The Snake River is a short tributary of the Blue River

Blue River (Colorado)

The Blue River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of Colorado.It rises in southern Summit County, on the western side of the continental divide in the Ten Mile Range, near Quandary Peak. It flows north past Blue River and Breckenridge, then through the...

, approximately 15 miles (24 km) long, in central 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 mountainous area on the west side of the Front Range

Front Range

The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the north-central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountered moving west along the 40th parallel north across...

 in southeastern Summit County

Summit County, Colorado

Summit County is the 19th most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 23,538 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Breckenridge...

 east of Keystone

Keystone, Colorado

Keystone is a census-designated place in Summit County, Colorado, United States. The population was 825 at the 2000 census. The Dillon Post Office serves Keystone postal addresses....

.

It rises near the continental divide

Continental divide

A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not connected to the open sea...

 near Webster Pass along the Summit-Park

Park County, Colorado

Park County is the 17th most extensive of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county was named after the large geographic region known as South Park, which was named by early fur traders and trappers in the area. The geographic center of the State of Colorado is...

 county line and descends through a steep canyon to the north past the former mining camp of Montezuma

Montezuma, Colorado

The Town of Montezuma is a Statutory Town located in eastern Summit County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 42 at U.S. Census 2000. The town is a former mining camp that sits at an elevation of , just west of the Continental Divide, nestled among mountains that reach an elevation...

, then turns west to flow past Keystone, where it joins the Blue from the east as an arm of Dillon Reservoir.