Globeville Landscapes

GlobeVille is located just west of the South Platte River and sits in a 100 year flood plane. If there were to be a major flood today it would be disasterous to the whole community. Massive amounts of water, mud, and debris from all of the dead trees would be carried into the housing community and damage could be unmeasurable.

Right now however, the river is very low and full of debris that has been carried from the west. Fed by the rocky mountains the water in the river has come a long way to reach GlobeVille. The Platte and the Cherry creek are both classified as straight rivers. Made by man the rivers have been attempted to be contained by walls as it runs straight through the city, into GlobeVille, and north to Thornton.

Above: River walls created by humans contain the river and allow neighborhoods to develop  with out worry of  braided streams from light flooding. All though this is not fool proof, it has built confidence in the city of Denver to develop a neighborhood right around the river.

Landscape architects have also created little dams in the river to slow down the flow, making excellent obstacles for Kayaking. These rock features also catch debris from the rivers load and there is a heavy bedload of smaller round rocks at the bottom of these chutes.

Above: Just southwest of GlobeVille, confluence park is a playground for kayakers that want to practice their sport in a controlled environment. The river on viewers left is the Cherry Creek which runs through the City of denver contained by concrete walls. Both streams feed the South Platte River. As you can see where the two rivers meet, a load is deposited creating a sand bar.