John Martin Reservoir State Park
| John Martin Reservoir State Park | |
|---|---|
 A view of the dam, near one of the park's campgrounds. | |
  | |
| Location | Bent County, Colorado, U.S. |
| Nearest city | Las Animas, Colorado |
| Coordinates | 38°04′29″N102°55′50″W / 38.07472°N 102.93056°W / 38.07472; -102.93056 |
| Area | 13,176 acres (53.32 km2) |
| Established | 2001 |
| Visitors | 293,698 (in 2021)[1] |
| Governing body | Colorado Parks and Wildlife |
John Martin Reservoir State Park is a state park in Colorado.[2] It contains John Martin Reservoir, which is the second largest body of water in Colorado by capacity.[3] It is also known for being a prime birdwatching location.[4]Bent County, Colorado has been documented to have over 400 different species of birds.[5] The namesake reservoir of the park is created by a 118-foot tall (36 m) and 2.6-mile long dam (4.2 km), which goes by the name of John Martin Dam.[6]
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials released thirty black-footed ferrets into a prairie dog colony in the nearby Southern Planes Preserve in 2022.[7]
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, John Martin Dam has a cold semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded at John Martin Dam was 115 °F (46.1 °C) on July 20, 2019, while the coldest temperature recorded was −27 °F (−32.8 °C) on January 30, 1949, January 18–19, 1984 and February 15, 2021.[8] The 115 °F (46.1 °C) reading is the highest reliably measured temperature ever recorded in the state of Colorado.[9]
| Climate data for John Martin Dam, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1941–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 79(26) | 83(28) | 90(32) | 95(35) | 103(39) | 111(44) | 115(46) | 111(44) | 106(41) | 99(37) | 87(31) | 79(26) | 115(46) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 66.7(19.3) | 72.4(22.4) | 82.9(28.3) | 88.5(31.4) | 96.3(35.7) | 103.5(39.7) | 105.8(41.0) | 102.8(39.3) | 99.5(37.5) | 91.5(33.1) | 78.7(25.9) | 67.5(19.7) | 107.0(41.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 46.3(7.9) | 50.3(10.2) | 60.8(16.0) | 69.0(20.6) | 78.7(25.9) | 90.4(32.4) | 94.7(34.8) | 92.2(33.4) | 84.8(29.3) | 71.7(22.1) | 58.1(14.5) | 46.5(8.1) | 70.3(21.3) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 31.3(−0.4) | 35.1(1.7) | 44.8(7.1) | 53.3(11.8) | 63.4(17.4) | 74.6(23.7) | 79.4(26.3) | 77.2(25.1) | 68.8(20.4) | 54.9(12.7) | 42.4(5.8) | 32.0(0.0) | 54.8(12.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 16.3(−8.7) | 19.9(−6.7) | 28.9(−1.7) | 37.7(3.2) | 48.1(8.9) | 58.8(14.9) | 64.0(17.8) | 62.2(16.8) | 52.7(11.5) | 38.0(3.3) | 26.6(−3.0) | 17.5(−8.1) | 39.2(4.0) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −0.6(−18.1) | 2.5(−16.4) | 12.1(−11.1) | 23.0(−5.0) | 33.6(0.9) | 46.2(7.9) | 53.9(12.2) | 51.7(10.9) | 38.7(3.7) | 22.7(−5.2) | 9.1(−12.7) | −0.6(−18.1) | −6.7(−21.5) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −27(−33) | −27(−33) | −22(−30) | 12(−11) | 21(−6) | 37(3) | 45(7) | 35(2) | 18(−8) | −1(−18) | −12(−24) | −22(−30) | −27(−33) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.24(6.1) | 0.28(7.1) | 0.71(18) | 1.23(31) | 1.62(41) | 1.92(49) | 2.35(60) | 2.05(52) | 1.02(26) | 0.98(25) | 0.39(9.9) | 0.36(9.1) | 13.15(334.2) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 1.7(4.3) | 2.4(6.1) | 1.4(3.6) | 0.2(0.51) | 0.0(0.0) | 0.0(0.0) | 0.0(0.0) | 0.0(0.0) | 0.0(0.0) | 0.2(0.51) | 0.9(2.3) | 2.9(7.4) | 9.7(24.72) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 1.8 | 2.1 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 6.7 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 47.5 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 3.8 |
| Source 1: NOAA[10] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service[8] | |||||||||||||
References
- ^"Colorado State Parks Region Annual Visitation Report"(PDF). Colorado Counties, Inc. 2023. Archived from the original(PDF) on January 4, 2024. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
- ^"John Martin Reservoir Home - Colorado State Parks". Archived from the original on July 23, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- ^Jay (March 26, 2014). "Esoteric Adventures: Eastern Colorado Water Adventures". esotericadventures.blogspot.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^Dumas, Tyler (January 12, 2024). "Nearly 80 bald eagles spotted in one day during survey at southeast Colorado reservoir". KRDO. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
- ^http://parks.state.co.us/NR/rdonlyres/498DD8FA-6959-49BA-AB27-382049664EF7/0/JM_Birdlist2313.pdf
- ^"John Martin Reservoir State Park". www.sangres.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^Molseed, Megan (October 22, 2022). "One of North America's Rarest Mammals Released into State Park by Colorado Wildlife Officials". Outsider. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
- ^ ab"NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Pueblo". National Weather Service. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^"State Climate Extremes Committee".
- ^"U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: John Martin Dam, CO". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
External links
