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The 1980 population 1)1 the tOVl!l W~V', cUJ7. North Fork Gunnison River has its headwat.crs in the Gunnison Nati(;n.-.l.-; Fore:-~t in Gunnison County, east of Df'lto County. It' i~ fnrrl't',,'i t.y the confluence of Muddy Creek and Anthracite Creek n(>,H Paonia Dam, and the elevation at this point is i3pproximat.ely 11, oon f(',_,t~ North Fork Gunnison River flows approxilTIt'1tcly 57 miles in 0 S('UU,,- wester ly direction from its head\\'iltcc3 to its confluence ",;i th Gunnison River.. The average basin slope is approxim.ately 150 f(-pt per mile (2~8 percent), while the average streambed slope is approximately 50 feet per mile (0.95 percent). Drainage areat. at the upstream and downstream limits of detailed study are 5B-7 sqUJ.fr;' miles and 937 square miles, respectively. The Town of Hotchkiss is located in a moderately sloping valley. In the areas not used for agriculture, v(~getation is classiii{.~(i <.1;: northern desert shrubi that is, sagebrush, western wheatgra~:>!':; I .3nd winterfat, with an understory of various hardy grasses.. vue L() the poor ground cover in this region, snow tends to melt Dnd rue. off rapidly. The climate of Hotchkiss is classif ied as generally semiar ld, wi tn an abundance of sunshine, frequent wind, and low humidity. The prevailinq direction of air movement to the region is from the west. On arrival, airmasses from the west are comparatively dry due to long travel over land and loss of moisture over mountain ranges.. However, the primary sources of moisture are 'the PacIfic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.. Generally, airmasses from the Pacitic Ocean dominate from October through April, while airmasses tram the Gulf of Mexico dominate du!' ing late spr ing and summer. Historical climatologic information for Delta County is very sparse~ The mean temperatures in the valley range from approximately 26.40P in January to approximately 74..lop in July.. The growing season usually extends upward to 140 days (Reference 3). Normal annual precipitation varies with elevation and cang(~s i.ruf,( approximately 7.9 inches in the valley to an estimated 40 inches at higher elevations in Delta County (Reference 3).. Most of thf',' annual precipitation in high elevation areas occurs as snow (row December to April and, beginning in October, a deep snowpack aCCLGUl-- lates~ Snowmelt begins in late April and continues well into ,June or early July.. General rain may OCCUr" over the study area, and convective-type cloudburst storms trequently occur in summer. The flood plain of North Fork Gunnison River is undeveloped wh('r~' it passes through the Town of Hotchkiss. <1