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.
Context: Towns-Colorado
- Colorado River (96 pictures) Grand Junction is at the confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison River.
- Colorado National Monument (66 pictures) The Colorado National Monument is an impressive collection of sandstone cliffs and towers just to the South of Grand Junction.
- Interstate 70 (51 pictures) Interstate 70 runs through the northern end of town.
- Western Colorado Botanical Gardens (15 pictures) The Western Colorado Botanical Gardens is a new feature on the shores of the Colorado River in Grand Junction.
- Sunny Colorado (5 pictures) Grand Junction is the heart of the Western Slope of Colorado.
- Mesa State College (15 pictures) Mesa State College is a four year liberal arts college located in the heart of Grand Junction.
- Grand Mesa (34 pictures) Grand Mesa, the largest flat top mountain, is a few miles east of Grand Junction.
- Book Cliffs (5 pictures) Mount Garfield, that towers over the northern stretch of Grand Junction, is the southwest boundary of the Book Cliffs.
- Museum of Western Colorado (15 pictures) The tower at the Museum of Western Colorado provides good views of downtown Grand Junction and surrounding areas.
- Highway US 6 (10 pictures) U6/50 runs through downtown Grand Junction.