FLOOD11725

• Designation Number: 87
• County: Garfield
• Community: Garfield County and Unincorporated Areas
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Title: FIS - Garfield County and Unincorporated Areas
• Date: 2/1/1977
• Designation Date: 11/15/1978
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Historic FEMA Regulatory Floodplain Information

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2.0 AREA STUDIED

2.1 Scope of Study

This Flood Insurance Study covers the unincorporated areas of
Garfield County, Colorado. Areas not included in the study were the
White River National Forest and the incorporated areas of the Town
of Carbondale, the City of Glenwood Springs, the City of New Castle,
the Town of Rifle, and the Town of Grand Valley. The county is
shown on the Vicinity Map (Figure 1).

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It- was agreed by the county, the Federal Insurance Administration,
and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that segments of the Colorado
River, in the vicinity of Rifle and New Castle, would be studied in
detail, as would segments of the Roaring Fork River near Cattle
Creek Station and Carbondale. Other stream segments studied in
detail were Alkali Creek near New Castle and Cattle Creek near
Cattle Creek Station.

Areas selected for study by approximate methods were Monument Gulch
and many small washes near Grand Valley; Hubbard Gulch near Rifle;
East Elk Creek near New Castle; and Glenwood Springs Wash No.1, 2,
and 3 near Glenwood.

The areas studied in detail were chosen on the basis of development
forecasted through 1981. The upstream study limits of the gulch and
washes draining Ba'ttlement Mesa were specifically requested by
Garfield County.

2.2 Community Description

Garfield County is situated in a vast region of mountains and plateau-
canyon lands that comprise the western face of the Rocky Mountains.
Its setting is mountainous, with numerous waterways deeply cutting
through large areas of high mesa, which are interrupted by peaks
that rise to approximately 13,000 feet in the eastern section. The
central portion of the county is approximately 150 air miles west-
southwest from Denver and 225 air miles east-southeast from Salt
Lake City, Utah. There are no closer major urban centers in the
region.

The county is located in the southern sector of the northwest quad-
rant of Colorado and contains approximately 3000 square miles in a
distorted, rectangular shape. It is approximately 100 miles long
east-west and ranges from approximately 20 miles wide north-south on
the west to approximately 50 miles wide north-south on the east.

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Numerous stream stystems, all of which are tributary to the Colorado
River, drain Garfield County. Substantial development in the county
is expected generally in, and in the vicinity of, presently developed
areas. The washes and other streamways studied by approximate

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