FLOOD00305

• County: Yuma
• Community: Wray
• Title: FIS - Wray
• Date: 12/19/1984
• Prepared For: Wray
• Prepared By: FEMA
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Current FEMA Regulatory Floodplain Information

1.3 Coordination

In correspondence dated September 22, 1983, FEMA requested that
the Technical Evaluation Contractor, Dames & Moore, prepare a
Flood Insurance Study for the City of Wray based on data from
the COE report (Reference 1).

The final coordination meeting was held on July 31, 1984, and was
attended by representatives of FEMA, the county, and the city. No
problems were raised at the meeting.

2.0 AREA STUDIED

2.1 Scope of Study

This Flood Insurance Study Covers the
City of Wray, Yuma County, Colorado.
on the Vicinity Map (Figure 1).

incorporated areas of the
The area of study is shown

Detailed methods were used to study flooding on the North Fork
Republican River for its entire length within the corporate limits
of Wray.

The areas studied by detailed methods were selected based on the
extent and validity of available hydrologic and hydraulic data.

2.2 Community Description

The City of Wray is located in the east-central part of Yuma County
in eastern Colorado. The city lies at the intersection of U.S.
Highways 34 and 385, approximately 135 miles east of Denver.

Wray was founded in 1886. It was named after John Wray, a foreman
for the Print-Olive Cattle Company. Wray, with a population of
2,131 as of 1980 (Reference 2), is the county seat of Yuma County.

The headwaters of the North Fork Republican River basin originate
within Yuma County approximately 15 miles southwest of Wray.
The river then flows in an easterly direction eventually draining
into the Arikaree River, approximately 25 miles downstream of
Wray.

The basin is comprised largely of sandhills having an ill-defined
drainage pattern and little surface runoff. Although the total
drainage area at the Colorado-Nebraska State line is approximately
1,250 square miles, only 85 square miles actually contribute to
the surface runoff. The basin is somewhat irregular in shape,
with the major axis oriented in a southwest-northeast direction.
A tributary stream, Chief Creek, joins the North Fork Republican
River approximately 1 mile upstream of Wray. A small lake,
Stalker Lake, is located approximately 2 miles upstream of Wray
on Chief Creek and is maintained as a fish preserve by the Colorado

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