Wikipedia

Animas River

For the river in Mexico, seeAnimas River (Mexico).

Animas River(On-e-mas;Spanish:Río de las Ánimas) is a 126-mile-long (203 km)[1]river in the westernUnited States,a tributary of theSan Juan River,part of theColorado River System.

Animas River
Animas River atDurango and Silverton railroadcrossing just north of confluence with Lime Creek
Animas River is located in New Mexico
Animas River
Location of the mouth of the Animas River in New Mexico
Location
CountryUnited States
StateColorado, New Mexico
Physical characteristics
SourceConfluence of North Fork Animas River and West Fork Animas River
37°55′53″N107°34′10″W/ 37.93139°N 107.56944°W/37.93139; -107.56944
• locationSan Juan County,CO
• coordinates37°55′53″N107°34′10″W/ 37.93139°N 107.56944°W/37.93139; -107.56944
MouthConfluence withSan Juan
• location
San Juan County, NM
• coordinates
36°42′50″N108°13′18″W/ 36.71389°N 108.22167°W/36.71389; -108.22167
• elevation
5,239 ft (1,597 m)
Length126 mi (203 km)
Basin features
Tributaries
• leftCunningham Creek,Elk Creek,Needle Creek,Canyon Creek,Florida River
• rightMineral Creek, Mineral Creek,Lime Creek,Hermosa Creek,Junction Creek, Lightner Creek

The Animas-La Plata Water Project was completed in 2015. The project pumps water over a low pass to fill a reservoir,Lake Nighthorse,in Ridges Basin to satisfySouthern Utetribal water rights claims associated with the Colorado Ute Settlement Act amendments of 2000.[2]

Name

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The river just north of downtown Durango

SpanishexplorerJuan Maria de RiveraofSanta Ferecorded the name "Rio de las Animas" (in English, River of Souls) in 1765.[3]One theory is that the full name of the river was once "Rio de las Animas Perdidas" (River of Lost Souls) commemorating people who died in the river. A handful of commentators (3) have suggested that the origin of this river's name is confused name with thePurgatoire Riverof southeastern Colorado.[4]

Watershed

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The Animas River from a foot bridge inFarmington

The Animas River rises high inSan Juan MountainsofColoradoat the confluence of the West and North forks at theghost townofAnimas Forksand flows south past the ghost towns ofEurekaandHowardsville.AtSilverton,the river flows into theAnimas Canyon.TheDurango and Silverton Narrow gauge railroadfollows the river through the canyon toDurango.From Durango the river flows south intoNew Mexicothrough the town ofAztecto its confluence with the San Juan River atFarmington.The only major tributary of the Animas River is theFlorida Riverwhich converges just north of the Colorado–New Mexico border.

Amethane seepwas reported on the river inDurango, Coloradoin 2016.[5]

Indigenous peoples

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The ancestral Puebloan site ofAztec Ruins National Monumentis situated along the river in the present day town of Aztec and for much of its course the river flows through nativeUteandNavajolands.

Engineering and development

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Numerous irrigation ditches serve the surrounding farmland along the river. The Durango Pumping Plant, completed in 2011, as part of theAnimas-La Plata Water Project,draws an average annual of 57,100 acre-feet from the river, for storage in Lake Nighthorse.[6]

Wildlife and plants

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The Animas serves as habitat to resident and migratorybald eagleswhich arrive in the winter months to take advantage of the ice-free river.[7]

2015 contaminants spill

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The Animas River between Silverton andDurangowithin 24 hours of the spill.
Main article:2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill

In August 2015, the La Plata County Sheriff's Office closed the river to the public after a crew working for theEPAreleased approximately 3 million gallons of mine waste into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas.[8]The plug was accidentally removed while investigating a leak at the abandonedGold King Mine.[9]The mine was last active in the 1920s, but it had been leaking toxic water at a rate of 50 to 250 gallons a minute for years.[10]The spill contained the toxic metalsarsenic,cadmium,andlead,as well as the metalsaluminumandcopper.[11]There may be other toxic heavy metals in the plume.[11]

The spill changed the color of the river to orange, and the spill was described as "devastating" by Kim Stevens, the director ofEnvironment Colorado,who said that businesses who rely on the river for profit might have to close down.[12]The river's fish population might also be at risk due to the toxic waste that now runs through the river.[12]

In February 2016, the Associated Press reported that the spill "dumped 880,000 pounds of metals" into the Animas River, and that "most of the metals settled into the riverbed.[13]"The metals considered are" cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, zinc, and possibly others. "

Recreation

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Aerial view of the Animas River coming out of Durango
The Animas River between Cedar Hill, New Mexico, and the Colorado border

The Animas river is a majorwhite water raftingattraction accounting for 8.9% of Colorado's commercial rafting market while annually generating 45,411 commercial user days and direct expenditures of $5,207,033 (2011 est).[14]

The Animas is afreestonefishery well populated withrainbow,brown,Colorado River cutthroat,andbrook trout.It is considered agold medal fisheryabove Rivera Bridge Crossing in Colorado.Recreational fishingwith artificial lures andflieson the Animas is available year-round due to moderate winter weather.[15]Insect hatches ofaquatic dipteraandmayfliesoccur in the winter and spring months. In late spring, summer and through fall the Animas seescaddisflyand mayfly hatches as well as terrestrials such as grasshoppers. Animas trout average 12 to 16 inches (30 to 41 cm). Larger trout in the 17 to 22 inches (43 to 56 cm) are occasionally caught by anglers. Brown trout as large as 36 inches (91 cm) have been caught in the Animas.

In the town of Farmington, a 4-mile long trail that runs along the river from Berg Park to Animas Park was listed as aNational Recreation Trailin 2011.[16]

Media

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Films have been shot with the Animas River taking center stage. InButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,Robert Redford and Paul Newman leap to safety into the Animas River, not far from Durango. In the filmCity Slickers,the herd of cattle crosses the Animas River, followed by Billy Crystal rescuing a young calf from the river rapids.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"The National Map".U.S. Geological Survey. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-03-29.RetrievedFeb 11,2011.
  2. ^"Colorado Ute Settlement Acts"(PDF).www.usbr.gov.U.S. Department of the Interior.Retrieved21 October2014.
  3. ^Wildfang, Frederic (2009).Durango.Arcadia Publishing. p. 27.ISBN9780738569758.RetrievedAugust 5,2013.
  4. ^Johnston, Elwin."Lost history of the Animas River".Opinion Letters to the Editor.Durango Telegraph.Retrieved4 July2021.
  5. ^Fenton, James (May 12, 2016)."Geologist: Coal outcrops cause methane hot spot".Farmington Daily Times.RetrievedJune 29,2016.
  6. ^"Animas La Plata Project Implementation of the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000".Bureau of Reclamation. Archived fromthe originalon 6 March 2016.Retrieved8 July2012.
  7. ^Rodebaugh, Dale."The eagle: At home along the Animas".The Durango Herald.Archived fromthe originalon 6 October 2014.Retrieved8 July2012.
  8. ^Los Angeles Times (10 August 2015)."The toxic Colorado river spill and the menace of old hard-rock mines".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved20 August2015.
  9. ^Daniel, Victor (August 7, 2015)."River turns yellow".The New York Times.
  10. ^Turkewitz, Julie (10 August 2015)."Environmental Agency Uncorks Its Own Toxic Water Spill at Colorado Mine (Published 2015)".The New York Times.
  11. ^ab"Regional EPA director calls wastewater spill in Animas River 'tragic'".Denver post.August 10, 2015.RetrievedAugust 10,2015.
  12. ^abCastillo, Mariano (August 10, 2015)."Pollution flowing faster than facts in EPA spill".CNN.RetrievedAugust 10,2015.
  13. ^"EPA: Mine spill dumped 880,000 pounds of metals in river".5 February 2016.
  14. ^"Commercial River Use in the State of Colorado 1988-2011"(PDF).Colorado River Outfitters Association. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 21 March 2014.Retrieved8 July2012.
  15. ^"2014 Colorado Fishing"(PDF).Colorado Parks and Wildlife. March 2014.Retrieved2014-10-21.
  16. ^"Berg/Animas Trail".NRT Database.RetrievedAugust 20,2024.

Further reading

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  • Thompson, Jonathan. (2015). "When our river turned orange" [High Country News].[1]
  • Desborough, G.A. and D.B. Yager. (2000).Acid-neutralizing potential of igneous bedrocks in the Animas River headwaters, San Juan County, Colorado[U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 00-165]. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
  • Nash, T. (1999).Geochemical investigations and interim recommendations for priority abandoned mine sites, BLM lands, upper Animas River watershed, San Juan County, Colorado[U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 99-323]. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
  • Yager, D.B. et al. (2003).Ferricrete, manganocrete, and bog iron occurrences with selected sedge bogs and active iron bogs and springs in the upper Animas River watershed, San Juan County, Colorado[Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2406]. Denver: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related toAnimas River.
  1. ^"When our river turned orange".9 August 2015.
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