Studying the temporal and spatial variations of snow cover is extremely important
for the planning and management of snow basins. The MOD10A2 product was
used to evaluate the area covered by snow and its temporal variation in the upper
Colorado river basin from 2000 to 2018. Snow covered area and snow accumulation
attributes (average and most frequent dates of beginning, end and relative range)
were calculated and analyzed during the 19 years of analysis. In addition, temporal
evolutions were classified by years with:i) fusion slower than accumulation; ii)
double point of maximum accumulation; and iii) accumulation slower than fusion.
The maximum snow covered area was 13.316 km 2 in June 2018, representing almost
96 % of total basin area, followed by July 2017 (13.281 km 2 ) and the minimum of
15 km 2 in February 2011. On average, snow accumulation begins on the week of
March 15 and the maximum occurs on the week of July 23. This analysis represents
the longest set of snowfall information estimated using satellite information for
the Colorado basin. In context of climatic variability, the use of this information
constitutes a valuable tool for monitoring snow periodically, in real time and in
large areas of low accessibility.