Geography 3402: Natural Hazards Exercise Three
Boulder Creek Floodplain Hazard Mitigation: A Scavenger Hunt
For this exercise you must visit the Boulder Creek floodplain. We have segmented the
floodplain into five sections (some of which are more accessible than others), and you
must find and describe in a few words (giving location, address, name of building,
intersection, etc.---enough detail so we can tell you found it), at least five specific hazard
mitigation actions/features you see in at least two segments of the floodplain. All these
features are visible from the bike path except the sirens, and they are close in town and on
campus and apply to any floodplains segment. We also include features of the floodplain
that are especially bad examples of floodplain occupance, and you can use two of these
for your five features if you wish. You can drive, walk, skate, ride a bike, hang-glide, or
any combination to access these sites.
Floodplain Segments:
I: Mouth of canyon to Broadway
II: Broadway to 17th
III: 17th to 28th
IV: 28th to Foothills parkway
V: Foothills to 55th and Pearl St. area.
Flood hazard mitigation features:
1. flood caution or information signs
2. mitigated road bridges (numerous, but be sure to ID and describe how mitigated)
3. mitigated pedestrian bridges (numerous, especially II and II, describe how
mitigated)
4. raised buildings (I and IV)
5. flood walls (I)
6. protective berms (III and others)
7. flood water spillways and retention ponds (V)
8. building relocation (in this case, public acquisition and removal) (II)
9. warning sirens
10. bad examples of public buildings in floodplain (I, II, III and V you can find
others)
Instructions:
Find five floodplain features from the categories above (one from each of five types of
features, from at least two segments), and prepare a brief report (with your name on
it!)giving:
a) detailed location; and
b) brief description (about 15-20 words each) of how that feature mitigates the
hazard (except for type 10 “bad” examples, and describe why it is a bad
example!) using concepts and terms from class.