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<br />001798 <br /> <br />AREA DESCRIPTION <br /> <br />Study Area <br /> <br />The City of Alamosa is located in the San Luis Valley in south-central <br />Colorado. The City of Denver is located approximately 220 miles <br />northeasterly of Alamosa, and Santa Fe, New Mexico is located <br />approximately 150 miles south. The following description of the area <br />is taken from Damage Survey Team Report (Ref. 2). <br /> <br />The U.S. Bureau of Census lists the 1980 County population as 11,799, <br />with 6,830 people living in the City of Alamosa. The next largest <br />concentration of people in the County is found in the community of <br />East A 1 amosa, whi ch is separated from the City by the Ri 0 Grande. <br />East Alamosa, along with the areas north and west of the City, are the <br />fastest developing areas of the County. <br /> <br />The Rio Grande, one of the principal streams in the Southwestern <br />Uni ted States, is an interstate and i nternat i ona 1 ri ver. From the <br />river source on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains in <br />south-central Colorado, the Rio Grande flows eastward for <br />approximately 150 miles to Alamosa, and then southward to the Colorado <br />- New Mexi co state 1 i ne. The river flows through New Mexi co to El <br />Paso, Texas, and becomes the international boundary between the United <br />States and Mexico. The river originates along the Continental Divide <br />in the San Juan Mountain Range at elevations above 10,000 feet. Along <br />the Cont i nental Di vi de, the ri ver is fed by perpetual snowfi e 1 ds and <br />springs. At the Alamosa stream gaging station, the Rio Grande drains <br />an area of approximately 1710 square miles. The Rio Grande meanders <br />through the San Luis Valley, a gently sloped plain surrounded by high <br />mountain ranges. The Valley is flat, open, dry and treeless. The <br />Valley varies in width from approximately 20 to 60 miles and is <br />approximately 100 miles in length. The Valley is bounded by the <br />Sangre de Cristo Mountains on the east, the San Juan Mountains on the <br />west, and the La Garita Mountains on the north. <br /> <br />Climatically, the San Lui~ Valley is a hiBh mountain desert. The <br />average temperature is 6& Fin July and 17 Fin January. The mean <br />annual temperature is 42 F. Average precipitation, including winter <br />snows and summe r showers, is approxi mately 5.5 1 nches. Duri ng the <br />winter months, there is heavy snowfall in the upper mountainous area <br />of the Rio Grande watershed. The average annual snowfall at the City <br />of Alamosa is 22.8 inches. <br /> <br />The floodplain areas around the City are built upon by commercial and <br />residential developments, public facilities, and utilities. <br />Transportation facilities crossing the floodplain include the famous <br />Navajo Trail (U.S. Highway 160), the Trans-American Highway (U.S. <br />Highway 285), numerous residential streets and the Denver and Rio <br />Grande Western Railroad. <br /> <br />-6- <br />