Grand Lake (Colorado)

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Grand Lake

Grand Lake is a natural lake, one of the headwaters of the Colorado River in Grand County, Colorado. On its shores is located the eponymous town of Grand Lake. The elevation of the lake surface is 2550 meters. It is the largest natural lake in the state of Colorado, formed by the damming of several streams by a glacial moraine. It is adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park. Grand Lake was named Spirit Lake by the Ute indians. They believed the lake's cold waters to be the dwelling place of departed souls and would avoid it.

Colorado-Big Thompson Project

Grand Lake forms a continuous body of water with the artificial Shadow Mountain Lake, which then flows into Lake Granby. Water collected in Lake Granby is pumped to Shadow Mountain and Grand Lakes, then under the Continental Divide via the Alva B. Adams Tunnel to the Big Thompson River on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. From here, the water flows into the South Platte River and is used for agriculture, human consumption, and industry. This is the first of many large-scale diversions of water from the Colorado River Basin between Colorado and the Gulf of California.

External links

[U.S. Bureau of Reclamation website on Colorado-Big Thompson Project]

Colorado River system
Dams and aqueducts (see US Bureau of Reclamation)
Shadow Mountain Dam \| Granby Dam \| Glen Canyon Dam \| Hoover Dam \| Davis Dam \| Parker Dam \| Palo Verde Diversion Dam \| Imperial Dam \| Laguna Dam \| Morelos Dam \| Colorado River Aqueduct \| San Diego Aqueduct \| Central Arizona Project Aqueduct \| All-American Canal \| Coachella Canal \| Redwall Dam
Natural features
Colorado River \| Rocky Mountains \| Colorado River Basin \| Grand Lake \| Sonoran desert \| Mojave desert \| Imperial Valley \| Colorado Plateau \| Grand Canyon \| Glen Canyon \| Marble Canyon \| Paria Canyon \| Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez \| Salton Sea
Tributaries
Dirty Devil River \| Dolores River \| Escalante River \| Gila River \| Green River \| Gunnison River \| Kanab River \| Little Colorado River \| Paria River \| San Juan River \| Virgin River
Major reservoirs
Fontenelle Reservoir \| Flaming Gorge Reservoir \| Taylor Park Reservoir \| Navajo Reservoir \| Lake Powell \| Lake Mead \| Lake Havasu
Dependent states
Arizona \| California \| Colorado \| Nevada \| New Mexico \| Utah (See: Colorado River Compact)
Designated areas
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area \| Lake Mead National Recreation Area

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