Yampa River, Colorado by Zina Abbott

 

 

When I first traveled to Denver, Colorado, to visit family who recently moved there, I saw frequent references to Yampa. I thought, that is an interesting name. Where did that come from? I learned quite some time later it comes from the name of a river that rises in the Colorado Rocky Mountains and ends at the Green River, just before that river leaves Colorado and continues into Utah.

The Yampa River flows 250 miles (400 km) through northwestern Colorado in the United States. It starts in the Rocky Mountains, and is a tributary of the Green River as well as a major part of the Colorado River system.

 The name, Yampa, is derived from the Snake Indian word Yamparika, meaning “yampa eaters,”  for the Perideridia plant, a member of the carrot family, which has an edible root highly prized by Native Americans. John C. Frémont was among the first to record the name “Yampah” in entries of his journal starting in 1843. He found the plant to be particularly abundant in the watershed.

Bear River Source

Early 1800s fur traders thought Yampa was the Ute word for “bear.” On some earlier maps, the river was labeled the Bear River. There is a Bear River, which The Bear River which flows from a source at Derby Peak in the Flat Tops Wilderness. The river now known as Bear River is part of the headwaters of the Yampa River, which starts at the confluence of the Bear River and Phillips Creek near the town of Yampa. The headwaters of the Yampa are in the Park Range in Routt County, Colorado.

1903 Yampa River at Steamboat Springs

The Yampa River, it flows north through a high mountain valley, through Stagecoach Reservoir and Lake Catamount, before reaching Steamboat Springs, where it turns sharply west. Below Steamboat Springs, the Yampa flows through a wider valley in the western foothills of the Rockies. It receives the Elk River from the north, then passes the towns of Milner and Hayden.

After entering Moffat County, the Yampa passes the town of Craig. It is joined by the Williams Fork. West of Craig, the Yampa crosses arid, sparsely populated sagebrush country for about 50 miles (80 km) before reaching Cross Mountain Canyon, where the river slices a 1,000 ft (300 m) deep gap through the namesake mountain. Below Cross Mountain the Yampa enters the open valley of Lily Park, where it is joined by its largest tributary, the Little Snake River.

If you would like to learn more about the Little Snake River, particularly in southern Wyoming, please refer to one of my earlier blog posts, The Little Snake River Valley by Zina Abbott, which you may find by CLICKING HERE

Farther west, the Yampa River enters Dinosaur National Monument. From there, it traverses more than 40 miles (64 km) of rugged canyons and rapids. The Yampa joins the Green River in Echo Park at Steamboat Rock, still in the center of Dinosaur National Monument, at about 5 miles (8.0 km) from the Colorado–Utah border.

Overlook of Yampa River

The Yampa River passes through two counties in the northwestern corner of Colorado. It is sparsely populated. The Snake (Shoshone) and Ute Indians dominated the area until 1881, when the Utes agreed to move to a reservation in northeastern Utah. Although there was some white settlement as early as the 1870s, most did not begin until 1881. The majority of the land was used for cattle ranching (as was Brown’s Park, Utah, of Butch Cassidy fame, and the Little Snake River Valley, Wyoming). The area also attracted gold seekers, sheep herders, and homesteaders. However, movement in and out of the region was limited by the lack of a railroad. The first railroad arrived in Steamboat Springs in December 1908, which opened the area to coal mining.

Confluence of Yampa River and Green River

The Yampa River is one of the few remaining free-flowing rivers in the United States, which makes it an attractive destination today for those who wish to fish its waters or travel its length by boat, canoeing or tube.

 

I researched this area for my most recent book, which releases today, Sabrina, Rescue Me (Mail-order Brides) Book 19. It is set in 1883 in a fictional area of Colorado, which I loosely based on Moffat and Routt Counties with the biggest waterways being the Yampa and Little Snake Rivers. To find the book description and purchase options for Sabrina, please CLICK HERE

 

 

 

Sources:

https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/yampa-river

https://www.craigdailypress.com/news/history-in-focus-to-name-a-river/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yampa_River