Article citationsMore>>

Aslan, A., Karlstrom, K.E., Crossey, L.J., Kelley, S., Cole, R., Lazear, G. and Darling, A. (2010) Late Cenozoic Evolution of the Colorado Rockies: Evidence for Neogene Uplift and Drainage Integration. In Morgan, L.A. and Quane, S.L., Eds., Through the Generations: Geologic and Anthropogenic Field Excursions in the Rocky Mountains from Modern to Ancient, Vol. 18, Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, 21-54.
https://doi.org/10.1130/2010.0018(02)

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Yampa River-Colorado River Drainage Divide Origin Determined from Topographic Map Evidence, Southern Routt County, Colorado, USA

  AUTHORS: Eric Clausen

  KEYWORDS: Barbed Tributaries, Diverging and Converging Channel Complex, Egeria Park, Flat Tops Region, Geologic and Glacial History Paradigms, Park Range

  JOURNAL NAME: Open Journal of Geology, Vol.11 No.8, August 10, 2021

  ABSTRACT: Detailed topographic map evidence and a new Cenozoic geologic and glacial history paradigm are used to determine the previously unexplained Yampa River-Colorado River drainage divide origin. The Yampa River now flows in a north direction away from the Colorado River (between the Park Range to the east and the Flat Tops region to the west) before turning in a west direction to reach the Unita Mountains where it joins the south-oriented Green River, which eventually joins the southwest-oriented Colorado River. Topographic maps show the Yampa-Colorado River drainage divide is asymmetric with steeper slopes leading to the Colorado River, barbed (south-oriented) tributaries leading to north-oriented Yampa River headwaters (especially near the Yampa River turn to the west), and evidence of a large north-to-south oriented diverging and converging channel complex that preceded present-day drainage routes. Map evidence is interpreted to mean massive south-oriented floods flowed through what are now north-oriented Yampa River headwaters valleys and that headward erosion of a deep west-oriented valley beheaded and reversed those south-oriented flood flow channels to create the north-oriented Yampa River headwaters and the Egeria Park area Yampa-Colorado River drainage divide seen today. Large south-oriented floods leading to the Colorado River (while regional uplift was occurring) are inconsistent with accepted Cenozoic geologic and glacial history paradigm predictions, but are predicted by a newly proposed Cenozoic geologic and glacial history paradigm in which a thick continental ice sheet created a deep “hole” by eroding underlying bedrock and also by causing crustal warping that raised the present-day northern Colorado east-west continental divide as immense south-oriented meltwater floods flowed across it.