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-4- II. GORE CREEK BASIN DESCRIPTION . Physiographi~ Features Two small dams, some man-made ponds and numerous natural ponds lie within the basin. The Black Lake Dams are just below the Vail Pass summit on Black Gore and as such have a minimal drainage area. The area tributary to the Upper Black lake is 0.6 square miles. The Lower Black Lake (No.2) has a direct drainage of 1.2 square miles, plus any discharge from the upper lake. These drainages will be affected slightly by the completion of Interstate 70 through this section. Nearly all of the sub.basins on the north side of the drainage Spraddle Creek Middle Creek Red Sandstone Creek and Tributary Indian Creek BuffehrCreek For the purpose of this hydrologic study, the Gore Creek basin is divided into 27 sub-basins with catchment areas from 0.6 to 9 square miles. These 27 catchments have been given an additional identifier which helps locate the catchment along Gore Creek as well as identifying its location with respect to Gore Creek (see Table I-I and Plate 1). Geoloqy The Gore Creek Basin, along with the Eagle and Piney Rivers, drains the west side of the Gore Range. The Gore Range is one of contain small natural lakes at elevations near timberline. These lakes or ponds are typically located within small glacier-formed cirques or depressions. Some of the lakes have filled through natural sediment trapping and eutrophication processes and are currently bogs which are highly efficient at detaining runoff. Many of the ponds lie in the lower meadows in the valley, some being natural ponds and bogs and a few small ponds have been created or reshaped within the Vail Golf Course. Elevations in the watershed range from 7,700 to 13,100 feet, with the elevations at the Town of Vail and Vail Pass being 8,200 and 10,600 feet, respectively. the major massive uplift sections of Precambrian crystalline rock typical of the mountainous regions of Colorado. The uplifted fault block forming the main element of the range is flanked by metamorphic . The 102 square mile Gore Creek watershed is divided into many smaller drainages, fifteen having been named on the U.S.G.S. mapping: gneisses and by the sedimentary formations extending westward. The two major faults flankinq the Ranqe are the Gore Fault which bears roughly north-northwest and the Frontal Fault which trends approxl- - .-.. . , , , !; ~ \1 ,,',j. . ,