North Clear Creek Falls is a waterfall in Hinsdale County, Colorado, located within the Rio Grande National Forest. North Clear Creek is a tributary of the Rio Grande. The waterfall flows over a deck of Nelson Mountain tuff,[2] solidified ash from a volcano in the San Juan volcanic field that erupted about 27 million years ago.[3]
| North Clear Creek Falls | |
|---|---|
.JPG){kind=spacer} The falls in autumn, 2018 | |
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| Location | Hinsdale County, Colorado |
| Coordinates | 37°50′57″N 107°9′1.18″W / 37.84917°N 107.1503278°W[1] |
| Type | segmented, horsetail |
| Elevation | 10,013 feet (3,052 meters) |
| Number of drops | 1 |
| Watercourse | North Clear Creek |
Overlook
editAn overlook area with a parking lot and a short trail is located about a half-mile from Colorado State Highway 149 on a paved county road. Visitors can observe and photograph the waterfall from the overlook site. It features picnic tables and a vault toilet. The site is wheelchair accessible and features a trail to the top of a nearby bluff.[4][5]
Climate
editThe Santa Maria Reservoir weather station is roughly 3 miles (4.83 km) south of North Clear Creek Falls. Santa Maria Reservoir has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc).
| Climate data for Santa Maria Reservoir, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals, 2006-2020 snowfall: 9687ft (2953m) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 55 (13) |
56 (13) |
60 (16) |
67 (19) |
73 (23) |
84 (29) |
83 (28) |
80 (27) |
79 (26) |
73 (23) |
63 (17) |
53 (12) |
84 (29) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 48 (9) |
50 (10) |
54 (12) |
61 (16) |
68 (20) |
78 (26) |
79 (26) |
76 (24) |
74 (23) |
67 (19) |
59 (15) |
48 (9) |
79 (26) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 34.8 (1.6) |
36.4 (2.4) |
41.8 (5.4) |
47.6 (8.7) |
57.9 (14.4) |
68.1 (20.1) |
72.5 (22.5) |
69.7 (20.9) |
64.3 (17.9) |
54.8 (12.7) |
42.9 (6.1) |
33.8 (1.0) |
52.0 (11.1) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 18.3 (−7.6) |
19.9 (−6.7) |
26.8 (−2.9) |
33.2 (0.7) |
42.3 (5.7) |
51.1 (10.6) |
56.4 (13.6) |
54.3 (12.4) |
48.5 (9.2) |
38.7 (3.7) |
28.0 (−2.2) |
18.0 (−7.8) |
36.3 (2.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 1.7 (−16.8) |
3.4 (−15.9) |
11.7 (−11.3) |
18.8 (−7.3) |
26.6 (−3.0) |
34.1 (1.2) |
40.2 (4.6) |
38.8 (3.8) |
32.6 (0.3) |
22.6 (−5.2) |
13.1 (−10.5) |
2.1 (−16.6) |
20.5 (−6.4) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −16 (−27) |
−15 (−26) |
−7 (−22) |
5 (−15) |
15 (−9) |
25 (−4) |
33 (1) |
32 (0) |
22 (−6) |
8 (−13) |
−5 (−21) |
−16 (−27) |
−19 (−28) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −29 (−34) |
−20 (−29) |
−13 (−25) |
−2 (−19) |
4 (−16) |
21 (−6) |
27 (−3) |
28 (−2) |
14 (−10) |
−5 (−21) |
−16 (−27) |
−23 (−31) |
−29 (−34) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.09 (28) |
1.14 (29) |
1.05 (27) |
1.55 (39) |
1.02 (26) |
0.83 (21) |
2.31 (59) |
2.97 (75) |
2.13 (54) |
1.51 (38) |
0.91 (23) |
1.05 (27) |
17.56 (446) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 15.3 (39) |
16.1 (41) |
14.6 (37) |
10.3 (26) |
5.3 (13) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
trace | 1.2 (3.0) |
5.6 (14) |
12.0 (30) |
20.0 (51) |
100.4 (254) |
| Source 1: NOAA[6] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: XMACIS (snowfall, records & monthly max/mins)[7] | |||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ "North Clear Creek Falls". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ "North Clear Creek Falls". World of waterfalls. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
- ^ Blair, Rob (2011). The eastern San Juan Mountains : their geology, ecology, and human history. Boulder, Colo: University Press of Colorado Mountain Studies Institute/San Juan Collaboratory. ISBN 978-1-60732-084-5. OCLC 758823260.
- ^ "North Clear Creek Falls Observation Site". Rio Grande National Forest. United States. Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
- ^ "North Clear Creek Falls Overlook". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ "Santa Maria Reservoir, Colorado 1991-2020 Monthly Normals". Retrieved November 3, 2023.
- ^ "xmACIS". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved November 3, 2023.