| The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07. |
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| Grand Junction |
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| city (1990 pop. 29,034), seat of Mesa co., W Colo., at the junction of the Gunnison and Colorado rivers; inc. 1891. The shipping and processing center of a large ranch and irrigated farm region, it also serves the area’s uranium, oil shale, gas, and coal-mining industries. Electronic equipment is manufactured, and tourism is important. Grand Junction’s airport permits access to many Colorado ski resorts. The city is also a center during the regional hunting season and serves as headquarters for Grand Mesa National Forest. Uranium production was regulated in 1970 after a radiation hazard arose from radioactive wastes (tailings) used for construction fill in building projects. |
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| | | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2007 Columbia University Press. |
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