Canadian River (North Platte River tributary)

Canadian River[1]
Map
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationConfluence of North Fork and South Fork
 • coordinates40°36′56″N 106°01′14″W / 40.61556°N 106.02056°W / 40.61556; -106.02056
Mouth 
 • location
Confluence with North Platte
 • coordinates
40°53′28″N 106°19′39″W / 40.89111°N 106.32750°W / 40.89111; -106.32750
 • elevation
7,851 ft (2,393 m)
Length55 mi (89 km)
Basin features
ProgressionNorth PlattePlatte
MissouriMississippi

The Canadian River is a tributary of the North Platte River, approximately 55 miles (89 km) long,[2] located in Jackson County in north central Colorado in the United States. It drains the eastern edge of the North Park basin along the western side of Medicine Bow Mountains.

It rises in several short forks that descend from the southwest edge of the Medicine Bow Mountains near Clark Peak in southeastern Jackson County, north of Gould and northwest of Cameron Pass. It descends to the northwest through the Colorado State Forest, and in the valley floor, where it becomes a braided stream as it passes through ranch country. It roughly skirts the eastern edge of the valley, roughly parallel to the Michigan River to the west. It joins the North Platte from the east in north central Jackson County, approximately 7 mi (12 km) north of Walden and approximately 2 mi (3 km) downstream from the mouth of the Michigan.

  1. ^ "Canadian River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed March 21, 2011