Colorado River

Cultural  

1. River in the southwestern United States, with its headwaters in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado, that flows generally southwest through Colorado, Utah, and Arizona; forms the border between Nevada and Arizona and Arizona and California; and then flows through Mexico, emptying into the Gulf of California.

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Source of fresh water for communities in Nevada, Arizona, and California.

The site of the Hoover Dam.

Over millions of years, the force of the river has carved the Grand Canyon in northwestern Arizona.

Example Sentences

Since 1999, precipitation across the Colorado River Basin has declined by about 7%, and in some years only about half of the expected snowmelt actually reaches rivers and streams.

From Science Daily • Apr. 14, 2026

To better understand the process, the team analyzed 26 headwater basins across the Upper Colorado River Basin at different elevations.

From Science Daily • Apr. 14, 2026

The Colorado River and its network of tributaries supply water to seven U.S. states and Mexico, supporting drinking water, farming, and hydropower.

From Science Daily • Apr. 14, 2026

By late afternoon, the final miles carry me east toward the Colorado River, where it meanders past willow and cottonwood.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

He made a brief excursion up the Bill Williams River, a tributary of the Colorado, then continued downstream through the Colorado River Indian Reservation, the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer