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Report Series CP-26 #79(C-1) reported the population of La Junta in 1979, as 8,148 (Reference 2). Economic enterprises of the area include farming, ranching, tourism, a few cOl1l11ercial factories, and the main office for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad (AT&SF). The AT&SF main line passes through the city on its route along the Arkansas River. The railroad serves as both commercial and public transportation and is part of the Amtrak network. La Junta is an older city, but is growing every year, mostly towards the south, with 50 to 60 new homes added each year. Commercial development is concentrated along a Single main street, U,S. Highway 50, with residential areas spreading beyond. Development in the flood plains include residential, commercial and industrial. Portions of the Arkansas River flood plain are occupied by the City of La Junta as well as North La Junta and La Junta Garden residential areas. Anderson and King Arroyos flow through areas of diversified urban development in La Junta. Residential, conmercial, industrial structures, util ity, and transportation facil ities have spread up to the banks of the arroyos. The main business section of La Junta is contained in the flood plain of the Arkansas River. Some portions are also inundated by both the Anderson and King Arroyos, The mainline of the AT&SF and a branch line from La Junta to Denver traverse the flood plains. There are numerous county roads, Colorado State Highway 109 and U.S. Highway 50 and 350, which also cross through flood plains. The cl imate in the study area of La Junta is semi-arid. Average annual precipitation is 12.3 inches based on 72 years of record at Rocky Ford, seven miles west of La Junta. Periods of drought result from the uneven distribution of precipitation. The greatest daily precipitation of 6.20 inches occurred on July 8, 1893. The principal source of precipitation is high intensity, short duration convective type thunderstorms occurring over localized areas. Temperatures vary from a record low of -400F to a high of 114 of. The mean daily temperature is 52.50F. The Arkansas River above Canon City is a typical mountain stream which descends 6,000 feet in elevation in a distance of less than 130 miles, at gradients often exceeding 50 feet per mile. Between Canon City and Pueblo, the valley is generally narrow and the streambed well-defined with a slope ranging from 10 to 23 feet per mile. The river valley widens below Pueblo and varies in width from one to three miles throughout eastern Colorado. In these reaches, the channel slope varies between five and nine feet per mile, with an average of about 6.7 feet per mile in La Junta, The land immediately adjacent to the river has heavy growth of trees and brush. The Arkansas drainage area above River Mile 1,198.1 at La Junta is 12,210 square miles. 4