Editing Colorado (section)

===Western Slope===
[[File:Maroon Bells (11553)a.jpg|thumb|[[Maroon Bells]], at {{convert|14163|ft|m|abbr=on}}, is part of [[White River National Forest]] and a tourist destination]]
[[File:Colorado National Monument (4939640266).jpg|thumb|The Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction is made up of high desert canyons and sandstone rock formations.]]

The Western Slope of Colorado includes the western face of the Rocky Mountains and all of the area to the western border. This area includes several terrains and climates from alpine mountains to arid deserts. The Western Slope includes many ski resort towns in the Rocky Mountains and towns west to Utah. It is less populous than the Front Range but includes a large number of national parks and monuments.

The northwestern corner of Colorado is a sparsely populated region, and it contains part of the noted [[Dinosaur National Monument]], which not only is a [[paleontology|paleontological]] area, but is also a scenic area of rocky hills, canyons, arid desert, and streambeds. Here, the Green River briefly crosses over into Colorado.

The Western Slope of Colorado is drained by the Colorado River and its tributaries (primarily the [[Gunnison River]], [[Green River (Colorado River)|Green River]], and the [[San Juan River (Colorado River)|San Juan River]]). The Colorado River flows through [[Glenwood Canyon]], and then through an arid valley made up of desert from [[Rifle, Colorado|Rifle]] to [[Parachute, Colorado|Parachute]], through the desert canyon of [[De Beque Canyon]], and into the arid desert of [[Grand Valley (Colorado-Utah)|Grand Valley]], where the city of Grand Junction is located.

Also prominent is the [[Grand Mesa]], which lies to the southeast of Grand Junction; the high San Juan Mountains, a rugged mountain range; and to the north and west of the San Juan Mountains, the [[Colorado Plateau]].

[[Grand Junction, Colorado]], at the confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers, is the largest city on the Western Slope. Grand Junction and Durango are the only major centers of [[television broadcasting]] west of the Continental Divide in Colorado, though most mountain resort communities publish daily newspapers. Grand Junction is located at the juncture of [[Interstate 70 in Colorado|Interstate 70]] and US 50, the only major highways in western Colorado. Grand Junction is also along the major railroad of the Western Slope, the [[Union Pacific]]. This railroad also provides the tracks for [[Amtrak]]'s ''[[California Zephyr]]'' passenger train, which crosses the Rocky Mountains between Denver and Grand Junction.

The Western Slope includes multiple notable destinations in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, including [[Glenwood Springs, Colorado|Glenwood Springs]], with its resort hot springs, and the [[ski resort]]s of [[Aspen, Colorado|Aspen]], [[Breckenridge, Colorado|Breckenridge]], [[Vail, Colorado|Vail]], [[Crested Butte, Colorado|Crested Butte]], [[Steamboat Springs, Colorado|Steamboat Springs]], and [[Telluride, Colorado|Telluride]].

Higher education in and near the Western Slope can be found at [[Colorado Mesa University]] in Grand Junction, [[Western Colorado University]] in Gunnison, [[Fort Lewis College]] in Durango, and [[Colorado Mountain College]] in Glenwood Springs and Steamboat Springs.

The [[Four Corners Monument]] in the southwest corner of Colorado marks the common boundary of Colorado, [[New Mexico]], [[Arizona]], and [[Utah]]; the only such place in the United States.
{{See also|List of cities and towns in Colorado|List of counties in Colorado|List of rivers of Colorado|Four Corners Monument}}