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Show These detailed zone descriptions have important uses. They are helpful in planning research projects. Particularly, they will be of value to the field man reconnoitering areas, either developed or proposed for development, and setting up safety plans. Comparative climate data for the three zones is available for three years - 1949- 50, 1950- 51, and 1951- 52. Figures 3 to 6 illustrate these comparisons. Comparative Snow Data Table and Graph Self- explanatory. See Figures 3 and 4. Comparative Temperatures Jfeximum- Minimum - Figure 5. Compiled for the year 1951- 52 only. On the maximum curve the fluctuations are wide with considerable crossing and re- crossing as far as Alta and Stevens Pass are concerned. Berthoud Pass maximums are consistently lower. Alta had five weeks during the season when the temperature did not rise above freezing; Stevens Pass had six; Berthoud Pass had fourteen. Alta had the highest maximum temperature in thirteen weeks of the season; Stevens Pass, seven; Berthoud Pass, none. On the minimum curve Alta had twelve weeks during the season when the temperature fell to zero or below; Stevens Pass had two weeks; Berthoud Pass had sixteen weeks. The minimum curves do not cross at any point. Stevens Pass was always high; Berthoud Pass was always low. Comparative Mean Temperature - Figure 6 The data are compiled for two years - 1950- 51 and 1951- 52. The mean temperatures for Alta and Stevens Pass follow each other rather closely. The Berthoud Pass mean is consistently below the others. Comparisons based on so short a period of time are not particularly conclusive. The coastal alpine zone had less seasonal snowfall than Alta, for instance. The difficulty here is that Stevens Pass data for 1950- 51 are fragmentary and of doubtful value while 1951- 52 was a below- average- snowfall winter compared to a record snow winter for Alta and Berthoud Pass. The temperature data are probably the most revealing although on a long-term basis we would expect to find the Stevens Pass maximums running above those for Alta. In general, the characteristics of the coastal and the middle alpine zones seem to be fairly similar, while those of the high alpine zone are markedly different. - 19 - |