WSP00520

• File Number: 8059
• Description: Section D General Studies-State Water Plan
• State: CO
• Date: 1/1/1969
• Title: Writing the Report 1969-Environmental Conditions Draft
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

DRAFT

2. Water Related Environmental Resources

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a. General

Colorado, "the Centennial State," sits astride the Continental

Divide. Its mountains are the dominating topographic feature,

separating the plains to the east from the plateau region of the

western slope.

The eastern plains were once a treeless, grass-covered area,

with the landscape broken by isolated buttes and sandy beds of

intermittent streams. By mid twentieth century, this area was

transformed, wheat fields checkered the plains, and irrigated farms,

as continuous green belts, bordered the major river valleys.

The mountains, though, give Colorado its unique character. Here

lie the mineral riches that shaped much of the State's early history.

. Here still CQiae ':.ui:l..lions annually to enjoy the quiet r.iajesly of the

natural splendor.

Fauna and flora vary from alpine species in the high country to

desert types in the arid south and southwest. National forests,

embracing most of the mountain region, cover one-fifth .of the State.

Colorado's streams, fed by mountain snows, radiate from the

Continental Divide. Nearly all waters in the State originate here,

and eighteen states share in their use. All of these streams have

cut canyons and gorges, contributing to the character of the

mountains. They have determined the routes of land transportation,

the areas of irrigated agriculture, and the location of cities and

towns.

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b. Aesthetic Environmental Resources

Among Colorado's natural attractions are great forests of conifers

and aspens, but there are also many varieties of ferns, mosses and

wild flowers. Shaded uplands, stream valleys, ledges, marshes and

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