Roaring Fork Valley
Encyclopedia
The Roaring Fork Valley is a geographical region in western Colorado
in the United States
. The Roaring Fork Valley is one of the most affluent regions in Colorado as well as one of the most populous and economically vital areas of the Colorado Western Slope
. The Valley is defined by the valley of the Roaring Fork River
and its tributaries, including the Crystal
and Fryingpan River
. It includes the communities of Aspen
, Snowmass Village
, Basalt
, Carbondale
, and Glenwood Springs
. Mount Sopris
and the Roaring Fork River serve as symbols of the Roaring Fork Valley.
people prior to the coming of the first U.S. settlers over Independence Pass
in 1879. The first settlers were prospectors looking for silver
in the wake of the Colorado Silver Boom
in nearby Leadville
. Aspen flourished as a mining community in the late 1880s and early 1890s until the silver crash of 1893. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, coal mining
in the valley of the Crystal emerged as an important extractive industry, one that has nearly entirely vanished (coal is still extracted south of McClure Pass
in the nearby North Fork Valley
).
that are location of the popular Aspen/Snowmass
ski resort
s. The upper (southeast) end of the valley is sometimes called the Aspen Valley, but locals simply refer to it as "up-valley" - Aspen - and "down-valley" - Glenwood Springs. Mount Sopris
dominates the lower (northwest) end of the valley and serves as an unofficial symbol of the region. Many think the Roaring Fork River, from which the valley was named, is the unofficial symbol of the region.
(Aspen), Eagle County
(Basalt), Garfield County
(Glenwood Springs, Carbondale), and Gunnison County
. The fragmented structure is in contrast to the nearby Eagle Valley
, which lies entirely within Eagle County. The fragmented governmental structure has made the adoption of a comprehensive land-use and growth policy more difficult, especially in regard to Aspen, which has struggled between the extremes of allowing unbridled growth leading to sprawl
and restricting growth altogether. Roaring Fork Conservancy
works on river and water issues across these lines and the Roaring Fork Watershed Collaborativehttp://www.roaringfork.org/collaborative works to address regional issues in this geographic area.
The main economic engine of the valley is the Aspen/Snowmass
recreational skiing complex which directly or indirectly drives the related tourism, hospitality, retail, construction, real estate, professional service and property maintenance industries. Although skiing forms the foundation of the economy, other activities increasingly contribute to visitor numbers. Non-winter recreational and cultural activities such as fly fishing
on the Fryingpan and whitewater rafting on the Roaring Fork, Aspen Institute
and Rocky Mountain Institute
conferences, the Aspen Music Festival, and numerous other cultural events attract visitors year-round.
Although the valley floor is largely privately owned, most of the surrounding highlands are within the White River National Forest
and are another major source of recreation and tourism. Agriculture
, principally livestock
raising, plays a very moderate and declining role in the valley's economy. Potato
cultivation has historically been important in the lower valley, but is virtually nonexistent at present.
serves as the principal transportation artery of the valley, having many freeway characteristics. The once rural character of much of the valley has been replaced with nearly continuous development linking the regions four main cities. Though parts of the valley are largely rural, the valley is served by an extensive public transportation system called the Roaring Fork Transit Authority, which is a popular commuting route between Aspen and Glenwood.
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...
. The Roaring Fork Valley is one of the most affluent regions in Colorado as well as one of the most populous and economically vital areas of the Colorado Western Slope
Colorado Western Slope
The Western Slope of Colorado refers to a region of the U.S. state of Colorado incorporating everything in the state west of the Continental Divide. The Colorado River and its tributaries divide the region into north and south at Grand Junction, Colorado...
. The Valley is defined by the valley of the Roaring Fork River
Roaring Fork River
Roaring Fork River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in west central Colorado in the United States. The river drains a populated and economically vital area of the Colorado Western Slope called the Roaring Fork Valley or Roaring Fork Watershed, which includes the resort...
and its tributaries, including the Crystal
Crystal River
Crystal River may refer to the following places in the United States of America:*Crystal River, Florida, a town in Florida*Crystal River , a river near the town of the same name...
and Fryingpan River
Fryingpan River
The Fryingpan River is a tributary of the Roaring Fork River, approximately long, in west central Colorado in the United States.It rises in northeastern Pitkin County, in the White River National Forest in the Sawatch Mountains along the western side of the continental divide. It flows westward...
. It includes the communities of Aspen
Aspen, Colorado
The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
, Snowmass Village
Snowmass Village, Colorado
Snowmass Village is a Home Rule Municipality in Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,822 at the 2000 census. A popular winter resort location for skiing and snowboarding, the town is best known as the location of the Snowmass ski area, the largest of the four nearby ski...
, Basalt
Basalt, Colorado
Basalt is a Statutory Town in Eagle and Pitkin counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. The population was 2,681 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, Carbondale
Carbondale, Colorado
Carbondale is a Home Rule Municipality in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The population was 5,196 at the 2000 census. The town is located in the mid valley of the Roaring Fork River, downstream from Aspen and upstream from the mouth of the Roaring Fork at Glenwood Springs. The town...
, and Glenwood Springs
Glenwood Springs, Colorado
The City of Glenwood Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimated that the city population was 8,564 in 2005...
. Mount Sopris
Mount Sopris
Mount Sopris is a high, twin-summitted mountain peak located at the northwest end of the Elk Mountains in western Colorado in the United States. The mountain is located in western Pitkin County, south of Carbondale and southwest of the confluence of the Crystal and Roaring Fork rivers. It lies in...
and the Roaring Fork River serve as symbols of the Roaring Fork Valley.
History
The valley was inhabited by the UteUte Tribe
The Ute are an American Indian people now living primarily in Utah and Colorado. There are three Ute tribal reservations: Uintah-Ouray in northeastern Utah ; Southern Ute in Colorado ; and Ute Mountain which primarily lies in Colorado, but extends to Utah and New Mexico . The name of the state of...
people prior to the coming of the first U.S. settlers over Independence Pass
Independence Pass (Colorado)
Independence Pass, elevation , is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States.The pass crosses the ridge of the Sawatch Range between Aspen and Leadville, on the border between Pitkin and Lake counties, and is within the White River National Forest...
in 1879. The first settlers were prospectors looking for silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
in the wake of the Colorado Silver Boom
Colorado Silver Boom
The Colorado Silver Boom was a dramatic expansionist period of silver mining activity in the U.S. state of Colorado in the late 19th century. The boom started in 1879 with the discovery of silver at Leadville...
in nearby Leadville
Leadville, Colorado
Leadville is a Statutory City that is the county seat of, and the only municipality in, Lake County, Colorado, United States. Situated at an elevation of , Leadville is the highest incorporated city and the second highest incorporated municipality in the United States...
. Aspen flourished as a mining community in the late 1880s and early 1890s until the silver crash of 1893. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
in the valley of the Crystal emerged as an important extractive industry, one that has nearly entirely vanished (coal is still extracted south of McClure Pass
McClure Pass
McClure Pass is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of western Colorado in the United States.- Overview :...
in the nearby North Fork Valley
North Fork Gunnison River
The North Fork Gunnison River is a tributary of the Gunnison River, long, in southwestern Colorado in the United States. It drains part of the southwestern flank of the Elk Mountains northeast of Delta....
).
Geography
The Roaring Fork Valley is part of the larger Roaring Fork Watershed, which includes the Fryingpan and Crystal River valleys. The valley extends for approximately 50 miles (80 km) southeast to northwest from Aspen northwest to Glenwood Springs at the mouth of the Roaring Fork on the Colorado River, ranging in width between 1 mile (1.6 km) and 5 miles (8 km). It is surrounded by mountains on all sides, in particular on its southwest edge by the high Elk MountainsElk Mountains (Colorado)
The Elk Mountains are a high, rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of west-central Colorado in the United States. The mountains sit on the western side of the Continental Divide, largely in southern Pitkin and northern Gunnison counties, in the area southwest of Aspen, south of the Roaring...
that are location of the popular Aspen/Snowmass
Aspen/Snowmass
Aspen/Snowmass is an expansive winter resort complex located in Pitkin County in western Colorado in the United States. Owned and operated by the Aspen Skiing Company it comprises four skiing/snowboarding areas on four adjacent mountains in the vicinity of the towns of Aspen and Snowmass Village...
ski resort
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
s. The upper (southeast) end of the valley is sometimes called the Aspen Valley, but locals simply refer to it as "up-valley" - Aspen - and "down-valley" - Glenwood Springs. Mount Sopris
Mount Sopris
Mount Sopris is a high, twin-summitted mountain peak located at the northwest end of the Elk Mountains in western Colorado in the United States. The mountain is located in western Pitkin County, south of Carbondale and southwest of the confluence of the Crystal and Roaring Fork rivers. It lies in...
dominates the lower (northwest) end of the valley and serves as an unofficial symbol of the region. Many think the Roaring Fork River, from which the valley was named, is the unofficial symbol of the region.
Politics
The politics of the Roaring Fork Watershed are somewhat complex, arising principally from the fact that the watershed is split awkwardly among four different counties: PitkinPitkin County, Colorado
Pitkin County is one of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county is named in honor of the late Colorado Governor Frederick Walker Pitkin. The county population was 14,872 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Aspen...
(Aspen), Eagle County
Eagle County, Colorado
Eagle County is the thirteenth most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado in the United States. The county is named for the Eagle River. The county population was 41,659 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is the Town of Eagle...
(Basalt), Garfield County
Garfield County, Colorado
Garfield County is the eighth most extensive and the twelfth most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 43,791 at U.S. Census 2000. The county is named in honor of United States President James A. Garfield...
(Glenwood Springs, Carbondale), and Gunnison County
Gunnison County, Colorado
Gunnison County is the fifth most extensive of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado in the United States. The county population was 15,324 at the 2010 census. The county was named for John W. Gunnison, a United States Army officer and captain in the Army Topographical Engineers, who surveyed...
. The fragmented structure is in contrast to the nearby Eagle Valley
Eagle River (Colorado)
The Eagle River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in west central Colorado in the United States.It rises in southeastern Eagle County, at the continental divide, and flows northwest past Gilman, Minturn, Avon...
, which lies entirely within Eagle County. The fragmented governmental structure has made the adoption of a comprehensive land-use and growth policy more difficult, especially in regard to Aspen, which has struggled between the extremes of allowing unbridled growth leading to sprawl
Sprawl
Sprawl can refer to:*Sprawl , a defensive technique in wrestling and martial arts used to prevent a takedown.*Urban sprawl, also called suburban sprawl...
and restricting growth altogether. Roaring Fork Conservancy
Roaring Fork Conservancy
Roaring Fork Conservancy is the watershed conservation organization for the Roaring Fork Watershed in west central Colorado, which operates to raise public awareness of the protection of the Roaring Fork Watershed...
works on river and water issues across these lines and the Roaring Fork Watershed Collaborativehttp://www.roaringfork.org/collaborative works to address regional issues in this geographic area.
Economy
Aspen/Snowmass
Aspen/Snowmass is an expansive winter resort complex located in Pitkin County in western Colorado in the United States. Owned and operated by the Aspen Skiing Company it comprises four skiing/snowboarding areas on four adjacent mountains in the vicinity of the towns of Aspen and Snowmass Village...
recreational skiing complex which directly or indirectly drives the related tourism, hospitality, retail, construction, real estate, professional service and property maintenance industries. Although skiing forms the foundation of the economy, other activities increasingly contribute to visitor numbers. Non-winter recreational and cultural activities such as fly fishing
Fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...
on the Fryingpan and whitewater rafting on the Roaring Fork, Aspen Institute
Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1950 as the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies. The organization is dedicated to "fostering enlightened leadership, the appreciation of timeless ideas and values, and open-minded dialogue on contemporary issues." The...
and Rocky Mountain Institute
Rocky Mountain Institute
Rocky Mountain Institute is an organization in the United States dedicated to research, publication, consulting, and lecturing in the general field of sustainability, with a special focus on profitable innovations for energy and resource efficiency. RMI was established in 1982 and has grown into a...
conferences, the Aspen Music Festival, and numerous other cultural events attract visitors year-round.
Although the valley floor is largely privately owned, most of the surrounding highlands are within the White River National Forest
White River National Forest
White River National Forest is a National Forest in northwest Colorado. It is named after the White River that passes through it. It also contains the Flat Tops Wilderness Area, largely considered the birthplace of the U.S...
and are another major source of recreation and tourism. Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, principally livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
raising, plays a very moderate and declining role in the valley's economy. Potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
cultivation has historically been important in the lower valley, but is virtually nonexistent at present.
Populace
The valley has been one of the most rapidly growing areas of Colorado in recent years, not only in the vicinity of Aspen, but notably in the lower end of the valley below Basalt. The communities of Basalt and Carbondale have served as bedroom communities for day workers in Aspen, where high property values have increasingly strained the ability of low and middle-income workers to afford the cost of living. Though now the affluence in Aspen can also be found to a certain extent in Basalt. Colorado State Highway 82Colorado State Highway 82
State Highway 82 is an 85.29 mile long state highway in the U.S. state of Colorado.-Route description:SH 82 provides the principal transportation artery of the Roaring Fork Valley on the Colorado Western Slope, running from Interstate 70 at Glenwood Springs southeast past Carbondale, Basalt...
serves as the principal transportation artery of the valley, having many freeway characteristics. The once rural character of much of the valley has been replaced with nearly continuous development linking the regions four main cities. Though parts of the valley are largely rural, the valley is served by an extensive public transportation system called the Roaring Fork Transit Authority, which is a popular commuting route between Aspen and Glenwood.
Communities
- AspenAspen, ColoradoThe City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
- BasaltBasalt, ColoradoBasalt is a Statutory Town in Eagle and Pitkin counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. The population was 2,681 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
- CarbondaleCarbondale, ColoradoCarbondale is a Home Rule Municipality in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The population was 5,196 at the 2000 census. The town is located in the mid valley of the Roaring Fork River, downstream from Aspen and upstream from the mouth of the Roaring Fork at Glenwood Springs. The town...
- El JebelEl Jebel, ColoradoEl Jebel is a census-designated place in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population was 3,801 at the 2010 census. The community is located in the Roaring Fork Valley, between Carbondale and Basalt, along the north side of State Highway 82...
- Glenwood SpringsGlenwood Springs, ColoradoThe City of Glenwood Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimated that the city population was 8,564 in 2005...
- Snowmass VillageSnowmass Village, ColoradoSnowmass Village is a Home Rule Municipality in Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,822 at the 2000 census. A popular winter resort location for skiing and snowboarding, the town is best known as the location of the Snowmass ski area, the largest of the four nearby ski...
- SnowmassSnowmass, ColoradoSnowmass is an unincorporated town and a U.S. Post Office located in Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. It is situated in the valley of the Roaring Fork River, near the mouth of Snowmass Creek along State Highway 82 between Aspen and Basalt...
(sometimes called "Old Snowmass") - Woody CreekWoody Creek, ColoradoWoody Creek is a census-designated place and a U.S. Post Office located in Pitkin County, Colorado, United States part of the Roaring Fork Valley...
- MarbleMarble, ColoradoMarble is a Statutory Town in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. The population was 131 at the 2010 census.-History:The town of Marble was first incorporated in 1899...
(Crystal Valley) - MeredithMeredith, ColoradoMeredith is an unincorporated town and a U.S. Post Office in Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The Meredith Post Office has the ZIP Code 81642....
(Fryingpan Valley) - RedstoneRedstone, ColoradoRedstone is a census-designated place in Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 130.The U.S. Post Office at Carbondale now serves Redstone postal addresses...
(Crystal Valley)