocky Mountains. The river is originally formed by
snowmelt in the mountain area. In this course of its journey, the river can reach up to 370m wide and can be
30ft in depth. As the river reaches the Upper Gore Canyon, it drops significantly from its original height of
10,175ft above sea level.

Middle Course

As the Colorado reaches its middle course, it flows through the Grand Canyon in Nevada. At this stage, the
river can only reach up to 210m in width and is not as deep as the upper course. The river is still quite steep
in its gradient and eventually flows into Lake Mead on its way to its mouth. The river is also frequently
dammed and is used as an energy source for the state of Nevada, for example, the Hoover dam holds up
the river as it uses it as electricity in Nevada near Las Vegas.

Final Course

The Colorado’s gradient lessens as it reaches the mouth; it also flows through a large amount of flood plain
and often overflows its banks at this section. The river is very dry and is reduced to a stream as it
reaches the border with Mexico on its south easterly course. The river eventually reaches its
mouth where it is at its widest.
 Middle section of Grand Canyon

Incised meander