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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 3.0 GEOGRAPHY The Southern High Plains Ground Water Designated Basin lies primarily within the High Plains section of the Great Plains physiographic province. In Las Animas and Saca counties, surface water flows southward toward the Cimarron River. In southeastern Prowers and the northern part of Baca, drainages flow to the east and northeast to Bear Creek and other tributaries. Along the Colorado and Kansas border of the Basin, the elevation ranges from about 3485 feet where the Cimarron River exits the District to 3680 feet above sea level near the northeastern side of the District. Elevations along the western edge of Baca County are about 5200 feet near the northern boundary of the District. From here, the topography slopes gently down to the east at approximately 30 feet per mile, with about 1700 feet of relief. Most of the streams crossing this nearly flat plain are ephemeral and create gentle hills on the intervening divides. Two Buttes is an exception to the gentle topography of the plains with a prominent cone-shaped hill created by a Tertiary volcanic intrusion. The canyon created by Two Butte Creek south of the dome has been dammed by the Bureau of Reclamation, creating Two Buttes Reservoir, the only significant body of surface water in Baca County and the source of the Two Buttes Canal System. Broad sandstone-capped mesas in Las Animas County are part of the Colorado Piedmont province. They are the highest landforms in the Basin with elevations up to 5800 feet. Deeply-eroded and steep-walled canyons and channels carry runoff from the mesas to the Cimarron River in New Mexico and Oklahoma. In stark contrast to the flat eastern plains of the District, the mesas are capped by an abundance of coniferous trees. In the far southwest portion of the Basin, a small topographic high not dissected by deep canyons or ravines, may be an important area of recharge for the aquifers in the Basin. 111-1