Harpers Corner Trail Stop 8

The Yampa River twists and turns as it carves its way towards Echo Park.

NPS Photo/Conrad Provan

Quick Facts

Amenities

1 listed

Scenic View/Photo Spot

Can you pick out the course of the Yampa River? Its junction with the Green River is hidden by the ridge of Steamboat Rock, and above that, the river is lost in a maze of sandstone. Such a winding course is more typical of a slow, sluggish stream flowing across flat land than of a swift canyon cutting river. Some geologists have suggested that the Yampa River had already established courses on fairly level land before the region was uplifted. The rivers held course and sliced down through the rocks even as the land rose, forming deep, winding canyons.