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Channel Slope - .396 Channel Length - 23.7 mi. Basin Length - 13.8 mi. Basin Width - 8.3 mi. Channel Aspect - 740 Basin Aspect - 550 Henson Creek has a similar elevation, topography and land use. Land Use: Forest - 66% Agriculture - 0 Range - 28% Water - 0 Urban - 1% Drainage Basins and Characteristics The upper drainage basins of Henson Creek and the Lake Fork of the Gunnison are SImilar in area and physical characteristics. Henson Creek has a dr~inage area of 91.0 square miles. The Lake Fork of the Gunnison has ~ drainage area of 146.8 square miles above the mouth of Henson Creek. Henson Creek flows primarily in an easterly direction with tributaries coring in from the north and south. The Lake Fork of the Gunnison initiolly flows easterly in the upper half and in the lower half it takes a lon~, 900 bend northward before entering Lake City. The following information on the Lake Fork of the Gunnison was taken from reference #2. Mean Basin Elevation - 11,500 ft. Elevations in the study area range from over 14,000 feet in the western headwaters to 8670 feet at Lake City. Topography, particularly in the side basins and headwaters, is very rugged and steep. Tributaries may drop 3,000 to 4,000 feet over 3 to 4 miles. The main valleys of the Lake Fork and Henson Creek have a more gentle gradient below 10,000 feet. Three types of vegetation zones are present in the study area: Alpine, Sub-alpine and Montane_ Grasses and sedges grow in the tundra zone above tree line_ The trees are comprised primarily of spruce, fir and aspen, with some cottonwoods in the valley floor. In the lower areas, there are some irrigated pastures and sagebrush meadows. Approximately 300 acre feet of irrigation water are diverted annually on the Lake Fork above Lake City. The Lake Fork also flows through Lake San Cristobal, a natural lake created by a large mud slide in the early 1900s, which attenuates its flows. There are no diversions or dams of significance on Henson Creek. t 111-2