the arkansas river starts near leadville in colorado.
where does the arkansas river start in colorado?
near leadville
after descending from monarch pass, the highway enters the arkansas river valley near the town of salida. the headwaters of the arkansas are about north near leadville, in climax. the arkansas is the second-longest tributary to the mississippi-missouri river system. u.s. 50 closely follows the arkansas river from salida to kansas. east of salida, the highway enters a deep canyon, dubbed bighorn sheep canyon. there are several small communities in the canyon including howard, coaldale and cotopaxi. the major industries in the canyon are fishing and river rafting.
u.s. route 50 in colorado
the mcclellan–kerr arkansas river navigation system diverts from the arkansas river upstream of the wilbur d. mills dam to avoid the long winding route which the lower arkansas river follows. this circuitous portion of the arkansas river between the wilbur d. mills dam and the mississippi river was historically bypassed by river vessels; early steamboats instead following a network of rivers—known as the arkansas post canal—which flowed north of the lower arkansas river and followed a shorter and more direct route to the mississippi river. when the mcclellan–kerr arkansas river navigation system was constructed between 1963 and 1970, the arkansas post canal was significantly improved, while the lower arkansas river continued to be bypassed by commercial vessels.
arkansas river