FLOOD03406

• County: Mesa
• Community: DeBeque
• Stream Name: Colorado River
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Title: Hydrology Study for DeBeque Canyon
• Date: 9/1/1972
• Prepared For: State of Colorado
• Prepared By: Hydraulics Unit, Co Division of Highways
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

4

DRAINAGE BASIN

The headwaters of the Colorado Hiver ori9inate alon9

the Continental Divide hi9h in the Colorado Rocky MountainG.

Many of the mountain peaks tower ,,1)OV8 14,000 feet. From

.Rocky Mountain National Park on 'I:be north to Independence

Pass on the south, snow fed ",'treams collect and flow in

a southwesterly direction toward Grand J'uncticm, then into

Utah.

The upper reaches are alpine areas with large st:ands

of pine and fir timber on st:eep J~()cky slopes. Some of the

area is above timberline whe,n~ tundra, ba]~ren rock and

occasional snowdrifts prevail.. hi:, lower ,:~levat,ions,

sparcely scattered pinon trees cover the rolling hills..

~rhe land is semi-.arrid wit.h prairiE! grass and sage b.n;,sh

covering the areas between the pinon !,tands.

There are no major drainageG t1'1o.t discharqe into the

Colorado .River in DeBeque C,myon, 'l.'herefore one d.1~a,~llJaCje

area and one design discharg'c wa!'; conside,red adequatE,

for the entire st:udy reach" 1~he drainage area of 8,050

square miles for gage 9-0955 was used for the study reach.

Some of major inflowing strea.ms above DeBeque Canyon are

the .Roa.ring Fork, Ea.gle, Pin"y, Blue, Williams F01:k and

Fraser Rivers. The boundari1os of the drainage baBin aTe

shown on figure 2.