Laserfiche WebLink
<br /> <br /> <br />mont for employment. Historically, however, <br />Jamestown was a bustling mining town, and <br />like many other mountain communities along <br />the Front Range, the legacy of the mining <br />days is evidenced by the numerous tailings <br />ponds and mining debris scattered through- <br />out the mountainous region. <br /> <br />Figure - 2 . Mine Tailings <br /> <br />Geographical Setting <br /> <br />The terrain surrounding Jamestown is rug- <br />ged and mountainous with steep slopes and <br />dense montane forests rising abruptly out of <br />the floodplain in all directions. The natural <br />, soil complexes are characteristically shallow <br />with rapid runoff and high erosion potential. <br />Average rainfall in the area is 24 inches an- <br />nually with a large percentage of this amount <br />occurring in the spring and summer months <br />(peak flood hazard period). The primary forest <br />type is Ponderosa Pine on south facing slopes <br />up to 8,000 ft with Douglas Fir and Lodgepole <br />Pine stands occurring on north facing slopes <br />and higher elevations respectively. <br /> <br />The high erosion potential of the soil, coupled <br />with the steepness of the stream channels <br /> <br />Figure. 3 - Geographkal Lccanon Map <br /> <br />surrounding the community, creates a haz- <br />ardous flood potential. Swift currents can <br />crest very rapidly in a rainfall event and de- <br />bris carried by the fast-moving flows can pro- <br />duce forceful pulses of sediment-laden water <br />that can threaten or destroy bridges, culverts, <br />and any other structures in the floodplain. <br />Erosion from flood events can undercut and <br />destroy structures which would otherwise re- <br />ceive little damage from inundation. <br /> <br />In response to these predicted high velocities <br />and sediment-laden flood waters along the <br />James Creek and the Little James Creek, the <br />Federal Emergency Management Agency <br />(FEMA) has specified almost the entire 100- <br />yr. floodplain as Floodway (refer to Appendix <br />C). <br /> <br />The Floodway concept, while a fairly complex <br />engineering solution, contains an implicit rec- <br />ognition of high flood hazard potential. Ap- <br />proximately 34 Jamestown residents live in <br />the identified high hazard Floodway while a <br />total of 84 residents live within the 500-year <br />floodplain. <br /> <br />3 <br />