Geologic And Hydrologic Factors Governing ... - Gunnison County

Geologic And Hydrologic Factors Governing Impacts Of Development
On The Crystal River Near Marble, Colorado
Gunnison County, Colorado
high-mountain watershed rising to above 12,000 feet. The subject ski area filings are typically well-
covered with fairly dense vegetation on land with slopes often over 30 percent.
4.1 Precipitation
Official detailed long-term weather records are not available for the Marble area. However, the
Colorado Climate Center data indicates Marble precipitation to be similar to the Redstone Weather
Station. The precipitation characteristics of that station are presented in Table 1 for 1992, 1993, and
for an estimated average year. The average year is portrayed graphically in Figure 1 below. These
data indicate that precipitation at Marble averages about 26 inches per year of which approximately
one-half occurs as snowfall.
Month
Precipitation
(inches)
TABLE 1
REDSTONE WEATHER STATION PRECIPITATION
Year 1992 (1) Year 1993 (2) Average Year (3)
Monthly
Distribution
(percent)
Precipitation
(inches)
Monthly
Distribution
(percent)
Precipitation
(inches)
Monthly
Distribution
(percent)
Jan. 0.61 0.03 3.32 0.11 1.97 0.070
Feb. 1.74 0.08 5.04 0.17 3.39 0.123
Mar. 3.04 0.13 1.82 0.06 2.43 0.097
Apr. 1.05 0.05 2.54 0.09 1.80 0.066
May 2.39 0.10 3.43 0.12 2.91 0.110
Jun. 0.54 0.02 1.10 0.04 0.82 0.030
Jul. 2.25 0.10 1.38 0.05 1.82 0.072
Aug. 3.21 0.14 2.31 0.08 2.76 0.109
Sept. 1.16 0.05 1.93 0.07 1.55 0.058
Oct. 1.57 0.07 2.82 0.10 2.20 0.082
Nov. 3.48 0.15 2.88 0.10 3.18 0.124
Dec. 2.03 0.09 0.86 0.03 1.45 0.059
Total 23.07 100.00 29.43 100.00 26.25 100.00
(1) 1992 precipitation was slightly below normal.
(2) 1993 precipitation was slightly above normal.
(3) The average of 1992 and 1993 of 26.25 inches is similar to the average annual precipitation shown for Redstone on the
Colorado Climate Center isohyetal map of precipitation.
951-110.000 Wright Water Engineers, Inc. Page 19