Los Alamos is situated on the Pajarito Plateau on the eastern flank of the Jemez Mountains. The 13 mile wide Valles Caldera is the collapsed center of the volcano rimmed by peaks that can exceed 11,000 feet. At 7,500 feet, Los Alamos is in the transition between the mountain peaks above, and the Rio Grande River valley below, which bottoms out at about 5,400 feet. Owing to the altitude, temperatures rarely exceed 90 degrees. Average yearly precipitation is about 19 inches while the average winter snowfall is 14 inches in town and over 100 inches a year on Pajarito Mountain, the local ski area.