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L <br />1 <br />The Colorado Piedmont is a broadly rolling plain in which the floodplains <br />of the South Platte River vary generally from 1 to 3 miles in width. The 1 <br />Colorado Piedmont also characteristically has bench lands that rise 20 to <br />200 feet above the floodplains. The western part of the Colorado Piedmont ' <br />is characterized by low rounded hills and irregular land surfaces. <br />Climate 1 <br />The climate of the South Platte River basin is influenced by its inland ' <br />location. Relatively low precipitation, widely variable daily and seasonal <br />air temperatures, and highly variable precipitation from year to year are 1 <br />characteristic of the basin (Hansen and others, 1978). The Plains zone is <br />characterized by small amounts of precipitation (12 to 19 inches per year) ' <br />(Figure 4). In contrast to the semi -arid climate of the Plains zone, <br />greater seasonal variations of precipitation and temperature occur as a 1 <br />result of snowfall during the winter and spring months in the Mountain <br />zone. The largest amount of precipitation in the Mountain zone occurs 1 <br />along the Continental Divide, especially in the upper parts of the Cache <br />la Poudre River, the Big Thompson River and the St. Wain Creek sub - basins <br />(Figures 1 and 4). The greatest amount of precipitation measured in the 1 <br />basin, averaging 34 inches annually, occurred at Berthoud Pass on the <br />Continental Divide. The foothills of the Front Range correspond to the 1 <br />Transition zone (Figure 3), where mean annual precipitation is about <br />15 inches (Hansen and others, 1978). 1 <br />Natural Resources 1 <br />The South Platte River basin contains a wide variety of natural, mineral <br />and energy resources. The interrelationship between natural resources and 1 <br />water resources development is a factor affecting the form and extent of <br />mineral and energy production. 1 <br />-8- 1 <br />