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CRYSTAL PIT <br />known that in winter the Ute Pass area can receive violent impacts <br />• from westerlies produced by jet stream drag. At this site, however, <br />the hilly terrain and valley location would strongly reduce the <br />effects of hurricane force winter winds. <br />Although in a mountainous area, precipitation is somewhat limited <br />on the lower slopes of Pikes Peak. Probably, this site receives about <br />20 to 25 inches of precipitation per year. Typically, Colorado <br />mountainous areas at this elevation receive over 30 inches of <br />precipitation a year, but the north side of Pikes Peak tends to be in <br />a mild rain shadow during the times of strong moisture influx during <br />the summer monsoon. Whereas these elevations elsewhere in Colorado <br />may receive gentle drizzle combined with abundant snow in winter and <br />occasional downpours in summer, this site receives only moderate snow <br />fall in winter, drizzle generally only in the spring, and torrential <br />downpours in summer. This more desert~'like precipitation pattern <br />combined with the very porous soils results in a moisture limited <br />vegetation cover. <br />• VEGETATION INFORMATION <br />The vegetation of this site is represented primarily by two major <br />communities. One of these communities can be broken down into three <br />separate units which tend to very strongly blend into one another. <br />The community occupying the area where much of the extraction <br />will occur is an open grassland composed of an interesting mixture of <br />montane zone grasses and Kinnikinick CArctostaohylos uva-ursi). In <br />some locations the grasses dominate while elsewhere Kinnikinick <br />dominates to produce a high cover. Where the grasses dominate the <br />cover is more sparse. The primary grasses are Mountain Muhly <br />(Muhlenberaia montana), Needleandthread (Stioa comata and S_ <br />vivioara), and Arizona Fescue (Festuca arizonica). A number of <br />numerically less important grasses also occur including various <br />wheatgrasses. Forbs are strongly dominated by Kinnikinick along with <br />• <br />4 <br />