Boulder Creek (Colorado)

Boulder Creek[1]
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Confluence of North Boulder Creek and Middle Boulder Creek
• coordinates	40°00′15″N 105°24′21″W
Mouth
• location	Confluence with Saint Vrain
• coordinates	40°09′33″N 105°00′35″W
• elevation	4,852 ft (1,479 m)
Basin features
Progression	Saint Vrain—South Platte—Platte— Missouri—Mississippi

Boulder Creek is a 31.4-mile-long (50.5 km)^[2] creek draining the Rocky Mountains to the west of Boulder, Colorado, as well as the city itself and surrounding plains.

Route

The creek is formed by two main tributaries rising along the Continental Divide: North and Middle Boulder Creek; and later joined by South Boulder Creek.

North Boulder Creek forms in a valley between Navajo Peak and Arikaree Peak on the Continental Divide, in the Green Lakes chain of lakes. The creek flows 17.8 miles (28.6 km)^[2] past the community of Switzerland Park to join Middle Boulder Creek.

Middle Boulder Creek rises as two forks from the Continental Divide: the North Fork rises in a cirque below Mount Neva and flows 7.5 miles (12.1 km) to the South Fork. The South Fork rises at Rollins Pass on the Continental Divide and flows 5.5 miles (8.9 km) to the North Fork. From the junction of the two forks, Middle Boulder Creek, 13.7 miles (22.0 km) long,^[2] flows east through the towns of Eldora and Nederland into Barker Meadow Reservoir, a water supply for the city of Boulder,^[3] before joining North Boulder Creek to form the main stem of Boulder Creek.

From its source at the confluence of the North and Middle Boulder forks, Boulder Creek flows down Boulder Canyon and through downtown Boulder. On the east edge of the city, the creek receives South Boulder Creek, which rises at Rogers Pass on the Continental Divide, just south of the Moffat Tunnel. South Boulder Creek flows 40.0 miles (64.4 km) through Rollinsville, Gross Reservoir, and Eldorado Canyon before leaving the mountains and curving past the south and east sides of Boulder to its mouth at Boulder Creek.^[2]

After leaving the city, Boulder Creek flows northeast into Weld County, where it joins St. Vrain Creek, and on to a confluence with the South Platte River. Its waters ultimately flow into the Missouri River and Mississippi River and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico.

Recreation

Boulder Creek is a summer recreational spot for outdoor activities including tubing, fly fishing, and wading. The annual Boulder Creek Festival, held along the creekside civic area between the library and Central Park, opens the summer season on Memorial Day weekend.^[4]

Fish species

Fish surveys from 1990, 1995, and 2006 found the following species of fish in Boulder Creek.^[5][6][7]

Common name	Scientific name	Native to Colorado?	Image
Sand shiner	Notropis stramineus	Yes
Iowa darter	Etheostoma exile	Yes
White sucker	Catostomus commersoni	Yes
Creek chub	Semotilus atromaculatus	Yes
Longnose sucker	Catostomus catostomus	Yes
Fathead minnow	Pimephalus promelas	Yes
Longnose dace	Rhinichthys cataractae	Yes
Largemouth bass	Micropterus salmoides	No
Bluegill	Lepomis macrochirus	No
Common carp	Cyprinus carpio	No
Yellow perch	Perca flavescens	No
Plains topminnow	Fundulus sciadicus	Yes
Black crappie	Promoxis nigromaculatus	No
Brown trout	Salmo trutta	No
Rainbow trout	Oncorhynchus mykiss	No
Cutbow trout	Oncorhynchus clarkia × mykiss	No
Golden shiner	Notemigonus crysoleucas	No
Green sunfish	Lepomis cyanellus	Yes
Pumpkinseed	Lepomis gibbosus	No
Western mosquitofish	Gambusia affinis	No
Central stoneroller	Campostoma anomalum	Yes
Orangespotted sunfish	Lepomis humilis	Yes

See also

• List of rivers of Colorado
• Bibliography of Colorado
• Geography of Colorado
• History of Colorado
• Index of Colorado-related articles
• List of Colorado-related lists
• Outline of Colorado

References

1. "Boulder Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
2. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed March 25, 2011
3. "City of Boulder Water Sources". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
4. Boulder Creek Festival
5. Haworth, M. R., & Bestgen, K. R. (2016). Survey of Fishes and Habitat of South Boulder Creek, Colorado, within City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Property (pp. 1–57, Rep.). Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University. doi:https://warnercnr.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/LFL-202-Haworth-and-Bestgen-2017-S-Boulder-Ck.pdf
6. Bestgen, K.R., & Kondratieff, B. (1996). Fishes, Macroinvertebrates, and Habitat of South Boulder Creek, Colorado, within City of Boulder Open Space Property. 10.13140/RG.2.2.27446.29769.
7. Steinmann, D. B., & Windell, J. T. (1990). Boulder Creek Fish Survey Application of Rabid Bioassessment Protocol V-Fish and The Index of Biotic Integrity at Boulder Creek Before and After Implementation Of Best Management Practices. E.P.O. Biology University of Colorado.

External links

• Boulder Creek Report