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<br />This study evaluated the flood hydrology in a part of the South Platte <br /> <br /> <br />River basin (fig. 1), especially with emphasis on two sites in the Big <br /> <br /> <br />Thompson River basin: one a high elevation mountain site and one low <br /> <br /> <br />elevation site, The two sites were selected because of their extensive <br /> <br />streamflow-gaging station and paleohydrologic data, and indicate the <br />impact of elevation on hydrology, <br /> <br />COLORADO FRONT RANGE STUDY OVERVIEW <br /> <br />The majority of Colorado's population is concentrated in, along, or <br /> <br /> <br />near the foothills at the base of the Rocky Mountains and extremely <br /> <br /> <br />destructive flash floods [such as the 1976 Big Thompson River flood <br /> <br /> <br />described by McCain et al. (1979)] occur in this area. Therefore, a <br /> <br /> <br />comprehensive, multidisciplinary project was undertaken to evaluate the <br /> <br /> <br />flood hydrology of foothill and mountain streams in Colorado (Jarrett and <br /> <br /> <br />Costa, 1983) and is summarized in this section, That study focused on the <br /> <br /> <br />analysis of available precipitation and streamflow records, the use of <br /> <br /> <br />paleohydrologic techniques in flood-hydrology studies, and the installation <br /> <br /> <br />and operation of 18 crest-stage streamflow gages to determine the annual <br /> <br /> <br />maximum flood on selected foothill stream watersheds, Paleoflood hydrol- <br />ogy (the study of botanic, sedimentologic, and geomorphic flood evidence <br /> <br />remaining in the valley) Can provide important supplemental information <br /> <br />about the spatial occurrence, magnitude, and frequency of floods. <br /> <br />II <br /> <br />