San Rafael River (Utah)
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The San Rafael River is a tributary of the Green River, approximately 90 mi (145 km) long, in east central Utah in the United States. The river flows across a sparsely populated arid region west of the Colorado River and is known for the isolated, scenic gorge through which it flows.
It rises in northwestern Emery County, approximately 5 mi (8 km) southeast of Castle Dale, by the confluence of Cottonwood, Huntington, and Ferron creeks, which provide its headwaters in the Wasatch Plateau region. It flows ESE along the north side of the Coal Cliffs and the prominent plateau called the San Rafael Swell, passing north of Window Butte. Along the north side of the San Rafael Swell it passes through the San Rafael Gorge, sometimes called the "Little Grand Canyon." In southeastern Emery County it enters the 15 mi (24 km) long San Rafael Valley, where it joins the Green from the west, approximately 10 mi (16 km) south of the town of Green River. The San Rafael is the last major tributary of the Green before it joins the Colorado in Canyonlands National Park.
Diversion tunnels at the headwaters of the river in the Manti-Lasal National Forest provide irrigation water to Sanpete County on the west side of the Wasatch Plateau.
See also
External link
- The San Rafael Swell (http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/san_rafael_swell/)
- Utah Trails: San Rafael River Gorge (http://www.utahtrails.com/SanRafael.html)