Rio Grande National Forest
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Liberty Road (Rio Grande National Forest))
| Rio Grande National Forest | |
|---|---|
|
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)
|
|
,_Colo.jpg) Stony Pass jeep road, east of Silverton, Colorado. Spectacular scenery along this old wagon road over Stony Pass (12,588 feet), at the edge of the Weminuche Wilderness |
|
 |
|
| Location | Colorado, USA |
| Nearest city | Alamosa, CO |
| Coordinates | 37°44′24″N 106°50′07″W / 37.74°N 106.8352°WCoordinates: 37°44′24″N 106°50′07″W / 37.74°N 106.8352°W |
| Area | 1,860,000 acres (7,500 km2) |
| Established | 1 July 1908 |
| Governing body | U.S. Forest Service |
| Official website | |
Rio Grande National Forest is a 1.86 million acre (7,530 km²) [1] U.S. National Forest located in southwestern Colorado. The forest encompasses the San Luis Valley, which is the world's largest agricultural alpine valley, as well as one of the worlds largest high deserts located around mountains. The Continental Divide runs along most of the forest's western border.[1] The forest lies in parts of nine counties. In descending order of land area within the forest they are Saguache, Mineral, Conejos, Rio Grande, Hinsdale, San Juan, Alamosa, Archuleta, and Custer counties. Forest headquarters are located in Monte Vista, Colorado. There are local ranger district offices in Del Norte, La Jara, and Saguache.[2]
Contents |
Wilderness areas [edit]
There are four officially designated wilderness areas lying within Rio Grande National Forest that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. All of them extend partially into neighboring National Forests, and one of these also onto National Park Service land (as indicated).
- La Garita Wilderness (mostly in Gunnison NF)
- Sangre de Cristo Wilderness (the largest part in San Isabel NF; also partly in Great Sand Dunes National Park)
- South San Juan Wilderness (partly in San Juan NF)
- Weminuche Wilderness (mostly in San Juan NF)
Climate [edit]
| Climate data for Platoro Dam Weather Station (Elevation 9,860ft) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 52 (11) |
55 (13) |
55 (13) |
62 (17) |
73 (23) |
80 (27) |
81 (27) |
78 (26) |
77 (25) |
72 (22) |
63 (17) |
51 (11) |
81 (27) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 31.3 (−0.4) |
35.6 (2) |
38.5 (3.6) |
45.6 (7.6) |
54.5 (12.5) |
66.2 (19) |
69.8 (21) |
67.9 (19.9) |
63.2 (17.3) |
54.5 (12.5) |
41.8 (5.4) |
32.3 (0.2) |
50.1 (10.1) |
| Average low °F (°C) | −7.0 (−21.7) |
−3.0 (−19.4) |
5.0 (−15) |
17.0 (−8.3) |
24.8 (−4) |
30.4 (−0.9) |
36.2 (2.3) |
36.2 (2.3) |
27.6 (−2.4) |
19.9 (−6.7) |
9.7 (−12.4) |
−5.2 (−20.7) |
16.0 (−8.9) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −38 (−39) |
−48 (−44) |
−24 (−31) |
−14 (−26) |
2 (−17) |
14 (−10) |
24 (−4) |
24 (−4) |
14 (−10) |
−4 (−20) |
−20 (−29) |
−36 (−38) |
−48 (−44) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 2.30 (58.4) |
2.16 (54.9) |
3.57 (90.7) |
1.80 (45.7) |
1.39 (35.3) |
1.02 (25.9) |
3.14 (79.8) |
3.21 (81.5) |
2.08 (52.8) |
1.54 (39.1) |
2.68 (68.1) |
2.20 (55.9) |
27.10 (688.3) |
| Snowfall inches (cm) | 27.8 (70.6) |
39.1 (99.3) |
54.2 (137.7) |
19.5 (49.5) |
8.1 (20.6) |
0.1 (0.3) |
0.0 (0) |
0 (0) |
1.6 (4.1) |
8.5 (21.6) |
39.2 (99.6) |
39.2 (99.6) |
237.3 (602.7) |
| Source: [3] | |||||||||||||
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b USDA Forest Service, Rio Grande National Forest
- ^ USFS Ranger Districts by State
- ^ "Seasonal Temperature and Precipitation Information". Western Regional Climate Center. March 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
External links [edit]
| Find more about Rio Grande National Forest at Wikipedia's sister projects | |
 |
Definitions and translations from Wiktionary |
 |
Media from Commons |
 |
Learning resources from Wikiversity |
 |
News stories from Wikinews |
 |
Quotations from Wikiquote |
 |
Source texts from Wikisource |
 |
Textbooks from Wikibooks |
 |
Travel information from Wikivoyage |
- Rio Grande National Forest (United States Forest Service)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
This Colorado state location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
| This article related to a protected area in Colorado is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Categories:
- IUCN Category VI
- Rio Grande National Forest
- National Forests of Colorado
- Protected areas of Mineral County, Colorado
- Protected areas of Conejos County, Colorado
- Protected areas of Rio Grande County, Colorado
- Protected areas of Hinsdale County, Colorado
- Protected areas of San Juan County, Colorado
- Protected areas of Alamosa County, Colorado
- Protected areas of Saguache County, Colorado
- Protected areas of Archuleta County, Colorado
- Protected areas of Custer County, Colorado
- Colorado geography stubs
- Colorado protected area stubs
