Colorado State Water Plan 1974 (Phase I)

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General Description of the Environment Only a small tip of the Middle Rocky Mountains occurs in the northwestern corner of the State and is an extension of the rugged east-west oriented Uinta Mountains. Structurally, the Uinta Mountains are formed by a severely eroded plateau which is flanked by steeply dipping strata. The center portion consists of pre-Cambrian quartzites which are flanked by younger sedimentary beds. The upturned sedimentary beds along the southern extent are covered by a lower flanking plateau composed of material eroded from the interior plateau. Two deeply incised rivers, the Yampa and the Green Rivers, have drainages that enter or cross the Uinta Mountains in a manner independent of its structure. Overall, the Wyoming Basin province is a large depositional basin encircled by the southern and middle Rocky Mountains with a small portion, the Yampa Basin sector, occurring in northwest Colorado. It is primarily an area of erosion features (scarps and cuestas) developed on mildly folded sedimentary beds. One rugged cuesta has enough relief to be labeled locally as the William River Mountains. TOPOGRAPHY • The mountainous parts of Colorado are very rough and rugged except for the chain of four large parks which stretch across the State roughly from north to south. The parks are large plateaus (peneplains) of gentle relief with elevations in the 7,000 to 10, 500 foot range. The highest point in Colorado is Mount Elbert. Its elevation is 14,433 feet and is located about 10 miles southwest of Leadville. Other well known peaks with elevations above 14,000 feet are Pikes Peak, Longs Peak, Mount Evans, and Mount Massive. These are but five of the 54 peaks in Colorado that stretch above the 14,000-foot elevation. Some 1,500 other peaks rise above 10,000 feet but are less than 14,000 feet. Deep canyons and narrow valleys are also conspicuous features of the Colorado mountains. The Great Plains are highlands made up mainly of areas of low relief. Monotony of landscape is usually the term applied to the province. This description, however, does not fit all of the land forms included in the province, as the forces of erosion working upon materials of different hardness and resist- ance has resulted in many types of topography and variations of relief. Sand dunes, cuestas, and tepee buttes are types of topography occurring in the plains in addition to the flat and rolling areas. The elevation of the plains ranges from • 2.4