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<br />E. CLIMATOLOGY <br />The proposed mine is located in the Uinta Basin and very near the Wyoming <br />Basin with which it shares climatic characteristics. This area is semi-arid <br />with steppe or semi-desert vegetation. Some of its features are light <br />rainfall, low relative humidity and moderate wind and movement. Clear skies <br />predominate in all seasons. Strong insolation during the day and rapid <br />nocturnal cooling result in wide daily temperature ranges. The average <br />winter temperature near Rangely is about 29 degrees F (-2 degrees C) with <br />occasional periods of severly low temperatures. The lowest documented <br />temperature in the general area of West Central Colorado and East Central <br />Utah is -36 degrees F (-38 degrees C). This temperature was recorded at <br />Jensen, Uteh in the Uinta Basin. The mean temperature for the summer months <br />• is 68 degrees F (19 degrees C) with extremes of over 1G0 degrees F (40 <br />degrees C). The basin's mean annual relative humidity-is 56 percent and the <br />frost free period is approximately 110 days. <br />The climate in the Uinta Basin is controlled primarily by its continental <br />and intermountain location. Situated between various ranges of the middle <br />and southern Rocky Mountains, the Uinta Basin receives precipitation from <br />storms which originate in the Gulf of Mexico or Pacific Ocean and regularly <br />move through Utah and Colorado. These moisture laden storms expend their <br />precipitation on the opposite flanks of the mountains surrounding the Uinta <br />Basin. While Rangely, Colorado receives more rain than the western parts of <br />the basin, its mean annual precipitation is only 9 to 10 inches (23 to 25 <br />centimeters). This precipitation is more evenly distributed throughout the <br />. year than in other sections of the basin with the greatest amounts occurring <br />10-80 II.E-1 <br />