Laserfiche WebLink
<br />2.2 Community Description <br /> <br />Ouray County is located in southwestern Colorado. It is bordered <br />by Montrose County to the north and northwest, San Miguel County <br />to the west, San Juan County to the south, Hinsdale County to the <br />southeast, and Gunnison County to the northeast. <br /> <br />The Cities of Ouray and Ridgway are the principal population centers <br />within the county. The 1980 census lists the county population at <br />1,925. In 1970, the population was 1,546 (Reference 2). <br /> <br />The Uncompahgre River headwaters rise on the northern slopes of <br />the San Juan Mountains, west of the Continental DiVide, at eleva- <br />tions higher than 13,000 feet. The river then flows northwesterly <br />through Ouray, Montrose, and Delta Counties for approximately 70 <br />miles to its confluence with the Gunnison River near the City of <br />Delta. The Uncompahgre River drains approximately 1,100 square <br />miles at its confluence with the Gunnison River. <br /> <br />The climate within the Uncompahgre River basin is semiarid, but <br />rainfall and temperatures vary widely. Average annual precipitation <br />ranges from 8 inches at Delta and 13 inches in the Colona-Ridgway <br />area to as much as 40 inches in the mountainous areas. Approxi- <br />mately 30 to 40 percent of the precipitation is snowfall. The <br />area is subject to cloudburst activity. The frost-free period <br />averages approximately 127 days annually, and varies from 112 days <br />at higher elevations to 148 days in the valleys. <br /> <br />Vegetation in the area consists of pinon, juniper, Sagebrush, oak <br />brush, and ponderosa pine. <br /> <br />The valley bottom along the Uncompahgre River south of Ridgway, <br />and along Dallas Creek to the west, is slightly rolling due to the <br />weathering and stream erosion of the soft underlying Mancos Shale. <br />Relatively smooth, flat terraces of alluvium up to 1 mile in width <br />parallel these two streams. These terraces are from 5 to 50 feet <br />above the stream channels. Near the confluence of Dallas Creek <br />and the Uncompahgre River, a large terminal morraine marks the <br />northern extreme of the glacial advance which formed the valley <br />bottom north from Ridgway. The soils in the stUdy area are coarse <br />grained, mostly of alluvial origin in the valleys. to heavy rocks <br />on the drainage slopes. <br /> <br />North of Ridgway at the confluence of Dallas Creek and the Uncompahgre <br />River, the valley constricts to form two subdivisions separated by <br />a canyon which extends to a point near Colona. <br /> <br />Development within the county has been located primarily in and <br />near the communities of Ouray and Ridgway in the form of mobile <br />home parks. Additional development consisting of ranch-type dwell- <br />ings and buildings has occurred in the wider valley south of Ridgway. <br /> <br />4 <br />