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<br />a broad, well defined, flood plain. The Rifle Creek flood plain has <br />been intensely developed and is devoted largely to residential, com- <br />mercial, and civic uses. The Colorado River flood platn near Rifle <br />includes industrial and rural residential uses but for the most part <br />the land use pattern is agricultural. State and U.S. highways, city <br />streets, county roads, and the main I ine of the Denver and Rio Grande <br />Western Railroad are located In flood plains of the Colorado River and <br />Rifle Creek in the study area. <br /> <br />Development in the study area can be expected to continue because <br />the city serves as the local center for retail trade, transportation, <br />and the recovery and processing of minerai resources. A 1970 census <br />indicated nearly 3,300 people resided in the Rifle area. The Garfield <br />County general plan indicates that if the current growth rate continues, <br />its 1985 population would be about 4,000. This plan also indicates that <br />an additional 11,000 people would reside in the Rifle area by 1985 if <br />a major breakthrough took place in the production of oi I from the area's <br />vast oil shale reserves. <br /> <br />4 <br />