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<br />. <br /> <br />of the Rocky Mountain foothills. The creek flows in a northerly <br /> <br /> <br />direction and joins the South Platte River just upstream from Fort <br /> <br /> <br />Morgan. The Bijou Creek basin is bounded by the Kiowa Creek basin <br /> <br /> <br />on the west, the Sandy Creek basin on the south, and the Badger <br /> <br /> <br />Creek and Beaver Creek basins on the east. The total drainage area <br /> <br /> <br />of the basin is 1,554 square miles. Topography varies from steeply <br /> <br /> <br />to gently rolling; channel slopes range from about 40 feet per <br /> <br /> <br />mile in the upstream portion of the basin to about 20 feet per <br /> <br /> <br />mile in the downstream portion of the basin. The land in the up- <br /> <br /> <br />stream portion is used for grazing; vegetation is predominantly <br /> <br /> <br />pasture grass with some forested areas located in the headwaters <br /> <br /> <br />of East Bijou and West Bijou Creeks. In the downstream portion <br /> <br /> <br />of the basin, most of the bottomland area is under cultivation <br /> <br /> <br />with a considerable amount of pump irrigation development. In <br /> <br />addition to topographic differences in the basin, there also are <br /> <br /> <br />soil differences which are believed to have significant effects <br /> <br /> <br />on runoff. In general, soils in the upstream portion of the basin <br /> <br /> <br />have a considerable amount of clay while soils in the downstream <br /> <br /> <br />portion of the basin are sandy in character. A 56 square-mile <br /> <br /> <br />area in the downstream portion of San Arroyo Creek is classified <br /> <br /> <br />as sand hills, and surface runoff is negligible. A map of the <br /> <br /> <br />Bijou Creek basin is presented on plate 66. <br /> <br />Runoff Characteristics. Runoff characteristics of the Bijou <br /> <br /> <br />Creek basin are typical of the high plains tributaries lying east <br /> <br /> <br />of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. The steep slopes in the up- <br /> <br /> <br />stream portion of the basin cause a rapid concentration of runoff. <br /> <br /> <br />This creates flash floods with relatively short peaking times and <br /> <br /> <br />high, sharp peaks lasting only a short time. Floods are generally <br /> <br /> <br />described by local residents as a "wall of water". Ratios of <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />51 <br />