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<br />2.2 Community Description <br /> <br />The town of Telluride is located in San Miguel County in southwestern Colorado, <br />west of the Cant i nenta 1 Di vi de, -j n the San Juan Mounta ins. Hi stori call y, the <br />economy of the area was based on mining and agriculture. In recent years, the <br />economy has become dependent on n~creation and touri sm. The current full-t ime <br />population of the town is 1,300 (Reference I). <br /> <br />Two major watercourses flow through the town, the San Miguel River and Cornet <br />Creek. Cornet Creek flows from a box canyon north of the town, southwesterly <br />through the town to the San Miguel River. The town of Telluride rests on the <br />alluvial fan at the mouth of the Cornet Creek canyon. <br /> <br />The watershed of Cornet Creek covers about 2.4 square miles and consists of high <br />mountainous terrain. Slopes are typically 40 to ~;O degn!es and approach vert ical <br />in portions of the upper basin. Elevations range from about 8,700 feet in town <br />to 13,300 feet at Mendota Peak. Approximately 30 percent of the Cornet Creek <br />basin is above timberline. Vegetation in t.he watershed consists of approximat.ely <br />80 percent dense trees and 20 percent low vegetation and grasses. <br /> <br />The Cornet Creek channel is narro~ and st.eep nort.h of the town. Channel slopes <br />in the watershed are typically 20 percent or great.er. An approximate 40-foot <br />falls exists several hundred feet. upst.ream of the Cornet. Creek canyon mout.h. <br />On the alluvial fan, the Cornet. Creek channel fl at.t.ens from a 10 percent slope <br />at t.he canyon mouth to approximately a 3 percent. slope near t.he San Miguel River. <br />Through town, the creek channel is crossed by several roadways and pedest.rian <br />bridges. Obstruction of bridges by debris carried by mud flows is possi6le. <br />The Cornet Creek channel through the town is approximately 3 to 8 feet in depth, <br />IOta 25 feet wide and 1,300 feet long from the San Mi gue 1 R-i vel" to the mout.h <br />of t.he canyon. Development along the creek -is 1 imited to the alluvial fan and <br />consists of both residential and commercia"1 buildings. In many locations, <br />buildings abut the Cornet Creek channel. <br /> <br />2.3 Principal Flood Problems <br /> <br />Fl oodi ng in the town of Tell uri de can occur from two sources, t.he San M i gue 1 <br />River and Cornet Creek. Flood i ng of the San Mi gue 1 Ri vel'genera 11 y occurs dur i ng <br />late spring snowmelt runoff. Precipitation alone is usually insufficient to <br />cause severe flooding in the large drainages of the region. <br /> <br />Past records indicate that a summertime cloudburst thunderstorm over the small <br />drainage area of Cornet Creek, has the great.est potential for severe flooding. <br />A flood resulting from a cloudburst generally has a peak duration of only a few <br />minutes, followed by a rapid decrease in flow rate. Due to it.s position on the <br />alluvial fan of Cornet Creek, flood hazards in the town of Telluride are mainly <br />associated with that stream. Specifically, flood hazards associated with mud <br />flows are of concern. <br /> <br />Hi stori ca lly, the two 1 argest recorded mud flo"l events in Tell uri de occurred <br />between noon and early evening during the last week of July and first week of <br />August. The flood of July 27, 1914, was described in the old Tell~ride Journal <br />(July 28, 1914 edition) as follows, <br />