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<br />\ <br />\ ' <br /> <br />\ <br />i>< <br />\('1" <br />~ ,J ~.. <br />\!- ---", <br />i <br /> <br />Y' <br />, :ll,'., <br />"'~ <br /> <br />---p. <br /> <br />The population of Huerfano County has been declining since the <br />1920s when coal production began to decrease. The 1970 population <br />of Huerfano County was 6,590, and by 1980 it had declined to 6,440. <br />The 1970 population of walsenburg was 4,329, and by 1980 it had <br />declined to 3,945. FOr 1970 through 1980, these figures represent <br />a 2.3 percent decline in population for Huerfano County, and a 9.7 <br />percent decline for the City of Walsenburg (Reference 2). <br /> <br />The Cucharas River rises in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains approxi- <br />mately 35 miles west of Walsenburg and flows 62 miles in a north- <br />easterly direction through Huerfano and Pueblo Counties to )Oln <br />the Huerfano River. The Cucharas River basin is approximately 50 <br />miles long and has a maximum width of approximately 20 miles. It <br />comprises an area of about 735 square miles. The drainage area <br />above the lower limit of the study is 136.06 square miles. <br /> <br />The Cucharas River valley is divided topographically into three <br />sections: a mountainous headwater section above La Veta with deep <br />and narrow gorges; a 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 />Walsenburg is located in the central section of the Cucharas River <br />Valley. <br /> <br />In the mountainous upper reaches above La Veta, the slope of the <br />river is several hundred feet per mile, changing to an average of <br />approximately 55 feet per mile in the reach between La Veta and <br />Walsenburg, and to an average of approximately 40 feet per mile <br />below Walsenburg. Generally, the streambed is composed of sand, <br />with very little vegetation along its banks. <br /> <br />The headwater section above La Veta is 75 square miles and very <br />mountainous, reaching an altitude of approximately 14,000 feet. <br />In this section, the vegetation consists principally of aspen, <br />pinon, fir, oak brush, and native grasses. The elevation of the <br />watershed near the mouth of the river is approximately 5,250 feet. <br />The vegetation on the plains below La Veta consists principally of <br />sagebrush, cactus, sparse native grasses, and other plants of a <br />semiarid region. <br /> <br />Developments on the flood plains within the study area are primarily <br />residential, but include commercial and industrial developments. <br />A large portion of the flood plains is rural. Although large areas <br />of open space exist, limited flood plain development is anticipated <br />in the future because of the controls imposed by the NFIP. <br /> <br />Snowfall is heavy in the mountainous regions, but the greatest <br />precipitation normally occurs as rain in the late spring and summer. <br />Average annual rainfall in Huerfano County is 14.13 inches, and <br />average annual snowfall is 69.0 inches. The annual mean temperature <br />for Huerfano County is 50.20F. <br /> <br />4 <br /> <br />L. <br />