Laserfiche WebLink
<br />DRAFT <br /> <br />COLORADO RIVER BASIN <br /> <br />Location and Size <br /> <br />The Colorado River Basin in Colorado includes all land <br /> <br />located west of the continental Divide. Major rivers draining <br /> <br />the area include the Yampa, White, Colorado, Gunnison, Dolores, <br /> <br />and San Juan. <br /> <br />The Basin includes all, or parts of, twenty counties and <br /> <br />encompasses an area of about 39,500 square miles, which is <br /> <br />about 38 percent of the total area of the state. The Basin is <br /> <br />characterized by rugged mountains, high plateaus, and narrow <br /> <br />valleys. <br /> <br />Population <br /> <br />Population of the Colorado River Basin increased by <br /> <br />13,300 persons, a 7.5 percent change from 1960 to 1970. This <br /> <br />increase was much less than the state growth of 25.8 percent <br /> <br />during that period. Of the 1970 population, totaling 189,000, <br /> <br />about 66 percent was classified as rural and 34 percent as <br /> <br />urban. <br /> <br />Despite the modest growth shown in the 1960-1970 decade, <br /> <br />eleven of the twenty counties, showed a decrease in population <br /> <br />ranging from 1 percent up to 34 percent. One county (Montrose) <br /> <br />- <br />showed no growth while nine counties had an increase in <br /> <br />0280 <br />