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2.0 AREA STUDIED 2.1 Scope of Study This Flood Insurance Study covers the unincorporated areas of Routt County, Colorado. The area of study is shown on the Vicinity Map (Figure 1). The following streams were studied by detailed methods throughout the county: The Yampa River was studied from approximately 2.5 miles downstream from its confluence with Slate Creek to the corporate limits of Steamboat Springs. It was also studied upstream from the corporate limits of Steamboat Springs to a point approximately 7,500 feet upstream from State Highway 131. The Elk River was studied from approximately 3,300 upstream from its confluence with Yampa River to a approximately 4,500 feet upstream of County Road 62. feet point The areas studied by detailed methods were selected with priority given to all known flood hazard areas and areas of projected development or proposed construction through May 1992. The incorporated communities of Steamboat Springs, Oak Creek, Hayden, and Yampa are not included in this study. 2.2 Community Description Routt County is located in northwestern Colorado adjacent to the Wyoming border. It is bordered by Carbon County, Wyoming to the north; Jackson and Grand Counties to the east; Eagle County to the south; and Garfield, Rio Blanco, and Moffat Counties to the west. The county seat is the Town of Steamboat Springs, located in the eastern-central portion of the county. According to the 1980 U.S. Census, Routt County has a population of 13,404 and a land area of 2,367 square miles (Reference 1). Routt County is divided into the Northern Plateau Region and the Mountain Region with the separation of the two regions at the 7,500-foot elevation. The Northern Plateau Region comprises the Yampa River basin below an elevation of 7,500 feet. The annual precipitation ranges from approximately 10 inches at areas below the 7,500-foot elevation, to about 20 inches at areas above 7,500 feet, of which approximately 60 percent occurs as snowfall from October through April. Summer thunderstorms produce high-intensity rainfall in the region, but are usually limited in areal extent. Floods are primarily caused by snowmelt runoff from April through June. The Mountain Region comprises approximately two-thirds of Routt County and consists of land at an elevation of 7,500 feet or higher. The principal form of precipitation in the Mountain Region during winter is snow derived from moisture moving eastward from 2