Colorado River

Once underwater, Colorado River canyon country reemerges as drought-stricken Lake Powell鈥檚 levels drop

"Hiking the side canyons is like going through ecological time travel," said Eric Balken, executive director of the Glen Canyon Institute, as he hiked up Davis Gulch, once submerged by Lake Powell.

A group of researchers and birders hike up Davis Gulch at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah on Monday, May 11, 2026. (Photo by Harmon Dobson/The Denver Post)

Snowmelt feeds the Colorado River near its headwaters on April 6, 2026, in Rocky Mountain National Park. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

Federal Colorado River managers will impose a 10-year plan, requiring state negotiations every 2 years

4 days ago

Bike riders pedal past a section of the Colorado River where water flows are low after the Shoshone Generating Station, a hydroelectric power plant, diverts water to generate power before returning it downstream, east of Glenwood Springs, Colorado, on Sept. 4, 2024. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

Trump administration releases critical federal money for major Colorado River water rights purchase

3 weeks ago

Four whitewater events in next month's GoPro Mountain Games in Vail have been relocated elsewhere and four others have been canceled due to low water in Gore Creek. (Jon Resnick/provided by Vail Valley Foundation)

Low water forces relocation of GoPro Mountain Games whitewater events

By John Meyer

April 30, 2026 at 1:19 p.m.

Count next month's GoPro Mountain Games in Vail as another casualty of the low-water conditions...

Members of the Cherry Creek Schools Board of Education, from left, Terry Bates, Mike Hamrick, President Anne Egan, Angela Garland and John-Claude Futrell, listen to a literacy data update during a study session inside the district's Educational Service Center on Feb. 6, 2026, in Greenwood Village, Colorado. (Photo By Kathryn Scott/Special to The Denver Post)

Gross salaries and spending in Cherry Creek school district (Letters)

By DP 抖阴ap

April 25, 2026 at 5:01 a.m.

"I鈥檓 a little surprised there are no questions being raised about a superintendent knocking down...

A reader points out that political opinion tends to favor the left in these pages. (Getty Images iStockphoto)

Leaning left in the Denver Post’s Sunday letters to the editor (Letters)

By DP 抖阴ap

April 20, 2026 at 5:01 a.m.

"But whatever the reason, it抖阴ap obvious the published letters skew left and even hard left,...

Dry lakebed is exposed near Indian Peaks Marina during low water levels at Lake Granby on April 7, 2026, near Granby, Colorado. Lake Granby, a reservoir in the upper Colorado River system, is fed by the Colorado River. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

Critics question feds鈥� plans for future of Colorado River: In years of severe drought, 鈥榯he system is failing鈥�

By Elise Schmelzer

April 19, 2026 at 5:11 p.m.

"We're not looking at an incremental step here," said Brad Udall of Colorado State University....

Carl Musso Jr. plants Pueblo green chile seed at Musso Farms in Pueblo on Thursday, April 16, 2026. (Photo by Harmon Dobson/The Denver Post)

Colorado farmers scale back crops and fear for survival as drought, tariffs and war take their toll

By Bruce Finley

April 19, 2026 at 6:00 a.m.

鈥淚f we don鈥檛 get moisture, I鈥檓 not going to plant,鈥� said chile grower Praxie Vigil,...

The Uncompahgre River flows through a canyon near Red Mountain Pass on March 25, 2026, near Ouray. Historically low snowpack and record-setting heat in the area are adding to drought conditions throughout the Colorado River Basin. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

How Colorado rafting outfitters plan to operate during extreme drought

By John Meyer

April 13, 2026 at 6:00 a.m.

As Colorado's river rafting outfitters ponder the threat of ongoing drought and record low snowpack...

The Gunnison River flows into Blue Mesa Reservoir on March 25, 2026, near Gunnison. Low snowpack in the area is adding to drought concerns across the Colorado River Basin. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

Low snowpack offers alarming glimpse of future water rhythms in the West (抖阴ap)

By Imtiaz Rangwala

April 8, 2026 at 12:09 p.m.

As global temperatures rise, the freezing line where precipitation changes from rain to snow moves...

Clinton Whitten and hydrologist Maureen Gutsch, back, measure snow, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Kremmling, Colo. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

Record low Colorado mountain snow won鈥檛 bode well for water in the drought-stricken West

By Mead Gruver

April 1, 2026 at 9:18 a.m.

As a warm winter with poor skiing conditions gave way to early springtime record heat,...

Denver Water Saver Edward Kosinski writes up a report on a property in Denver where a sprinkler was watering the lawn late in the afternoon on July 10, 2012. The property owner was given a warning because of the amount of water running down the gutter. (Photo by John Leyba/The Denver Post)

Denver Water enacts Stage 1 drought restrictions for the first time since 2013

By Elliott Wenzler

March 25, 2026 at 2:53 p.m.

The restrictions, which were put in place immediately, limit residents to using water outside their...

Aspen Skiing Co. snowmaker Travis McFlynn adjusts a snow gun at the top of the X Games terrain park on Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colorado, on Friday, January 9, 2026. (Photo by Kelsey Brunner/Special to The Denver Post)

Colorado’s mountains are likely already at peak snowpack. Now the heat dome will kick off melting.

By Elise Schmelzer

March 19, 2026 at 9:08 a.m.

"We have very little winter left," hydrologist Brian Domonkos said. "There's essentially no chance for...

Colorado River

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