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STUDY AREA DESCRJrPTION Community Description The community of Buffalo Creek is located in the unincorporated portion of Jefferson County, in the foothills of central Colorado (see Location Map). Buffalo Creek is located approximately 25 miles southwest of Golden, the county seat of Jefferson County. County Road 126 is the main vehicular access through Buffalo Creek. Surrounding communities include Pine to the southwest, Conifer to the northwest, and South Platte to the east. The community of Buffalo Creek sits within the Pike National Forest near the confluence of Buffalo Creek and the North Fork. The community sits at an elevation of about 6,600 feet. Development in the area consists mainly of single family residential homes which serve either as primary or sec:ond,uy residences. Watershed Description The community of Buffalo Creek sits along Buffalo Creek upstream of its confluence with the North Fork, and right at its confluence with Sand Draw (see Area Map). All three of those streams were affected by flooding on July 12. The North Fork basin extends west through Park County and Clear Creek County and up to the Continental Divide. The headwaters of the North Fork basin have elevations in excess of 14,000 feet. Buffalo Creek flows through the community from southwest to northeast. The Buffalo Creek watershed extends toward the southwest and rises high into the mountains of the Pike National Forest. The headwaters of the basin have elevations in excess of 11,000 feet. Sand Draw is the most downstream right-bank tributary of Buffalo Creek, and it flows through the community from south to north. It is a small watershed with maximum elevations of about 7,800 feet. Floodinl! Problems and Floodinl! Historv Jefferson County is diverse in terms of elevation, topography, vegetation, and climatology. It is also diverse in terms of flooding characteristics. The northeastern part of the coumy is in the Denver metro area. It can experience urban flash flooding and flooding on larger streams due to rainfall events and occasional snowmelt events that originate in the mountains and foothi.lls to the west. The western part of the county is in the foothills and mountains and can experience rainfall and snowmelt flooding as well. Flood flows in the vicinity of Buffalo Creek can occur dming the summer months as a result of general rainstorms or thwlderstorms. General rainfall flooding is characterized by high peak flows with a large volume over a moderate duration. Thunderstorms, sometimes lasting for just a few minutes or up to several hours, can cause high peak flows with a smaller volume of water over a short duration. Minor 1100d flows near Buffalo Creek can also result from snowmelt runoff. In the past, there have been accounts of minor flooding in the Buffalo Creek area which has affected some low-lying dirt roads, private bridges, and culverts. There are no known major flood events that have been recorded in that area. 2