FACTS ABOUT THE SOUTH PLATTE DRAINAGE

The river is formed in Park County, Colorado, southwest of Denver in the South Park grassland basin by the confluence of the South Fork and Middle Fork, approximately 15 miles (24 km) southeast of Fairplay. Both forks rise along the eastern flank of the Mosquito Range, on the western side of South Park, which is drained by the tributaries at the headwaters of the river. From South Park, it passes through 50 miles (80 km) of the Platte Canyon and its lower section, Waterton Canyon. Here, it is joined by the North Fork before emerging from the foothills southwest of the Denver suburb of Littleton. At Littleton, the river is impounded to form Chatfield Reservoir, a major source of drinking water for the Denver Metropolitan Area.

In an arid region of the United States, the South Platte is marked with several dams. The first notable water impoundment on the South Platte is Antero Reservoir. "Antero" is derived from the Spanish word "first,"[citation needed] as it was the first dam on the South Platte River near the river's origin.

The next dam is Spinney Mountain Reservoir. At capacity Spinney Mountain covers 2,500 acres (10 km2). A bottom release dam, Spinney releases to the east of the inlet.

Two miles below Spinney Mountain Reservoir, the river enters Eleven Mile Reservoir, with a capacity of 97,000 acre feet (120,000,000 m3). The Eleven Mile Reservoir Dam drains into Eleven Mile Canyon, which runs through Forest Service land. Under the reservoir are three former Colorado towns, Howbert, Idlewild, and Freshwater Station, which were submerged to meet the water needs of Denver.[5]

From Eleven Mile Canyon, the South Platte runs northeast to Cheesman Reservoir, named for Denver water pioneer Walter S. Cheesman. At its completion in 1905, the dam was the world’s tallest, at 221 feet (67 m) above the streambed. The reservoir and related facilities were purchased in November 1918 by the Denver Water Board. Cheesman was the first reservoir of Denver's mountain storage facilities and has been designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. Cheesman Reservoir feeds Cheesman Canyon. Six miles below Cheesman Reservoir is the town of Deckers; there, the river bends north for approximately 17 miles (27 km) to the confluence with the North Fork of the South Platte.

From the confluence, the river flows towards Denver and enters Strontia Springs Reservoir.

Below Strontia Springs the South Platte runs through Waterton Canyon before entering Chatfield Reservoir. Chatfield marks the seventh and final dam on the South Platte until it merges with the North Platte.

The South Platte River is a Gold Medal Western trout river on the Eastern Slope of Colorado. The river is well known for its wild trophy population of Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout. As a result of the close proximity to Denver, the river sees thousands of fly fishing enthusiasts each year. With seven dams on the river, the South Platte is considered a tailwater fishery. Most of these dams are bottom released which allow for both stable water temperatures throughout the year, and year round fly fishing. Popular fly fishing stretches of the river include Waterton Canyon, Deckers, Cheesman Canyon and the Dream Stream.

Used with permission from Wikipedia, South Platte River under the WikiMedia Terms of Use agreement.