Tarryall Creek is a tributary of the South Platte River

South Platte River

The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River and itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West, located in the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska...

, approximately 68.5 miles (110.2 km) long, in Park County

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...

 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 rural portion of north and central South Park

South Park (Colorado basin)

South Park is a high intermontane grassland basin, approximately 10,000 ft in elevation, in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado. It encompasses approximately 1,000 square miles around the headwaters of the South Platte River in Park County approximately 60 mi southwest of Denver...

, an intermontane grassland in the Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...

 southwest of Denver. It rises in the high Rockies in several forks along the Continental Divide in the Pike National Forest

Pike National Forest

The Pike National Forest is located in the Front Range of Colorado, USA, west of Colorado Springs and including Pikes Peak. The forest encompasses 1,106,604 acres within Clear Creek, Teller, Park, Jefferson, Douglas and El Paso counties. The major rivers draining the forest are the South Platte...

 southwest of Boreas Pass

Boreas Pass

Boreas Pass, elevation , is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States. The pass is located on the continental divide, at the crest of the Front Range along the border between Park and Summit counties...

. It descends to the southwest through a short canyon, emerging into South Park near Como, Colorado

Como, Colorado

Como is an unincorporated town and a U.S. Post Office in Park County, Colorado, United States. The Como Post Office has the ZIP Code 80432.Located at the northern end of South Park, the town is a historic mining settlement founded during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush in 1859. It sits approximately...

. It crosses U.S. Highway 285 east of Red Hill Pass

Red Hill Pass (Colorado)

Red Hill Pass is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States.The pass is located in the foothills of the Mosquito Range at the northern end of South Park in Park County. Though unlabeled at the summit, it is identified by signs from both directions at the...

 northeast of Fairplay

Fairplay, Colorado

The Town of Fairplay is a statutory town that is the county seat and the most populous town of Park County, Colorado, United States. Fairplay is located in South Park at an elevation of . The town is the fifth-highest incorporated place in the State of Colorado. The population was 610 at the...

, then meanders towards the southeast, joining the South Platte from the east in the southeastern corner of South Park.

The creek was one of the most active locations for the prospecting of gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 during the Colorado Gold Rush

Colorado Gold Rush

The Pike's Peak Gold Rush was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 and lasted until roughly the creation of the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861...

 in 1859. The "Tarryall diggings" and other nearby sites on the west side of South Park

South Park (Colorado basin)

South Park is a high intermontane grassland basin, approximately 10,000 ft in elevation, in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado. It encompasses approximately 1,000 square miles around the headwaters of the South Platte River in Park County approximately 60 mi southwest of Denver...

 attracted thousands of prospectors over Ute Pass

Ute Pass

Ute Pass is a mountain pass west of Colorado Springs, near Divide.The climate is arid, so many plants that grow here are adapted to low water usage. The pass at one time was used by stage coach and equestrian traffic. It is steep on the east side. The pass is traversed by U.S. Highway 24....

 and Kenosha Pass

Kenosha Pass

Kenosha Pass, elevation , is a high mountain pass located in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States.The pass is located in the Rocky Mountains southwest of Denver, Colorado, just northeast of the town of Fairplay, Colorado...

, and the towns of Tarryall

Tarryall, Colorado (ghost town)

Tarryall is a ghost town in northwest Park County, Colorado, United States. The town was located on upper Tarryall Creek northwest of Como, Colorado. It was once the county seat of Park County, but is now completely deserted....

 and Hamilton, both now completely vanished, were soon founded along the creek. There are no towns on the upper creek today.