# Animas River

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Animas_River
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Animas_River.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animas_River
> Source revision: 1356684498
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{short description|Tributary of the San Juan River in the US states of Colorado and New Mexico}}
{{for|the river in Mexico|Animas River (Mexico)}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox river
| name               = Animas River
| native_name        = 
| native_name_lang   = 
| name_other         = 
| name_etymology     = 
<!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP -->
| image              = Animas River DSRR.jpg
| image_caption      = Animas River at [Durango and Silverton railroad](/source/Durango_and_Silverton_Narrow_Gauge_Railroad) crossing just north of confluence with Lime Creek
| image_size         = 300
| map                = 
| map_size           = 
| map_caption        = 
| pushpin_map        = New Mexico
| pushpin_map_size   = 300
| pushpin_map_caption= Location of the mouth of the Animas River in New Mexico
<!---------------------- LOCATION -->
| subdivision_type1  = Country
| subdivision_name1  = United States
| subdivision_type2  = State
| subdivision_name2  = Colorado, New Mexico
| subdivision_type3  = 
| subdivision_name3  = 
| subdivision_type4  = 
| subdivision_name4  = 
| subdivision_type5  = 
| subdivision_name5  = 
<!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS -->
| length             = {{convert|126|mi|km|abbr=on}} 
| width_min          = 
| width_avg          = 
| width_max          = 
| depth_min          = 
| depth_avg          = 
| depth_max          = 
| discharge1_location= 
| discharge1_min     = 
| discharge1_avg     = 
| discharge1_max     = 
<!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES -->
| source1            = Confluence of North Fork Animas River and West Fork Animas River<br>{{Coord|37|55|53|N|107|34|10|W|display=inline}}
| source1_location   = [San Juan County](/source/San_Juan_County%2C_Colorado), CO
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|37|55|53|N|107|34|10|W|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation  = 
| mouth              = Confluence with [San Juan](/source/San_Juan_River_(Colorado_River))
| mouth_location     = [San Juan County, NM](/source/San_Juan_County%2C_NM)
| mouth_coordinates  = {{coord|36|42|50|N|108|13|18|W|display=inline,title}}
| mouth_elevation    = {{convert|5239|ft|abbr=on}}
| progression        = 
| river_system       = 
| basin_size         = 
| tributaries_left   = Cunningham Creek, [Elk Creek](/source/Elk_Creek_(Colorado)), Needle Creek, [Canyon Creek](/source/Canyon_Creek_(Colorado)), [Florida River](/source/Florida_River)
| tributaries_right  = Mineral Creek, Mineral Creek, [Lime Creek](/source/Lime_Creek_(Colorado)), [Hermosa Creek](/source/Hermosa_Creek), Junction Creek, Lightner Creek
| custom_label       = 
| custom_data        = 
| extra              = 
}}

'''Animas River''' ({{langx|es|Río de las Ánimas}}, {{langx|nv|Kinteeldéé' 'Nlíní}}, {{langx|ute|Sagwavanukwiti}}) is a {{convert|126|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ |title=The National Map |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |access-date=Feb 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329155652/http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ |archive-date=2012-03-29 }}</ref> river in the western [United States](/source/United_States), a tributary of the [San Juan River](/source/San_Juan_River_(Colorado_River)), part of the [Colorado River System](/source/Colorado_River).

The river has experienced numerous catastrophes due to the mining nearby, the largest being the 2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill.

==Name==
{{stack|thumb|The river just north of downtown Durango}}
[Spanish](/source/Spanish_people) explorer [Juan Maria de Rivera](/source/Juan_Rivera_(explorer)) of [Santa Fe](/source/Santa_Fe%2C_New_Mexico) recorded the name "''Río de las Ánimas''" (English: ''River of Souls'') in 1765.<ref>{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6hxBEcShbK8C&q=juan+rivera+animas+river&pg=PA27 |author=Wildfang, Frederic |title=Durango |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |year=2009 |access-date=August 5, 2013 |page=27|isbn=9780738569758 }}</ref> The river later also came to be called "''Río de las Ánimas Perdidas''" (''River of Lost Souls''), perhaps commemorating those who died in the river. Some commentators have suggested that the origin of this river's name was derived of confusion with the [Purgatoire River](/source/Purgatoire_River) of southeastern Colorado.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Johnston |first1=Elwin |title=Lost history of the Animas River |url=https://www.durangotelegraph.com/opinion/soap-box/lost-history-of-the-animas-river/ |website=Opinion Letters to the Editor |publisher=Durango Telegraph |access-date=4 July 2021}}</ref>

==Watershed==
[[File:Animas River Bridge.jpg|thumb|upright|left|The Animas River from a foot bridge in [Farmington](/source/Farmington%2C_New_Mexico)]]
The Animas River rises high in [San Juan Mountains](/source/San_Juan_Mountains) of [Colorado](/source/Colorado) at the confluence of the West and North forks at the [ghost town](/source/Ghost_towns) of [Animas Forks](/source/Animas_Forks%2C_Colorado) and flows south past the ghost towns of [Eureka](/source/Eureka%2C_Colorado) and [Howardsville](/source/Howardsville%2C_Colorado). At [Silverton](/source/Silverton%2C_Colorado), the river flows into the [Animas Canyon](/source/Animas_Canyon).  The [Durango and Silverton Narrow gauge railroad](/source/Durango_and_Silverton_Narrow_Gauge_Railroad) follows the river through the canyon to [Durango](/source/Durango%2C_Colorado). From Durango the river flows south into [New Mexico](/source/New_Mexico) through the town of [Aztec](/source/Aztec%2C_New_Mexico) to its confluence with the San Juan River at [Farmington](/source/Farmington%2C_New_Mexico). The only major tributary of the Animas River is the [Florida River](/source/Florida_River) which confluences with the Animas just north of the Colorado–New Mexico border.

==Indigenous peoples==
The ancestral Puebloan site of [Aztec Ruins National Monument](/source/Aztec_Ruins) is situated along the river in the present day town of Aztec and for much of its course the river flows through native [Ute](/source/Ute_people) and [Navajo](/source/Navajo_people) lands. The ruins contain the only fully reconstructed Anasazi Kiva, a ceremonial structure, in the US.<ref>Brice, E. (2024). New Mexico’s Aztec Ruins. ''Salem Press Encyclopedia''.</ref>

==Engineering and development==
[The Animas-La Plata Water Project](/source/Animas-La_Plata_Water_Project) was completed in 2015. The project pumps water over a low pass to fill a reservoir, [Lake Nighthorse](/source/Lake_Nighthorse), in Ridges Basin to satisfy [Southern Ute](/source/Southern_Ute) tribal water rights claims associated with the Colorado Ute Settlement Act amendments of 2000.<ref name="Bureau of Reclamation">{{cite web |title=Colorado Ute Settlement Acts |url=https://www.usbr.gov/uc/progact/animas/pdfs/1_ALPCostSharingAgt313_02.pdf |access-date=21 October 2014 |website=www.usbr.gov |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior}}</ref>

Numerous irrigation ditches serve the surrounding farmland along the river. The Durango Pumping Plant, completed in 2011, as part of the [Animas-La Plata Water Project](/source/Animas-La_Plata_Water_Project), draws an average annual of 57,100 acre-feet from the river, for storage in Lake Nighthorse.<ref>{{cite web |title=Animas La Plata Project Implementation of the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000 |url=http://www.usbr.gov/uc/progact/animas/overview.html |publisher=Bureau of Reclamation |access-date=8 July 2012 |archive-date=6 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306221544/http://www.usbr.gov/uc/progact/animas/overview.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

A [methane seep](/source/Four_Corners_Methane_Hot_Spot) was reported on the river in [Durango, Colorado](/source/Durango%2C_Colorado) in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |last=Fenton |first=James |date=May 12, 2016 |title=Geologist: Coal outcrops cause methane hot spot |url=http://www.daily-times.com/story/money/industries/oil-gas/2016/05/12/geologist-coal-outcrops-cause-methane-hot-spot/84291088/ |url-status=dead |access-date=June 29, 2016 |publisher=Farmington Daily Times}}</ref>

==Wildlife and plants==
The Animas serves as habitat to resident and migratory [bald eagle](/source/bald_eagle)s which arrive in the winter months to take advantage of the ice-free river.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rodebaugh|first=Dale|title=The eagle: At home along the Animas|url=http://durangoherald.com/article/20120419/NEWS06/704199958&source=RSS|newspaper=The Durango Herald|access-date=8 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006095314/http://durangoherald.com/article/20120419/NEWS06/704199958%26source%3DRSS|archive-date=6 October 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Animas River {{!}} Colorado Encyclopedia |url=https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/animas-river |access-date=2024-12-05 |website=coloradoencyclopedia.org}}</ref>

==2015 contaminants spill==
{{Main|2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill}}
[[File:Animas River spill 2015-08-06.JPG|thumb|right|The Animas River between Silverton and [Durango](/source/Durango%2C_Colorado) within 24 hours of the spill.]]

In August 2015, the La Plata County Sheriff's Office closed the river to the public after a crew working for the [EPA](/source/United_States_Environmental_Protection_Agency) released approximately 3 million gallons of mine waste into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-river-mine-spill-20150810-story.html#page=1|title=The toxic Colorado river spill and the menace of old hard-rock mines|author=Los Angeles Times|date=10 August 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=20 August 2015}}</ref>  The plug was accidentally removed while investigating a leak at the abandoned [Gold King Mine](/source/2015_Gold_King_Mine_waste_water_spill).<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/08/us/wastewater-spill-in-colorado-turns-a-river-yellow.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=mini-moth&region=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below|title = River turns yellow |last=Daniel|first=Victor|date=August 7, 2015|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Environmental Agency Uncorks Its Own Toxic Water Spill at Colorado Mine (Published 2015) |work=The New York Times |date=10 August 2015 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/11/us/durango-colorado-mine-spill-environmental-protection-agency.html?module=WatchingPortal&region=c-column-middle-span- |last1=Turkewitz |first1=Julie }}</ref> The spill contained the toxic metals [arsenic](/source/Arsenic_poisoning), [cadmium](/source/Cadmium_poisoning), and [lead](/source/Lead_poisoning), as well as the metals [aluminum](/source/Aluminium) and [copper](/source/Copper).<ref name="DenPost">{{cite news|url=http://www.denverpost.com/environment/ci_28601566/animas-river-spill-leaves-durango-officials-edge-waiting|title=Regional EPA director calls wastewater spill in Animas River 'tragic'|publisher=[Denver post](/source/Denver_post)|date=August 10, 2015|access-date=August 10, 2015}}</ref> There may be other toxic heavy metals in the plume.<ref name="DenPost"/>

The spill changed the color of the river to orange, and the spill was described as "devastating" by Kim Stevens, the director of [Environment Colorado](/source/Environment_Colorado), who said that businesses who rely on the river for profit might have to close down.<ref name=riverpoison>{{cite news|last=Castillo|first=Mariano|url=https://www.cnn.com/2015/08/10/us/colorado-epa-mine-river-spill/index.html|title=Pollution flowing faster than facts in EPA spill|publisher=[CNN](/source/CNN)|date=August 10, 2015|access-date=August 10, 2015}}</ref> The river's fish population might also be at risk due to the toxic waste that now runs through the river.<ref name=riverpoison/>

In February 2016, the Associated Press reported that the spill "dumped {{convert|880,000|lb|disp=sqbr}} of metals" into the Animas River, and that "most of the metals settled into the riverbed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_29481905/epa-mine-spill-dumped-880-000-pounds-metals?source=pkg|title = EPA: Mine spill dumped 880,000 pounds of metals in river|date = 5 February 2016}}</ref>" 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=US Government Publishing Office |date=2016 |title=EPA'S Animas Spill Joint Oversight Hearing |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-114hhrg96242/pdf/CHRG-114hhrg96242.pdf }}</ref>

==Recreation==
thumb|left|Aerial view of the Animas River coming out of Durango
thumb|The Animas River between Cedar Hill, New Mexico, and the Colorado border

The Animas river is a major [white water rafting](/source/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).<ref>{{cite web|title=Commercial River Use in the State of Colorado 1988-2011 |url=http://www.croa.org/media/documents/pdf/2011-commercial-rafting-use-report-final.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321141320/http://www.croa.org/media/documents/pdf/2011-commercial-rafting-use-report-final.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 March 2014 |publisher=Colorado River Outfitters Association |access-date=8 July 2012 }}</ref>

The Animas is a [freestone](/source/Freestone_stream) fishery well populated with [rainbow](/source/rainbow_trout), [brown](/source/brown_trout), [Colorado River cutthroat](/source/Colorado_River_cutthroat_trout), and [brook trout](/source/brook_trout).  It is considered a [gold medal fishery](/source/Blue_Ribbon_fishery) above Rivera Bridge Crossing in Colorado. [Recreational fishing](/source/Recreational_fishing) with artificial lures and [flies](/source/Fly_fishing) on the Animas is available year-round due to moderate winter weather.<ref name=COreg>{{cite web |url=https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/RulesRegs/Brochure/fishing.pdf |title=2014 Colorado Fishing |publisher=Colorado Parks and Wildlife |date=March 2014 |access-date=2014-10-21}}</ref> Insect hatches of [aquatic diptera](/source/diptera) and [mayflies](/source/mayflies) occur in the winter and spring months. In late spring, summer and through fall the Animas sees [caddisfly](/source/caddisfly) and mayfly hatches as well as terrestrials such as grasshoppers. Animas trout average {{convert|12|to|16|in|cm}}. Larger trout in the {{convert|17|to|22|in|cm}} are occasionally caught by anglers.  Brown trout as large as {{convert|36|in|cm}} have been caught in the Animas.

In the town of Farmington, a {{convert|4|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} trail that runs along the river from Berg Park to Animas Park was listed as a [National Recreation Trail](/source/National_Recreation_Trail) in 2011.<ref name="nrt">{{cite web |title=Berg/Animas Trail |url=https://www.nrtapplication.org/trails/berg-animas-trail |website=NRT Database |access-date=August 20, 2024}}</ref>

Tico Time, a resort/waterpark/concert venue opened in 2023, adding a plethora of activities to the Animas River waterfront.<ref>{{Cite web |last=NM Tourism Board |title=Tico Time River Resort |url=https://www.newmexico.org/listing/tico-time-river-resort/9613/}}</ref>

==Media==
Films have been shot with the Animas River taking center stage.  In ''[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid](/source/Butch_Cassidy_and_the_Sundance_Kid)'', Robert Redford and Paul Newman leap to safety into the Animas River, not far from Durango.  In the film ''[City Slickers](/source/City_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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=And the West is History: Janet Leigh & Tony Curtis on set of "The Naked Spur" – 1952 |url=https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/and-the-west-is-history-janet-leigh-tony-curtis-on-set-of-the-naked-spur-1952/ |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=Durango Herald |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
* [List of rivers of Colorado](/source/List_of_rivers_of_Colorado)
* [List of rivers of New Mexico](/source/List_of_rivers_of_New_Mexico)
* [List of tributaries of the Colorado River](/source/List_of_tributaries_of_the_Colorado_River)
* [Animas-La Plata Water Project](/source/Animas-La_Plata_Water_Project)
* [Lake Nighthorse](/source/Lake_Nighthorse)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Thompson, Jonathan. (2015). "When our river turned orange" [High Country News].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hcn.org/articles/when-our-river-turned-orange-animas-river-spill|title=When our river turned orange|date=9 August 2015}}</ref>
* Desborough, G.A. and D.B. Yager. (2000). ''Acid-neutralizing potential of igneous bedrocks in the Animas River headwaters, San Juan County, Colorado'' [U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 00-165]. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
* Nash, T. (1999). ''Geochemical investigations and interim recommendations for priority abandoned mine sites, BLM lands, upper Animas River watershed, San Juan County, Colorado'' [U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 99-323]. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
* Yager, D.B. et al. (2003). ''Ferricrete, manganocrete, and bog iron occurrences with selected sedge bogs and active iron bogs and springs in the upper Animas River watershed, San Juan County, Colorado'' [Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2406]. Denver: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.

==External links==
{{commons category|Animas River}}
* [https://www.riverreachfoundation.com River Reach Foundation]
* [https://www.durangogov.org/index.aspx?NID=550 City of Durango-Animas River]

{{Colorado}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Rivers of Colorado
Category:Rivers of New Mexico
Category:Tributaries of the Colorado River in Colorado
Category:Tributaries of the Colorado River in New Mexico
Category:Rivers of San Juan County, New Mexico
Category:Rivers of La Plata County, Colorado
Category:Rivers of San Juan County, Colorado
Category:Old Spanish Trail (trade route)
Category:National Recreation Trails in New Mexico

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Animas River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animas_River) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animas_River?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.