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<br />Dominguez-Escalante Expediticn from the Spanish cat1itol i~ <br /> <br />Santa Fe passed through the area. <br /> <br />About 100 years later, i:1 '1878, interes~ in m,ini'1g, <br />livestock raising, and farming led to the establishment of a <br />post office. The area's economy today revolves around <br />ranching, farming, logging, mining, and tourism. It is <br />expected that the completion and filling of McPhee Reservoir <br />in the near future will increase tourist activity around <br />Dolore s. <br /> <br />2.2 Climate and Floodinc Characteristics <br /> <br />Much of the annual preciDit~tion in this region occurs <br />as snOW, and a deep snowpack usually accumulates in the hioh <br />elevations. Convective type cloudbursts storms occur <br />~requently in southwestern Colorado in the summ~!~. General <br />frontal type rainstorms approaching from the southwest can <br />also occur over the Dolores River Basin from mid-June <br />through December, but records show that they occur most <br />often during September and Oc":ober. <br /> <br />Snowmelt runoff in spring and early summer constitutes <br />a frequent but comparatively moderate flood threat because <br />high peak flows are not characteristics of snoHrrelt runoff <br />On the Dolores River. Cloudburst sto~ms produce high <br />intensity rainfall but, Que to the smal.l areal extent of <br />this type of storm, their short duration, ana small vo:ume <br /> <br />of runo~~, they cons~itute a sig~~~ica~t ~:ood ~~rea~ o~~y <br /> <br />in the smaller drainage basins. <br /> <br />are the most serious ~lood threat <br /> <br />Gene~c,l ~a:'..r.s <br />in Do::'ores. <br /> <br />=:CO:T; =:::-on t s <br /> <br />The :'argest ::1006 c:: ::-ecc~c~ r '\';hic:h OCCll:-::-e: _,J 8c7..o'::>e:- <br /> <br />1911, resul ~ed f::-om e. fronte.l ty'?e of sto~m on ~he 6rai.:'1c?e <br />,~reas of the Dolores and West Dolores Rivers. Much o~ the <br />':own of Dolores was floo6ed at that time. In ~eYf 1973, <br />:5nowmelt runoff 6amagea areas along the Dolores River <br /> <br />1.1ps-:ream of Dolo:-es ana th:::~eat.enec other -::-iv€r-ine a:'eas. ;..~ <br />b:::-iage was washea ou~ on Los::' Canyon Creek. Lar9€ snowme2.t <br />~lows also Occurred On the Dolores River in May 1941 and <br />~June 1949. The largest recent flood on the Dolores River <br />()ccurred in Septembe:- 1970, bet information other ~han <br /> <br />-'3- <br />