CLIMATE. 7 



The valley is traversed from north to south and from east to west 

 by branches of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, affording con- 

 nections with Salida and the main line of the Denver & Rio Grande 

 Railroad upon the north ; with Durango, Grand Junction, and inter- 

 mediate points upon the west ; and with Pueblo and Denver by way 

 of La Veta Pass upon the east. The northern and western routes 

 are by narrow-gauge lines, necessitating transfer of freight at Ala- 

 mosa or other connecting points. 



Alamosa, situated in the south-central part of the valley, has a 

 population of 3,013 and is the principal town of the valley, being 

 distant by rail from Pueblo 133 miles and from Denver 252 miles. 

 Other locally important towns lying along the western margin of 

 the valley are Saguache, Del Norte, and Monte Vista. Sanford, 

 Conejos, Manassa, Antonito, and Richfield are small towns in the 

 southern part of the valley, while Moffat, Hooper, and Mosca lie at 

 intervals along the railroad traversing its central part. 



CLIMATE. 



The prevailing climatic conditions are healthful. When aided by 

 irrigation, the climate is favorable to the development of grains, 

 grasses, leguminous crops, root crops, and hardy vegetables. 



The average annual rainfall for the valley is about 8 inches, 

 though subject to wide variations from year to year. At certain 

 points the annual precipitation has been known to amount to less 

 than 3 inches and the maximum, is often greatly in excess of the 

 normal. Precipitation occurs mainly as brief local showers, chiefly 

 during the spring and summer months and, while generally insuffi- 

 cient in itself, is important as supplementing irrigation. 



The winter season is rather long and sometimes marked by low 

 temperatures, occasionally reaching extremes of 30 F. The sum- 

 mer season is short and characterized by moderately warm to warm 

 days, the temperature rarely exceeding 85 or 90. An unusually 

 large percentage of clear days prevails and a low relative humidity 

 moderates the effect of low winter temperatures. The warm days of 

 summer are rarely oppressive and are succeeded by cool evenings, 

 induced by the rapid radiation favored by altitude and atmospheric 

 conditions. 



There is at times a brisk wind movement during the early spring 

 months, usually from the southwest, and often continuing for several 

 days at a time. This at times becomes excessive and gives rise to 

 dust storms and upon the lighter sandy soils may cause some damage 

 to young growing crops from drifting. 



