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<br /> <br />Colorado Drought Hazard . <br /> <br /> <br />Drought In Colorado <br /> <br />Early Colorado Settlement <br /> <br />The G<lld Rush of 1859 brought scores of people West <br />who hoped to make their fortunes in the gold fields. <br />Most failed to fulfill their expectations, and many <br />abandoned their quest. Some, however, saw another <br />way to make a living by feeding the burgeoning popu- <br />lation. <br /> <br />These pioneers who settled along the Front Range and <br />eastern plains in the 18605 found a land described by <br />explorers Zebulon Pike and Stephen Long as a virtual <br />desert. The land was fertile and ready for cultivation <br />but, because of climatic conditions, the life-giving <br /> <br />.' <br /> <br />*' <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />natural water supply, which could be taken for <br />granted in the humid east, was scarce and undepend- <br />able in this new land. <br /> <br />"...These vast plains of the western <br />hemisphere may become in time equally <br />celebrated with the deserts of Africa,'" <br />Lieutenant Zebulon Pike (1807) (Explorer) <br /> <br />Colorado Drought History <br /> <br />Colorado weather, even in higher moisture years, does <br />not provide a consistent, dependable water supply <br />throughout the year. This problem is aggravated <br />when both rain and snowfall fluctuate as a result of <br />fickle air mass movements. Severe droughts are <br /> <br /> <br />Oust Storm. 1936. Pro~e~ CountJ. Colo. <br />USDA-SCS <br /> <br />13 <br /> <br />