Geography of Colorado
The geography of theU.S.State of Coloradois diverse, encompassing both rugged mountainous terrain, vast plains, desert lands, desert canyons, andmesas.Colorado is a landlocked U.S. state. In 1861, theUnited States Congressdefined the boundaries of the newTerritory of Coloradoexclusively by lines oflatitudeandlongitude,stretching from37°Nto41°Nlatitude, and from102°02'48 "Wto109°02'48 "Wlongitude (25°Wto32°Wfrom theWashington Meridian).[1]Starting in 1868, official surveys demarcated the boundaries, deviating from the parallels and meridians in several places. Later surveys attempted to correct some of these mistakes but in 1925 theU.S. Supreme Courtaffirmed that the earlier demarcation was the official boundary.[2]The borders of Colorado are now officially defined by 697boundary markersconnected bystraight boundary lines.[3]Colorado,Wyoming,andUtahare the only states that have their borders defined solely by straight boundary lines with no natural features.[4]The southwest corner of Colorado is theFour Corners Monumentat36°59'56 "N,109°2'43 "W.[5][6]This is the only place in the United States where four states meet: Colorado,New Mexico,Arizona,and Utah.[4]
The summit ofMount Elbertat 14,440 feet (4,401.2 m) elevation inLake Countyis the state's highest point and the highest point in theRocky MountainsofNorth America.[7]Colorado has approximately 550 mountain peaks that exceed 10,000 feet (4,000 metres) elevation. The state's lowest elevation is 3,317 feet (1,011 m) at the point on the eastern boundary ofYuma Countywhere theArikaree Riverflows into thestate of Kansas.[8]This is the highest low point of any state, and Colorado and Wyoming are the only two states that lie entirely above 3000 feet (1000 m) elevation.[9]
As is common in mountainous and adjacent areas,microclimatesexist and weather is strongly influenced byorography.A notable regional atmospheric phenomenon is theDenver Convergence Vorticity Zone(DCVZ) and related Denver Cyclone occurring on the High Plains just east ofDenver.The Rocky Mountains as a whole induce significant changes in weather afar, such as theColorado low.
Regions
[edit]
To the east of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado are theColorado Eastern Plains/High Plains,the section of theGreat Plainswithin Colorado at elevations ranging from 3,500 to 7,000 feet (1,100 to 2,100 metres). TheMidweststates of Kansas andNebraskaborder Colorado to the east and northeast.
The plains are sparsely settled with most population along theSouth Platteand theArkansasrivers. Rainfall is meager, averaging about 15 inches (380 mm) annually. There is some irrigated farming, but much of the land is used fordryland farmingorranching.Winter wheatis a typical crop and most small towns in the region boast both awater towerand agrain elevator.
The bulk of Colorado's population lives along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in theFront Range Urban Corridor.This region is partially protected from prevailing storms by the high mountains to the west.
To the west lies the eastern slope of theRocky Mountainswith notable peaks such asLongs Peak,Mount Blue Sky,Pikes Peak,and theSpanish PeaksnearWalsenburgin the south. This area drains to the east, is forested, and partially urbanized. With urbanization, utilization of the forest for timbering and grazing resulted in accumulation of fuel. During the drought of 2002 devastatingforest firesswept this area.
TheContinental Dividestretches along the crest of the Rocky Mountains. To the west of the Continental Divide is theWestern Slope.Water west of the Continental Divide drains west into thePacific Oceanvia theColorado River.Western Colorado is made up of mountains, mesas, desert canyons, and desert lands.
Within the interior of the Rocky Mountains are several large parks or high broad basins. In the north, on the east side of the Continental Divide isNorth Park.North Park is drained by theNorth Platte River,which flows north into thenorthweststate of Wyoming. Just south but on the west side of the Continental Divide isMiddle Park,drained by the Colorado River.South Parkis theheadwatersof the South Platte River. To the south lies theSan Luis Valley,the headwaters of theRio Grande,which drains into New Mexico. Across theSangre de Cristo Rangeto the east of the San Luis Valley lies theWet Mountain Valley.These basins, particularly the San Luis Valley, lie along theRio Grande Rift,a major tectonic feature. SeeRift.
The Rocky Mountains within Colorado contain 54 peaks that are 14,000 ft (4,300 m) or higher, known asfourteeners.[10]The mountains are timbered withconifersandaspento thetree line,at an elevation of about 12,000 ft (3,700 m) in southern Colorado to about 10,500 ft (3,200 m) in northern Colorado; above this only alpine vegetation grows. The Rockies are snow-covered only in the winter; most snow melts by mid-August with the exception of a few small glaciers. TheColorado Mineral Belt,stretching from theSan Juan Mountainsin the southwest toBoulderandCentral Cityon the front range, contains most of the historic gold and silvermining districtsof Colorado.
The Western Slope is generally drained by the Colorado River and its tributaries. Notable to the south are theSan Juan Mountains,an extremely rugged mountain range, and to the west of the San Juans, theColorado Plateau,a high desert extending into neighboring states.Grand Junctionis the largest city on the Western Slope. Grand Junction is served byInterstate Highway 70.To the southeast of Grand Junction isGrand Mesa,a large flat-topped desert mountain. Further east are theski resortcommunities ofAspen,Vail,Crested Butte,andSteamboat Springs.The northwestern corner of Colorado bordering Northern Utah and Western Wyoming is mostly sparsely populated rangeland.
From west to east, the state consists of desert basins, desert canyons and mesas, turning into desert plateaus, then alpine mountains, and then the grasslands of the High Plains. Mount Elbert is the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains of North America. The famousPikes Peakis just west ofColorado Springs.Its lone peak is visible from near the Kansas border on clear days.
Climate statistics for selected cities
[edit]| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record high °F (°C) | 76 (24) |
80 (27) |
84 (29) |
90 (32) |
95 (35) |
105 (41) |
105 (41) |
105 (41) |
101 (38) |
90 (32) |
81 (27) |
79 (26) |
105 (41) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 65.0 (18.3) |
67.1 (19.5) |
74.7 (23.7) |
80.8 (27.1) |
88.3 (31.3) |
96.5 (35.8) |
99.6 (37.6) |
96.9 (36.1) |
92.9 (33.8) |
84.1 (28.9) |
73.6 (23.1) |
65.3 (18.5) |
100.6 (38.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 44.6 (7.0) |
45.7 (7.6) |
55.7 (13.2) |
61.7 (16.5) |
71.2 (21.8) |
83.4 (28.6) |
89.9 (32.2) |
87.5 (30.8) |
79.6 (26.4) |
65.3 (18.5) |
52.9 (11.6) |
44.0 (6.7) |
65.1 (18.4) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 31.7 (−0.2) |
32.7 (0.4) |
41.6 (5.3) |
47.8 (8.8) |
57.4 (14.1) |
68.2 (20.1) |
75.1 (23.9) |
72.9 (22.7) |
64.8 (18.2) |
51.1 (10.6) |
39.4 (4.1) |
31.2 (−0.4) |
51.2 (10.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 18.7 (−7.4) |
19.7 (−6.8) |
27.5 (−2.5) |
33.9 (1.1) |
43.6 (6.4) |
53.0 (11.7) |
60.2 (15.7) |
58.3 (14.6) |
50.0 (10.0) |
37.0 (2.8) |
26.0 (−3.3) |
18.4 (−7.6) |
37.2 (2.9) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −3.8 (−19.9) |
−1.5 (−18.6) |
9.5 (−12.5) |
19.8 (−6.8) |
30.2 (−1.0) |
41.9 (5.5) |
51.4 (10.8) |
48.8 (9.3) |
35.9 (2.2) |
19.6 (−6.9) |
5.4 (−14.8) |
−3.4 (−19.7) |
−11 (−24) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −29 (−34) |
−25 (−32) |
−11 (−24) |
−2 (−19) |
19 (−7) |
30 (−1) |
42 (6) |
40 (4) |
17 (−8) |
−2 (−19) |
−18 (−28) |
−25 (−32) |
−29 (−34) |
| Averageprecipitationinches (mm) | 0.38 (9.7) |
0.41 (10) |
0.86 (22) |
1.68 (43) |
2.16 (55) |
1.94 (49) |
2.14 (54) |
1.58 (40) |
1.35 (34) |
0.99 (25) |
0.64 (16) |
0.35 (8.9) |
14.48 (368) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 6.4 (16) |
7.6 (19) |
8.8 (22) |
6.2 (16) |
1.4 (3.6) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.8 (2.0) |
3.9 (9.9) |
7.3 (19) |
6.6 (17) |
49.0 (124) |
| Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 3.8 (9.7) |
4.7 (12) |
4.0 (10) |
2.2 (5.6) |
0.5 (1.3) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.25) |
2.0 (5.1) |
4.1 (10) |
5.3 (13) |
9.0 (23) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 4.4 | 5.5 | 6.2 | 9.0 | 10.4 | 8.1 | 8.3 | 7.5 | 6.0 | 5.3 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 79.7 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 5.0 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 31.4 |
| Averagerelative humidity(%) | 55.2 | 55.8 | 53.7 | 49.6 | 51.7 | 49.3 | 47.8 | 49.3 | 50.1 | 49.2 | 56.3 | 56.6 | 52.0 |
| Averagedew point°F (°C) | 12.7 (−10.7) |
16.2 (−8.8) |
19.9 (−6.7) |
26.2 (−3.2) |
35.8 (2.1) |
43.5 (6.4) |
48.4 (9.1) |
47.7 (8.7) |
39.6 (4.2) |
28.6 (−1.9) |
21.0 (−6.1) |
14.2 (−9.9) |
29.5 (−1.4) |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 215.3 | 211.1 | 255.6 | 276.2 | 290.0 | 315.3 | 325.0 | 306.4 | 272.3 | 249.2 | 194.3 | 195.9 | 3,106.6 |
| Mean dailydaylight hours | 9.7 | 10.7 | 12 | 13.3 | 14.4 | 15 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10 | 9.4 | 12.2 |
| Percentpossible sunshine | 72 | 70 | 69 | 69 | 65 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 72 | 65 | 67 | 70 |
| Averageultraviolet index | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Source 1: NOAA (sun, relative humidity and dew point 1961−1990)[11][12][13][14][15] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Weather Atlas (Daylight-Average UV index)[16] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Grand Junction, Colorado (Grand Junction Regional Airport), 1991–2020 normals,[c]extremes 1893–present[d] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 62 (17) |
70 (21) |
81 (27) |
89 (32) |
101 (38) |
105 (41) |
107 (42) |
103 (39) |
100 (38) |
88 (31) |
76 (24) |
66 (19) |
107 (42) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 49.6 (9.8) |
60.0 (15.6) |
72.6 (22.6) |
81.3 (27.4) |
90.9 (32.7) |
99.4 (37.4) |
102.0 (38.9) |
98.6 (37.0) |
93.2 (34.0) |
82.1 (27.8) |
65.3 (18.5) |
51.9 (11.1) |
102.5 (39.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 38.1 (3.4) |
46.4 (8.0) |
58.3 (14.6) |
65.8 (18.8) |
76.8 (24.9) |
89.2 (31.8) |
94.5 (34.7) |
90.9 (32.7) |
81.7 (27.6) |
66.9 (19.4) |
51.8 (11.0) |
38.8 (3.8) |
66.6 (19.2) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 27.7 (−2.4) |
35.3 (1.8) |
45.0 (7.2) |
51.9 (11.1) |
62.0 (16.7) |
73.0 (22.8) |
79.2 (26.2) |
76.3 (24.6) |
67.1 (19.5) |
53.2 (11.8) |
39.6 (4.2) |
28.4 (−2.0) |
53.2 (11.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 17.3 (−8.2) |
24.1 (−4.4) |
31.7 (−0.2) |
38.1 (3.4) |
47.1 (8.4) |
56.8 (13.8) |
63.9 (17.7) |
61.6 (16.4) |
52.5 (11.4) |
39.5 (4.2) |
27.5 (−2.5) |
18.0 (−7.8) |
39.8 (4.3) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 3.4 (−15.9) |
10.3 (−12.1) |
19.3 (−7.1) |
25.4 (−3.7) |
33.6 (0.9) |
44.3 (6.8) |
54.3 (12.4) |
53.5 (11.9) |
39.2 (4.0) |
25.4 (−3.7) |
13.8 (−10.1) |
2.8 (−16.2) |
−1.3 (−18.5) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −23 (−31) |
−21 (−29) |
5 (−15) |
11 (−12) |
24 (−4) |
34 (1) |
44 (7) |
43 (6) |
28 (−2) |
6 (−14) |
−4 (−20) |
−21 (−29) |
−23 (−31) |
| Averageprecipitationinches (mm) | 0.61 (15) |
0.53 (13) |
0.80 (20) |
0.98 (25) |
0.83 (21) |
0.41 (10) |
0.59 (15) |
0.92 (23) |
1.19 (30) |
0.99 (25) |
0.61 (15) |
0.60 (15) |
9.06 (230) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 4.5 (11) |
2.9 (7.4) |
1.8 (4.6) |
0.9 (2.3) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.4 (1.0) |
1.9 (4.8) |
5.2 (13) |
17.7 (44.35) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 6.3 | 6.1 | 6.7 | 7.1 | 6.4 | 3.4 | 4.8 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.2 | 5.4 | 6.1 | 71.6 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 4.6 | 3.5 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 18.1 |
| Averagerelative humidity(%) | 69.7 | 60.4 | 50.1 | 40.3 | 36.3 | 29.4 | 33.5 | 36.6 | 38.8 | 45.6 | 58.5 | 68.0 | 47.3 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 192.3 | 204.4 | 240.9 | 278.0 | 328.5 | 359.3 | 356.2 | 329.8 | 292.2 | 255.1 | 186.9 | 180.0 | 3,203.6 |
| Percentpossible sunshine | 63 | 68 | 65 | 70 | 74 | 81 | 79 | 78 | 78 | 74 | 62 | 61 | 72 |
| Source: NOAA (sun 1961–1990)[17][18] | |||||||||||||
See also
[edit]
- Index of Colorado-related articles
- Colorado geographic regions
- List of cities and towns in Colorado
- List of Colorado fourteeners
- List of counties in Colorado
- List of drainage basins in Colorado
- List of mountain passes in Colorado
- List of mountain peaks of Colorado
- List of mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains
- List of mountain ranges of Colorado
- List of rivers of Colorado
- List of waterfalls of Colorado
Notes
[edit]- ^Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the highest and lowest temperature readings during an entire month or year) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
- ^The official weather records for Denver were recorded inDowntown Denverfrom January 1872 to December 1949, atStapleton International Airportfrom January 1950 to February 1995, and atDenver International Airportsince March 1995.
- ^Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1981 to 2010.
- ^Official records for Grand Junction were kept at downtown from January 1893 to December 1899 and at Grand Junction Regional Airport since January 1900. For more information, seeThreadEx.
References
[edit]- ^"An Act to provide a temporary Government for the Territory of Colorado"(PDF).Thirty-sixth United States Congress.February 28, 1861.RetrievedNovember 15,2018.
- ^"U.S. Reports: New Mexico v. Colorado, 267 U.S. 30 (1925)".Library of Congress.Retrieved16 November2018.
- ^"Colorado is NOT a perfect rectangle".Fascinating Maps. Archived fromthe originalon June 17, 2019.RetrievedNovember 15,2018.
- ^ab"Colorado is a rectangle? Think again".The Big Think, Inc.RetrievedNovember 15,2018.
- ^"Shared Solution: Four Corners".NGS Survey Monument Data Sheet.United States National Geodetic Survey.2003-05-07.
- ^The officialFour Corners Monumentis located at36°59'56.31591″N,109°2'42.62064 "W,a short distance east of the37°N,109°02'48 "WlocationCongressoriginally designated.
- ^"MOUNT ELBERT".NGS Data Sheet.National Geodetic Survey,National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,United States Department of Commerce.RetrievedDecember 18,2014.
- ^State of Colorado."Colorado State Archives Geography Page".Colorado Department of Personnel & Administration.State of Colorado.Retrieved22 September2012.
- ^"Highest and Lowest Elevations | U.S. Geological Survey".
- ^Blake, Kevin S. 2002. Colorado Fourteeners and the Nature of Place Identity.Geographical Review92(2): 155-179.
- ^"NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data".National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Retrieved2012-04-01.
- ^"Summary of Monthly Normals 1991–2020".National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.RetrievedMay 6,2021.
- ^"Station Name: CO DENVER-STAPLETON".National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Retrieved2014-03-13.
- ^"Threaded Climate Extremes for Denver Area, CO".National Weather Service.Retrieved2012-02-10.
- ^"WMO Climate Normals for DENVER/STAPLETON INT'L AP CO 1961–1990".National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Retrieved2020-07-18.
- ^"Denver, Colorado, USA - Monthly weather forecast and Climate data".Weather Atlas. Archived fromthe originalon February 23, 2020.RetrievedMay 8,2021.
- ^"NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data".National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.RetrievedJuly 11,2020.
- ^"U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access".National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.RetrievedSeptember 1,2022.