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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE <br />SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE <br />Section II —E <br />RANGE SITE DESCRIPTION <br />, COLORADO FIELD OFFICE <br />Site Name: <br />Site Number: <br />MLRA: <br />Date Approved: <br />Semidesert Sandy Loam #326 <br />034AY326C0 <br />0348Y326C0 <br />34A & 34B <br />December 1988 <br />A. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS <br />1. Physiopraphic Features <br />This site occurs on gently sloping to moderately steep <br />uplands and fans. Slopes range from 3 to 25 percent. <br />Elevation for the site ranges from 5,000 to 6,100 feet above <br />sea level. This site occurs on all aspects. <br />2. Climatic Features <br />a. The climate of this site is arid, with precipitation <br />averaging between 9 and 11 inches annually. About 20% <br />of this precipitation comes in the form of snow. About <br />60% of the precipitation comes during the growing <br />season (mid March through mid October.) The average <br />monthly precipitation (in inches) is as follows: <br />JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC <br />0.6 0.8 0.9 0.6 0.7 0.5 0.6 1.3 1.5 1.1 0.7 0.8 <br />b. The growing season for the native plants averages about <br />145 days. This usually starts about May 10 and goes <br />until October 10. Cool season grasses start spring <br />growth using moisture stored in the soil from snow melt <br />and spring rains. Optimum growth continues until the <br />soil profile is depleted of useable soil moisture. <br />This usually occurs about mid June. A second growth <br />period generally occurs between August and October <br />corresponding with full precipitation peak. <br />c. The average annual air temperature is about 44 ° F. <br />Summer temperatures can reach 95 ° F, and winter <br />temperatures can dip to well below 0 ° F. Temperatures <br />fall below the freezing mark much of the time in <br />November through March. The average frost —free period <br />occurs from June through September, lasting about 115 <br />days. <br />