| John Martin Reservoir State Park | |
|---|---|
 A view of the dam, near one of the park's campgrounds. | |
  | |
| Location | Bent County, Colorado, USA |
| Nearest city | Las Animas, CO |
| Coordinates | 38°04′29″N 102°55′50″W / 38.07472°N 102.93056°W |
| 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.
- ^ "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[ permanent dead link]
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "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.
