Plateau Creek is a tributary of the Colorado River

Colorado River

The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...

, approximately 50 miles (80.5 km) long, located in western Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It drains a lush cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 ranching valley, known as the Plateau Valley, north of the Grand Mesa

Grand Mesa

The Grand Mesa is a large mesa in western Colorado in the United States. It has an area of about and stretches for about east of Grand Junction between the Colorado River and the Gunnison River, its tributary to the south. The north side of the mesa is drained largely by Plateau Creek, a...

 and east of Grand Junction

Grand Junction, Colorado

The City of Grand Junction is the largest city in western Colorado. It is a city with a council–manager government form that is the county seat and the most populous city of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. Grand Junction is situated west-southwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. As...

.

It rises in northeastern Mesa County

Mesa County, Colorado

Mesa County is the fourth most extensive and the eleventh most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado in the United States. The county was named for the many large mesas in the area, including Grand Mesa. The county population was 146,723 at the 2010 United States Census. The...

, in the Grand Mesa National Forest

Grand Mesa National Forest

The Grand Mesa National Forest is a U.S. National Forest in Mesa, Delta and Garfield Counties in Western Colorado. It borders the White River National Forest to the north and the Gunnison National Forest to the east. The forest covers most of Grand Mesa and the south part of Battlement Mesa. It...

 and descends through a narrow canyon to the northwest, passing north of Vega State Park

Vega State Park

Vega State Park is a Colorado state park in Mesa County, Colorado in the United States. Vega Reservoir is a fishing destination and is located at an elevation of . Year-round recreational activities at Vega State Park include boating, hiking, snow mobiling and camping...

. It enters the Plateau Valley at Collbran

Collbran, Colorado

Collbran is a Statutory Town in Mesa County, Colorado, United States. It is part of the Grand Junction Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 708 at the 2010 census. The town is located east of Grand Junction along Plateau Creek, at the upper end of the small cattle ranching valley...

, the largest community in the valley. It flows generally west along the north edge of the Grand Mesa uplands, past Molina

Molina, Colorado

Molina is an unincorporated town and a U.S. Post Office located in Mesa County, Colorado, United States. The Molina Post Office has the ZIP Code 81646....

. State Highway 330

Colorado State Highway 330

-Route description:SH 330 runs , starting at a junction with Colorado State Highway 65, heading east past Molina and ending at Grove Creek Rd. in Collbran.-Major intersections:The entire route is in Mesa County.-Route description:...

 follows the creek through the valley, crossing it several times. Near the junction of State Highway 330 and State Highway 65

Colorado State Highway 65

State Highway 65 is a highway in Colorado that crosses the Grand Mesa. The highway along with a road to Lands End Overlook were designated as the Grand Mesa Scenic and Historic Byway in 1996.-Route description:...

 it enters a narrow canyon for the lower 8 miles (12.9 km), followed by State Highway 65. It joins the Colorado from the east in De Beque Canyon

De Beque Canyon

De Beque Canyon is a narrow canyon on the Colorado River in western Colorado in the United States. It is approximately 15 miles long, located on the river downstream from the town of De Beque, in eastern Mesa County. The canyon forms a narrow passage where the river passes along the western end of...

approximately 15 miles (24.1 km) east of Grand Junction.