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6 THE LITTLE THOMPSON RIVER BASIN STUDY AREA The Little Thompson River watershed encompasses approximately 203 square miles in Boulder, Larimer, and Weld Counties. The basin begins in the mountains at an elevation of approximately 11,425 feet on Twin Sisters Peaks and drops to near 4,700 feet, over a river distance of approximately 46 miles, where it joins the Big Thompson River near Milliken, CO. The area of this study is a smaller sub- section of the overall basin and extends from the headwaters at Twin Sisters Peaks downstream through Big Elk Meadows, past US 36 and Pinewood Springs, and through the X Bar 7 Ranch area. The downstream boundary of the study is roughly where the river first intersects the prominent hogbacks upstream of Berthoud. The study area encompasses approximately 83 square miles, and approximately 17.8 miles of the main stem of the Little Thompson River. The basin outline and key features of the basin used for the purposes of the study and are shown below in Figure 3. — f. rY S Baron Basin Vicinity IA Meadow Basin LaM15 r a COLORADO sruor AREA a �rE arx100 s Sraam Maa waternc.�vrc�, vwn BiG tx 1EA 7aw5 M A WRES NVESnGATION Figure 3 — Map of overall drainage basin included in this study. Within the study area the Little Thompson River contains the tributaries of the West Fork which includes the Big Elk Meadows area and the areas between Meadow Lake Dam and US Highway 36, the North Fork, and Rowell Gulch. The main stem of the river is included in the Muggins Gulch subbasin and the basin between Pinewood Springs and the confluence of the main stem with the North Fork. Report of the September 2013 Little Thompson River Flooding COLORADO and Big Elk Meadows Dam Failures, June 2014 (Revised, Dec 2014) Division of Water Resources Page 7 of 48 - Department of Natural Ftasoura� DAM SAFETY BRANCH