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<br />Delta County and the surrounding area. This reservation was dis- <br />solved by an 1880 treaty that relocated the Ute Indians to a new <br />reservation in northeastern Utah. On September 1, 1881, the old <br />Ute Indian reservation was opened for resettlement. <br /> <br />The Town of Montrose was founded in 1882. The founder, Joseph <br />Selig, was reminded of the beautiful lake country of Scotland and <br />named the new town after Sir Walter Scott's "Legend of Montrose." <br />Early Montrose was a typical frontier freight center and cow town. <br />It was the hub of the various mining camps of the San Juan Mountains, <br />serving their many needs. After the narrow gauge railroad advanced <br />to the mining camps and provided rail transportation to the eastern <br />area, the cattle and sheep empires came into being to satisfy the <br />meat-hungry eastern markets. <br /> <br />Agriculture, mining, and energy production (coal, natural gas, and <br />oil) comprise the major economic base for Montrose County. The <br />estimated city population in 1980 was 8,722, an increase of 34 <br />percent over the 1970 census population of 6,496 (Reference 4). <br />This rate of increase is expected to continue. <br /> <br />The Uncompahgre River rises high on the northern slopes of the San <br />Juan Mountains, a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. It flows north- <br />northwesterly from its origin to its mouth at the Gunnison River, <br />which is a direct tributary to the Colorado River. Elevations in <br />the drainage basin range from approximately 13,000 feet in head- <br />water areas to approximately 4,900 feet at the mouth of the river <br />near Delta. The stream drains approximately 565 square miles at <br />Montrose. Its tributary drainage is hounded on the west by the <br />basins of the Dolores and San Miguel Rivers, on the south by the <br />basins of the Animas, Las Pinos, and Rio Grande Rivers, and on the <br />east and north by the basins of the Cimarron and Gunnison Rivers. <br /> <br />The headwaters of Cedar Creek originate in the Cimarron Ridge area <br />east of Montrose at an elevation of approximately 9,400 feet. The <br />creek flows westerly through the northeastern portion of Montrose <br />to its mouth at the Uncompahgre River, the downstream limit of <br />this study (approximately 3 miles northwest of Montrose). Cedar <br />Creek drains approximately 74 square miles at its confluence with <br />the Uncompahgre River. <br /> <br />The headwaters of Montrose Arroyo are approximately 7 miles east <br />of Montrose at an elevation of approximately 7,500 feet. The stream <br />flows northwesterly through Montrose to its confluence with Cedar <br />Creek, the downstream limit of the study, immediately northwest of <br />Montrose. The drainage area of the stream is approximately 17.8 <br />square miles at the mouth. <br /> <br />4 <br />