Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Eagle River (at Redcliff) flows north and then west through the <br />Town of Redcliff. The channel is steep, narrow, and deep, with a <br />slope of approximately 90 feet per mile, a width ranging from 20 to <br />50 feet, and a depth ranging from 3 to 20 feet. The streambed is <br />cobbled and fairly straight. The flood plain is generally confined <br />to the channel, but does get as wide as 100 feet in some places. <br />The only vegetation along Eagle River consists of willows and <br />grasses along the banks, with conifer forests in the very upper and <br />lower limits of the study area. Only a few residential dwellings <br />are in the flood plain, and they are scattered throughout the study <br />reaches. <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />Turkey Creek flows east from Shrine Pass into the Town of Redcliff <br />and joins Eagle River in the center of town. Like Eagle River, <br />the Turkey Creek channel is steep and narrow but, unlike Eagle <br />River, it is not very deep. It has a slope of 125 feet per mile and <br />a width ranging from 10 to 20 feet. The channel depth is only 2 <br />to 4 feet. The streambed is very rough, with many boulders. The <br />flood plain narrows to 20 feet near the mouth, and widens to 600 feet <br />at Eagle Street. The flood plain has little vegetation, being mostly <br />residential; a major portion of Redcliff is in the Turkey Creek flood <br />plain. <br /> <br />The major soil types in the Eagle River basin are of the Haploborolls- <br />Argiborolls-Eutroboralfs association. These cool, well-drained <br />soils range from deep to shallow and moderate to steep, and occur <br />on benches and mountain slopes (Reference 4). <br /> <br />In the Eagle River basin, commencing at approximately 8500 feet, <br />mixed aspen-pine forests are prevalent up to the timberline at <br />11,500 feet, where alpine vegetation begins. Below 8500 feet, sage <br />and other types of scrub bushes provide a less dense cover, with <br />cottonwood trees in the flood plain along many streams. Above 8500 <br />feet, willow bushes are found along the flood plain. <br /> <br />2.3 Principal Flood Problems <br /> <br />Flooding in Eagle County usually occurs during the months of May <br />through August, with the most frequent flooding occurring in June <br />(Reference 5). Floods may be due to rainfall or snowmelt, alone or <br />in combination. Analysis of the records (Reference 5) indicates that <br />snowmelt is the primary cause of most annual flood peaks. However, <br />for smaller drainage basins, rainfall-induced flood peaks are likely <br />to be higher than the snowmelt flood peaks (Reference 6). Damage has <br />occurred in many forms, including bridges, railroad tracks, and <br />roads washed out; mudslides and other debris covering roads; farmlands <br />damaged; water systems fouled; buildings sustaining water damage; <br />and, power outages (Reference 7). <br /> <br />7 <br />