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.. Pattern of Dispersal . .,,-, Nine Front Range counties account for 80 percent of Colorado's population. These are: Denver, Jefferson, Adams, El Paso, Arapahoe, Boulder, Pueblo, Larimer and Weld. When 11 more counties (Mesa, Fremont, La Plata, Douglas, Montrose, Otero, Garfield, Morgan, Delta, Logan and Monte- zuma) are added to the nine listed above, 90% of Colorado's population is accounted for. The remaining 10 percent of the population is widely dispersed over the other 43 counties where population densitie~ are relatively low except for a few important cities and towns, See Table 5, page 14 for 1980 county census and growth figures. "-- Concentration of Population and High Risk Areas Clearly the concentration of population in Colorado is centered along the Front Range - a region where high risk phenomena fre~uently occur. Big Thompson, the massive 1965 flood and the Thornton Tornado are examples of recent disas- trous events that have developed from the combination of POPullition concentration and the normal occurrence of high risk events. Also, a large number of high hazard dams are located in this region as is the largest number of people threatened by relatively high intensity earthquakes. Of course, extreme events threaten other population concentra- tions and these have occurred in most of the rest of the State, but the threat to urban areas of the Eastern Slope is paramount. . population Growth Colorado's population has continued to grow in recent years despite the leveling of growth elsewhere in the U.S. population in 1970 in Colorado was 2.21 million, and in 1980 it was 2.89 million; the percentage change per year was about 3 percent. But this population growth did not occur unifofmly across the State. Growth was concentrated in the high density longitudinal strip along the Front Range, that is, the nine counties discussed above which encompassed 80 percent of the population. Also, sonte "islands" of growth are noticeable in Western Slope counties, and in some areas where energy or recreat ional development has occurred. In all, 48 counties gained population since 1970 and 15 lost population -- mostly in the rural East and Southeast. "'- 10 .