La Plata River (San Juan River tributary)
La Plata River (Navajo: Tsé Dogoi Ńlíní) is a 70-mile-long (110 km)[2] tributary to the San Juan River in La Plata County, Colorado, and San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. This small river heads at the western foot of Snow Storm Peak in the La Plata Mountains of southwestern Colorado, approximately 35 miles north of the New Mexico state line. It flows in a southerly direction until it joins the San Juan at the western edge of the city of Farmington, New Mexico, about 19 miles south of the Colorado state line.
| La Plata River[1] | |
|---|---|
 The river as it passes under Colorado State Highway 140 near Breen | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • coordinates | 37°27′23″N 108°02′04″W |
| Mouth | |
• location | Confluence with San Juan |
• coordinates | 36°44′10″N 108°15′06″W |
• elevation | 5,213 ft (1,589 m) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | San Juan—Colorado |
The Navajo name for the river, Tsé Dogoi Nlini translates as "flowing over projecting rock".[3]
Aerial view of the La Plata crossing into New Mexico from Colorado, with La Plata, New Mexico, in left foreground. Mesa Verde is in the right background. Further, at about 40 miles, just left of center, is Colorado's Ute Mountain. Between the mesa and the sleeping Ute is Navajo Wash, extending to the left toward its confluence with the Mancos River. Even further, at about 100 miles, the Abajo Mountains, in Utah, are visible on the horizon.
See also
References
- "La Plata River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2011-01-29.
- "The National Map". U.S. Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 2012-04-05. Retrieved Feb 11, 2011.
- Linford, Laurance D. (2000). Navajo Places - History, Legend Landscape. Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press. ISBN 0-87480-624-0.
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