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001232 Dr aft - 9/ 8 1 The Eastern Plains are characterized by rolling hills, shallow river valleys, and generally gentle relief, though the topography is somewhat more rugged in the southeastern area of the state. The elevations range from 3,500 feet in the southeastern part of the state to nearly 8,500 feet where the Raton section meets the mountains near the Colorado-New Mexico state line. The Central Mountains The Central Mountains make up almost one third of Colorado's land area, running from north to south and extending, with varia- ~ tions, from about 105"W to 107"W. The mountains have earned Colorado the nickname "Rooftop of the Nation" as the state boasts of 53 peaks over 1~,000 feet. Differences in eievation are extreme, ranging from 1~,433 atop Mt. Elbert to 7,535 feet at the Alamosa Airport in the San Luis Valley. The greatest amount of ~ snowpack accumulates in the mountains. Thus the mountains are the key to Colorado's spring runoff, the source of most of the state's annual renewable water supply. The Western Plateau The western fifth of the state between approximately 107.W and 109.W is generally an area of high plateaus and deep river valleys and canyons. The elevation differences in the Western Plateau area are as great, but generally not as sudden, as those ln the Central Mountains. The altitude ranges from about ~,500 feet above sea level in the Grand Valley to peaks over 14,000 feet. Henceforth, land to the west of the Continental Divide will be called the "Western Slope" and the land to the east, the "Eastern Slope.1I 2