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Approximate analyses were used to study those areas having a low development potential or minimal flood hazards. The scope and methods of study were proposed to, and agreed upon by, FEMA and the Town of Castle Rock. 2.2 Community Description Castle Rock, the county seat of Douglas County, is in central COlorado, approximately 30 miles south of Denver. Communities near Castle Rock are Sedalia, 8 miles northwest; Franktown, 7 miles east; and Larkspur, approximately 10 miles south. In 1980, the population of Castle Rock was 3,921 (Reference 2). The 1984 estimated population was just over 6,000. Castle Rock and the northern portion of Douglas County have been developed as residential areas. Business and industrial activities in Denver support much of Castle Rock's working population. The result has been extensive growth, with loss of agricultural land use. Most agriculture in the Castle Rock area is centered around livestock production; the remainder, approximately 15 percent, is cultivation. The study area is in the South Platte River watershed. East Plum Creek, which flows through the western portion of the town, origi- nates in Pike National Forest and joins west Plum Creek near Sedalia. The creek flows northerly through town in a well-defined channel, essentially following Interstate Highway 25; the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad; and the AtChison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. Sellers Gulch, draining the area southeast of town, ]OlnS East Plum Creek upstream from the Interstate Highway 25 bridge over East Plum Creek at Castle Rock. A small, unnamed tributary to Sellers Gulch joins it at approximately 400 feet west of Lake Gulch Road. The confluence of Hangmans Gulch with East Plum Creek is approximately 0.4 mile north of town. These three tributaries and those located west of East Plum Creek are ephemeral streams. As East Plum Creek enters the town from the south, it flows through relatively undeveloped land, until, at its confluence with Sellers Gulch, it is adjacent to the downtown business community. TO the north, East Plum Creek passes through residential- and business- zoned areas that are moderately developed (References 3 and 4). West of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, the terrain rises gradually, and the area is a sparsely developed, residential zone. Sellers Gulch flows through mainly residentially zoned, sparsely developed land. The area between Sellers Gulch and Lake Gulch Road is industrial and approximately 20 to 30 percent developed. As Sellers Gulch joins East Plum Creek, the business community is on its north bank. Hangmans Gulch crosses a corner of the corporate limits that is zoned for residential development. Cherry Creek 4