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, , , RACKr,RDUND INFORMATION The Colorado River rIses hIgh In the Rocky MountaIns of central Colorado o~ the west side of the Continental 01vl~e ~nd flows west and south .hro~~h the S.~te of Colorado. The Gun"lso~ River also rises high In the central RockIes and Is the principal trlb~tary to the ColoradO Though the valleys of th", ColoradO and Gunnison RIvers were well ~oown travel routes to early scouts, trappers, "nd gu Tdes, It "as not ~ntll the nomadic Ute IndIans were permanently relocated to Utah in 1881 that the Grand Yalley was opened to settlement. River In Colorado. The Colorado River nasa dn.ina!)o area of ~bout 8,900 square miles uostream from Grllnd Junction, '"" the Gunnison RIver co, 0 dr<llnaq<l areaofiloouf 8,000 square mIles above ", rrouth, seTTLEMENT In September 1881, antlclp~tln~ constructIon of tha Danver and RloGrande'o'/osternRallrOlldmalnllnaaloogthevallayoftheColorado River and a bri!lnch line along tha valley of the Gunnison River, George Cr"wford,aformergovernorofKansas, located 1"he townsite of Grand JunctIon on the north side of the COloradO River at the junctIon with the Gunnison River. Late In 1881,the1"Qwnsltewassurveyed"nd lots were sold. Irrigated agrlculturallnd thaoroductlonot lIvestock were bagun I n thE> sprl ng of 1882. By th" time tho norrow-g<>g8 rail ro.~d from GunnlsonwasCOl'l'pletad InNovc'-ber1B82, rhecornmunltyhadgrownto 540peopl". Tnemaln Ilna of tho Donver <lnd Rio GrMde 'l'Iostorn RaIlroad was coMpleted through Grand Junction In 1891. Though ther"","s no rlw,r commerce, the river valleys were Important passageways tnrouqh the rugged Intermountalnaroll. Asa rasult Grand Junction became II major rail ilOd hlghwayctlnt"r. The rivers also provldad I,.,portantsourcesot water for Irrigation. The broad valley of the Colorado River from Palisade to Mack, knOwn as Grand Vlllley, Is tounded on the norfh by the little bookClltfs and on the south by theUncompllhgra Plateau. The cliffs and plateau rise abruptly about 2,700 leet above the rlvar. The ColOradO RIver flows along the south side of Grand JunctIon and Intercepts sever al minor draInage courses or washes In the study area. Tho largest of those are Indian Wash on the north side of the river and No Thoroughfare Canyon and Re~ Canyon on the south side. Indian Wash draIns a portion of tha LIttle Book ClIffs and flows across the broad Grand Valley In a shallow channel to enter t~e Colorado River just east at Grand JunctIon. No Thorouohfare and Red Canyons are deeply incised In tha Un~ompdghre PlflteaLJ and enter the flood plalno' the Colorl'lcoRlver--flo ThorOLJj1 h_ fdreGinyonjustupstruamfrOMt"eGrandAvenue6r/dgeandRedCanyon Just below Connecticut Lakes. The Gunnison River enters the Colorado River fr~ the south just west of the city. TilE STREA'1S A~D THfIR VALLEYS Tnecllmateofthearea Isaridtosemlarldexcept In the hlgn h~ddwdter dre6s where precipitation is moderately hellvy. Average pre- cloltatlon at Grand Junction IsabOlJt d Inches Dervellr. Inhloh mountain areas the aver/lge ~reclcltatlon exceeds 40 Inches per year, much of wnlCh occurs In the for~ of sno.... Melt fro~ the mountain sno...- pllt.. Is .~e source of the oHen flood producing late ~prlng-early su!'l"l'r'(!' runof f. ,e".,p,;r~t...r..~ i rl G,-",nd J...n<.;t Ion r6ng.. frQ'" tll" Illqh nl net l,,~ j n the s...~er to below lero In winter, ...1'1> occasional 1>19hs exceeding 100 The arBa ot study for tnls report comprises tne flood plains along The Colora<lo River frOM 22 RO!Id below Grand Junction upstream to the ell Iton 8rldge on 32 Rooc, 0 d Istilnce at about 12 "'llc~, and along the G~nnlsun Rlv.,r fr~ Its mouth upstream to RedlandS 0""" a distance of about2mllcs. ~~qr~c~ JnJ :cws rc :8 Je~rccs ~~io~ zero. ,