We model the annual incoming solar radiation topoclimatology for the Rio Grande River basin in Colorado, U.S.A. Hourly pyranometer measurements are combined with satellite reflectance data and 30 m digital elevation models within a topographic solar radiation algorithm. Our results show that there is large spatial variability within the basin, even at an annual integration length, but the annual, basin-wide mean is close to that measured by the pyranometers. The variance within 16 km2 and 100 km2 regions is a linear function of the average slope in the region, suggesting a possible parameterization for sub-grid cell variability. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1992