Green River

Where the Green River comes from

About 730 miles from the Wind River Range in Wyoming, through Flaming Gorge and the Uinta Basin, to the Colorado River in Canyonlands.

Map of the Green River — Green River. River lines from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.

Headwaters

The heart of the Canyon of Lodore, below Browns Park, in the 1870s.Powell Survey. U.S. National Archives, public domain · source

The Wind River Range

The Green River begins in the glaciers and snowfields of the Wind River Range in western Wyoming and flows out through the Green River Lakes. It runs south across the Wyoming basins, the largest tributary of the Colorado.¹

Flaming Gorge

On the Wyoming–Utah line, Flaming Gorge Dam (finished in 1964) holds the river in a long reservoir. Its releases set the river's flow through Browns Park and the Gates of Lodore.²

The Yampa and the Uinta Basin

At Echo Park in Dinosaur National Monument the Yampa, one of the last big undammed rivers in the basin, joins. In the Uinta Basin the Duchesne comes in from the Uinta Mountains and the White River from Colorado's Flat Tops.^3,4,5

The river, top to bottom

The Butte of the Cross in Labyrinth Canyon, two buttes that line up from the river, 1870s.Powell Survey (John K. Hillers). U.S. National Archives, public domain · source

Disaster Falls in the Canyon of Lodore, where Powell's first expedition wrecked a boat in 1869. E. O. Beaman, 1871.Powell Survey (E. O. Beaman). U.S. National Archives, public domain · source

Wind River Range, WYThe river starts at the Green River Lakes.
Flaming Gorge DamHolds and releases the upper river.
Echo Park, DinosaurThe Yampa joins.
Uinta Basin near OurayThe Duchesne and White rivers join.
Desolation & Gray canyonsA deep canyon through the Tavaputs Plateau; the Price River joins.
Town of Green River, UTThe river leaves the canyons.
Labyrinth & Stillwater canyonsThe San Rafael River joins; the river meanders into Canyonlands.
The ConfluenceMeets the Colorado in Canyonlands National Park.

Main tributaries

Gunnison Butte on the Green, at the foot of Gray Canyon near the town of Green River; W. H. Jackson, 1870s.W. H. Jackson, Hayden Survey. U.S. National Archives, public domain · source

Split Mountain Canyon on the Green, below Echo Park, 1870s.Powell Survey. U.S. National Archives, public domain · source

Stream	Joins	Notes
Yampa River	Echo Park	Mostly undammed; big snowmelt peaks.
Duchesne River	Near Ouray, UT	From the Uinta Mountains; much of it diverted.
White River	Near Ouray, UT	From the Flat Tops in Colorado.
Price River	Gray Canyon	From the Wasatch Plateau; flashy summer floods.
San Rafael River	Below Green River, UT	Drains the San Rafael Swell.

Why it matters for floods

Snowmelt from the Rockies and Uintas brings the Green its high water in May and June, partly held by Flaming Gorge. Summer storms over the Price and San Rafael and the canyon country below the Uinta Basin can add sudden, muddy surges.^1,2 The live map watches the gauges along the way.

The Green River and its Tributaries

Sources

Southwest River Watch · History · Terms