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<br />HYDROLOGY REPORT <br />SUM}lIT COUNTY <br /> <br />PURPOSE <br />This report was completed to document the procedures and <br />methods used in computing the flood discharges for streams <br />in Summit County to be studied in detail as part of the Flood <br />Insurance Studies for Summit County, and the Towns of <br />Frisco, Silverthorne, and Breckenridge. The Blue River <br />below Dillon Reservoir is not included in .this report <br />because of special conditions which must be analyzed, and <br />a separate report will be forthcoming. The discharge- <br />frequency data for the streams within the Town of Breckenridge <br />are already published in the Breckenridge Floodplain Information <br />Report (Ref. 1), and these discharges will be used in the <br />Flood Insurance Study. <br /> <br />BASIN DESCRIPTIONS <br /> <br />The Blue River Basin, which covers all of Summit County, lies <br />on the west side of the Continental Divide and feeds into the <br />Colorado River at Kremmling. It has a drainage area of 514 <br />square miles and generally drains in a north to northwest <br />direction. The basin width ranges from 21 miles at Lake <br />Dillon to 9 miles at Green Mountain Reservoir. The topo- <br />graphy is mountainous with deep broad valleys containing <br />the larger rivers and steep gullies containing the smaller <br />creeks. The basin is bounded by the Continental Divide on <br />the east and south sides, from Loveland Pass to Fremont Pass, <br />while the Gore Range and Vail Pass form the boundary on the <br />west side. The elevations in the basin are quite high, <br />ranging from 14,270 feet at Grays Peak along the Continental <br />Divide to SpOO feet at Green Mountain Reservoir. The <br />average elevation is around 10,000 feet. (Figure 1.) <br /> <br />The vegetation characteristics on all the streams studied <br />in the basin are generally the same. Alpine grasses occur <br />above an elevation of 11,500 feet while thick conifer forests <br />exist at elevations between 11,500 feet and 9,000 feet. <br /> <br />-2- <br />