8977) near Ouray; of the Elk and
Sawatch ranges at Fremont (11,320), Tennessee (10,229), and Breckenridge
(11,470) passes, and the Busk Tunnel, all near Leadville; and Marshall
Pass (10,846) above Salida. Perhaps finer than these for their
wide-horizoned outlooks and grand surroundings are the Alpine Tunnel
under the continental divide of the Lower Sawatch chain, the scenery of
the tortuous line along the southern boundary in the Conejos and San
Juan mountains, which are crossed at Cumbres (10,003 ft.), and the
magnificent scenery about Ouray and on the Silverton railway over the
shoulder of Red Mountain (attaining 11,235 ft.). Notable, too, is the
road in Clear Creek Canyon--where the railway track coils six times upon
itself above Georgetown at an altitude of 10,000 ft.

_Climate._--The climate of Colorado is exceptional for regularity and
salubrity. The mean annual temperature for the state is about 46 deg.
The mean yearly isothermals crossing the state are ordinarily 35 deg. to
50 deg. or 55 deg. F. Their course, owing to the complex orography of
the state, is necessarily extremely irregular, and few climatic
generalizations can be made. It can be said, however, that the
south-east is the warmest portion of the state, lying as it does without
the mountains; that the north-central region is usually coldest; that
the normal yearly rainfall for the entire state is about 15.5 in., with
great local variations (rarely above 27 in.). Winds are constant and
rather high (5 to 10 m.), and for many persons are the most trying
feature of the climate. Very intense cold prevails of course in winter
in the mountains, and intense heat (110 deg. F. or more in the shade) is
often experienced in summer, temperatures above 90 deg. being very
common. The locality of least annual thermometric range is Lake Moraine
(10,268 ft. above the sea)--normally 91 deg. F.; at other localities the
range may be as great as 140 deg., and for the whole state of course
even greater (155 deg. or slightly more). The lowest monthly mean in 16
years (1887-1903) was 17.30. Nevertheless, the climate of Colorado is
not to be judged severe, and that of the plains region is in many ways
ideal. In the lowlands the snow is always slight and it disappears
almost immediately, even in the very foothills of the mountains, as at
Denver or Colorado Springs. However hot the summer day, its night is
always cool and dewless. Between July and October there is little rain,
d