Laserfiche WebLink
<br />11-2 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />GENERAL AREA BACKGROUND <br /> <br /> <br />Carbondale and environs is located in west central Colorado in an ap:a dom- <br /> <br /> <br />inated by high mountainous terrain with a few deep valleys. A major ity of <br /> <br /> <br />the land is located within the White River National Forest. The twc major <br /> <br /> <br />streams are the Crystal Ri\er and the Roaring Fork River, which flo\'. gen- <br /> <br /> <br />erally north-westerly until joining the Colorado River at Glenwood Springs. <br /> <br />A number of small towns dot the two river valleys with widely varying econ- <br /> <br /> <br />omies. South toward the headwaters of the Roaring Fork River is Aspen, a <br /> <br /> <br />famous recreation and tourist-oriented community, while to the northwest <br /> <br /> <br />at the confluence of the Roaring Fork with the Colorado River, Glenwood <br /> <br /> <br />Springs is the present business center for the area. Just west of Glenwood <br /> <br /> <br />Springs is Rifle, the center of potential oil shale development. South of <br /> <br /> <br />Carbondale along the Crystal River is Redstone, which is predominantly a <br /> <br /> <br />coal mining community. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Generally, between the towns on the terraces above the rivers, agriclltrual <br /> <br /> <br />activity persists, with cattle ranching being the most prevalent. <br /> <br />The economy of the area is generally stable, based on ranching, mining, <br />and tourism. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />L <br />