| Animas River | |
|---|---|
 Animas River atDurango and Silverton railroad crossing just north of confluence with Lime Creek | |
  Location of the mouth of the Animas River in New Mexico | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Colorado, New Mexico |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Confluence of North Fork Animas River and West Fork Animas River 37°55′53″N107°34′10″W / 37.93139°N 107.56944°W /37.93139; -107.56944 |
| • location | San Juan County, CO |
| • coordinates | 37°55′53″N107°34′10″W / 37.93139°N 107.56944°W /37.93139; -107.56944 |
| Mouth | Confluence withSan Juan |
• location | San Juan County, NM |
• coordinates | 36°42′50″N108°13′18″W / 36.71389°N 108.22167°W /36.71389; -108.22167 |
• elevation | 5,239 ft (1,597 m) |
| Length | 126 mi (203 km) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Cunningham Creek,Elk Creek, Needle Creek,Canyon Creek,Florida River |
| • right | Mineral Creek, Mineral Creek,Lime Creek,Hermosa Creek, Junction Creek, Lightner Creek |
Animas River (On-e-mas;Spanish:Río de las Ánimas) is a 126-mile-long (203 km)[1] river in the westernUnited States, a tributary of theSan Juan River, part of theColorado River System.
The river has experienced numerous catastrophes due to the mining nearby, the largest being the 2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill.
Spanish explorerJuan Maria de Rivera ofSanta Fe recorded the name "Rio de las Animas" (in English, River of Souls) in 1765.[2] One theory is that the full name of the river was once "Rio de las Animas Perdidas" (River of Lost Souls) commemorating people who died in the river. A handful of commentators (3) have suggested that the origin of this river's name is confused name with thePurgatoire River of southeastern Colorado.[3]
The Animas River rises high inSan Juan Mountains ofColorado at the confluence of the West and North forks at theghost town ofAnimas Forks and flows south past the ghost towns ofEureka andHowardsville. AtSilverton, the river flows into theAnimas Canyon. TheDurango and Silverton Narrow gauge railroad follows the river through the canyon toDurango. From Durango the river flows south intoNew Mexico through the town ofAztec to its confluence with the San Juan River atFarmington. The only major tributary of the Animas River is theFlorida River which converges just north of the Colorado–New Mexico border.
The ancestral Puebloan site ofAztec Ruins National Monument is situated along the river in the present day town of Aztec and for much of its course the river flows through nativeUte andNavajo lands. The ruins contain the only fully reconstructed Anasazi Kiva, a ceremonial structure, in the US.[4]
The Animas-La Plata Water Project was completed in 2015. The project pumps water over a low pass to fill a reservoir,Lake Nighthorse, in Ridges Basin to satisfySouthern Ute tribal water rights claims associated with the Colorado Ute Settlement Act amendments of 2000.[5]
Numerous irrigation ditches serve the surrounding farmland along the river. The Durango Pumping Plant, completed in 2011, as part of theAnimas-La Plata Water Project, draws an average annual of 57,100 acre-feet from the river, for storage in Lake Nighthorse.[6]
Amethane seep was reported on the river inDurango, Colorado in 2016.[7]
The Animas serves as habitat to resident and migratorybald eagles which arrive in the winter months to take advantage of the ice-free river.[8]
The Animas River is home to rainbow and brown trout, most of which originate from the Animas Trout fishery in Durango. The river is the native home to the mottled sculpin, a bottom-dweller that thrives in clean mountain streams.[9]
In August 2015, the La Plata County Sheriff's Office closed the river to the public after a crew working for theEPA released approximately 3 million gallons of mine waste into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas.[10] The plug was accidentally removed while investigating a leak at the abandonedGold King Mine.[11] The mine was last active in the 1920s, but it had been leaking toxic water at a rate of 50 to 250 gallons a minute for years.[12] The spill contained the toxic metalsarsenic,cadmium, andlead, as well as the metalsaluminum andcopper.[13] There may be other toxic heavy metals in the plume.[13]
The spill changed the color of the river to orange, and the spill was described as "devastating" by Kim Stevens, the director ofEnvironment Colorado, who said that businesses who rely on the river for profit might have to close down.[14] The river's fish population might also be at risk due to the toxic waste that now runs through the river.[14]
In February 2016, the Associated Press reported that the spill "dumped 880,000 pounds of metals" into the Animas River, and that "most of the metals settled into the riverbed.[15]" The metals considered are "cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, zinc, and possibly others."
During an Oversight Committee on September 15, 2015, it was made public that the EPA was aware of the possible blowout of waste from the mine into the river but chose to work around the problem rather than fix it.[16]
The Animas river is a majorwhite water rafting attraction accounting for 8.9% of Colorado's commercial rafting market while annually generating 45,411 commercial user days and direct expenditures of $5,207,033 (2011 est).[17]
The Animas is afreestone fishery well populated withrainbow,brown,Colorado River cutthroat, andbrook trout. It is considered agold medal fishery above Rivera Bridge Crossing in Colorado.Recreational fishing with artificial lures andflies on the Animas is available year-round due to moderate winter weather.[18] Insect hatches ofaquatic diptera andmayflies occur in the winter and spring months. In late spring, summer and through fall the Animas seescaddisfly and mayfly hatches as well as terrestrials such as grasshoppers. Animas trout average 12 to 16 inches (30 to 41 cm). Larger trout in the 17 to 22 inches (43 to 56 cm) are occasionally caught by anglers. Brown trout as large as 36 inches (91 cm) have been caught in the Animas.
In the town of Farmington, a 4-mile long trail that runs along the river from Berg Park to Animas Park was listed as aNational Recreation Trail in 2011.[19]
Tico Time, a resort/waterpark/concert venue opened in 2023, adding a plethora of activities to the Animas River waterfront.[20]
Films have been shot with the Animas River taking center stage. InButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Robert Redford and Paul Newman leap to safety into the Animas River, not far from Durango. In the filmCity Slickers, the herd of cattle crosses the Animas River, followed by Billy Crystal rescuing a young calf from the river rapids.
The film "The Naked Spur" starring James Stewart and Janet Leigh was filmed in the area, with a central scene taking place on the Animas River.[21]
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