Colorado River (U.S.)

This article is about Colorado River (U.S.). For other uses of the term Colorado, please see Colorado (disambiguation).

The Colorado River starts in Colorado and crosses several states in the U.S. southwest.

The Colorado River is a 1,450-mile-long river whose highly litigated waters are a lifeline in an arid region and that starts in Colorado and flows S/SW through Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California, and Mexico. It headwaters are at the continental divide in the center of Colorado, and its lowest part crosses Mexico between Baja, California and Sonora to flow into the Gulf of California. It passes through 11 different national parks and monuments as it tumbles through the varied landscapes, including the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam.

Large-scale river management began in the early 1900s. With all of its waters fully allocated, there is more demand for its waters than can be accommodated, resulting in extensive ongoing legal battles. In particular, the lower Colorado provides water to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, and Tucson.