Colorado River

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Trip Overview

Centennial partners with the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) and Professor Dr. James Dunn (970-351-2834; Email Dr. Dunn), for a 3-credit Geography course on the river. Credit classes include classroom sessions and are not discounted.

Learn about the power of water, wind, and weathering in a western environment. Explore all the exciting activity surrounding a moving river through geographic field exercises and developing a research plan as you explore the dramatic canyons and paddle the rivers. You will also be conducting scientific research for the Bureau of Land Management Salt Cedar Invasion Project.

This spectacular canyon country of the Colorado Plateau, including Ruby and Horsethief Canyons, features majestic walls of red sandstone and offers some of the best Colorado canoeing and Colorado sea kayaking. The river is gentle with occasional small Class I+ rapids to add spice to the journey (Class I is easy and Class V is difficult). Roads do not bound this portion of the river and the steep-walled canyons are accessible only from the river, giving the area a true wilderness setting.

You’ll be amazed at stands of shiny granite sculpted by water through the ages while paddling or floating in your life jacket past the remnants of ancient metamorphic rock, called Black Rock. Camping along the river’s banks and exploring a deep box canyon will leave you awed by the immensity of geologic time and the silence of the wilderness. This is BIG COUNTRY and a geologist’s paradise. Many of our educational classes focus on this area. This stretch of river near Grand Junction, CO, can accommodate either a canoe trip or sea kayak trip.

Special Information

This 3-credit graduate-level college course on River Geography is open to K-12 teachers either as a stand-alone graduate course or as part of a Graduate Certificate in Geography Education. See Dr. Dunn’s geography site for more details. The course requires two additional days in Grand Junction, CO (approximately 15+ miles from your river put-in location), following the river trip. Email Dr. Dunn for answers to your questions.