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~ I, ~1 . 1 ., , j I i1 auto road in America climbs to the top of Mt. Evans (14,264 feet), 56 miles west of Denver. The Continental Divide, which forms the crest of the continent and separates the water- sheds of the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexi- co, runs through the west-central part of Colo- rado in a general north-south direction. It splits the State into two roughly equal sections- the Eastern and Western Slope-geographically and economically distinct. Six major rivers in the western United States have their sources in Colorado's high mountains: The Colorado, the Rio Grande, the Arkansas, the North and South Platte Rivers and the Republican River. The waters of these rivers . spread out through 18 neighboring States. The total area of Colorado extends over 104,240 square miles of which 103,884 square miles are land surface with the remaining few hundred square miles devoted to water surface. Three Major Areas The State lies within three major physical provinces, the Great Plains, the Rocky Moun- tains, and the Colorado Plateau. The Great Plains occupy the eastern two-fifths of the State, and except as disrupted by stream valleys, are a vast tableland that slopes gently eastward from the foot of the mountains in Colorado far into Kansas and Nebraska. Along the base of the foothills within a 30-mile-wide strip extending from Wyoming to New Mexico live two-thirds of all Coloradans. The mountain province extends north-south through the middle of Colorado and constitutes another two-fifths of the State. Many individual mountain ranges or groups lie within this province. The western one-fifth of Colorado is part of the Colorado Plateau province, which extends far to the west in Utah and to the south and southwest in New Mexico and Arizona. High, flat uplands deeply incised by valleys and canyons characterize this province. Climate oj Colorado The climate of Colorado is largely determined by two factors of its geography: First, its inland location, far removed from any major source of moisture; 12 Second, its high elevation, with its mountain ranges extending generally north and south from the center of the State westward, but I with many spurs and high plateaus in various I directions enclosing numerous high mountain 1 parks and valleys. ' The primary effects of the first factor are wide daily and seasonal temperature variations and low precipitation. Average annual total) precipitation at lower elevations ranges from 1 less than 10 inches in some of the enclosed valleys) to near 18 inches in the more favored plains areas. The second factor has a profound effect on all phases of the climate. Precipitation in the' mountains is much greater, reaching annual averages of over 50 inches in some of the higher 1 ranges; and temperatures are modified in I mountain. areas because of higher elevation j and in lower areas because of the far-reaching j influence of the mountain barriers. j Colorado is known for its cool summer I weather, its high percentage of clear sunshiny t days, and its invigorating high, clear, relatively' dry atmosphere. Because of the varied topog- raphy, wide variations in climate often occur within relatively short distances. For example, I the average annual snowfall at Cumbres Pass j' is over 300 inches, while at Manassa, less than 30 miles away, it is only about 25 inches. Equal i variations in temperature-summer and winter-] are also found. Benefits of the alpine climate of the high mountains are innumerable. Among them is the heavy snowfall occurring during the winter and spring months. Most of the higher western slope areas receive in excess of 10 feet of snow during an average year with some amounts exceeding 30 feet. This snow melting in the spring and summer provides irrigation water which makes possible bountiful agricultural production on land that would otherwise be semiarid prairie. The heavy snows provide excellent winter skiing, many of the higher slopes remaining blanketed well into the sum- mer season. The summer season in the mountains is cool and refreshing, which makes them an ideal vacation area. At typical mountain stations the July average temperature is in the neighbor-