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The Colorado River near Holzwarth Historic District by Frank Schulenburg (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons
The Colorado River near Holzwarth Historic District in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Naming the Colorado River

By Lauralyn Duff
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With a reddish tint from sediment carried over long miles, the mighty river that carved the Grand Canyon has been known by many names. Some Indigenous peoples called it “Dirty Water.” Spanish explorers called it “River of Embers.” Then on maps of an expanding America, 19th century cartographers split the flow in two: the Grand River and the Río Colorado.

“Absurd,” said Congressman Edward Taylor of Glenwood Springs. So in 1921, he pushed a resolution to unify the river under a single name, honoring a word he called “one of the most beautiful and charming … in the English language.” Taylor’s resolution won wide support across the state, and ultimately in Washington D.C. Today, the river carries one name everywhere it flows. Tied to, as Taylor put it, "the sublime Centennial State” — the headwaters of the Colorado River.

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Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado. See more postcards.

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