A member of the Hayden Survey in1879 noted that the watershed patterns of the Roan Plateau resembled parachute lines and thus called the area Parachute.
This may sound odd coming from one of John Henry "Doc" Holliday's ancestors, but he's not the deadliest gunfighter with ties to Western Colorado. That notoriety belongs to "Kid Curry" Logan who has the closest ties possible to Parachute, Colorado.
PARACHUTE, Colo. (AP) — Samples taken from monitoring wells near an oil-like leak close to a Williams Midstream natural gas plant show high benzene levels near Parachute Creek.