77-668: The functional Government High Line Canal , also known as the Grand Valley Project, runs along the settled northern edge of the Grand Valley near Grand Junction , Colorado . The canal was built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and is owned by the federal government, through authorization of the 1902 Reclamation Act. The Bureau of Reclamation is the branch of the federal government charged with constructing large irrigation projects, like dams and canals, that made western settlement possible. The Government Highline Canal
154-516: A Fox (Channel 4) affiliate station under the call sign of KFQX that receives news from the Denver FOX affiliate, KDVR (Channel 31) at 9 pm. KLML (Channel 20) broadcasts Cozi TV programming. KRMJ (Channel 18) is the local PBS affiliate, part of the statewide Rocky Mountain PBS network. Grand Junction Regional Airport (formerly Walker Field Airport) serves as the major airport in the area. It
231-596: A mountain biking destination, with many bikers coming from the Front Range of Colorado, the Salt Lake City area , and as far away as California to enjoy the area's abundant single-track trails. Two prominent trails are the Tabeguache and Kokopelli trails , the latter running from near Loma to Moab, Utah . Fruita, Colorado , with its 18-Road trail system, is within 10 miles of the city and has become
308-624: A Masters in Business Administration, Educational Leadership, and ESOL. The university also operates CMU Tech , a community college offering associates degrees and professional certificates. Also located in Grand Junction is IntelliTec College , a private for-profit technical college offering professional certificates. The Grand Junction radio market includes all of Mesa County, Colorado . Six AM radio stations and more than 25 FM stations are licensed to broadcast from
385-563: A calendar day, though the median is 6.3 inches (16.0 cm), and moreover, snow cover is intermittent. Snow is greatest in December and January. Spring warming is gradual but quickens when nearing June; the average last freeze date is April 25. Summer is hot and dry, with a July mean temperature of 78.2 °F (25.7 °C). Grand Junction averages 68 days a year with temperatures at 90 °F (32 °C) or above, and an average 8 days attaining 100 °F (38 °C) or more. Autumn cooling
462-570: A combination of abundant sunshine and irrigation from a system of canals that divert water from the Colorado River. Attempts were made to establish sugar beet farming and beet sugar production. The Grand Valley Sugar Company established a campaign in 1893, sending three train carloads to the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company . Several tariffs and subsidies to domestic sugar were established in the 1890s, which led to uncertainty in
539-405: A household in the city was $ 33,152, and the median income for a family was $ 43,851. Males had a median income of $ 31,685 versus $ 22,804 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 19,692. About 7.5% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line , including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over. From the time settlers arrived in the 1880s until
616-690: A large area of high desert lands in Western Colorado. Winters are cold and dry, with a January mean temperature of 27.4 °F (−2.6 °C). Due to its location west of the Rockies, Grand Junction does not receive as much influence from the Chinook winds as locations in Colorado east of the Front Range , yet it does receive protection from the Arctic air masses that can settle to the east of
693-595: A larger deposit of oil shale in the Green River formation. The Equity Oil Company currently has 17 wells in declining production of oil near Ashley Field and is looking to inject carbon dioxide into the Weber reservoir to increase the rate of oil flow through their pipelines. At the time of its discovery (2005), the Green River Formation was said to have the world's largest fossil fuel deposits in
770-635: A major attraction. According to the city's 2023 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report , Grand Junction's top employers are: Grand Junction's Colorado National Monument was home to a stage in the Coors Classic bicycle race known as "The Tour of the Moon" due to the Monument's unique landscape. Since 1958, the JUCO World Series has been played at Suplizio Field . The city also has
847-418: A major mountain biking destination. The Mesa Valley School District No. 51 provides comprehensive K–12 public education to the Grand Junction area. School District 51 operates five high schools: In addition, the district operates numerous middle, elementary, and other types of schools, including East Middle School, Redlands Middle School, and West Middle School. District 51 partners with CMU Tech to operate
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#1732773229375924-557: A panic caused by the Meeker Massacre in Colorado. Most of the land in the valley of the river today is owned and controlled by the federal government. Private holdings are largely limited to bottoms. Until the 1940s, the valley's economy was based largely on ranching. Tourism has emerged as the dominant industry in the region in the last several decades. A proposed nuclear power plant, the Blue Castle Project ,
1001-739: A professional Minor League Baseball team, the Grand Junction Jackalopes , who play in the Pioneer Baseball League . The Jackalopes were formerly known as the Grand Junction Rockies and were a minor league affiliate of the Colorado Rockies , but became independent in 2020. Both Suplizio Field and Stocker Stadium also host Colorado Mesa University as well as School District 51 sporting events. The Grand Junction area has developed as
1078-499: A storied past with gunfighters, miners, and early settlers of the American Southwest. Prior to its incorporation as the city of Grand Junction, the community was known as Ute , and was also briefly called West Denver . The narrow gauge Denver and Rio Grande Railroad reached Grand Junction from the southeast, from Pueblo via Gunnison in 1882, followed in 1890 by the standard gauge Rio Grande Junction Railway from
1155-472: A vocational school, owned and operated by Colorado Mesa University. CMU Tech was formerly named Western Colorado Community College. Colorado Mesa University , a public university, serves as the primary provider of higher education on the Western Slope from its campus in central Grand Junction. This campus has an average enrollment of just under 10,000 students and offers a variety of degrees, including
1232-460: A wintering ground for American trappers in the next decades, with trading posts established at the mouth of the White near Whiterocks, Utah , and Browns Park . The Upper Green River Rendezvous Site near Pinedale, Wyoming was a popular location for annual mountain man rendezvous during the 1820s and 1830s, with as many as 450 to 500 trappers attending during its heyday in the 1830s. The region
1309-673: Is along the Colorado River , at its confluence with the Gunnison River , which comes in from the south. "Grand" refers to the historical Grand River, renamed the Upper Colorado River in 1921. "Junction" refers to the confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison rivers. Grand Junction has been nicknamed "River City". It is near the midpoint of a 30-mile (48 km) arcing valley, known as the Grand Valley ; since
1386-479: Is also a prominent college town, home to Colorado Mesa University . Grand Junction is the principal city of the Grand Junction metropolitan area , which had over 150,000 residents in 2020. The city is located in the heart of the Grand Valley , a large Colorado River valley stretching over 30 miles east-to-west and 5 miles north-to-south. This valley is the most densely populated area in Colorado outside of
1463-650: Is joined by the Duchesne River , and three miles (5 km) farther downstream by the White River . Ten miles farther downstream, it is joined by the Willow River . South of the plateau, it is joined by Nine Mile Creek , then enters the Roan Cliffs where it flows south through the back-to-back Desolation and Gray canyons, with a combined length of 120 mi (192 km). In Gray Canyon, it
1540-585: Is joined by the Price River . South of the canyon, it passes the town of Green River, Utah and is joined by the San Rafael River in southern Emery County . In eastern Wayne County it meanders through Canyonlands National Park , where it joins Colorado. The Flaming Gorge Dam in Utah is a significant regional source of water for irrigation and mining, as well as for hydroelectric power. Begun in
1617-557: Is navigable by small craft throughout its course and by large motorboats upstream to Flaming Gorge Dam. Near the areas where the Oregon Trail crosses the river, it is 400 to 500 feet (120 to 150 m) wide and averages about 20 feet (6.1 m) deep at normal flow. Archaeological evidence indicates that the tributary canyons and sheltered areas in the river valley were home to the Fremont Culture , which flourished from
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#17327732293751694-767: Is now known as Sevier Lake . Later cartographers extended the error, representing the Buenaventura River as flowing into the Pacific Ocean . At least one charted the Buenaventura as draining the Great Salt Lake . Later, Spanish and Mexican explorers adopted the name Rio Verde, meaning "Green River" in Spanish . Exactly when the Spanish started using this name and why is unknown. Explanations of
1771-549: Is provided by Union Pacific , with BNSF trackage rights . Amtrak , the national passenger rail system, provides service to Grand Junction Station , operating its California Zephyr daily on the UP trackage in both directions between Chicago and Emeryville, California , across the bay from San Francisco . Bustang , Colorado's state-run bus system, provides intercity bus service to the city. There are two bus lines that include Grand Junction. The West line connects to Denver, while
1848-405: Is rapid, with the average first freeze date being October 11. The area receives little precipitation year-round, averaging 9.05 inches (229.9 mm), with no real seasonal spike. Sunshine hours are abundant, even in winter, and total just over 3,200 hours per year, or 73% of the possible total. Grand Junction is the principal city of the Grand Junction, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of
1925-497: Is set to begin construction near Green River in 2023. The plant will use 53,500 acre-feet (66,000,000 m ) of water annually from the Green River once both reactors are commissioned. The La Barge oil field was discovered in 1924. Oil was produced from Tertiary sandstones ( Wasatch Formation and Green River Formation ), within an anticline 600 to 1200 feet deep. The Big Piney -La Barge complex has produced gas since 1956 and oil since 1960. Cumulative production by 1976
2002-872: Is the largest airport in western Colorado, and the third-largest in the state, behind Denver International Airport and the Colorado Springs Airport . As of 2024, the Grand Junction Regional Airport offers direct flights to Denver , Dallas–Fort Worth , Las Vegas , Los Angeles , Phoenix , San Francisco , and Santa Ana , as well as one-stop flights to Provo, Utah . In January 2025, the airport will begin offering one-stop flights to Hartford, Connecticut . Efforts are also underway to re-establish direct flights to Salt Lake City ; these flights were originally offered until staffing shortages caused Delta Airlines to cease service to Grand Junction in 2022. Railroad Freight service
2079-540: The 2020 United States Census , making it the most populous city in western Colorado and the 17th most populous Colorado municipality overall. As western Colorado's largest city, Grand Junction is the economic and cultural center of the Western Slope region. The city is also a transportation hub, as it is situated at the convergence of Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 50 , and is the largest city between Denver, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah . Grand Junction
2156-941: The Canyon of the Lodore (otherwise known as the Gates of Lodore) and is joined by the Yampa River at Steamboat Rock . It turns westward back into Utah along the southern edge of the Uintas in Whirlpool Canyon . In Utah, it meanders southwest across the Yampa Plateau and through the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation and the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge . Two miles south of Ouray, Utah , it
2233-803: The Front Range Urban Corridor . Grand Junction is 247 miles (398 km) west-southwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver . The city has a council–manager form of government. It is a major commercial and transportation hub within the large area between the Green River and the Continental Divide , and the largest city in Colorado outside of the Front Range Corridor . The city
2310-593: The Oregon , California , and Mormon emigration trails. Nearly all primary emigration routes had to cross the Green River. The main trail crossed near where the Big Sandy River joins the Green River in Wyoming. The river is too big and much too deep to ford at any time of the year and is the largest, most dangerous river crossed by the Oregon Trail. For that reason, ferries were commonly run on this stretch of
2387-466: The Piceance Basin . The oil embargoes of the 1970s and high gas prices resulted in major financial interest in the region. Exxon purchased rights and used Grand Junction as its seat of operations. The city and the surrounding Grand Valley became prosperous in the 1970s and early 1980s largely because of the effects of oil shale development. The United States, western Colorado in particular, has
Government Highline Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue
2464-651: The United States Geological Survey , which noted that the drainage basin of the Green River was more extensive than that of the Grand River, although the Grand carried a higher volume of water at its confluence with the Green. The Green River is the subject of the song "Green River" by C.W. McCall . The headwaters of the Green River is in western Wyoming, in northern Sublette County , on
2541-539: The census of 2000, there were 41,986 people, 17,865 households, and 10,540 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,362.6 inhabitants per square mile (526.1/km ). There were 18,784 housing units at an average density of 609.6 per square mile (235.4/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 91.78% White , 0.60% African American , 0.94% Native American , 0.76% Asian , 0.12% Pacific Islander , 3.81% from other races , and 1.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 10.86% of
2618-618: The 1950s and finished in 1963, it was highly controversial and opposed by conservationists. Originally, a dam was to be built in Whirlpool Canyon, but the conservationist movement traded the Flaming Gorge Dam for halting that proposal. The Green is a large, deep, powerful river. It ranges from 100 to 300 feet (30 to 100 m) wide in the upper course and from 300 to 1,500 feet (91 to 457 m) wide in its lower course, and from 3 to 50 feet (0.91 to 15.24 m) in depth. It
2695-449: The 1960s, three of the main economic activities in the region were farming, fruit growing, and cattle raising. Fruit orchards, particularly between Grand Junction and Palisade to the east, remain important to the region's reputation and economy to the present day. Fruits most often grown are peaches, pears, apricots, plums, cherries, and, particularly since the 1980s, grapes for wine. In this semi-arid environment, these orchards thrive from
2772-588: The 7th century to the 13th century. The Fremont were semi-nomadic people who lived in pithouses and are best known for the rock art on canyon walls and in sheltered overhangs. In later centuries, the river basin was home to the Shoshone and Ute peoples, both nomadic hunters. The Shoshone inhabited the river valley north of the Uinta Mountains , whereas the Utes lived to the south. The current reservation of
2849-651: The Colorado Sugar Manufacturing Company in 1899 and contracting E. H. Dyer to build a factory. The failed to succeed, so they sold the plant to local investors, who were able to make it a success. The Campion-Boettcher group then created the Great Western Sugar Company . Retail sales have been important to the economy for decades (e.g., gasoline, and hunting- and fishing-related sales), and uranium mining-related activities have also been significant. Grand Junction
2926-480: The Grand Junction economy in 2009. Reports given in 2009 suggested that Grand Junction had once again been hard-hit economically, with one report by April 2010 listing the area as having had the largest percentage drop in employment of any "small city" in the entire United States. By 2008, Grand Junction was being discovered by the "nation's elite business and leisure travelers" as a destination for private jet travel, with nearby Powderhorn Resort and other ski resorts
3003-581: The Green River. Above the confluence, Colorado was called the Grand River. In 1921, U.S. Representative Edward T. Taylor of Colorado petitioned the Congressional Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce to rename the Grand River as the Colorado River. On July 25, 1921, the name change was made official in House Joint Resolution 460 of the 66th Congress , over the objections of representatives from Wyoming and Utah and
3080-647: The Highline Canal system and its bank maintenance roads. By the mid-1930s, project facilities began to show a significant amount of wear and tear. Wooden structures were beginning to fail, culverts washed out, tunnels were showing wear and the attractive canal banks and roads were beginning to show signs of deterioration. The U.S. Government and taxpayers again came to the rescue in 1935, when the Civilian Conservation Corps established camps on project lands and began to repair and rehabilitate
3157-522: The Native Americans). A map of 1847 redirects the course of the Rafael to the north and labels it as Green River. It would be some time before the true confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers would be known. The Old Spanish Trail from New Mexico to California crossed the river just above the present-day town of Green River, Utah. In the early 19th century, the upper river in Wyoming
Government Highline Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue
3234-590: The Outrider line connects to Durango. Both of these have multiple stops between the final destinations, and the West line has options to transfer to alternative lines. Grand Valley Transit (GVT) is a regional transit system serving the Grand Valley. It operates 11 bus routes in the area as well as a "dial-a-ride" service. The city also offers a shared micromobility program that was launched in May 2023. The city has allowed
3311-402: The Rockies. This is illustrated by the fact that from December to February, highs reach 50 °F (10 °C) only 18 days. Lows drop to 0 °F (−17.8 °C) or below on 2.9 nights per year. Snowfall is low compared to much of the rest of the state, averaging 17.6 inches (45 cm) per season; only once in the entire period of record dating to 1893, has observed 10 inches (25 cm) in
3388-486: The U.S. states of Wyoming , Utah , and Colorado . The Green River is 730 miles (1,170 km) long, beginning in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming and flowing through Wyoming and Utah for most of its course, except for a short segment of 40 miles (64 km) in western Colorado. Much of the route traverses the arid Colorado Plateau , where the river has carved some of the most spectacular canyons in
3465-495: The United States. The Green is slightly smaller than Colorado when the two rivers merge but typically carries a larger load of silt . The average yearly mean flow of the river at Green River, Utah is 6,121 cubic feet (173.3 m ) per second. The status of the Green River as a tributary of the Colorado River came about mainly for political reasons. In earlier nomenclature, the Colorado River began at its confluence with
3542-670: The Utes is in the Uintah Basin . The Shoshone called the river the Seeds-kee-dee-Agie , meaning "Prairie Hen River." In 1776, the Spanish friars Silvestre Vélez de Escalante and Francisco Atanasio Domínguez crossed the river near present-day Jensen, naming it the Rio de San Buenaventura . The map-maker of the expedition, Captain Bernardo Miera y Pacheco , erroneously indicated that the river flowed southwest to what
3619-400: The area is surrounded by federal public lands managed by the US Bureau of Land Management . Interstate 70 connects the city eastward to Glenwood Springs and Denver and westward to Green River, Utah ; Salt Lake City is reached to the west via Interstate 70 and U.S Route 6 ; and Las Vegas (via Interstate 70 and Interstate 15 ). In September 1881, the former Ute Indian Territory
3696-515: The average family size was 2.84. In the city, 21.2% of the population was under the age of 18, 11.9% was from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males. The population figures are for Grand Junction only; the city abuts smaller towns and unincorporated county areas which contribute to area commerce. The median income for
3773-402: The canal as a non-profit, charging users for the use of the water. 39°07′00″N 108°32′12″W / 39.1167°N 108.5367°W / 39.1167; -108.5367 Grand Junction, Colorado Grand Junction is a home rule municipality that is the seat of government and largest city of Mesa County , Colorado , United States. Grand Junction's population was 65,560 at
3850-462: The canyons, geographic features, and rapids along the river. For example, "we sweep around another great bend to the left, making a circuit of nine miles, and come back to a point within 600 feet of the beginning of the bend. In the two circuits, we describe almost in figure 8. The men call it a `bowknot' of a river; so we name it Bowknot Bend ." (Powell, 1869) From the 1840s through the 1860s, hundreds of thousands of emigrants made their way west along
3927-426: The city. Grand Junction is serviced by one local newspaper, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel . The Grand Junction area also receives newspaper influence from sources in the greater Denver front range area. Grand Junction has ABC , NBC , and CBS television station affiliates under the call signs of KJCT-TV (Channel 8), KKCO-TV (Channel 11), and KREX-TV (Channel 5), respectively. Also, Grand Junction has
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#17327732293754004-452: The coming years (see Oil shale economics ). ExxonMobil pulled out of the region because of lower oil prices, which led to economic hardship in the region. The economic bust, known as "Black Sunday" (May 2, 1982) to the locals, started with a phone call from the president of Exxon to Governor Richard Douglas Lamm , stating that Exxon would cut its losses while retaining mining rights to the (then and currently) uneconomic oil. The economic bust
4081-406: The companies Bird and Lime to rent out the e-scooters via their respective mobile apps. Grand Junction has a sister city , as designated by Sister Cities International : Green River (Colorado River) The Green River , located in the western United States, is the chief tributary of the Colorado River . The watershed of the river, known as the Green River Basin , covers parts of
4158-407: The dam, it flows through open sage-covered rolling prairie where it is crossed by the Oregon , California and Mormon emigration trails, and then further south past the town of Green River, Wyoming and into the Flaming Gorge Reservoir in southwestern Wyoming, formed by the Flaming Gorge Dam in northeastern Utah. Before the reservoir's creation, the Blacks Fork joined the Green River south of
4235-424: The economy were health care, tourism, agriculture, livestock, and energy mining (gas and oil). Major energy companies had once again invested large amounts of money due to increases in oil and natural gas prices (such as in the years 2005–2008). However, a major drop (in the summer of 2008) of market natural gas prices led to reduced gas well drilling and related capital expenditures in the area, significantly slowing
4312-400: The features of the Government Highline Canal. This magnificent irrigation project, funded by public monies, made the area's famous agricultural industries, like fruit and wine, possible, and made it possible for private farmland owners to make a living off of their land for many generations. The Grand Valley Water Users Association leases the canal facilities from the U.S. Government and operates
4389-543: The form of a solid rock resource called oil shale . There is estimated to be between 500 billion and 1.1 trillion barrels (80 and 175 km ) of potentially recoverable oil in the basin, however; this estimated amount of recoverable oil in the form of kerogen is challenged, and in doubt, as currently there is no economically feasible technology to convert rock into a permeable oil. Kerogen is an uncooked form of hydrocarbon that nature did not convert into actual oil. The cost of converting Green River oil shale into actual oil at
4466-480: The largest-known concentration of oil shale in the world (according to the Bureau of Land Management) and holds an estimated 800 gigabarrels of recoverable oil, enough to meet U.S. demand for oil at current levels for 110 years. Known as the "Rock That Burns", the shale can be mined and processed to produce oil. In the past it was significantly more expensive than conventional oil. Sustained prices above $ 95 per barrel, however, may make extraction economically attractive in
4543-409: The late 19th century it has been a major fruit -growing region. The valley was long occupied by the Ute people and earlier indigenous cultures. It was not settled by European-American farmers until the 1880s. Since the late 20th century, several wineries have been established in the area. The Colorado National Monument , a unique series of canyons and mesas, overlooks the city on the west. Most of
4620-434: The market. After the 1897 Dingley Act , the company was revived in 1898 and rallied to build a sugar factory. They failed to fundraise to build the plant. At the same time, Charles N. Cox was able to organize an effort to establish a factory in 1898 as well. John F. Campion and others including James Joseph Brown , Eben Smith , Charles E. Mitchell, George Trimble, James R. McKinnie, and Charles Boettcher invested, creating
4697-446: The moment would be higher than what it could be sold for. The EROI for oil shale is very low while having a very high destructive environmental impact. The Green River Basin contains the world's largest known deposit of trona ore near Green River, Wyoming. Soda ash mining from trona veins 900 and 1600 feet (300 and 500 m) deep is a major industrial activity in the area, employing over 2000 persons at four mines. The mining operation
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#17327732293754774-426: The name "Green" include ideas about the color of the water (though it is usually just as red as that of the Colorado), the color of soapstone along its banks, the color of the vegetation, and the name of a trapper. No explanation can be verified. Wilson Hunt of John Jacob Astor 's Pacific Fur Company called it The Spanish River in 1811. By that time it was clear to the trappers that Miera's map (if they had seen it)
4851-417: The northeast, from New Castle (jointly owned by the D&RG and the Colorado Midland ). These greatly contributed to the expansion and settlement of the area. At the 2020 United States Census , the city had a total area of 25,649 acres (103.799 km ) (40.077 sq mi) including 283 acres (1.147 km ) (.443 sq mi) of water. Grand Junction has a cold semi-arid climate ( Köppen : BSk ). It sits in
4928-403: The population. There were 17,865 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% were non-families. Of all households 33.2% were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had one living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and
5005-404: The region. In 1903, a Grand Junction group proposed that the project be constructed by a private party using private financing, but after several years it became apparent that private construction would not proceed. In 1909, a U.S. Army Board of Engineers met and determined the project was feasible, and the U.S. Government allocated $ 1.5 million - equivalent to over $ 38 million today - to construct
5082-441: The river. Some popular ferries included the Lombard and Robinson ferries at the main crossing and the Mormon, Mountain Man, and Names Hill ferries where the popular Sublette-Greenwood cutoff crossed the river further upstream. In 1878 the first permanent settlement in the river valley was founded at Vernal by a party of Mormons led by Jeremiah Hatch . The settlement survived a diphtheria epidemic its first winter, as well as
5159-403: The town of Green River, but today the mouth of Blacks Fork is submerged by the reservoir. South of the dam, it is forced to turn sharply eastward by the uplift of the Uinta Mountains , looping around the eastern tip of the range as it travels from Utah into northwestern Colorado and through Browns Park before turning west and then south into Dinosaur National Monument , where it passes through
5236-426: The trappers and American explorers. While it was known that the Green River drained to Colorado, the exact course was not known. Miera's map showed the Colorado River branching into two major streams – the Nabajoo (San Juan) and the Zaguananas. It also showed the Zaguananas branching into four heads, including the Dolores and the Rafael (the latter of which Escalante's journal equates with Colorado per information from
5313-401: The western side of the Continental Divide in the Wind River Range and the Bridger–Teton National Forest . It flows south through Sublette County and western Wyoming in an area known as the Upper Green River Valley, then southwest and is joined by the Big Sandy River in western Sweetwater County . At the town of La Barge, it flows into Fontenelle Reservoir , formed by Fontenelle Dam. Below
5390-400: Was 65 million bbl of oil and over 1.2 Tcf (trillion cubic feet ) of gas. Production includes the Cretaceous Mesaverde Formation and Frontier Formation . The discovery of petroleum at the Ashley Field after World War II has led to the exploitation of oil and natural gas in the region. The oil at Ashley Field is trapped in Aeolin deposits of "coversands and loess," while there is
5467-437: Was abolished and the Utes were forced into a reservation so that the U.S. government could open the area to settlers. Clinton County, Pennsylvania -born George Addison Crawford (1827–91) soon purchased a plot of land. On July 22, 1882, he incorporated the town of Grand Junction and planted Colorado's first vineyard near Palisade, Colorado , causing the area to become known as the Colorado Wine Country. Grand Junction also has
5544-480: Was explored by John C. Fremont on several of his expeditions in the 1840s. Fremont corrected the cartographic error of Miera, establishing firmly that the river did not drain the Great Salt Lake. In 1869, the river was surveyed and mapped by John Wesley Powell as part of the first of his two expeditions to the region. During his two voyages in 1869 and 1871, he and his men gave most of the current names of
5621-417: Was felt statewide, as Exxon had invested more than US$ 5 billion in the state. Colorado historian Tom Noel observed, "I think that was a definite turning point, and it was a reminder that we were a boom-and-bust state ... There were parallels to the silver crash of 1893." By 2008, the economy of Grand Junction appeared to be more diverse and stable than it had been in previous decades. Major contributors to
5698-565: Was home to the Climax Uranium Mill , a now decommissioned mill that provided uranium ore to the US Atomic Energy Commission . Education and healthcare have been important to the economy of the area, especially since the 1950s, with the rise of Colorado Mesa University and St. Mary's Hospital as leading employers in these fields. Vast oil shale reserves were known to exist near Parachute, Colorado in
5775-616: Was part of the disputed Oregon Country . It was explored by trappers from the North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company , such as Donald Mackenzie who pioneered the area from 1819. In 1825, the American William Ashley and a party of American explorers floated down the river from north of the Uintah Mountains to the mouth of the White River . The valley of the river became increasingly used as
5852-411: Was started in 1902 and completed in 1917, after many delays caused by private landowners whose land needed to be condemned to make the project possible. The Canal is 55 miles long and carries 1,675 second feet (s/f) of water. The project consists of a single, 14 foot high, concrete diversion weir on the Colorado River with a movable crest that provides water to four canals that stretch over 90 miles through
5929-710: Was wrong, for they had learned from the Native Americans that the Green River drained to the Colorado River and the Gulf of California . When Jedediah Smith reached the lower Colorado in 1826, he first called it the Seedskeedee, as the Green/Colorado River was commonly known among the trappers. By the time of Bonneville's expedition in 1832, the names "Seeds-kee-dee", "Spanish River", "Green River", and even "Colorado River" were used interchangeably by
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