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<br />. <br /> <br />.1' ,~-;, <br />,,1- <br /> <br />PART II--GENERAL DESCRIPTION <br /> <br />The Narrows Unit area in northeastern Colorado comprises <br />approximately the downstream half of the South Platte River Basin <br />in Colorado. <br /> <br />The upstream half of the basin originates along the Continental <br />Divide at elevation approaching l4,OOO feet. That area provides most <br />of the water supply of the basin from native supplies and from trans- <br />mountain importations. The basin slopes to the east and merges into <br />the Colorado Piedmont area in which the Narrows Unit is located. <br /> <br />The South Platte watershed through the Piedmont section is a <br />broad rolling plain through which the river has formed a wide valley <br />of flood plains and bench lands on river terraces. The bench lands <br />are situated some 20 to 200 feet higher than the flood plains. The <br />river has a gradient of 8 to 10 feet per mile. Geologically, the <br />Colorado Piedmont section is classified as late mature or old with <br />outcroppings of shales and sandstones of the Pierre formation. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The two most important South Platte River tributaries of con- <br />cern to the Narrows Unit are Kiowa and Bijou Creeks. Both tributaries <br />enter the river from the south. Both tributaries flow through areas <br />of poorly consolidated sediments and, during periods of high runoff, <br />contribute considerable quantities of sediment to the river. Kiowa <br />Creek flows into the river within the Narrows Reservoir site. Bijou <br />Creek, however, empties into the river immediately downstream from <br />the Narrows Dam site. Numerous other tributaries, mostly intermittent, <br />enter the South Platte River from both the north and south in the <br />reach between Narrows Reservoir and the Colorado-Nebraska boundary. <br /> <br />CLIMATE <br /> <br />The unit area has a temperate climate with weather character- <br />istics similar to those of the Western Great Plains. The region is <br />normally semiarid, although precipitation varies widely from year <br />to year. Precipitation and temperatures are influenced by the great <br />air masses and weather fronts which periodically sweep across the <br />Great Plains Province. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The temperate climate, which is accompanied by abundant sunshine <br />with warm days and cool nights during the growing season, makes the <br />area especially favorable for agriculture and its associated industries. <br />Although the natural precipitation is adequate to support only highly <br />speculative dryland farming and livestock grazing, a wide variety of <br />crops with high yields may be grown when irrigation water is sufficient. <br /> <br />5 <br />