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<br /> <br />SETTING <br /> <br />The Lower Gunnison Basin Unit study area is located in west-central <br />Colorado in the Lower Gunnison River Basin of Delta, Montrose, and Ouray <br />Counties. The information presented in this report pertains only to the <br />Uncompahgre Valley. The remainder of the Lower Gunnison Basin Unit will <br />be included in future studies. <br /> <br />The Uncompahgre Valley was formed by the Uncompahgre River, a tribu- <br />tary of the Gunnison River which, in turn, is a tributary of the Colorado <br />River. The Uncompahgre River flows north from its head in the San Jaun <br />Mountains in southwestern Colorado to its confluence with the Gunnison <br />River at Delta. The valley is principally an agricultural area with <br />irrigation water obtained by diverting some of the flows of the Gunnison <br />River through the Gunnison Tunnel, and some flows of the Uncompahgre <br />River and its small tributaries. Irrigated lands in the broad valley <br />range in elevation from about 4900 feet near Delta to 6400 feet near <br />Montrose. <br /> <br />U.S. Highway 50, the major automotive route in the area, extends in an <br />overall northwest-southeast direction through the towns of Delta, Olathe, <br />and Montrose. The area south of Montrose is served by U.S. Highway 550 <br />which provides access through the scenic San Juan Mountains and by State <br />Highway 62 which extends westward from Ridgway. <br /> <br />Socioeconomic Data <br /> <br />The 1980 population of Delta was 3,931 while Olathe and Montrose had <br />populations of 1,262 and 8,722 respectively according to the Bureau of Census <br />advance count. The rural population was estimated at 10,000. <br /> <br />The towns are located principally in and are supported by agricul- <br />tural activities. Livestock and cash crops represented by alfalfa hay, <br />feed barley, and shelled corn, form the major economic base of the area. <br />Other activities important to the local economy are mining, lumbering, <br />manufacturing, tourism, and various forms of recreation. Growth in the <br />area is mainly based on energy development and manufacturing. <br /> <br />Physiography <br /> <br />The Uncompahgre River has carved a series of nearly level stream <br />terraces west of the river. These terraces or mesas are from 1 to 7 miles <br />wide, of varying elevations, and are separated by small valleys. The lands <br />west of the river are predominantly stream deposits of varying ages and are <br />remnants of a once large, flat, outwash plan. Adjacent to the Uncompahgre <br />River is a relatively narrow floodplain of recently deposited alluvium. <br /> <br />5 <br /> <br />000905 <br />