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033287 Unit Description The Southern San Juan Mountains Unit in southwest Colorado and north central New Mexico includes 700,000 acres of mixed Federal, State and private lands. National Forest land totals 670,000 acres, with 352,000 on the Rio Grande, 247,000 on the San Juan, and 71,000 acres on the Carson. The approximately 30,000 acres of non-National Forest land include state, private and Bureau of Land Management (B LM) tracts. Part of the Banded Peak Ranch, originally the Tierra Amarilla Grant, is not included. The unit encompasses the majority of the Pagosa Ranger District on the San Juan National Forest, and all of the Conejos Ranger District and approximately three-fourths of the Alamosa Ranger District on the Rio Grande National Forest. The southern portion of the unit includes lands on the Tres Peidras District of the Carson National Forest in New Mexico. Major drainages are the Rio Blanco, Rito Blanco, East Fork of the San Juan, Little Navajo, and Navajo Rivers, and Mill and Wolf Creeks, on the San Juan National Forest; the Alamosa, Conejos, La Jara, Los Pinos, and Chama Rivers on the Rio Grande National Forest; and the Rio de los Pinos on the Carson National Forest. The Unit is entirely within the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado and north central New Mexico. These mountains are formed mostly of tertiary volcanic rocks and show the results of repeated outpouring of lava and ash from clusters of volcanoes. The west side of the Continental Divide is characterized by steep slopes and sharp jagged peaks, while on the east side the slopes are more gentle. The valleys on both sides of the Continental Divide have been heavily glaciated. Elevations range from around 7,000 feet to 13,000 feet on Summit Mountain. Annual precipitation on the Continental Divide varies from about 35 inches in the southern portions of the San Juan Mountains to 50 inches in the higher elevations near Elwood Pass. Pagosa Springs, the nearest city west of the unit, receives an average of 24 inches of precipitation yearly while the River Springs Ranger Station on the east side of the unit receives an average of 16 inches of precipitation yearly. The growing season averages 80 days at lower elevations, but at the higher elevations frost can occur any month of the year. Most of the Unit lies within Archuleta and Conejos Counties in Colorado, although some acreage is included in Mineral and Rio Grande Counties. Income in these Counties is derived primarily from agriculture and sheep and cattle ranching. Recreation, lumbering, and minerals are also important sources of income. Archuleta and Conejos Counties have two of the lower populations in the state and also are among the lower per capita income in Colorado. The unit also includes portions of northwestern Rio Arriba County in New Mexico, with income derived primarily from non-agricultural sources. The Rio Arriba per capita personal income in 1972 was $2.448, which was only 54 percent of the National average.