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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I. I. . . . . . . . . . . STUDY AREA DESCRIPTION Community Description Ouray County, Colorado is located in the southwest portion of the state, It is bordered to the north by Montrose County, to the east by Montrose and San Miguel Counties, to the south by San Juan County and to the east by Hinsdale and Gunnison Counties, The communities of Ouray and Ridgway are the principal population centers within the County, In recent decades, Ouray County has been one of the fastest growing counties in Colorado, Historical population data is presented in Table 1, T 10 C PI' D able 1. Historica uray ount opu ahon ala Year Population Source 1970 1,546 1970 Census 1980 1,925 1980 Census 1990 2,295 1990 Census Through the mid. 1970's mining was the largest employment sector of the County's economy. Since that time, mining jobs have declined substantially but have been replaced by retail and service jobs as tourism in the area has increased, Elevations within Ouray County range from less than 7,000 in the valley bottom of the Uncompahgre River at the northern end of the County to 14,150 ft at the Summit of Mt. Sneffels in the San Juan Mountains at the southern end of the County, The climate is classified as semiarid but rainfall varies dramatically with elevation, Average annual rainfall in the vicinity of Ridgway in the valley bottom is approximately 13 inches while in high mountain areas it may be as much as 40 inches, Watershed Descriptions The July 3, 1985 Ouray County AS provides flood hazard information for the Uncompahgre River and three tributary streams; Pleasant Valley Creek, Dallas Creek and Cow Creek. The AS provides detailed mapping for the Uncompahgre River between the community of Dallas, located approximately 3 miles north of Ridgway, to the Town of Ouray at the southern end of the county, The Uncompahgre River north of Dallas and the three noted tributaries have been studied only by approximate methods, The Uncompahgre River is the major stream system within Ouray County, flowing from south to north through the center of the county, The headwaters of the river are located in the San Juan Mountains between Ouray and Silverton from where it flows approximately 70 miles to its confluence point with the Gunnison River near Delta, Above its confluence with Dallas Creek, the downstream limit of detailed analysis, the Uncompahgre River has a drainage area of 150 square miles, Dallas Creek and Cow Creek are both tributaries to the Uncompahgre River. Dallas Creek drains the west side of the Umcompahgre River basin north of the community of Dallas and Cow Creek 2 -.