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<br />0820 The various forks of Parachute Creek drop into deep canyons <br />where the streams cut through the Mahogany ledge, and the <br />canyon of the East Fork extends about one mile into the west <br />, side of the Reserve. <br />. <br /> <br />Relief from the valley bottom to the adjacent ridge top is <br />600 to 800 feet. Elevations in the Reserve vary from 9,286 <br />feet above sea level on the southeast rim (the highest point <br />in the Piceance basin) to about 8,200 feet on the ridges and <br />about 7,600 feet in the valleys along the western boundary. <br />The valley of the East Fork of Parachute Creek drops to <br />6,640 feet above sea level below the falls. <br /> <br />Most of the larger drainages carry water in the spring dur- <br /> <br />ing and after snowmelt, but Northwater Creek and the East <br /> <br />Fork of Parachute Creek are probably the only permanent <br /> <br /> <br />streams on the Reserve. A number of springs are mapped on <br /> <br />recent topographic quadrangles and many more undoubtedly <br /> <br /> <br />exist on other parts of the Reserve, especially along the <br /> <br />upper reaches of the permanent streams and along the face of <br /> <br />the Roan Cliffs. Most of these springs are low volume. at <br /> <br />best, and many of them probably go dry by midsummer. <br /> <br />Principal vegetation communities on the Reserve include open <br /> <br />grasslands, dense thickets of scrub oak and mountain mahog- <br /> <br />any, extensive aspen groves, and relatively minor stands of <br /> <br />Douglas fir. Each of these communities has a preferred <br /> <br />habitat depending upon soil, moisture, and slope exposure, <br /> <br />among other things. <br /> <br />The only land uses to the present time have been big-game <br />hunting and cattle and sheep ranching. Experimental oil <br />shale mining has been carried out on at the Anvil Points and <br />Rulison facilities on or near the south side of the Reserv~. <br /> <br />11 1-2 <br />