Clear Creek Canyon
| Clear Creek | |
|---|---|
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| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source |
Clear Creek County, Colorado 39°40′29″N 105°55′23″W / 39.67472°N 105.92306°W |
| River mouth | Confluence with South Platte 5,092 ft (1,552 m) 39°49′39″N 104°56′57″W / 39.82750°N 104.94917°WCoordinates: 39°49′39″N 104°56′57″W / 39.82750°N 104.94917°W |
| Length | 66 mi (106 km) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression |
South Platte—Platte— Missouri—Mississippi |
Clear Creek is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately 66 miles (106 km) long, in north central Colorado in the United States. The creek flows through Clear Creek Canyon in the Rocky Mountains directly west of Denver, descending through a long gorge to emerge on the Colorado Eastern Plains where it joins the South Platte. Clear Creek is unusual in that it is a stream named "creek" fed by a stream named "river". Fall River empties into Clear Creek along I-70 west of Idaho Springs, Colorado.
The creek is famous as the location of the most intense early mining activity during the Colorado Gold Rush of 1859. Mountain man Jim Baker had a cabin on the creek from 1873 until his death in 1898. The creek provided the route of the Colorado Central Railroad, and later for U.S. Highway 6 and Interstate 70 as they ascend to the Continental Divide west of Denver.
The creek rises at the continental divide near Loveland Pass in the Front Range, northwest of Grays Peak in western Clear Creek County. It descends eastward through Clear Creek Canyon past the towns of Silver Plume, Georgetown, and Idaho Springs, all of which were founded as mining camps in the 1859 gold rush. Within the canyon it receives numerous smaller tributary creeks that descend from the rugged mountains on either side.
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Wikipedia