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<br />because of the short gro"i.ne season. Thos'e' portions of the valley not in
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<br />agri.culture and below 8,000 feet are chnracteri.z~d by the n~m~ Northern
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<br />Desert Shrub, This is composed of sagebrush, rabbitbrush and winterfat
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<br />with an understory of 'various grasses. Above this area the vegetation is
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<br />of the subalpine ,forest type. This is dominated by a very thick growth
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<br />of qualdng aspen. Interspersed Hith these are the lodgepole pine and
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<br />sub-alpine fir in the upper elevations.
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<br />Douglas-fir. These three species transition into En[~lemann spruce and
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<br />The climate of the re[)ion is characterized by cool summers and cold
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<br />winters. Precipitation is quite variable in the rail ion as shOlm by the
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<br />NAP whlch ranges from 25 inches in the valley floor to over 60 inches in
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<br />the Park Range. The Hay to September NAP ranges from 8 to over 18 inches
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<br />in the same areaS. The majority of the precipitation falls as snow with
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<br />depths up to 6 feet being: averaee in the Rabbit Ears Pass area. Snow
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<br />depths average around 3 feet in the upper Bear River. Seasonal'runoff in
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<br />North Fish Creek which drains an area between 9,800 and 10.700 feet has
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<br />averaeed four feet of Hater annually over a five year period, Snow in the
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<br />lower elevations of the valley is usually gone by the ,first of Hay and moat
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<br />of the snow in the basin i,; melted by the end of ,the' first week in July.
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<br />Precipitation in the form of rain occurs over the entire basin during
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<br />A list of prc~ipitation stations io given on table I and a frequency
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<br />the suimller and early fall. Haximum recorded rainfall at Steamboat Springs
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<br />occurred On June 11., 1921 jJhen 2.57 inc.hes f'ell durinr; a 24 hour period.
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<br />plot of the 2/,-,hour rainfall during 1!i1y to October at Steamboat Springs is'
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<br />tation at Craig, Colorado,
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<br />shm", on chart 3. AIRl' inclosed is a plot of 3-hour Hay to October precipi.-
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