The San Miguel River is a tributary of the Dolores River, approximately long, in southwestern Colorado in the United States. It rises in the San Juan Mountains southeast of Telluride and flows northwest, along the southern slope of the Uncompahgre Plateau, past the towns of Placerville and Nucla and joins the Dolores in western Montrose County approximately 15 miles (24 km) east of the state line with Utah.
Geography and protected areas
The San Miguel is more or less free-flowing; however, diversion dams dot the river and alter flows. In some parts it is however one of the few remaining naturally functioning rivers of the West.
The San Miguel varies in gradient, from extremely steep in its upper reaches (forming a shallow, rocky, unnavigable stream) to more mellow in the lower sections ( of drop, which offers the whitewater boater a variety of runs all within the class II+--III range). All told, the San Miguel drops over from an alpine ecosystem to the desert. The average flow is about .
More than 30 miles of the San Miguel are a protected area, as parts of the area were purchased by the ″Nature Conservancy Association″ in 1989.
Bridal Veil Creek of Bridal Veil Falls and other creeks above Telluride join to form the river, which first flows to the west through Telluride. Other tributaries include the South Fork of the San Miguel River, which joins from the south and itself has various creeks and the Lake Fork of the San Miguel River as tributaries.
Tourism
Whitewater kayakers and boaters enjoy many sections on the San Miguel.
File:Paddler in a duckie on the San Miguel River.jpg|Paddler in a inflatable boat on the San Miguel River
File:Confluence Of The San Miguel And Dolores Rivers, Sept 2012.jpg|The mouth of the San Miguel - the confluence of the Dolores River (muddy on the left) and the San Miguel (clear on the right)
File:San Miguel River, Ajax Peak.jpg|The headwaters of San Miguel River form at Ajax Peak, shown with the river.
File:San Miguel River (Colorado).JPG|The river at Placerville, Colorado
thumb|San Miguel River
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See also
- List of rivers of Colorado
- List of tributaries of the Colorado River