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River to approximately 0.8 mile north of the Larimer and Weld Canal, and portions of Dry Creek were studied by approximate methods. 2.2 Community Description Larimer County is located in north-central Colorado, bounded by the Continental Divide to the west, Wyoming to the north, Weld County to the east, and 80ulder County to the south. The county encompasses approximately 2,614 square miles, of which approximately 50 percent is publicly owned. The terrain ranges from steep mountainous areas in the west to gently rolling plains in the east. Historically, the economy has consisted of irrigated farming in the southeast and dryland farming and grazing in the northeast, although the eastern section is rapidly urbanizing. The industry in the western portion of the county consists mainly of tourism, with some ranching and timber operations. Larimer County had a 1980 population of 149,184. This represents a 66-percent increase over the 1970 population of 89,900 (Reference 2). The climate varies from the mountains in the west to the eastern plains. The average annual temperature in the western part of the county is in the lower 40'F range, with annual precipitation of approximately 16 inches. The eastern portion of the county has an average temperature of 50'F and annual precipitation of approximately 14 inches (Reference 3). The studied section of the Big Thompson River is approximately 41 miles long. The river originates in the Rocky Mountains, and the basin extends to the Continental Divide at an elevation of 14,250 feet on Long's Peak. The Big Thompson River flows in an easterly direction through the southern part of Larimer County. Considerable residential development has taken place along the riverbanks, especially in the narrow canyon area. Channel slopes range from approximately 18 feet per mile in the area near Loveland to 130 feet per mile through the narrows. The soils in the Big Thompson River study area consist of Fluvaquents-Fluvents, Haploborolls-Camborthids-Argiborolls, and Argiborolls-Rock Outcrop Associations (Reference 4). The studied section of the North Fork Big Thompson River is approximately 9.8 miles long, with the lower study limit being at the confluence with the Big Thompson River at Drake. The average channel width through the studied section is 25 feet, and the channel slope averages 132 feet per mile. Soils consist of North Rock Outcrop and Haploborolls-Camborthids-Argiborolls Associations (Reference 4). 4