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Surface and Hydrology The greatest impacts from the 1997 flood event occurred in the following areas (Larimer, Logan and Morgon counties): Larimer County Spring Creek drainoge in Fort Collins Fairbrooke and Clearview Drainage Channels in western Fort Collins West Vine Drainage area in Northwestern Ft. Collins Colorado State University locol drainage area Morgan County Shaefer Draw north and into the Town of Weldona Logan County Pawnee Creek northwest/west of Sterling in Atwood, and the City of Sterling Numerous streams .and watercourses contributed to flood damages in the following additionally declared counties: lincoln, Prowers, Crowley, Kiowa, Weld, Baco, Otero, Clear Creek, Phillips and Elbert. Larimer, Logan, Weld, Morgan and Clear Creek counties have drainage tributaries to the South Platte River. In addition, portions of Elbert and Lincoln counties have tributaries to the South Platte River. The river basin has a drainage area of about 24,300 square miles and is located in three states, Colorado [79 percent of the basin); Nebraska (15 percent of the basin); and Wyoming (6 percent of the basin). The basin has a continental-type climate modified by topography, in which there are large temperature ranges and irregular seasonal and annual precipitotion. Mean temperatures increase from west to east and on the plains from north to south. Areas along the Continental Divide average 30 inches or more of pre- cipitation annually, which includes snowfall in excess of 300 inches. In contrast, annual precipitation on the plains east of Denver, Colorado, and in the South Park area in the southwest part of the basin, ranges from 7 to 15 inches. Most of the precipitation on the plains occurs as rain, which falls between April and September. Rangeland is present across all areas of the basin except over the high moun- tain forests. Agricultural land is restricted mostly to the plains. Urban or built-up I~nd is present primarily along the Frant Range urban corridor in Colorado. Phillips County and parts of Lincoln and Elbert Counties have drainage tributar- ies to the Republican River. The Republican River is, in turn, tributary to the Kansas River in Kansas. The Republican River Basin in Colorado consists prima- rily of rangeland with some farming and ranching communities scattered through- out the basin.