Roaring Fork River

Roaring Fork River
Looking upstream from a bridge in Pitkin County (2025)
Map of the Roaring Fork River
Location
CountryUnited States
StateColorado
Physical characteristics
SourceIndependence Lake
 • locationWhite River National Forest, Pitkin County
 • coordinates39°08′38″N 106°34′04″W / 39.14389°N 106.56778°W / 39.14389; -106.56778
 • elevation12,490 ft (3,810 m)
MouthColorado River
 • location
Glenwood Springs, Garfield County
 • coordinates
39°32′57″N 107°19′47″W / 39.54917°N 107.32972°W / 39.54917; -107.32972
 • elevation
5,718 ft (1,743 m)
Length70 mi (110 km)
Basin size1,453 sq mi (3,760 km2)
Discharge 
 • locationmouth
 • average1,206 cu ft/s (34.2 m3/s)
 • minimum180 cu ft/s (5.1 m3/s)
 • maximum13,000 cu ft/s (370 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftIndependence Creek
Lincoln Creek
Difficult Creek
McFarlane Creek
Castle Creek
Maroon Creek
Owl Creek
Brush Creek
Snowmass Creek
Sopris Creek
Crystal River
Fourmile Creek
Threemile Creek
 • rightLost Man Creek
Coleman Creek
Ptarmigan Creek
Hunter Creek
Woody Creek
Fryingpan River
Crystal Spring Creek
Cattle Creek

The Roaring Fork River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 70 miles (110 km) 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 city of Aspen and the resorts of Aspen/Snowmass.