Animas River
| Animas River | |
|---|---|
Animas River at Durango and Silverton railroad crossing just north of confluence with Lime Creek | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Colorado, New Mexico |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Confluence of North Fork Animas River and West Fork Animas River 37°55′53″N 107°34′10″W / 37.93139°N 107.56944°W |
| • location | San Juan County, CO |
| • coordinates | 37°55′53″N 107°34′10″W / 37.93139°N 107.56944°W |
| Mouth | Confluence with San Juan |
• location | San Juan County, NM |
• coordinates | 36°42′50″N 108°13′18″W / 36.71389°N 108.22167°W |
• elevation | 5,239 ft (1,597 m) |
| Length | 126 mi (203 km) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Cunningham Creek, Elk Creek, Needle Creek, Canyon Creek, Florida River |
| • right | Mineral Creek, Mineral Creek, Lime Creek, Hermosa Creek, Junction Creek, Lightner Creek |
Animas River (On-e-mas; Spanish: Río de las Ánimas) is a 126-mile-long (203 km) river in the western United States, a tributary of the San Juan River, part of the Colorado River System.
The river has experienced numerous catastrophes due to the mining nearby, the largest being the 2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill.