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C\1 L' ..,. ..", UNCOMPAHGRE SUBBASIN Physical Description of Subbasin The Uncompahgre subbasin includes all of the watershed tributary to the Uncompahgre River, plus the drainage area of Roubideau Creek. Elevations range from 5,000 to 14,300 feet. Soils All five of the major soil groupings are recognized in this subbasin: 1. Desert-Sierozem; 2. Brown-Chestn~t; 3. Mountain Prairie-Chestnut; 4. Gray Wooded-Brown Podzolic-Mountain Prairie; and 5. Alpine Meadow-Alpine Bog. Irrigated land in this subbasin is distributed through soil groupings 1, 2 and 3. The land in the proposed Bureau of Reclamation Dallas Creek project is in the Brown-Chestnut soil grouping. Acreage of the great soil groups within the major groupings, and distribution of this acreage, by irrigated land and vegetative types, is given in table 27. Land Use, Cover Condition and Management This is the second largest subb_sin in total area in the Gunnison River Basin, and has the largest amount of irrigated lands. The irrigated lands total 105,300 acres, or about 40 percent of the total in the Gunnison River Basin. Of these lands, 75,400 acres are served by the Uncompahgre Reclamation Pro- ject and 29,900 acres by other irrigation systems. There are a few acres of land in some ,parts of the',subbasin where climatic conditions permit dryland farming. The majority of these are on Log Hill Mesa above Ridgway and Colona, in Ouray and Montrose Counties. The acreage of dry farming varies from year to year, depending upon weather cycles, but it is estimated that the total acreage will seldom exceed 1,500 acres. The average amount is about 1,000 acres. Much of the abandoned dry-farmland has been seeded to range. Climate for this subbasin is quite variable as it affects the growing season for irrigated land. The high mountain meadow portion of the subbasin appears to have a short growing season, but the nearest record shows about 123 days frost-free season near Ouray, Colorado. The season for frost-proof crops, considered the period between 280 readings, is usually 25 to 30 days longer. The other important agricultural areas are Montrose, with 152 days, and Delta with 146 days frost-free seasons. Crop reaction seems to indicate that Delta has an equal or a little longer season than Montrose. The agricultural areas divide into approximately three divisions. The upper area includes the high mountain meadow area in Ouray County; the general farming area, which generally grows feed for livestock production; and the cash-crop farming area in Montrose and Delta Counties. - 71 -