Grand Junction, Colorado

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Grand Junction

Grand Junction, Colorado is the largest city on Colorado's Western Slope. The town is located at the confluence of the Gunnison and Colorado Rivers.

Downtown Grand Junction is a classic western town, that is gradually evolving into an arts center. The freeway and air port are several miles north of downtown. The unfortunate result of this development is that most of Grand Valley has been stretched into unending miles of rather boring suburban development.

NOTE in the original surveys, the upper reaches of the Colorado River were called the Grand River. The Colorado River proper began at the confluence of the Grand and Green Rivers west of Moab, Utah. So originally, Grand Junction was on the confluence of the Grand and Gunnison Rivers.

In 1921, at the request of the Governor of Colorado, the "Grand River" was renamed the "Colorado River". This saved the State of Colorado the embarrassment of being named for a river that didn't actually flow through the state, but saddled the Grand Valley and Grand Junction with the odd distinction of being named for a river that no longer exists on the maps.

BlackOvis

Context: Towns-Colorado