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<br />The Cucharas River Valley is divided topographically into <br />three sections; the mountainous headwater section above La Veta with <br />deep and narrow gorges; and comparatively wide alluvial valley some 30 <br />miles long below La Veta; and a canyon section through which the <br />Cucharas River flows to its confluence with the Huerfano River. <br />In the mountainous upper reaches above La Veta, the slope <br />of the river is several hundred feet per mile, changing to an average <br />of about 55 feet per mile in the reach between La Veta and Walsenburg, <br />and to an average of about 40 feet per mile below Walsenburg. Gener- <br />ally, the streambed is composed of sand, with very little vegetation <br />along its banks. <br />The headwater section above La Veta contains 75 square <br />miles and is very mountainous, reaching an altitude of approximately <br />14,000 feet above mean sea level. In this section the vegetation con- <br />sists principally of aspen, pinon, fir, oak brush, and native grasses. <br />The elevation of the watershed near the mouth of the river is about <br />5,250 feet. The vegetation on the plains below La Veta consists <br />principally of sagebrush, cactus, sparse native grasses and such other <br />plants as are found in a semiarid region. <br />Snowfall is heavy in the mountainous regions, but the <br />greatest precipitation normally occurs as rain in the late spring <br />and summer months. Average annual rainfall in Huerfano County is <br />14.13 inches and an average annual snowfall of 69.0 inches. The <br />annual mean temperature for Huerfano County is 50.2 degrees Fahren- <br />heit. <br /> <br />Developments on the Flood Plains <br />Existing developments on the flood plains in the study area <br />are primarily residential but include commercial and industrial devel- <br />opments. Large amounts of the flood plains are rural land. Although <br />large areas of open space exist, limited flood plain development is <br />anticipated in the future because of the controls imposed by the flood <br />insurance program. <br /> <br />2 <br /> <br /> <br />I <br />1 <br /> <br />& <br /> <br />t <br />t <br />f <br />t <br /> <br />