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<br />CHAPTER 1 <br /> <br />GENERAL INFORMATION <br /> <br />00 <br />00 <br />Ln <br />-~ <br /> <br />Flows of tvoical streams in Upper Gunnison area <br /> <br />Stream <br />ement Creek <br />Ohio Creek <br />Gunnison River at Gunnison <br />Tomichi Creek at Sargents <br /> <br />Flow : cubic feet <br />per second) <br />Maximum Minimum <br />35 <br />1,260 7 <br />11,400 80 <br />804 6 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />The water in the area is of excellent quality. The streams have <br />extremely low contents of dissolved solids, ranging from minute amounts <br />to about 300 milligrams per liter. The concentration of dissolved solids <br />is usually lowest in the spring and highest during the low flow periOds <br />when irrigation return flows enter the streams. The sediment content of <br />the streams is also low. <br /> <br />Two major Federal reclamation reservoirs are in the vicinity of the <br />project. Taylor Park Reservoir, with a capacity of 106,200 acre-feet, <br />was constructed high on the Taylor River about 30 miles above Gunnison in <br />1937 as a storage reservoir for irrigation of lands of the Uncompahgre <br />Project near Montrose. The reservoir is operated by the Uncompahgre Water <br />Users' Association. Blue Mesa Reservoir, with a capacity of 915,000 acre- <br />feet, is located on the Gunnison River about 22 miles "est of Gunnison. <br />It is a feature of the Curecanti Unit of the Colorado River Storage Proj- <br />ect and provides for stream regulation, hydroelectric power production, <br />recreation, and flood control. The reservoir was completed in 1968. <br /> <br />Land <br /> <br />The Upper Gunnison area is within the Southern Rocky Mountains. <br />Mountain ranges common to and surrounding the area are the Elk, West Elk, <br />San Juan, and Sawatch. Tributary streams of the Gunnison River have <br />eroded narrow valleys in these mountain ranges, forming a dendritic drain- <br />age pattern. The valleys are narrow where the streams cut through resist- <br />ant formations but are up to 5 miles in width in less resistant areas. <br /> <br />Elevations range from 7,500 feet at the head of Blue Mesa Reservoir <br />to more than 14,000 feet on some of the higher mountain peaks. Most of <br />the agricultural and residential lands are between 7,500 and 9,000 feet <br />in elevation. <br /> <br />Typical land forms include flood plains, stream terraces, and allu- <br />vial fans. The land bodies are discontinuous, being separated by mean- <br />dering streams, terrace escarpments, or mountain ridges. Soils associated <br />with the valley bottoms are alluvial and are normally underlain by stream <br />gravels. <br /> <br />All lands serviceable by the plans outlined in this report are pri- <br />vately owned except about 900 acreS administered by the Bureau of Land <br /> <br />5 <br />