Laserfiche WebLink
<br />".. <br /> <br />F. Description of Existing Environment of the Site and Area. <br />1. Existing physical environment (natural and man-made) <br />a. Land and Climate: <br />The Big Thompson Canyon is a deeply incised, spectacularly rugged valley <br />with total relief in the project area approximating 2,500 feet. In geologic terms, <br />the valley is youthful, as characterized by a narrow floor having a relatively <br />steep gradient, and steep, rugged commonly rock-faced slopes. High rock cliffs <br /> <br />WJ <br />t": <br /> <br />The climate of the project area is very similar to that of Loveland, 13 miles <br />away. The following is a summary of weather data for Loveland which closely <br />approximates that at the project site (Ref. 3). <br /> <br /> <br />are common. <br /> <br />c. <br /> <br />The Big Thompson flood plain generally is narrow (100 to 150 feet) and confined <br />between steep rockfaced slopes. The normal river channel is only 10 to 30 feet <br />wide, and only a few feet deep. Locally, the flood plain expands into broader <br />park-like areas. The generating station and reservoir sites are located in two of <br />those park-like areas. <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />The Front Range of the Colorado Rockies is a regional north-south trending <br />uplift cored by Precambrian-age crystalline metamorphic and igneous rocks, and <br />bounded by north-south trending faults. Those rocks were mantled originally by <br />a several thousand feet thick sequence of sedimentary rocks, but that have been <br />eroded away except within localized structural basins. The metamorphic rocks, <br />the oldest rocks exposed within the Range, are primarily mica schists and <br />gneisses, but include pods and amphibolite, a black crystalline igneous rock <br />resembling basalt. <br /> <br />, <br />~ ,- <br />~ <br /> <br />Those metamorphic rocks have been complexly intruded by masses of granitic <br />rocks, mainly tonalite and granodiorite, but also granite pegmatites. The <br />instructions range in size from a few square inches to several square miles in <br />areal extent. Contacts between the instructions and the invaded metamorphic <br />rock typically are complex. Following the Big Thompson flood, heavy earth <br />moving equipment was used extensively to rehabilitate the highway and to assist <br />in search operations. As a result, much of the material in the flood plain was <br />disturbed and reworked during the cleanup effort. The fill ranges generally from <br />sand to boulders and is essentially unstratified. <br /> <br />~ <br />j" <br /> <br />11 <br />