Colorado Water History

Colorado's largest reservoir is its snowpack. With significant dependence on mountain snowfall by not only Colorado but other western states, monitoring, measuring, and making snowmelt predictions have developed over the years, to benefit irrigators, municipal water providers, industry, and hydropower.

With an increase in outdoor recreation following World War II, monitoring and predicting avalanches also became more important.

On this page, find information about books and archival collections documenting Colorado snow history, along with a list of related organizations.

Photo: Trail Ridge Road, Ralph Parshall and Park Ranger Jones, May 1941. From the Groundwater Data Collection.

Colorado Encylopedia: Snow

Drummond, Alexander. Enos Mills: Citizen of Nature. Niwot: University Press of Colorado, 1995.

Helms, Douglas, Steven E. Phillips, and Paul F. Reich, eds. The History of Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting: Interviews with U.S. Department of Agriculture Pioneers. Historical Notes 8. Washington: USDA NRCS, 2008.

Mills, Enos, letters of 1903-1904, Records of the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station, Agricultural and Natural Resources Archive.

Papers of Whitney M. Borland
A Bureau of Reclamation engineer, Whitney Borland (1905-2001) focused his research on sedimentation and hydraulics but also studied avalanches. Related materials in his collection consist of reports and publications on the subjects of snow and ice, including avalanches, as well as a set of Borland's own reports which present his data and observations on snow conditions causing avalanches in the ski areas and highways around Denver.

Groundwater Data Collection
CSU's strength in groundwater research evolved naturally from the state's early residents needing information on irrigated agriculture. The collection includes slides of Ralph Parshall and other men conducting snow surveys.

Irrigation Research Papers
In 1911, the Irrigation Investigations Unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture was established in Fort Collins in conjunction with Colorado Agricultural College (now CSU). Engineers within the unit, including Ralph Parshall, conducted snow-related research, including on snow surveying and water supply forecasting. Related documents include letters, proceedings, and photographs.

Papers of E. Bruce Jones
E. Bruce Jones (1933-2013) spent most of his life working as a consulting engineer in Wyoming and Colorado. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he worked on the development of an airborne passive gamma snow measurement system. The collection contains a number of reports related to this.

Papers of James R. Meiman
Jim Meiman (b. 1933), Professor Emeritus of Earth Resources (Watershed Science) at Colorado State University, is best known for his pioneering research in watershed science and snow hydrology. His collection contains documentation of his teaching and research in these areas, including research notes and reports for studies conducted at Pingree Park (now, CSU's Mountain Campus) on the Little South Poudre Watershed.

Photographs of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Colorado Snow Survey Program
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) operates under the U.S. Department of Agriculture and was known as the Soil Conservation Service prior to 1994. Colorado's network of snow survey courses dates to the early 1930s with Ralph Parshall as one of the state's earliest snow survey supervisors. The collection consists of slides, photographs, and films of snow survey sites and equipment, agency employees, and public outreach events.

Ralph L. Parshall Collection
Ralph Parshall (1881-1959) contributed to the field of irrigation engineering in a number of ways, including helping establish snow surveying in the West. His son Maxwell (1907-1996) was also involved. Related documents in the collection include reports, data, photographs, and a film.

Papers of the National Water Resources Association
The National Water Resources Association is comprised of the water users of seventeen western states. It was known as the National Reclamation Association from 1932 until 1970. Documentation of the organization's interest in and support of snow surveying can be found through searching the digitized collection materials.

Papers of Daryl B. Simons
Daryl Simons (1918-2005) was a professor of civil engineering at Colorado State University. His files include documentation of a decade-long snow survey photography project that involved both Ralph and Max Parshall.