PERMFILE52689 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

'l • SO[L SURVEY . pot•tant recharge :n•e:+ for the Uawson ground-water +:quifer sort the Black Squir)el Creek Alluvium. Principal game animals in this survey area are mule deer, pronghorn :mtelope, cottontail rabbit, sort scaled quail. The ovorull capability oC the auilx in Lho aw•vcy +u•eu Cor crop production is poor cnmparerl with that of m:ljor p+vxlucing areas in Celn:•::clo because of lo+v rainC:tll, cool temperatures, :md limited supplies of irrigation water. Climate, scenery, xnd geographic location, Luken together, are the main natural resources upon which the meUvq:olitan :van that includes the City of Colorado Sln•inga has rlevelopecl and is supported. The western boundary oC the survey :+rca is at the Coot of Pikes Pe++k. People look upon this area as a desirable place to live, work, and play. Tow•ism, industry, residential growth, :md military installations now consitute the major part of the area's economic base. Climate El Paso County Area is fairly hot in summer and rather cold in winter. Precipitation occurs mainly in the warm pe+•iocl during thunderstorms and occasional hail- stm•ms. Snowstorms occur every winter, but blizzards are rare. Total annual precipiL•dion is adequate for range grasses but marginal for rlrylanrl crops. Table 1 ahOl+'a temperature and precipitation data Cor the period 1911 Lo 1!)7:3. They were recorrlerl at Colorado Springs but are representative of the entire Area. Table 'L shows the probable dates of the first freeze in fall and the Ixsl freeze in spring. Table 3 shows the length of the gro+ving season. In winter, the average temperature is 3L0 degrees F :md the :average daily minimum is 17.7 degrees. The ab- sulutc lowest temperature dm•ing the entire period of record was -27 degrees, observed at Colm•ado Springs on Febru:u•y 1, Lc)fil. In summer, the average temperature is (644 degrees and the average daily maximum is 82.:i dogrres. The absolute highest temperature was 100 degrees, recm~ded on .tune 'La, IOCi4. (:ru+ving degree days, shown in Table 1, are equivalent to "heat units." Starting in spring, they accumulate by the nnunuLL that the average temperature each clay exceeds the base temperature. The norm:d monthly uccumulution is usod to schedule single or successive plantings oC a crop +rithin the seasonal limits of the last Creezo in spring :ual Lho lust freeze in fill. As shown in Tublc 1, the total annual precipitation is about 15.21 inches. OC this total, 12.'L)i inches, m• Rl pm•- ront, usu::lly falls rlm•ing the period April through Sep- trmber, +vhich includes the growing season tm• most crops. 'I'e•o Years in 10, the April-September rainfall is lesn th:m H.N(1 inches. The heaviest 1-clay rainfall during the period of record was a.OU inches at Colrn•:ula Springs on July 22, 1951. Thunderstorms number about 60 each ,YO:u•, •1:1 nl' which occm~ in summer. Average seasonal snowfall is 42.2 inches. The greatest depth of avow on the ground at any one time dw•ing the period was 2l1 inches. On the average, 12 Jaya have at least I inch of snow nn the g:•ounrl, but the number oC days varies from ye;u• to yc:u•. The uvm•ugc relative humidity in midafternoon in spring is less than 3fi percent, and dw•ing the rest oC the year it is about 41 percent. Humidity is higher at night in all seasons, sort the aver::ge at dawn is about fa percent. The percunG+ge uC possible sunshine is 71 in summer and 71 in winter. The prevailing direction of the w•inrl is from the north-northeast. Average annual windspccd is 1U.4 miles I:er hour. Average winrlspeerl is highest, 1'2.2 miles per hour, in April. The potential Cm• dryl:uul crops in EI Paso County Arc:+ is limited by low aver::ge amm+d precipitation, which ranges from about 11 inches to about 19 inches. The southern half oC the urea and the part east oC Fountain Creek have Ll+e lowest xvc+•:+ge annual precipitation, leas than 18 inches. Cool temperatw•es and a short growing season, in ++reaa in the northern part oC the county that are at an elevation of more than about 6,800 Ceet, further limit the choice of crops. Farming The first fa+•ming in the survey at•ea was in the Foun- tain Creek Valley in about 18fiU. Early settlers diverted water Crom the Creek and irrigated sm:+11 fields on the bottom Innds, growing cm•n and poWtocs. AlC:rlCa later become the leading crop, as IL :s today. By the 187U's about 3u irrigation ditches, diverting water from Fountain Creek, hart been constructed. Available water was often insufficient for crop necrla. Between 1Rfifi and 1910 ;+ few ranchers practiced irriga- tion in the upper Black Squirrel Creek basin, growing na- tive hay. Several irrig:LLiou wells were drilled in the basin between 1920 and 1940. Irrigation farming expanded rupirlly, with drilling oC additional irrigation wells com- mencing about 1960. The most important irrigated crops in m~der of acreage are alfalfa, corn, pasture grasses, small grain, and bluegrass sod. Nonirrigatcd, or dryland, farming began about 1900 and increased rapidly until I!1'l0. Wheat, millet, sort pinto beans were among the first c+•ops tin•own and, with Lhe ad- dition of so:•ghumsf.Yre the main crops grown today. Since 1950 many areas of cropland have been seeded to posture sort range grasses. The average farm inclurloa mm•c r:mgcl:md th:m cropland, :md farming is generally a rlive+•sifierl operation. 1'+•orluction oC livestock, mainly beef cattle, is a m:~m• enterprise on most farms. Farm dairy herds were numerous dw•ing the period 1920-CiU. Dairying is no++• limited to :+ small number of spe- cialized operations. There are also a Cew farm operators that specialize in production of feeder pigs and market hogs.