20 MISC. PUBLICATION 18, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



precipitous gorge about 16 miles long. Within this canyon is a 

 hydroelectric power plant with an installed capacity of 18.000 horse- 

 power, generating current for the use of many cities in eastern 

 Colorado. The theaters on Curtis Street in Denver are lighted from 

 this source. Many tributaries of the Colorado River rise in the east- 

 ern and southern portions of the forest and contribute their share 

 toward this, the first plant along a river of water power and irriga- 

 tion projects. Here, as on the Arapaho National Forest, watershed 

 protection is of the highest importance. 



The Arapaho. Routt, and White River Forests make up the north- 

 western group with many characteristics and uses in common. 

 Although timber production, especially on the Fraser and Colorado 

 River watersheds of the Arapaho, is important, with this exception 

 the highest direct economic value of these forests at present is in 

 their watershed protection and their summer-grazing grounds, which 

 supplement the privately owned ranch property in the surrounding 

 valleys. 



THE LEADVILLE NATIONAL FOREST 



South and west of the southern division of the Arapaho is the 

 L-eadville National Forest. The Leadville forest, the Holy Cross 

 forest on the west, and the Cochetopa immediately south cover the 

 highest portion of the Continental Divide in the State. This region 

 has been important as a mining district since two German shoemakers, 

 George Hook and August Rische, first discovered the famous blanket 

 formation in California Gulch in 1878, near the location which later 

 became Leadville. Before there were any national forests the sur- 

 rounding timberlands were taxed far beyond their capacity by the 

 development of this grand bonanza. 



Accompanied by destructive fires, the demand for mine props, rail- 

 road ties, and construction material soon depleted many of the stands. 

 Second growth is coming in in many places and, if protected from 

 fire, will bring back the forests as they were. Forest management 

 here has for its purpose the supplying on a perpetual-yield basis of 

 enough products to satisfy the demands of the permanent industry 

 in the region. Grazing is also an important use on these forests. 



The Leadville National Forest is in a long, narrow strip north and 

 south, covering the slopes of the Arkansas and Blue River watersheds 

 to the crest of the very high surrounding ridges, which contain sev- 

 eral of the highest peaks in the State. Near the city of Leadville is 

 Mount Elbert, the highest peak in all the Rocky Mountain chain 

 between Canada and Mexico and the second highest peak in the 

 L'nited States. 



The Arkansas River flows south from Tennessee and Fremont 

 Passes in the Continental Divide, and the Blue River flows north 

 from Fremont and Hoosier Passes, the waters of the Arkansas flow- 

 ing eventually into the Gulf of Mexico, and those of the Blue River 

 into the Gulf of California. Most of the valley floor, in each case a 

 very narrow strip through the middle of the forest, has been elimi- 

 nated from the forest because it is agricultural land, leaving the 

 forest spread out somewhat in the form of a long narrow H with a 

 portion of the Continental Divide between the two river sources 

 making the horizontal line. 



