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<br />Steamboat Springs is situated on the floor and immediately adjoining the foothills of the <br />Yampa River Valley. The upper drainage areas of the stream under study, which <br />comprise segments of the Elkhead Mountains, the Park Range, and the White River <br />Plateau, are typically steep and inaccessible high tablelands and agglomerations of <br />jagged peaks and sharp spires composed entirely of rock. Between these extremes, <br />rounded knob mountains constitute much of the watershed divides. In general, the <br />primary mountain ranges break up into mountain peaks and rows of smaller peaks, <br />ridges, and hills. The extremely varied topography of the region is the result of <br />erosion, glaciation, and sedimentary activity. Elevations range from approximately <br />6,500 feet along the Yampa River to approximately 10,000 feet in the Park Range and <br />12,500 feet on the White River Plateau. Topography of the Yampa River drainage area <br />and typical watersheds of some of the creeks under study are shown in Figures 12 <br />through 16. <br /> <br />The Yampa River is a tributary to the Colorado River via the Green River. In general, <br />the river flows northerly from its headwaters to the vicinity of Steamboat Springs, <br />thence westerly to its terminus at the Green River, near the western boundary of <br />Colorado. With the exception of Walton Creek, which flows in a northerly course, the <br />tributary creeks flow in roughly parallel southwesterly courses in the study area. In <br />their headwater areas, the streams under study flow in steep, narrow canyons. <br />However, gentler slopes are characteristic in the study area. <br /> <br />9 <br />