The North Fork Gunnison River (locally known as the North Fork) is a tributary of the Gunnison River, 33.5 miles (53.9 km) long,[4] in southwestern Colorado in the United States. It drains part of the southwestern flank of the Elk Mountains northeast of Delta.
Uncompahgre National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering 955,229 acres (1,492.55 sq mi, or 3,865.68 km2)[1] in (in descending order of land area) parts of Montrose, Mesa, San Miguel, Ouray, Gunnison, Hinsdale, San Juan, and Delta Counties in western Colorado. Only its headquarters is in Delta County, in the city of Delta. It borders the San Juan National Forest to the south.
The Gunnison River is located in western Colorado and it is one of the largest tributaries of the Colorado river. The 180 mile (289 km) long river flows east to west and has a drainage area of 7,923 square miles (20,520 km2) according to the USGS.[6][3] The drainage basin of the Gunnison River collects water from different habitats, such as forests and alpine meadows, located the along Continental Divide. As the river flows westward it carves through the San Juan Mountains. The Gunnison River flows into the Colorado River at Grand Junction.
The Crag Crest Trail in the Grand Mesa National Forest, Colorado, was designated as a National Recreation Trail by John McGuire of the US Forest Service on March 14, 1978.
Trail Information
The Dominguez Canyon Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located southeast of Grand Junction in western Colorado. The 66,280-acre (268.2 km2) wilderness area established in 2009, the largest BLM roadless area in the state of Colorado, includes two major canyon systems that drain the northeastern corner of the Uncompahgre Plateau. The Wilderness Area is a portion of the larger Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area, 209,610-acre (848.3 km2) in size.
The Dominguez–Escalante National Conservation Area is a 209,610-acre (848.3 km2) National Conservation Area located in western Colorado southeast of Grand Junction and northwest of Montrose.[1] It is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and was created as part of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009.[2] In 2009 66,280 acres (26,820 ha) were also designated as the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness.
The Gunnison Gorge Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located immediately northwest of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The 17,784-acre (71.97 km2) wilderness area established in 1999 includes 14 miles (23 km) of the Gunnison River inside the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area.
The Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area is a 62,844-acre (254.32 km2) National Conservation Area located in west-central Colorado near Montrose. It is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as part of the National Landscape Conservation System. 57,725 acres (233.60 km2) were designated in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area Act of 1999 (Public Law 106-76). The Black Canyon of the Gunnison Boundary Revision Act of 2003 (PL 108-78) expanded the NCA to its current size.
Needle Rock Natural Area[1] is located at the western edge of the West Elk Mountains of Colorado. The surrounding terrain is characterized by laccolithic mountains flanked by precipitous cliffs, extensive talus aprons, forested mesas, canyons, and spacious, well-watered intermontane basins.[2] Needle Rock is an intrusive plug of monzonite porphyry[3] cropping out 3.5 miles (5.6 km) east-northeast (bearing 68°) of the Town of Crawford in Delta County, Colorado, United States.