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<br />BACKGROUND INFORMATION <br /> <br />to the relative close proximity of the area to the Denver ~tro- <br />poiitanarea, the Big and Little Thompson River valleys are exper- <br />ienelng urbanllation pressures. <br /> <br />SETTL~ <br />The settlement of Color"do essentially began in 1540 when <br />Don Francesco De Coronado and his party antered the region. Thase <br />Spaniards found many tribes of Indians. The ute, Arapahoe, and <br />Cheyenne Indian Tribes resIded In the mountaIn areas and on the <br />pllllns to the ellst. Later, in 1606 and In 18Z0,respectlvely, <br />Zebulon Pike and Stephen H. Long explored the arOll, each discover- <br />ing a mountain pellk that today bears theIr narne. Furtradarsand <br />mountain men also explored the area in the early 1800's contribut- <br />ing to the eventUlll settlement Of the area. The search for wealth <br />and status, however, brought on by the gold rush of 1858 contrIb- <br />uted most to settlement of Colorado. This rush brought not only <br />gold seekers but merchants, farmers, and ranchers who established <br />permanent settlements. <br /> <br />THE STREAM AND ITS YALLEY <br /> <br />The first permanent settler was Mariano ~dena who set- <br />tied near present day Loveland in 1f!58. By 1860, several familIes <br />had settled in the ThO/Tl?son valleyprlrnarlly ralsln(l cattle "'nd a <br />few crops. In :S67,lrrlgdtionbegdnwlththeconstructionofthi! <br />first major ditch to dIvert water from the Big Thompson River. <br />Railrolld service to the area began In 1677 when the Colorado Central <br />Railroad completed a rail line trom Golden, Colon~do to Cheyenne, <br />"wyoming, The dddition of rai I road faci I itles addad to the pros- <br />perity ot the valley, By 1901, se"eral rnanulacturln'l companies <br />\<Iere operating I n the anlll. These included a sugar beet Proce~s!ng <br />factory,frultandvegetablecannlng,aflourmlll,agralnele- <br />vator, a stoneqUllrry, and a plaster mill. <br /> <br />The Big Thompson River basin drdlns an area 01 about 830 <br />squarerniles In north central Colorado. Of these 830 square miles, <br />appro)/imlltely 610 sqUllremiles are mountainous and 220 s'lUllre mi les <br />are plains. Thebasln Is about 60 miles long and about 30 mIles <br />wIde at its rr>Ost extrerM points. Elevations In thebllsin range <br />Irornnearl3,OOOfeetmeansealevel (m.s.l.lneartheContinental <br />Divide to near 4700 feet m,s,l. at the basin's confluence with the <br />South Platte River. Vegetation in the basin varies considerably <br />relatIve to the baSin topography. Forested arells and grasslands <br />are typical 01 the mountainous region 01 the basIn. In the plains <br />regIon, the vegetation Is typified by agricultural crops, grass- <br />lands, and intermIttent stands of timber especially adjacent to <br />stream~. CI'm3te in the basin Is semiarid varying with the tOpOg- <br />raphy.lngeneral.warmsu"""6rsandmlldtocoldlo'lntersprevail. <br />Intense thunderstorms. sometimes of cloudburst intensity, can occur <br />during th~ Summer months. The followino table 0lV9S Cllmatolooical <br />data for the Big Thompson River basin vicinity. <br /> <br />The present day area In the vicinity of the Big and Little <br />Thompson Rivers is primari Iy devoted to agriculture. However, due <br /> <br />2 <br />