Fryingpan River

Fryingpan River[1]

Ruedi Reservoir on the Fryingpan River
Basin
Progression Roaring Fork—Colorado
Main source 39°09′52″N 106°31′40″W / 39.16444°N 106.52778°W / 39.16444; -106.52778
River mouth Confluence with Roaring Fork River
39°22′00″N 107°02′03″W / 39.36667°N 107.03417°W / 39.36667; -107.03417Coordinates: 39°22′00″N 107°02′03″W / 39.36667°N 107.03417°W / 39.36667; -107.03417
Mouth elevation 6,591 ft (2,009 m)

The Fryingpan River is a tributary of the Roaring Fork River, approximately 42 miles (68 km) long,[2] in west central Colorado in the United States.

The reason for the unusual name of the river is that when a group of trappers were attacked by a band of Ute Indians, only two men survived, one of whom was injured. Leaving his wounded friend in a cave close by, the last man left to summon help, but not before hanging a frying pan in a tree so that he could find the cave again on his return.[1][3]

It rises in northeastern Pitkin County, in the White River National Forest in the Sawatch Mountains along the western side of the continental divide. It flows westward along the county line between Pitkin and Eagle County. Below Meredith, it is dammed to form the Ruedi Reservoir.[4] It joins the Roaring Fork below Basalt. A portion of the river's water is diverted to the east side of the continental divide for irrigation and drinking water via the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Fryingpan River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  2. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 18, 2011
  3. ↑ Maryann Gaug (17 May 2011). Hiking Colorado, 3rd: A Guide to the State's Greatest Hiking Adventures. FalconGuides. pp. 198–. ISBN 978-0-7627-9722-6.
  4. ↑ The reservoir was named after the rancher John Ruedi who originally owned the land where the dam and reservoir are now located (Information by the Ruedi Water and Power Authority.) It is supposed, however not proven that Ruedi was identical with John Rüedi, the son of the Swiss pulmonologist Carl Rüedi, who is best known for having treated the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson
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