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Coal Mining in Colorado

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, coal mining was the most important industry in Colorado. Coal mines served as the crucibles of empire, churning out the fuel needed to power the railroads, precious-metal mines, and smelters that…

Moffat County

Moffat County, named for Denver mining and railroad mogul David Moffat, covers 4,751 square miles of Colorado’s northwest corner. It sits on the northern edge of the Colorado Plateau and is bordered by the state of Wyoming to the north, Routt County to…

Sagebrush

Sagebrush (genus Artemisia) is one of the most common and recognizable plants on Colorado’s Western Slope and arid Great Plains. A woody, fragrant, faded-green bush, sagebrush is ubiquitous throughout drier parts of the American West, covering some 106…

Western Slope

“A Fantasy land,” “a mystique,” “a state of mind”—these are only some of the expressions used to describe the Western Slope of Colorado, commonly defined as the roughly one-third of the state that lies west of the Continental Divide. The serpentine…

Yampa River

The Yampa River snakes 250 miles across northwestern Colorado, primarily in Routt and Moffat Counties. Its watershed encompasses approximately 8,000 square miles in Colorado and Wyoming; in Colorado, the river flows through Craig, Hayden, Milner, and…