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Show Chapter 2 Watershed Characteristics and Uses traffic has increased consistently since 1988, providing the best indicator of overall growth in the canyon. The average daily traffic figures may be found in Appendix G. Cross- country skiing is a very popular winter activity in the canyon, with facilities including a groomed Nordic track. There are also trail- head parking facilities for back- country skiing. According to the Forest Service Plan, only one permitted touring center with a developed cross country skiing track will be permitted in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Tubing is also a popular winter recreational activity in the canyon. The Forest Service provides camping and picnicking facilities. There is a 1,655 person camping capacity and a 1,530 person picnicking capacity. Camping and picnicking facilities are generally used to capacity on weekends and holidays while weekday usage is much lower. G. Little Cottonwood Canyon Physical and Hydrologic Conditions: Little Cottonwood Canyon comprises 27.4 square miles of drainage area with elevations ranging from 5,200 to 11,200 feet. Little Cottonwood Canyon is the steepest and highest canyon in the plan area. The canyon is " U" shaped with rugged side- canyons formed by glaciation. The head waters for Little Cottonwood Creek originate in the Albion Basin, from minor drainages and Cecret Lake. Tributaries to the major drainage include the streams from White Pine Reservoir and Red Pine Lake, Hogum Fork, and Coal Pit Gulch. The length of the primary stream channel is approximately 12 miles. Little Cottonwood Creek peaks late in the spring, June 4 on the average, mainly because of the heavy snow pack in the higher elevations. Throughout the year the stream flow radically fluctuates due to the steep side slopes and impervious rock surfaces that make up much of the canyon. The average annual yield for the stream is 46,149 acre- feet, the second largest yield in the plan area. Canyon Uses: Uses in Little Cottonwood Canyon are characterized by heavy developed and dispersed recreational use, destination lodging and transportation. All uses in the canyon have increased during the past decade. Downhill skiing is the most intensely developed recreation use in the canyon at Alta and Snowbird ski resorts. The most accurate measure of growth in the canyon is average daily traffic. In 1987, the average daily traffic was 12,865. In 1996, the average daily traffic had increased to 16,540, an |