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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />~ <br />o <br />00 <br />C\l <br /> <br />Hills, a rolling mountain range which forms the southeastern <br />limits of the project area. The south side of the area is <br />the toe of a high mountain ridge known as Battlement Mesa, <br />and the Colorado River forms the north boundary. The entire <br />area slopes generally north toward the river. <br /> <br />Elevations in the vicinity of the project area range from <br />about 5,100 feet at Parachute to 11 ,000 feet at peaks on <br />Battlement Mesa. The elevation of project lands varies from <br />about 5,200 feet on the lowest topographic fans south of <br />Parachute to about 6,800 feet in the Divide area; the median <br />elevation is 5,850 feet. <br /> <br />Native vegetative cover is sparse in the lower elevations of <br />the project area because of little rainfall. Most of the <br />virgin lands in the farmed areas are covered with medium <br />growths of sagebrush and grass although there is some <br />greasewood intermixed with sagebrush near the Colorado River <br />and along the bottoms of some dra i nageways. Pi nyon-pi ne, <br />juniper, and Gambel's oak predominate at the higher eleva- <br />tions near the mountains. Narrow stands of cottonwood, <br />boxelder, alders, and willows grow along the stream bottoms. <br /> <br />CLIMATE <br /> <br />Climatic conditions vary greatly in the vicinity of the <br />project area. Average annual precipitation is estimated at <br />13 inches, about 5 inches of which falls from May to Septem- <br />ber. Precipitation varies from one location to another, <br />from 11 inches along the Colorado River to more than <br />30 inches on Battlement Mesa. Much of the moisture at the <br />higher elevations falls during winter in the form of snow, <br /> <br />A-4 <br />