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Circular 1214—Water Quality in the Upper Colorado River Basin,
Colorado, |
The
Upper Colorado River Basin encompasses about 17,800 square miles. The
primary river, the Colorado River, originates in the mountains of central
Colorado and flows about 230 miles southwest into Utah. The basin is composed
of two physiographic provinces: the Southern Rocky Mountains and the Colorado
Plateau. The topography varies from rugged mountainous regions in the
east to high plateaus bordered by steep cliffs along valleys in the west.
Because of differences in altitude of about 10,000 feet from east to west,
the climate ranges from alpine conditions to semiarid/arid conditions.
Precipitation ranges from 40 inches or more per year at high elevations
in the eastern part of the basin to less than 10 inches per year at low
elevations in the western part of the basin. USGS
Circular 1214 explores water quality issues in the Upper Colorado
River Basin.
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U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Comments to: webmaster_co@usgs.gov URL: http://co.water.usgs.gov/nawqa/ucol/ Last Modified: 2006-02-08 |
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