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■ COLORADO CLIMATOLOGY * 
By ROBERT E. TRIMBLE 
Nearly all the variations of a continental climate are to be 
found within the borders of the State of Colorado. The natural 
^ diversities which result from its location in latitude and the 
many variations caused by the difference in topography, and 
r the effect of the Rocky Mountains extending through the State, 
are well defined in many cases and cause many complex condi- 
, tions. Many important local features are not apparent in the 
averages of the principal atmospheric conditions which make 
p up what is known as climate”. Two-fifths of the State is 
highly mountainous, and the rest of it plains and high mesas. 
I A])ont 40 percent of the area is above 7,000 feet in elevation. 
That portion of the State lying east of the mountains, or the 
plains region, is crossed by a ridge which forms the watershed 
between the South Platte and the Arkansas rivers. The lowest 
I point in the State is where the Arkansas river leaves the State 
I a few miles below Holly, at an altitude of 3,370 feet, while 
j Julesbnrg, 3,460 feet, on the South Platte, is the lowest point 
I in the northeastem portion of the State. 
j A prominent feature of the mountain region is the number 
I of large upland parks. North, Middle and South Park, and 
the San Luis Valley in the southern part, a remarkably flat, 
immense basin, which at one time was evidently a lake or sea 
i bed, are all 7,000 to 10,000 feet in elevation. The average 
height of timber line is about 11,500 feet, varying from 10,000 
to 12,000 feet. 
* Some of the qualities of the climate of Colorado that make 
I for health, comfort, and man’s enjoyment of life are: Abnnd- 
i ance of sunshine; a pure, dry air; clear skies giving a wide 
! range of temperature; freedom from heat prostrations; a low 
^ humidity, making ns exempt from the raw, chilly mornings or 
, penetrating cold, giving in its place a dry, bracing cold, usually 
I attended by sunshine; and a favorable sensible temperature, 
tending to modify the cold of winter as well as the heat of 
summer. In winter it is usualIv warm in the sunshine, and in 
* summer it is always cool in the shade. There is seldom a night 
in the year when a blanket covering is not comfortable. The 
; air is more healthful than at a lower altitude, because it is 
^ cleaner. Bacteria decrease rapidly as we rise in the air. Such 
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♦Bulletin No. 182, “Colorado Climatolog-y,” is out of print. This bulletin 
is published to supply the demand for information on Colorado climate and 
to bring the records down to date. 
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