page_title: North Platte River
section_title: River description
hierarchical_section_title: North Platte River / River description
caption_attribution_description: Pathfinder Dam in Wyoming
context_page_description: The North Platte River is a major tributary of the Platte River and is approximately 716 miles long, counting its many curves. In a straight line, it travels about 550 miles, along its course through the U.S. states of Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska.
  The head of the river is essentially all of Jackson County, Colorado, whose boundaries are the continental divide on the west and south and the mountain drainage peaks on the east—the north boundary is the state of Wyoming border. The rugged Rocky Mountains surrounding Jackson County have at least twelve peaks over 11,000 feet in height. From Jackson County the river flows north about 200 miles out of the Routt National Forest and North Park near what is now Walden, Colorado, to Casper, Wyoming. Shortly after passing Casper, the river turns to the east-southeast and flows about 350 miles to the city of North Platte, Nebraska.
  The North Platte and South Platte River join to form the Platte River in western Nebraska near the city of North Platte, Nebraska. The Platte River flows to the Missouri River, which joins the Mississippi River to flow to the Gulf of Mexico.
context_section_description: Up in central north Colorado rests North Park (Colorado basin), a valley ringed by 12,000 feet (3,700 m) mountains. The headwaters of the river is essentially all of Jackson County, Colorado whose boundaries are the continental divide on the west and south and the mountain drainage peaks on the east—the north boundary is the state of Wyoming boundary. The rugged Rocky Mountains Continental Divide surrounding Jackson County have at least twelve peaks over 11,000 feet (3,400 m) in height. These peaks include on the west: Mount Zirkel 12,180 feet (3,710 m), Lost ranger Peak 11,932 feet (3,637 m) and Mount Ethel 11,924 feet (3,634 m); on the south: Sheep Mountain 11,819 feet (3,602 m) and Parkview Mountain 12,296 feet (3,748 m)—whose waters on the south or east side drain into the North Platte River drainage. On the east are: Mount Nimbus 12,706 feet (3,873 m), Mount Cumulus 12,725 feet (3,879 m), Howard Mountain 12,810 feet (3,900 m), Mount Cirrus 12,797 feet (3,901 m),  Mount Richthofen 12,940 feet (3,940 m), Lead Mountain 12,537 feet (3,821 m),North Diamond Peak 11,852 feet (3,612 m) and Clark Peak 12,951 feet (3,947 m) whose eastern slope waters drain into the North Platte River.
  In Jackson county the North Platte is joined by several other small streams draining the mountains around the county. Some of these creeks are: Arapaho Creek, Colorado Creek, East Branch Illinois River, Jack Creek, Jewell Lake Trib., Grizzly Creek, Little Grizzly Creek, Norris Creek, North Fork of North Platte River, Rock Creek (Little Willow Ck), South Fork Canadian River, South Fork Michigan River, Willow Creek and in Wyoming the Encampment River. All these streams are draining the snow melt form the mountains surrounding Jackson County. The North Platte River flows northward from Colorado into Wyoming through the popular rafting site – Northgate Canyon  which is along the western side of the Medicine Bow Mountains.
  In Colorado and Wyoming, the river is narrower and much swifter flowing than it is in Nebraska, where it becomes a slow flowing, shallow braided stream. The upper reaches of the river in the Rockies in Colorado and Wyoming are popular for recreation rafting and fly fishing on the river and its many tributaries for rainbow trout and other sport fish. In western Nebraska, the banks and riverbed of the North Platte provide a green oasis amid an otherwise semi-arid region of North America.
  The river has been dammed several times to form several reservoirs along its course. On the north end of the Park range it is joined by the Medicine Bow River in the Seminoe Reservoir formed by Seminoe Dam, further downstream is the Kortes Reservoir. Still further downstream about 50 miles (80 km) above Casper the North Platte is joined by the Sweetwater River to form the Pathfinder Reservoir. Northeast of the Pathfinder Reservoir it passes through the Alcova and Gray Reef reservoirs before it hits Casper. Casper was established about 1860 east of the former site of Fort Caspar, which was built about 1859 during the mass migration along the Oregon, California, Mormon and Bozeman trails.
    Near what is now Casper was the location of several ferries that offered passage across the North Platte River during the summer "Trail season" starting about 1847.  In 1847, during the first Mormon emigration, Brigham Young leading the Mormon settlers to Salt Lake City, Utah established a ferry near present-day Casper known as the Mormon Ferry. The next year the ferry was moved a few miles down river. Soon competing ferries were built. In 1859, Louis Guinard built a toll bridge across the North Platte and a trading post near the original ferry's locations.
  Before reaching Casper the river turns and flows northeast between the Granite Mountains to the west and the Laramie Mountains to the east.
  The North Platte emerges from the mountains near Casper, where it turns and flows east-southeast, along the northern edge of the Laramie Mountains onto the Great Plains. The North Platte flows east-southeast across the plains of eastern Wyoming, past the town of Douglas, Wyom
caption: Pathfinder Dam on the North Platte River
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