Is it possible that this unassuming creek played a part in sparking a gold rush? That’s the story of Little Dry Creek at Westminster. This creek’s history is more exciting than you might think.
Little Dry Creek is a small tributary of the South Platte River. It is approximately 10 miles long. The creek is located in Arapahoe County, Colorado. It flows through a suburban area south of Denver. Little Dry Creek rises in Centennial west of I-25. It flows generally northwest into Englewood.
Historically, Little Dry Creek has been used for irrigation. It even feeds an aqueduct that runs parallel to it. The creek flows into the South Platte River. This happens just south of West Dartmouth Avenue. It is west of the intersection with Santa Fe Drive.
The mouth of Little Dry Creek is famous. It’s the location of the first significant gold discovery in Colorado. This discovery happened in July 1858. Green Russell and his brothers found a placer gold deposit. It yielded about 20 troy ounces of gold. Back then, it was worth about 380 dollars. That’s about $44,000 USD today. This discovery started the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush.
Today, Little Dry Creek at Westminster is monitored. The streamgauge here measures streamflow. The USGS operates this monitoring station. Streamflow is affected by urban runoff and stormwater. This makes it a human-impacted stream. Flows are highest in spring and early summer. This is due to snowmelt. Flows are lowest in late summer and fall. This is due to lower precipitation.
Restoration efforts have focused on Little Dry Creek in recent years. These efforts include bank stabilization. Riparian vegetation restoration is also part of the plan. The stream is also monitored for water quality. Monitoring helps mitigate the impacts of urbanization.
The Little Dry Creek drainageway watershed is large. It covers about 12.7 square miles. It extends through Adams County, Jefferson County, Arvada, and Westminster. The watershed is almost completely developed. Planned development in the watershed is mostly residential. The drainageway runs from West 92nd Avenue to West 62nd Avenue. It is about 8.7 miles long and 2.0 miles wide. It generally slopes down to the southeast. Slopes range from 0.5% to 4%.
The project aims to update the hydrology. It also aims to develop alternatives to alleviate potential flooding. A conceptual design will follow for the selected plan. This plan includes Little Dry Creek. It also includes Tributary B, and Shaw Heights Tributary. A Major Drainageway Plan will include all of these items. The project includes a floodplain analysis. This will be documented in a Flood Hazard Area Delineation.
So, next time you see Little Dry Creek at Westminster, remember its past. It played a role in the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush. It continues to be an important part of the local environment.