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<br />0J <br />O? <br />0J <br />0J <br /> <br />CHAPTER I <br /> <br />GENERAL DISCUSSIONS <br /> <br />Location <br /> <br />The Yellow Jacket Project study area in northwestern Colorado covers <br />about 4,000 square miles, consisting of the entire White River drainage <br />basin within Colorado and the adjacent Milk Creek drainage. The area <br />includes all of Rio Blanca County and small portions of Moffat and Garfield <br />Counties, as shawn on the frontispiece map. Milk Creek is tributary to <br />the Yampa River. The White River drains westward into Utah to join the <br />Green River, a major Colorado River tributary. Other potential projects <br />in the study area are under consideration by private interests, as dis- <br />cussed later in this chapter. <br /> <br />The Milk Creek drainage area is separated from the White River Basin <br />by a law mountain range known as the Danforth Hills. A sharp, distinct <br />ridge known as the Grand Hogback extends south from the Danforth Hills <br />completely across the White River Basin, separating the upper and lower <br />portions. The White River cuts through the Grand Hogback near the town <br />of Meeker where a wide valley extending several miles upstream has been <br />farmed. The valley west of the Grand Hogback includes the irrigable <br />areas of Powell Park and Josephine Basin along the river. The southern <br />part of the project area west of the Grand Hogback lies in the Piceance <br />Creek Basin Anticline which extends beyond the White River drainage. The <br />project area is bordered on the east by the White River Plateau, part of <br />the southern Rocky Mountains. <br /> <br />The project area is sparsely populated, with several rural communi- <br />ties. Of these, only Meeker and Rangely are incorporated. The other com- <br />munities are Buford and Axial. <br /> <br />The area is traversed in a north-south direction by State Highway l3 <br />which connects with major east-west highways at Rifle and Craig. State <br />Highway 64 extends west from Meeker to Rangely. Rifle is on the main line <br />of the Denver and Ria Grande Western Railroad, and Craig is the terminal <br />far a branch line of the railroad. Several major electric transmission <br />lines cross the area from north to south. <br /> <br />Mineral Resources and Development <br /> <br />The project area is located in an energy-rich region of National im- <br />portance, with tremendous deposits of oil shale and coal, and also with <br />petroleum and natural gas in significant quantities. The main areas of <br />coal and ail shale are shawn on the frontispiece map. <br /> <br />4 <br />