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<br />. <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. .. .. <br />J ~L~ ;) <br /> <br />PRESENT AGRICULTURAL DEVELOrnENT <br /> <br />Physical and Economic Characteristics <br />of'the <br />Project Area <br /> <br />Location and Size <br /> <br />The Narrows Project service area is located in northeastern <br />Colorado, extending along the South Platte River from the vicinity <br />of Narrows Dam and Reservoir above Fort Morgan, Colorado, to the <br />Nebraska state line. The area is about 130 miles in length and <br />varies f'rom 2 to 10 miles in width. As shown in exhibit 1, General <br />Map, the Narrows Unit and its service area are located in Morgan, <br />Logan, Washington and Sedgwick counties with portions of the reser- <br />voir extending into Weld County. The project service area, which <br />is within the Lower South Platte Water Conservancy District, con- <br />tains about 166,365 acres of irrigable land of which 143,902 acres <br />are presently irrigated. <br /> <br />Climate <br /> <br />Detailed discussion of the climate in this area is contained <br />in the HYdrology Appendix. General discussion of climate conditions <br />follow. The frost free season in this area is approximately 145 days. <br />Annual precipitation diminishes from about 17 inches in the eastern <br />part to 14 inches in the western part of the area. The seasons are <br />typical of the temperate zone with cold winters and hot summers. <br />The last damaging frost occurs about the middle of May and the <br />first damaging frost.in the fall occurs about October 10th. About <br />65 percent of' the annual precipitation occurs during the growing <br />season. <br /> <br />Topography <br /> <br />Elevations of the project lands range from 4325 feet above <br />mean sea level at Fort Morgan to 3467 feet at Julesburg, Colorado. <br />The project lands are a portion of the extensive eastward and south- <br />eastward sloping plains and are located on both sides of the South <br />Platte River. The river has created a broad shallow valley with <br />varying topographic features which are associated with uplands, <br />terraces and bottom lands. Numerous tributary drainages lead into <br />the main valley and produce a surface relief which varies from <br />moderate to heavy undulations. Where the natural drains enter the <br />main river ,alley, moderate to extremely short slopes occur. <br />Terrace and bottom lands have developed near the river and drainage <br /> <br />3 <br />