| Rio Grande National Forest | |
|---|---|
%2c_Colo.jpg) Stony Pass jeep road, east ofSilverton, Colorado, along an old wagon road over Stony Pass (12,588 feet), at the edge of theWeminuche Wilderness | |
 Interactive map of Rio Grande National Forest | |
| Location | Colorado, United States |
| Nearest city | Alamosa, CO |
| Coordinates | 37°44′24″N106°50′07″W / 37.74°N 106.8352°W /37.74; -106.8352 |
| Area | 1,860,000 acres (7,500 km2) |
| Established | July 1, 1908 |
| Governing body | U.S. Forest Service |
| Website | Rio Grande National Forest |
Rio Grande National Forest is a 1.86 million-acre (7,530 km2)[1]U.S. national forest located in southwesternColorado. The forest encompasses theSan Luis Valley, which is the world's largestagriculturalalpine valley, as well as one of the world's largest high deserts located around mountains. TheRio Grande rises in the forest, and theContinental Divide runs along most of its western border.[1] The forest lies in parts of nine counties. In descending order of land area within the forest they areSaguache,Mineral,Conejos,Rio Grande,Hinsdale,San Juan,Alamosa,Archuleta, andCuster counties. Forest headquarters are currently located inDel Norte, Colorado.[2] There are localranger district offices inDel Norte,La Jara, andSaguache.[3]
There are four officially designatedwilderness areas lying within Rio Grande National Forest that are part of theNational Wilderness Preservation System. All of them extend partially into neighboring National Forests, and one of these also ontoNational Park Service land (as indicated).
According to theKöppen Climate Classification system, Rio Grande Reservoir has awarm-summer humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded at Rio Grande Reservoir was 89 °F (31.7 °C) on July 6, 1989 and July 14, 2003, while the coldest temperature recorded was −46 °F (−43.3 °C) on December 8, 1978.[4]
| Climate data for Rio Grande Reservoir, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1977–2022 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 56 (13) | 58 (14) | 65 (18) | 71 (22) | 82 (28) | 87 (31) | 89 (32) | 87 (31) | 84 (29) | 84 (29) | 66 (19) | 60 (16) | 89 (32) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 46.6 (8.1) | 50.1 (10.1) | 56.6 (13.7) | 63.6 (17.6) | 72.1 (22.3) | 80.7 (27.1) | 84.2 (29.0) | 81.4 (27.4) | 78.4 (25.8) | 71.8 (22.1) | 58.3 (14.6) | 47.9 (8.8) | 84.9 (29.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 34.4 (1.3) | 36.5 (2.5) | 42.9 (6.1) | 49.8 (9.9) | 59.9 (15.5) | 70.8 (21.6) | 75.6 (24.2) | 73.2 (22.9) | 68.0 (20.0) | 57.6 (14.2) | 43.9 (6.6) | 33.8 (1.0) | 53.9 (12.1) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 15.2 (−9.3) | 17.3 (−8.2) | 25.8 (−3.4) | 34.8 (1.6) | 44.7 (7.1) | 53.4 (11.9) | 59.0 (15.0) | 57.0 (13.9) | 51.3 (10.7) | 41.5 (5.3) | 27.9 (−2.3) | 15.4 (−9.2) | 36.9 (2.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | −4.0 (−20.0) | −2.0 (−18.9) | 8.6 (−13.0) | 19.8 (−6.8) | 29.5 (−1.4) | 36.1 (2.3) | 42.4 (5.8) | 40.9 (4.9) | 34.6 (1.4) | 25.4 (−3.7) | 11.8 (−11.2) | −2.9 (−19.4) | 20.0 (−6.7) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −22.7 (−30.4) | −19.2 (−28.4) | −10.5 (−23.6) | 3.7 (−15.7) | 18.1 (−7.7) | 28.0 (−2.2) | 35.2 (1.8) | 33.5 (0.8) | 23.2 (−4.9) | 11.2 (−11.6) | −5.8 (−21.0) | −20.1 (−28.9) | −25.4 (−31.9) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −42 (−41) | −40 (−40) | −31 (−35) | −28 (−33) | 0 (−18) | 14 (−10) | 24 (−4) | 19 (−7) | 10 (−12) | −4 (−20) | −24 (−31) | −46 (−43) | −46 (−43) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 1.22 (31) | 1.36 (35) | 1.37 (35) | 1.33 (34) | 1.12 (28) | 0.84 (21) | 2.21 (56) | 2.93 (74) | 2.49 (63) | 2.20 (56) | 1.38 (35) | 1.15 (29) | 19.60 (498) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 19.3 (49) | 18.8 (48) | 15.3 (39) | 14.5 (37) | 3.7 (9.4) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.2 (0.51) | 0.5 (1.3) | 7.7 (20) | 15.1 (38) | 12.6 (32) | 107.7 (274.21) |
| Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 18.3 (46) | 18.7 (47) | 15.7 (40) | 10.0 (25) | 2.5 (6.4) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.4 (1.0) | 3.8 (9.7) | 9.3 (24) | 14.2 (36) | 25.8 (66) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 3.8 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 6.4 | 5.7 | 4.2 | 11.0 | 13.1 | 9.0 | 6.1 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 77.3 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 3.3 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 5.3 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 27.6 |
| Source 1: NOAA[5] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service[4] | |||||||||||||
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