The plucky humpback chub has weathered dams and invasive species, but climate change and a dwindling river flow pose new threats.
About
The Colorado River is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
The 1,450-mile-long (2,330 km) river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states.
Starting in the central Rocky Mountains of Colorado in Grand Lake, Colorado, the river flows generally southwest across the Colorado Plateau and through the Grand Canyon before reaching Lake Mead on the Arizona–Nevada border, where it turns south toward the international border.
After entering Mexico, the Colorado approaches the mostly dry Colorado River Delta at the tip of the Gulf of California between Baja California and Sonora.