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The Animas is the largest undammed river in the
48 United States and it flows through some of Colorado's
most remote and beautiful mountains.
We had the opportunity to view the Upper Animas
from the (relative) safety of a Cessna 210 flown
by Del Gregg of Gregg Flying Service in Durango,
CO. We got to watch some family members at the
start of a two-day rafting trip run by Mountain
Waters Rafting of Durango.
Although it is not a waterfall, the Upper Animas
definitely qualifies as falling water. From the
put-in in the old mining town of Silverton, to
the take-out at the Tacoma power plant, the Animas
falls from 9360 ft to 7320 ft. That is 2040 ft
in 24.2 miles or an average of 84 fpm (622 m in
39 km or 16 m/km). In rafting terms, that is class
IV - V.
We did get one nice waterfall picture near the
beginning of the trip shown at left. The other
photos from our airplane trip can be found on a
topo-map airplane
tour of the
Upper Animas. Enjoy.
Note: If you are a rafter or kayaker, don't
use the information or pictures you find here,
or you will probably die. Instead, go to one
of the whitewater sites to get information about
the Upper
Animas and the Rockwood Box. Better yet, go on a guided trip with an experienced whitewater tour company.
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