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<br />2.0 AREA STUDIED <br /> <br />2.1 Scope of Study <br /> <br />This Flood Insurance Study covers the incorporated area of the City <br />of Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado. The area of study is shown <br />on the Vicinity Map (Figure 1). <br /> <br />Flooding caused by overflow of Coal Creek and Rock Creek was studied <br />in detail. <br /> <br />Those areas studied by detailed methods were chosen with considera- <br />tion given to all proposed construction and forecasted development <br />through 1982. <br /> <br />2.2 Community Description <br /> <br />.. <br />The City of Lafayette is located in southeastern Boulder County, in <br />north-central Colorado, approximately 20 miles north of Denver. The <br />population of Lafayette was 3498 (Reference 1) in 1970 and is now <br />estimated to be 7000. Nearby communities include the following: <br />Louisville, 2 miles west; Boulder, 11 miles west; Superior, approxi- <br />mately 6 miles southwest; and Broomfield, 7 miles south. Lafayette <br />is surrounded by unincorporated land of Boulder County. <br /> <br />The Coal Creek and Rock Creek watersheds drain approximately 79 <br />square miles, most of which is located in southeastern Boulder <br />County. Coal Creek flows northeasterly, joining Boulder Creek in <br />east-central Boulder County. Boulder Creek flows into st. Vrain <br />Creek, a major tributary to the South Platte River. These drainages <br />are in the South Platte subregion of the Missouri River Water Re- <br />sources Region, as designated by the u.s. Water Resources Council. <br />Rock Creek is a tributary to Coal Creek, joining it just east of <br />Lafayette. <br /> <br />Coal Creek and Rock Creek flow through primarily agricultural land. <br />In the southwestern part of the city, the land occupied by Coal <br />Creek is zoned open agricultural, with primarily residential land <br />uses and zoning adjacent to it. Where it crosses the southeastern <br />part of the city, zoning is open agricultural and industrial. Rock <br />Creek enters the southeast part of the city just east of the Burling- <br />ton Northern Railroad and flows through open agricultural-zoned <br />land. <br /> <br />The upstream drainage area originates in the foothills east of the <br />Rocky Mountains, and the geology is characterized by a series of <br />folded and faulted sedimentary strata. For the most part, the <br />strata are classified as Fox Hills Sandstone and Laramie formation. <br />Soils are shallow, very gravelly, and stony, and in the rock outcrop- <br />Juget-Baller association. Gr~und cover consists of native grasses <br /> <br />2 <br /> <br />'.~ <br /> <br />Ji <br />