Laserfiche WebLink
<br />In total, the st~eams ~nde~ study d~aln about 230 so~a~e miles at the <br />lowe~ limit of the st~dy lIrea. A.ppro~lmate d~"IMqe a~eas at selected <br />locatIons are shown In Tahl~ 1. <br /> <br />BACKGROUNO INFORMATION <br /> <br />T,o,PLEl <br /> <br />SETTLEMENT <br /> <br />DRAINAGE AREAS <br /> <br />P~ospeeto~s f~om LeadvIlle, mIning along the valley of the Roaring <br />Fork River, were the fIrst settlers In the Aspen "rea, DIscovery of <br />la~ge silver deposIts In the mountaIns on each side of the river was <br />the stlm~lus fo~ establIshment of the city In 1879. The stream valleys <br />became the passageways tor pack t~alns, freight wagOns, and late~, two <br />rail roads that c,,~rled o~e to smelters "nd ~etlned sl I ver to the sllve~ <br />markets. Asaresultof Intense mining activIty, Aspen grew toe <br />community of 12,000 people. <br /> <br />Following the demonetlzatlon of sllve~ In \893, pop~ latlon of the <br />cIty declined until fhe late 1930's, when Interest In the winter spcrts <br />potentlllloftheareabeqantodevelop. Following World War II,thls <br />Interest expandeo Into development of e ski ~esort end culturel center. <br />Extensive Improvements have subsequently taken place to provide facil- <br />Ities for a small permanent population in the summer, and a large <br />temporary population In winter. <br /> <br />Location <br /> <br />OralnaqeArea <br />sq.ml, <br /> <br />Roarl ng Fork RIver at lowe~ lImIt of <br />study area <br />Roaring fork River excluding Cestle <br />and Hunter Creeks <br />Cestle C~eek lIt mouth <br />Hunter C~eek et o>:luth <br /> <br />"0 <br /> <br />'11 <br />70 <br />" <br /> <br />The Roaring Fork River end Castle end Hunter Creeks have narrow <br />flood plains In Aspen, Just upstream from Aspen, the flood plaIn of <br />the Roaring Fork River wIdens Into a broad meadow where the stream has <br />e flat gradIent and many meande~~. <br /> <br />The sou~ce of the ~Ive~ Is on tho ContInental Divide wnere eleve- <br />tlon~ exceed 13,000 feet. Ca~tle end Hunter Cr&ak~ d~9ln ba~ln~ wIth <br />headw9te~ elevatIons of about 14,000 and 13,000 feet, respectively. <br /> <br />THE: STREAMS AND THEIR VALLEYS <br /> <br />Norroal aMv,,1 p~eclplt"tlon over all three stream basins Is about <br />32 Inches, 65 pe~cent of wnlch occu~s 9S snow. Critically hlgh flows <br />eccu~ du~lng clear weather when warm temperatures cause rapid meltIng <br />of the snowpack, <br /> <br />The study ~~ea of thIs repo~t comprises the flOOd plaIn of RoarIng <br />Fork RIver from Red Butto Road bridge upst~eam to a oolnt approximately <br />3mllesaboveCooperAvenuebrldge,adlstanceot6mlles,andtheflood <br />pial ns of Castle and Hunter Creaks, t~lbuta~y st~e(lms. from their mouths <br />upstream about 1-1/2 miles and 3/4 mllo~, respectively (see Plate 1). <br /> <br />The city of Aspen Is nestled In thevallayof the Roaring fork <br />RIver, The busl nass sectIon of the co"",unl ty Is located ~outh of the <br />river just upstream from the ~uths of Castle and Hunter Creeks. <br /> <br />Vegetation In the basins below 11,000 feet elevations Is typical I Y <br />subal pi ne and consIsts of QOod cove~ of grass and b~ush and fight <br />density stands of conlfe~s and aspen, Above 11,000 feet, vegetatIon Is <br />sp.arseornonexlstent. <br /> <br />DEVE:LOPMENTS IN THE FLOODPLAIN <br />As p~vlously stated, the flood plains of the three streams In the <br />study area a~e bes!<;a!!y na~row. For thl s reason, existing aevelopment <br /> <br />, <br />