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I I I I I I I I I I If urban development continues on the floodplain near Parachute, the cost of acquiring this land for the reservoir may becane prohibitive. In order to limit further development in this area, all legal and/or procedural means should be explored. E. HYDROLOGY AND CLIMATOLOGY 1. Drainage Area Description The portion of the Colorado River drainage within the State of Colorado has a total area of approximately 17,900 square miles. The river rises high in the Rocky Mountains on the western slope of the Continental Di- vide and flows generally in a southwesterly course from its headwater regions to the vicinity of Grand Junction where it turns northwest for most of its remaining course within the State. Mountain peaks in the headwater areas reach elevations of over 13000 to 14000 feet. The river at the Colorado-Utah State line is at El 4370 feet. I I I I The drainage basin upstream of the Una dam site is 7,370 square miles in area, of which about 2,800 square miles is above El 9000. The west- ern portion of this drainage basin is a vast area of plateau and canyon lands, deeply cut by waterways ranging in elevation fran 5040 feet at the dam site to 8000 feet. The eastern end of Garfield County has valleys at 6,000 feet, bordered by high mesas at elevations fran 7000 to 11000 feet. Elevations gradually decline from east to west to the Project area. The head of the pro- posed reservoir at El 5070 is near Parachute Creek. Major tri butary streams to the main stem of the Colorado River upstream of the dam site include Para- chute Creek, Roaring Fork, Eagle River, Rock Creek, Piney River, Blue River, Muddy Creek, Troublesome Creek, Williams Fork, and Fraser River, as shown in Fig. II-2. I I I II II II-3