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<br /> <br />0.4 m I Ie downstream from the U.S. HI ghwGlY 50 br i dge. There are 7 other <br />stations on the main stem and 20 stations located on tributaries uP' <br />stream from John Marti n Dam, some of which wereestab I i shed pr ior to <br />1900. The average annual flow of the Arkansas River at Las Animas. for <br />the period 1939-59 is 185,300 a\=re-feet:. The annual flow varied from <br />a minimum of 20,340 acre-feet in 1959 to a maximum of 1,022,000 .in 1942. <br />The records are published in U.S. Geological Water Supply Papers. The <br />highest known peak discharge at Las Animas Is 187,000 c.f.s., which <br />occurred on June 4, 1921. <br /> <br />18. U. S. Highway 5.0 and the Arka,nsas Valley Branch line of the <br />AHoSF Ra I Iway System cross the Arkansas River north of Las An imas. <br />The U.S. Highway 50 bridge is a through-truss bridge, about 760 feet <br />long with a 15-foot roadway. The Colorado State Department of Highways <br />considers this bridge obsolete from a. traffic standpoint and has sched- <br />uled Its replacement in the near future. The rai Iroad bridge, 858 feet <br />long, consists of a central deck girder section with trestle sections. <br />at either end. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />19. CLlMATOLOGY.- The cl imate of the Arkansas River watershed in <br />Co I orado var i es. wide I y between the p I a I ns and the high mounta i nous <br />reg Ions. Prec i p i tat ion averages from 12 Inches annua II y i nsome <br />locations to rates of 20 to 40 inches over limited areas on the crests <br />of the mountain ranges. The annual precipitation is quite evenly dis- <br />tributed throughout the year in the higher elevations but a large <br />percentage of the tota I I sin the form: of snow and some stat Ions have <br />reported snowfal I during al I 12 months' of the year. Most of the <br />annual precipitation over the plains occurs from Apri I through August. <br />Las An Imas experi ences extreme temperature var i at ions. The max imum <br />and minimum temperatures in 72 years of record are I 140 and -320. The <br />mean monthly temperature varies from 30.90 in January to 79.60 in July <br />and the mean annual temperature is 55.00. The average length of the <br />growing season In the vicinity of Las ,Animas Is 155 days, which occurs <br />between May and October. The average 'annual relative humidity Is 52 <br />percent, varying from 38 percent at 5,p.m. to 70 percent at 5 a.m., as <br />recorded at Pueblo. The average evapq>ration for the period Apri I <br />through October is 65 inches at John Martin Dam. Wind data recorded <br />at Pueblo indicate the preval I ing direction to be from the west at an <br />average velocity of 8 miles per hour. The maximum speed recorded was <br />80 m.p.h. in January 1950. <br /> <br />20. The precipitation records for Las Animas, dating back to 1867, <br />are ,the mOst complete and extensive records of any In the Arkansas <br />Valley. The annual precipitation has varied from a minimum of 2.79 <br />inches in 1894 to a maximum of 21 .39 Inches in 1923, averaging 12.35 <br />inches per year tor the period of recprd. The month of July has the <br />highest average monthly rainfall (2.09 inches); but the greatest amount <br />ever recorded during anyone month is 7.54 inches, which occurred During <br />Apr I I 1900. The max i mum da i lyra i nfall of 3.60 inches occurred In Ju I y <br />1958. Snowfall at Las Animas averages 20.1 inches, annually. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />8. <br />