Route 50 runs along the shore of Blue Mesa Reservoir, the largest lake in Colorado, for about twenty miles. It crosses the lake at Middle Bridge (above), where the water is perhaps 180 feet deep.
The lake is formed by a dam holding back the water of the Gunnison River. Its surface is at roughly 7,500 feet. Miles downstream, the Gunnison flows through Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
