Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak Region are part of the arid and semi-arid West, “beyond the 100th meridian.” The shortgrass prairies and plains average 15-25 inches of rain per year, have low humidity, and are very prone to droughts. Being partly in the mild foothills and higher-altitude alpine environments of the Rockies, often sheltered from the most severe weather by mountains and divides, greater Colorado Springs can easily forget its aridity.

Most locals today are unaware that they live so close to the center of the 1930s Dust Bowl. The geographic center was Boise City in the Oklahoma panhandle, close to southeast Colorado. The drought and dust storms of 1935 surrounded the Pike Peak Region. That same year saw a major flash flood of Monument Creek, washing away structures, infrastructure, and 18 lives along Colorado Springs’ streets.

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