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f Ii I. GENERAL INFORMATION A. Location "-') "J J The middle fork of Arapahoe Creek, a tributary of Grizzly Creek, is located in the extreme southern portion of North Park, Colorado -- a high, relatively flat intermontane basin surround- ed by the Medicine Bow Range on the East, the Park Range on the West, and the Rabbit Ears Range on the South. The basin is drained by the North Platte River, which flows northward into Hyoming. Arapahoe Creek flows northerly from near the Continental Divide to where it enters Grizzly Creek 7.5 miles from its head- water. 'J " , , j ;:>'. The location of the Hyannis Peak Reservoir is in an unsur- veyed portion of Section 26, Township 5 North, Range 80 West, within the boundaries of Routt National Forest. Access can presently be gained via the U,\S. Forest Service Bundy Park road approximately five miles south of Slack-Weiss Reservoir. Here the road intersects the trailhead of the Hyannis Peak Pack Trail. The site is located 1.5 miles south by foot from this point (see Sheet 1). ,.." ;.- ~J B. Climate Climatic data was obtained from a special C.S.U. Climatol- ogy Study entitled "Climate Profile for the McCallum Emria Study Area". Temperature and precipitation data collected at Spicer, Colorado, from 1912 and 1909 (respectively) to 1981 was evaluated 'in this report. (.j The climate of the Arapahoe Creek Valley is characterized by short mild summers and long sometimes severe winters. The average summer temperature is 45oF. and the average winter tem- perature is 7oF. The average length of growing season is less than 100 days, with the spring frost following on May 1 and the average first frost occurring on September 1. The average annual precipitation in the Hyannis Peak area is approximately 20 inches, with one-half of that occurring as snow between October and April. The first snow generatly falls around October 1st and the last snow of the season around May 31st, although snow has fallen in the area dur~ng every month of the year. Hail can occur at the site between Apiit and September, averaging less than .5 days per month. There is ~o data on wind speed and direction. However, wind gustso\'er 4(}mph!all'e common during winter months in North Park and could be expected on un- protected ridges at the site. (Colorado Climate Center, Dept. of Atmospheric Science, CSU Climatoloty Report No. 81-1,) -1- )