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<br />'J.' <br />~ <br />J <br />~ <br /> <br />Study Reporting Areas <br /> <br />o The estimated drainage area of the <br />,') Colorado River System in the United <br />~ States is about 242,000 square miles. <br />. The river orig,inates in the Rocky <br />'""" Mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, <br />flows southwest about 1 ,400 miles, and <br />terminates in the Gul f 0 f Cali fornia. <br />The system consists of portions of <br />seven States: Arizona, Cal i fornia, <br />Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and <br />Wyoming. The drainage area was divided <br />into ten sub-basins for the purpose of <br />this report. <br />The major tributary streams selected <br />as reporting are,as in the Upper Colo- <br />rado River Basin are: Green River <br />(Wyoming, Utah, Colorado); Upper Main <br />Stem (Colorado, Utah); and San Juan- <br />Colorado (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, <br />Arizona) . <br />Six tributary areas in addition <br />to the mainstream were selected in <br />the Lower Colorado River Basin: Little <br />Colorado River (Arizona, New Mexico); <br />Virgin River (Utah, Arizona); Muddy <br />River (Nevada); Bill Williams River <br />(Arizona); Gila River (Arizona, New <br />Mexico); and remaining areas in <br />Arizona, Nevada and Utah. <br />The outflow point and drainage area <br />for each is sho.ro in Table C-l. The <br />boundaries of the reporting areas are <br />sho.ro on the frontispiece map. A brief <br />description of each reporting area <br />follows. <br /> <br />Upper Colorado River Basin <br /> <br />Green River W.omin -Colorado-Utah: <br />T e Green R1ver report1ng area com- <br />prises about 44',800 square miles in <br />southwestern Wyoming, northwestern <br />Colorado, and northeastern and east- <br />central Utah. <br />Principal tributaries of the Green <br />River are Blacks Fork, Henry's Fork, <br />Hams Fork, and Big Sandy Creek in <br />southwestern Wyoming; Yampa and White <br /> <br />Rivers on the western slope of the <br />Continental Divide in northwestern <br />Colorado; and the Price, Duchesne, and <br />San Rafael Rivers in eastern Utah. <br />These st reams are fed by numerous <br />headwater lakes. <br />The largest towns in the reporting <br />area are Rock Springs and Green River <br />in Wyoming; Vernal and Price in Utah; <br />and Craig, Steamboat Springs, and <br />Meeker in Colorado. <br />Mineral production is the major <br />industry. oil and natural gas are of <br />primary importance, as are coal, <br />gilsonite, asphalt, and trona (soda <br />ash). Thermal electric power produc- <br />tion is becoming an increasingly <br />important industry. <br />Agriculture ranks near mineral <br />production in importance to the local <br />economy. Agricul tural development is <br />centered around livestock production, <br />primarily beef cattle and sheep. <br />Because of a short growing season, <br />crop production is limited, largely to <br />small grain, hay, and pasture. These <br />crops are used as winter livestock <br />feed and complement the vast areas of <br />public grazing lands. <br />Irrigation consumptive use accounts <br />for about 75 percent of the total <br />water use in the Green River reporting <br />area. Nearly 670,000 acres of land <br />are irrigated in an average year. <br />Large exports of water are made 'to the <br />Great Basin in Utah. <br /> <br />Upper Main Stem, Colorado-Utah: The <br />Upper Main Stem reporting area is <br />drained by the Colorado River and its <br />tributaries above the mouth of the <br />Green River. Principal tributaries <br />are the Roaring Fork, Gunnison, and <br />the Dolores ~ivers. The Upper Main <br />Stem reporting area consists of 26,200 <br />square miles, with about 85 percent of <br />the area in Colorado and the remainder <br />in Utah. <br /> <br />5 <br />