Native Vegetation 
25 
whole. A low amount of snowfall may be due to a normally low 
precipitation for the year as a whole, or to an unequal distribution 
of the precipitation of a locality that shows a considerable annual 
amount. For example, the average annual snowfall in the San 
Luis Valley ranges from 7 to 30 inches. This small amount is to 
be expected, as the total precipitation (rainfall plus snowfall) for 
the year is below 10 inches. However, on the Great Plains, where 
the total snowfall averages less than 30 inches, (Limon 18, Holly 
13, Blaine 23, Las Animas 24, Pueblo 23, Ft. Morgan 25), the low 
figure is explained by the fact that about 75% of the yearly pre¬ 
cipitation comes during the growing season. 
In general, the amount of snowfall increases at higher alti¬ 
tudes. The mean total snowfall for the year at some typical high 
altitude stations is as follows: 
TABLE X.—MEAN ANNUAL SNOWFALL. 
Altitude 
Station (feet) 
Ashcroft . 9482 
Breckenridge . 9536 
Corona . 11660 
Crested Butte . 8867 
Cripple Creek . 9400 
Frances . 9300 
Georgetown . 8550 
Lake Moraine . 10265 
La Veta Pass . 9000 
Leadville . 10248 
Long’s Peak (near). 8600 
Rico . 8824 
Silverton . 9400 
Mean Annual Snow¬ 
fall (inches) 
148 
199 
377 
158 
84 
175 
94 
151 
107 
132 
127 
148 
169 
The snowfall in northwestern Colorado is high. At Meeker 
the average in inches is 66, at Buford 86, Pagoda 105, Hayden 81, 
Yampa 71, and Steamboat Springs 119. It is also quite high in 
North and Middle Parks; for example, Walden and Spicer, each 
in North Park, have about 70 inches, and in Middle Park, Kremm- 
ling has 110 inches, Hot Sulphur Springs close to 100 inches, and 
Fraser 104 inches. There is also an abundance of snowfall in the 
southwest. At Durango the average is 62 inches; at Tacoma, 87; 
Pagosa Springs, 84; and Chromo, 102. 
On the plains and the lower slopes of the eastern part of Colo¬ 
rado, snows do not, as a rule, lie on the ground for any length of 
time, but disappear within a few days, and vegetation is without 
the protection which snow offers. On the western slope, however, 
the snows accumulate, not only protecting the vegetation but fur¬ 
nishing the soil with a supply of moisture that is not often ex¬ 
hausted until in July. The dry, open winters of the Great Plains, 
with the absence of a protecting snow cover, are often detrimental 
