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15 feet in the mountainous upper reaches. The creek flows south- ward from a precipitous canyon in the Monument area through the transitional foothills to the high plains, joinin~l Fountain Creek at Colorado Springs. The sparse vegetation covering the land is typical of Colorado foothill regions. South of Colo,rado Springs, the watershed west of Fountain Creek is in the Frontal Range fDothills lijhile the eastern portion is primarily high plains. The rDlling hi':Jh plains terrain is rDugh, broken, and sparsely vegetated. On either side Df the flood plain, the vegetation is sparse and typical of the semi-arid high plains--predominantly sage brush, cactus, and native grass. The flDod plain is comprised Df narrDw.,strip irrigated farms, clumps of cottonwood trees, salt cedar" and other thick undergrDwth. The Fountain Creek valley varies frDm a few hundred feet tD 2, OeD feet in width within the study reach. Fountain Creek is perennial except for a few day": during the summer when irrigation and municipal demands equal or exceed the low summer flows. Some irrigatiDn-return flows are experienced in the plains sectDr Df the creek. IrrigatiDn and municipal waters originate I' Dr the most part in the west-bank mountain tributaries. Few, if any, of the east-bank plains tributaries are perennial. The damaging floods at PUl3blo on Fountain Creek nDrmally originate south of C"lDradD ~3prings On the main stem and tributaries. The IDng, narrO\IJ main stem and tributary watersheds are conducive to fast rises and high peak flows Df short duration in this reach. On the east bank, the tributaries of primary CDncern are Jimmy Camp, 5and, and Williams Creeks; on the west bank, they are Little Fountain Creek, Young Hollow and 5teele Hollow. The streambed elevatiDns within the study reach vary frDm 4,365.6 feet at the mDuth of Fountain Creek to 5,152.1 feet at the north Pueblo County line. The channel slopes uni fDrrLly 12