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002311 Agriculture is the dominant industry. Both crop production and livestock farming are practiced extensively j however, many acres formerly cultivated are now idle. In the extreme southwest corner of the county some mining for copper has been attempted, but the mineral has not been found in sufficient quan- tities to justify further development. Two branch lines of t.lle Atchison, Topeka, and Sante Fe Railway afford rail transporta- tion. U. S, Highway No. 160, a graveled thoroughfare, traverses the county from north- east to so-q,thwest, and U. S. Highway No. 287, an all-weather road, passes through the center from north to south. A good graded road leads from Pritchett to the northwest. Other well-kept -county highways serve the principal centers of population and form an adequate highway system for distribution of farm prod- ucts to market. Springfield, Pritchett, Walsh, and Campo have daily mail service. Two routes deliver mail triweekly to' the rural sections. Rural telephones are few except in local communi- ties. Fifty-six school districts offer education opportunities and facilities. Churches representing several denomina- tions are found in Springfield, Pritchett, Walsh Two Butt.es, and Campo. All main- tain Sunday Schools and young people's organizat,ions. Count,y school houses are used by itinerant ministers as meeting places from time to time and serv.e as religious and social centers. Climate The climate is essentially a semiarid, tem- perate, and continental type. It is charac- terized by sparse precipitation of irregular seasonal distribution, a high rate of evapora- tion, low humidity, and almost constant winds of rather high velocity. Normally, most of the precipitation falls during the spring and summer. Records of the United States Weather Bureau show that nearly 62 percent of the yearly precipitation occurs from May through September. The driest months arc from November through February, when most of the moisture comes as light, incUective snowfall. The distribution of the summer rainfall is erratic, Some locali- ties may be completely missed by showers for entire seasons while others may have rains. Torrential downpours are rather frequent, and large amounts of moisture are lost from rain- fall of this type by excessive runoff, It is estimated that 10 percent of the rainfall occurs in rains of 2 inches or more, some of which falls within short periods. According to available data, 42 percent of all precipitation falls in rains of less than one-half inch. Light showers of this type are of little value for the production of crops. At Springfield, where records have been compiled for l888 to 1901 and 1915 to' 1941, the average annual precipitation is 16.5 inches. At Utleyville on the west-central edge of the count:)', records from 1920 to 1941 show an annual average of 14.88 inches. At Two Bn1;t.es in the northerh part of the county, records from 1890 to 1941 show an average annual precipitation of 14.55 inches, Wide variations in annual rainfall are common, The year 1941, with a total of 31.46 inches, is the wettest on record, and the years 1931 and 1937, each with only 8.38 inches, are the driest, Analysis of meteorological data shows that although the average annual precipitation at Two Buttes is 14.S5 inches, only 13 of the 45 years that records have been k~pt .have had. a yearly total of more than 15% inches. On the other hand, in 18 of these years the annual precipitation has been less than 13 inches, and in 7 years less than 10 inches. At Springfield where the average annual precipitation is 16.5 inches, out of 35 years for which complete yearly records are avail- able 15 have been below 14 inches and 7 below 12 inches. The fact must be accepted that variable rainfall is just as natural to Baca County as the wind that blows. Records give every indication that periodic droughts are common and that rainfall is sufficient for good crop yields only about 1 year in 4. The most recent and probably the most damaging dry period was the great drought that began in 1931. During this period the greatest varia- tion in rainfall from the normal was during the months of July and August. From 1931 through 1939, the rainfall for July and August was only 33 percent of the normal amount for . those 2 months. Evaporation data for Baca Gounty are not available; however, evaporation is relatively high. The average seasonal evaporation (April to September) from an open water surface dlll'ing a 12-year period at Amarillo, Tex., 160 miles south, is 52.08 inches; at Dalhart, Tex., 100 miles south, it is 51.13 inches. No doubt, evaporation is nearly as much in this area. Sustained periods of hot, dry, desiccating summer winds are not un- common: An average wind velocity of 7.8 miles an hour 27'2 feet above the ground has been recorded at Goodwell, Okla., 100 miles south- east. At Amarillo, Tex., the average wind velocity 25 fe~t above the ground is 13 miles an hour. Wind velocities for short periods are extremely high; velocities of 40 miles an hour are not unusual. At Amarillo a wind velocity of mote than 80 miles_ an hour has been recorded. Winds of high velocity occur often in the late winter and spring and some- times in the summer. The average velocity may be 20 to 30 miles an hour during daylight for many days. Such winds are soil movers and frequently cause severe duststorms. Visibility is often zero and may be limited to less than 100 feet for several days a month during the spring and early summer. Winds of high velocities do the greatest erosion damage. The United States Weather Bureau 5 gives the following description of conditions in southeastern Colorado in June 1939: * * * Strong desiccating winds during the month resulted in the destruction of many crops and damage to the structure of topsoil over large areas. Dust storms have been ~ U, S. WEATHER BUREAU, DUST STORMS IN COLORADO DURINO JUNE 1939. Climatol. Data: Colo. Sect. 26: 38. Juno 1939. Western and Southeastern Baca County Soil Conservation Districts, Colorado 35