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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />2.3 Watershed Description <br /> <br />The Crystal River watershed is within the Colorado River Basin and extends <br />high into the Elk Mountain Range in the Rocky Mountains. The watershed <br />also encompasses area from the White River National Forest and Maroon-Bells <br />Snowmass Wilderness. The elevation of the watershed approaches 14,200 feet <br />at the top of Maroon Peak, located within the famous mountain group, the <br />Maroon Bells. The watershed elevation drops to around 6,100 feet where the <br />Crystal River discharges into the Roaring Fork River near Carbondale, <br />Colorado. <br /> <br />The Crystal River mainstem is approximately 30 miles long, extending from <br />the Town of Crystal, located approximately 5 miles upstream of Marble, to the <br />Town of Carbondale. The channel gradient is very steep, with slopes ranging <br />from 3.8% near Crystal to 1.4% upstream of Carbondale. <br /> <br />Vegetation within the Crystal River watershed reflects a sparsely developed <br />mountain climatology. Between Marble and Carbondale, the watershed is <br />densely vegetated with evergreen and aspen trees along with other natural <br />mountain vegetation. Above Marble and up to about 11,200 feet, the <br />watershed reflects a high alpine environment with woody vegetation along <br />with rock outcroppings. Rock talus and steep mountains are prevalent above <br />11,200 feet. <br /> <br />The Crystal River basin is a semiarid mountain environment with cool <br />summers and long winters. Runoff is attributed to intense localized <br />thunderstorm rainfall events during the summer months and snow melt during <br />the spring and early summer months. The following table provides <br />climatological data for Aspen, Colorado, located approximately 20-miles <br />northeast of Marble and for Crested Butte, Colorado, located approximately 41 <br />miles southeast of Marble. Aspen and Crested Butte are the closest National <br />Weather Service Station locations to Marble. <br /> <br />Table ],' Crystal River Vicinity Climatology Datal <br /> <br /> Mean Annual July Mean January Mean <br />LOCATION Precipitation Temperature Temperature <br /> Cinches) CO F) CO F) <br />Aspen, Colorado 23,3 61-7 20,7 <br />Crested Butte, Colorado 23,9 56,0 8A <br /> <br />IThis data was compiled from National Weather Service records from year 1971 to 2000, <br /> <br />ICON Engineering, Inc. <br />August 2004 <br /> <br />4 <br />