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<br />1775 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Figure Z near here. Mean daily streamflow hydrographs for selected sites 00 the <br />Arkansas River, April 1990-March 1993 <br /> <br />Description of the Study Area <br /> <br />The Arkansas River Basin is located in the central and southeast pan of Colorado. Fenneman (1931) divided <br /> <br />the basin into two physiographic provinces at approximately the 1050 parallel which is jus; east of Calion City. To <br /> <br />the west, the Southern Rocky Mountain Province is mostly mountainous with elevations ranging from 5,000 to more <br /> <br />than 14,000 ft, and the mean annual precipitation ranges from less than 10 in. on the valley floor to more than 40 in. <br /> <br />at the crest of the mountains. The area is heavily forested and underlain by igneous and metamorphic rocks. East of <br /> <br />Salida, there is a transition from igneous and metamorphic rocks to metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. Much of <br /> <br />the upper basin lies within the Colorado mineral belt and has been mined historically. Mining operations continue <br /> <br /> <br />. the regio~ but at a much smaller scale than were previo?5ly done. Most' of the population and related activities <br /> <br /> <br />. are concentrated along the river corridor; the major towns are Leadville, Buena Vista, Salida, and Calion City. In <br /> <br />1990, the estimated population in the area was approximately 60,000 (U.S. Bureau of Census, 1991). The area is <br /> <br />utilized for various recreational activities including secondary water contact uses such as rafting, kayaking, and fish- <br /> <br />ing. It was estimated that nearly 270,000 people rafted the Arkansas River in 1992 (Steve Reese, Colorado State <br /> <br />Parks, oral comm. 1992). The Arkansas River, from the headwaters to Calion City, is characterized by Sleep gradient, <br /> <br />hi~h velocirv flows which are confined to a relatively narrow rock and cobble stream channel. The river !!radient <br />- . - <br /> <br />averages 40 feet per mile along this stream reach. The characteristic tributary drainage pattern is dendritic. Reservoir <br /> <br />structures on Lake Fork (Turquoise Reservoir), Lake Creek (Twin Lakes Reservoir), and Clear Creek (Clear Creek <br /> <br />Reservoir) store native streamflow or transmountain diversion water for municipal and irrigation needs in the basin. <br /> <br />Lake Creek contributes the largest tnburary flow to the Arkansas River (plate 1). A number of mine-drainage tun- <br /> <br />nels, most notably the Yak Tunnel and the Leadville Mine Drainage -r:~i~fie~~~~~~iiY}"~i@~t <br />. c. ~- " (; , 'oct ('0 R3Vision <br />water to the basin (Moran and Wentz, 1974). ",UOI-.UO' -- OR REl=ASE <br />~... uOT Q. I:: ... <br />!,.. ,-,' 1'1 I b Dire;..or <br />5 p-!;nd\ng A??':OV? Y .~.I I <br />. U.S. GGO!C'2ICa\ S:Jrv~'1 <br />