Cherry Creek in central Colorado

Cherry Creek is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately 64 mi (103 km) long, in Colorado in the United States.

It rises in the high plateau, east of the Front Range, in northwestern El Paso County. It flows north, through Castlewood Canyon State Park , past Parker, and into southeast Denver. It flows northwest through Denver, becoming an urban stream and joining the South Platte at Confluence Park in central Denver just west of downtown and approximately 5 mi (8 km) east of the foothills, near the site where the city of Denver was founded in 1858.

The 140 ft (43 m) high Cherry Creek Dam , approximately 6 mi (10 km) southeast of Denver, completed 1950, forms Cherry Creek Lake in Cherry Creek State Park , providing flood control and irrigation.

The creek lends its name to a commercial district in southeast Denver, and in particular to the Cherry Creek Shopping Center .

See also

• List of Colorado rivers