FLOOD04730

• Designation Number: 307
• County: Rio Blanco
• Community: Rangely
• Basin: Yampa/White
• Title: Flood Insurance Study - Rangely
• Date: 9/1/1990
• Designation Date: 9/1/1990
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

2.0 AREA STUDIED

2.1 Scope of Study

This Flood Insurance Study covers the incorporated areas of the
Town of Rangely, Rio Blanco County, Colorado. The area of study is
shown on the Vicinity Map (~igure 1).

~looding caused by the overflow of the White River, College Canyon
Draw, and Coal Mine Draw was studied in detail within the Town of
Rangely.

The areas studied by detailed methods were selected
given to all known flood hazard areas and areas
development or proposed construction.

with priority
of projected

Approximate analyses were used to
development potential or minimal
methods of study were proposed to,
Town of Rangely.

study those areas having a
flood hazards. The scope
and agreed upon by, ~EMA and

low
and
the

2.2 Community Description

The Town of Rangely is located in the northwestern corner of Rio
Blanco County, approximately 18 miles east of the Colorado-Utah
State line and 57 miles west of Meeker, the only other sizable
community in the county. Rangely is situated at an elevation of
5,200 feet and is approximately 70 miles north of Grand Junct ion,
Colorado, 180 miles east of Salt Lake City, and 200 miles west of
Denver.

Rangely was originally settled in 1882 as a center for cattle
ranching and Indian trading. The area was virtually unknown until
1947 when a major oil discovery was made. Ultimately, the Rangely
Oilfield became the largest producer in the Rocky Mountain region
and the sixth largest in the United States.

Rangely is not on any main transportation routes, but it is
connected to both Meeker and Dinosaur, Colorado, via Colorado State
Highway 64. Transportation facilities have generally been adequate
to meet the needs of the farm and ranch population. Because there
is no railroad line through Rangely, most livestock are shipped to
market by truck. The county airport near Rangely has a 6,700-foot
lighted runway and can accommodate light commercial aircraft.

Characteristic vegetation in the Rangely area ~s determined by
moisture, exposure, temperature, and elevation. In the immediate
environs, which are best defined as desert rangeland, the
vegetation includes saltbush, shadscale, bud sage, and hardy
grasses. In the foothill regions, cover is predominantly comprised
of big sagebrush with an understory of grasses. Aspen, spruce, and
fir are characteristic farther up-slope, and arctic varieties of
willow, sedge, and clover are found above timberline.

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