Blue River (Colorado)

The Blue River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 65 miles (105 km) long,[5] in the U.S. state of Colorado.

Blue River (Colorado)
The Blue River near Kremmling, Colorado
Map of the Blue River drainage basin
Location
Country	United States
State	Colorado
Physical characteristics
Source	Tenmile Range
• location	Near Blue River, Summit County
• coordinates	39°23′27″N 106°01′12″W[1]
• elevation	12,800 ft (3,900 m)
Mouth	Colorado River
• location	Kremmling, Grand County
• coordinates	40°02′33″N 106°23′48″W[1]
• elevation	7,342 ft (2,238 m)
Length	65 mi (105 km)
Basin size	680 sq mi (1,800 km2)[2]
Discharge
• location	0.3 mi (0.48 km) below Green Mountain Dam[3]
• average	447 cu ft/s (12.7 m3/s)[4]
• minimum	0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
• maximum	4,040 cu ft/s (114 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• right	Snake River

It rises in southern Summit County, on the western side of the continental divide in the Ten Mile Range, near Quandary Peak. It flows north past Blue River and Breckenridge, then through the Dillon Reservoir near Dillon. The west portal for the "Roberts Tunnel" is at the base of Dillon Reservoir. The Roberts Tunnel is a trans-basin diversion, built by Denver Water in 1962, that diverts water under the Continental Divide from the Colorado River basin into the South Platte River Basin. The east portal is approximately one mile upstream of Grants, Colorado.[6]

North of Dillon the river flows north-northwest along the eastern slope of the Gore Range and joins the Colorado River at Kremmling.

The Green Mountain Dam, 13 miles (21 km) upstream from Kremmling, forms the Green Mountain Reservoir, providing hydroelectric power and diversionary water for irrigation, as part of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project. The dam is a project of the United States Bureau of Reclamation.