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<br /> <br />To effectively conduct a multidisciplinary water-quality assessment of a large basin, available <br />information from Federal, State, and local sources must be identified. One of the first activities to be <br />performed as part of the South Platte NAWQA investigation was to assemble and organize available <br />water-related information. A computerized literature search was initiated to compile pertinent <br />information that would assist the South Platte study team with the water-quality assessment of the <br />basin. This report establishes a central source of available water-related information for the South <br />Platte River basin. <br /> <br />Puroose and Scooe <br /> <br />This bibliography, including coauthor and subject indices, provides a comprehensive collection of <br />available literature on water-related studies conducted in the South Platte River basin, which will aid <br />in the water-quality assessment of the basin by the South Platte study unit. This report contains more <br />than 1,270 references on water-related investigations from 1845 through October 1991. In some <br />instances, abstracts of the subject references also are included. The collection of references includes <br />published reports and books, unpublished master's theses and doctoral dissertations, conference <br />proceedings, and journal articles. Omitted are unpublished manuscripts, publications in press, and <br />book reviews. <br /> <br />Description of Study Area <br /> <br />The South Platte River basin includes parts of three States--Colorado (79 percent), Nebraska <br />(15 percent), and Wyoming (6 percent) and has a drainage area of about 24,300 square miles (fig. 1). <br />The primary river within the basin,the South Platte River, originates in the mountains of central <br />Colorado and flows about 450 miles northeast across the Great Plains to its confluence with the North <br />Platte River at North Platte, Nebraska. The boundaries of the basin are the Colorado River <br />headwaters draining to the west, the upper Arkansas River drainage to the south, the North Platte <br />River drainage to the north, and the Republican River drainage to the east. <br /> <br />The three-State area is inhabited by about 2 million people; 96 percent of whom reside in <br />Colorado. About 68 percent of Colorado's population lives in the South Platte River basin. The <br />majority of the basin population is concentrated along the Front Range urban corridor. <br /> <br />The study area is characterized by a diverse population density that ranges from sparsely <br />populated mountainous areas in the headwaters region and rural agricultural areas downstream <br />from Denver to the densely populated Denver metropolitan area in the south-central part of the basin. <br />The principal economy in the mountainous headwaters region is based on tourism and recreation. <br />The economy in the urbanized south-central region is mostly related to manufacturing, service and <br />trade industries, and government services. The economy of the basin downstream from Denver is <br />based on grain and livestock production. <br /> <br />2 Bibliography of Water-Related Studies, South Platte River Basin-Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming <br />