FLOOD08491

• Designation Number: 402
• County: Rio Blanco
• Community: Rangely
• Stream Name: White River
• Basin: Yampa/White
• Title: Floodplain Information Report - White River From Rio Blanco Lake to Utah-Colorado State line
• Date: 4/1/1996
• Designation Date: 5/1/1996
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

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- .... . 2.3 Basin Characteristics
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'" The White River is a tributary to the Green River, which is in turn a tributary to the Colorado
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~ -, River. The White River joins the Green River downstream of the study reach in Utah. The
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E I White River has its headwaters in the Flat Tops Wilderness to the east and south and in the White
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'" River Plateau to the south and west. The watershed area at the downstream limit of the study
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> at the Utah stateline is 3552 square miles. The elevation within the watershed ranges from above
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0 11,500 feet above Mean Sea Level at the headwaters to 5070 feet at the downstream limit of the
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., I study. The average slope within the study reach is approximately 12 feet per mile with a
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c: maximum of 20 feet per mile in the upper reach and a minimum of 8 feet per mile at the Utah
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<; border.
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0 The climate within the White River basin is classified as semi-arid and is characterized by low
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. ~ ii)- ~ precipitation, large daily temperature range, low humidity, and frequent wind. The primary
~ <( <( ~ sources of moisture are from air masses originating in the Pacific Ocean from October through
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0- J() nO.!8 ~ > !i April, and airmasses from the Gulf of Mexico during the late spring and summer. Normal annual
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I ~ precipitation ranges from approximately 10 inches near Rangely to approximately 16 inches near
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I Meeker (18 miles upstream of Rio Blanco Lake). Most of the annual precipitation (60 percent)
occurs as snow from October to April. Rainfall can occur as convective-type thunderstorms
, I during the late spring and summer months generally over the lower elevations of the basin. The
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I White River basin, from its headwaters to the Utah stateline, is shown in Figure 3.
I 2.4 Summary of Drainage Areas
w The drainage areas for selected hydrologic points were determined through planimetering. The
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Z 0 results of the planimetering were then compared to known drainage area values at USGS gage
<( ~ locations and at published flood study loc~tions. The drainage areas at these selected hydrologic
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<.:J ~ points are shown in Table 2.
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