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<br />I NTRODUCT I ON <br /> <br />The Yampa River basin, encompassing an area of approximately 8,080 mi2 <br />(21,000 km2) , is located in northwestern Colorado and south-central Wyoming <br />(fig. 1). This region currently is undergoing rapid economic development <br />primarily as a result of expanded energy-related activities, principally <br />mining and transport of coal and conversion of coal to electrical power and <br />possibly gas products. Additionally, the eastern part of the Yampa River <br />basin, especially in the area of Steamboat Springs, Colo, (fig. 1), has <br />experienc~d a_ rapid growth in recreational activity, This results in large <br />seasonal influxes of people. The current (1977) year-round basin population <br />is approximately 20,000. The rapid increase in energy- and recreation- <br />related activities is resulting in an increased demand and subsequent <br />competition for natural resources in this region. Effective planning for <br />optimal allocation of these natural resources requires the collection and <br />analysis of large amounts of diverse data on a timely basis. <br /> <br />The purpose of this study was to determine the potential of selected <br />remote-sensing appl ications for providing some of these timely regional-level <br />data which could be used in conjunction with other data collected by <br />conventional methods, Landsat (land satellite) images and 1:100,OOO-scale <br />color and color-infrared aerial photographs were used in four selected <br />remote-sensing applications, Landsat images were used in the following ap- <br />plications: (1) Regional land-use classification, (2) lineament mapping, and <br />(3) areal snow-cover mapping. The color and color-infrared aerial photo- <br />graphs were used for estimating turbidity in selected streams in the basin. <br /> <br />The investigations conducted using these four applications were designed <br />as preliminary evaluations of the feasibility of these approaches and were <br />not oriented toward the development of operational procedures. However, it <br />is hoped that the results from this and subsequent studies will eventually <br />lead to operational techniques using remote-sensing technology. Such <br />techniques would facilitate the rapid collection and analysis of some of the <br />data required for efficient allocation of resources on a regional basis. <br /> <br />This study was conducted as part of the Yampa River basin assessment <br />(Steele and others, 1976), The basin-assessment project is a H-year program <br />designed to determine the availability and quality of the water resources and <br />to evaluate the potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts of coal- <br />resource development within the basin. <br /> <br />REMOTE-SENSING DATA AND ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES <br /> <br />Data <br /> <br />This section lists the <br />were used in the study <br />techniques that were used. <br />image processing systems, <br /> <br />types and sources of remote-sensing data that <br />and briefly discusses the general analytical <br />More detailed descriptions of the Landsat system, <br />and techniques that were employed in analyzing the <br /> <br />2 <br />