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<br />The headwaters of the Animas River start from the south slopes <br /> <br /> <br />of the San Juan Mountains at about 12,000 feet above mean sea <br /> <br /> <br />level and fall to about 9,300 feet at Silverton. Through this <br /> <br /> <br />reach, the river has an average fall of approximately 300 feet <br /> <br /> <br />per mile. <br /> <br />The population in the study areas was estimated in 1976 to be <br /> <br /> <br />850 which has been steady over the past twenty years. The economy <br /> <br /> <br />of these areas depended primarily on mining activities and tourism. <br /> <br />2. La Plata County <br /> <br /> <br />The study areas which include the City of Durango and the adjoin- <br /> <br /> <br />ing unincorporated areas, Town of Bayfield, two reaches of Los <br /> <br /> <br />Pinos River near Bayfield and Ignacio and Vallecito Creek are locat- <br /> <br /> <br />ed in the southwestern part of Colorado's mountain region in La <br /> <br /> <br />Plata County. The approximate limits of study areas are shown <br /> <br /> <br />in figures 2, 3, 4, and 5. The Animas River flows from the San <br /> <br /> <br />Juan Mountains as described in the San Juan County area description. <br /> <br /> <br />The Los pinos River also originates in the San Juan Mountains and <br /> <br /> <br />flows in a southwesterly direction and enters the Vallecito Res- <br /> <br /> <br />ervoir, which is approximately 11 miles upstream of Bayfield, <br /> <br /> <br />Colorado. From the Vallecito Reservoir, the Los pinos flows souther- <br /> <br /> <br />ly and joins the San Juan River at approximately the Colorado - <br /> <br /> <br />New Mexico state line. <br /> <br />The drainage area of the Animas River is approximately 692 square <br />miles at Durango. The Lightner Creek watershed, which is a tributary <br /> <br />-2- <br />