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<br />EVALUATION OF THE FLOOD HYDROLOGY IN THE <br />COLORADO FRONT RANGE USING STREAMFLOW RECORDS AND <br />PALEOFLOOD DATA FOR THE BIG THOMPSON RIVER BASIN <br /> <br />By <br />Robert D, Jarrett1 <br />and <br />John E. Costa2 <br /> <br />Hydrologists <br /> <br />U.S. Geological Survey <br />Box 25046, MS 4151, MS 4132 <br />Denver Federal Center <br />Denver, CO 80225 <br /> <br />ABSTRACT <br /> <br />A multidisciplinary study of precipitation and streamflow records and <br /> <br />paleoflood studies of channel features was made to analyze the flood <br /> <br />hydrology of foothill and mountain streams in the Front Range of Colorado <br /> <br />because conventional flood-frequency analyses do not adequately character- <br /> <br />ize the flood hydrology. In the foothills of Colorado, annual flood flows <br /> <br />are derived from snowmelt at higher elevations in the mountain regions, <br /> <br />from rainfall at lower elevations in the plains or plateau regions, or from <br /> <br />a combination of rain falling on snow. Above approximately 7,500 feet <br /> <br />(2,300 meters), snowmelt dominates; rain does not contribute to the flood <br /> <br />potential. Regional flood-frequency methods were developed and compared <br /> <br />with conventional flood-estimating technique results, including an eval- <br /> <br />uation of the magnitude and frequency of the probable maximum flood, The <br /> <br />study indicates the need for additional data collection and research to <br /> <br />understand the complexities of the flood hydrology in mountainous regions, <br /> <br />especially its impacts on flood-plain management and design of structures <br /> <br />in the flood plain, <br /> <br />s <br /> <br />- <br />