A Report of Water Pollution in the South Platte River Basin February 1953

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GENMAL DESCRIPTIM Historical Background The South Platte River Basin (Plap ho© 1), a portion of the Louisiana Purchase, became a part of the United States in 1803. The Spanish explored the region during the 16th and 17th centuries but left only meager records of their findings. In 1806 an expedition under Lt. Zebulon Pike began extensive explorations and discovered the mountain peak which bears his name. Other exploratory expeditions entered the region in rapid succession. As early as 1825 a lucrative fur trade attracted frontiersmen who established trading posts and protective forts. 1,iost famous of these men were the Bent Brothers, Ceran St. Vrain, Louis Vasquez, hit Carson and Jim Bridger. In 1858 gold was discovered along the South Platte River at its junction with Cherry Greek. Settlements were established along the river at the present location of Denver, and the region was organized as a portion of the Kansas Territory In that year. In 1859 a major gold strike was made on North Fork, of Clear Creek. A rapid succession of gold strikes in the Clear Creek,, Boulder Creek, and Denver areas precipitated a gold rush and development of the area progressed rapidly. The gold fever gradually subsided and many miners turned to farming and other means of livelihood, In 1861 the Colorado Territory was created by Congress. The Union Pacific Railroad was constructed along the South Platte River to Julesburg, Colorado, then westward through the INebraska panhandle to Cheyenne, Wyoming. The first railroad to reach Denver was constructed from Cheyenne in 1870. Development continued at a rapid pace, and in 1876 the Colorado Territory was granted state- hood. Much of the history of Colorado is bound up in its efforts to conserve and utilize its waters for irrigation purposes. It was in Colorado that the doctrine of appropriated rights as opposed to riparian use of water was developed. The South Platte Basin with its scenic wonderland, great reserve of mineral resources, forests and fertile lands has developed tremen- dously in less than 100 years. .suture progress is largely dependent upon the availability of enough water to continue expansion of its agri- cultural pursuits, supply its domestic population and its industries, and provide for its sanitation needs. Physical Description The South Platte River rises in the high, precipitous front range of the Rocky 14buntains of Central Colorado. It flows for approxi- mately 440 miles northeasterly to its confluence with the north Platte River near North Platte, Nebraska. The drainage area encompasses 21.x,030 square mile59 of which 19,022 are in Colorado, 3,011 in hebraaka, and 1,997 in Wyoming. Approximately 25 percent of the Basin is over 8,000 feet m.s.l.; 25 percent is at an elevation. of 6,000 to 8,000 feet m.s.l.; and 50 percent lies between 3,000 and 6,000 feet m.s.l. 9