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recreational usage, tourism, and winter sports; intensified mining operations for energy producing minerals; the desirability of the region for retirement purposes; and continuing development, especially in the Grand Junction area, will undoubtedly lead to additional pressure being exerted for more use of the flood plains. Mesa County is served by U.S. Highways 6, 24, and 50; Interstate 70; and several State highways. Most of the communities, including the larger ones, are located along the U.S. and Interstate highway sys- tems. General intra-county access is provided by more than 1300 miles of county road. The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad mainline parallels t:he U. S. and Interstate highways from east to west through the county, and a branch line parallels U.S. Highway 50 to the south. Limited railroad passenger service is provided with the bulk of service regulated to handling freight. Bus service is provided by Oontinental Trailways and a few local bus lines. Four major airlines and several commuter-type airlines provide passenger and freight service to Grand Junction. 6i-- -" Mesa County includes two distinct physiographic regions, the Rocky Mountains and the Colorado Plateau. In the eastern part of the county are high, flat-top mountains interspersed with many steep- walled canyons. A wide, gently sloping valley corridored by high, granite-faced cliffs occupies the northwestern sector. In the southwest, the terrain consists of high, rugged mesas and irregularly surfaced plateaus that are separated by deep canyons. A web of streambeds and waterways covers the entire region. The elevation varies from approximately 4500 feet near Fruita in the northwest, to approximately 9000 f,eet in the high mesas to the south, to over 11,000 feet in the m~untains along the southeastern border. ;;.. Mesa County is part of the canyon Lands subdivision of a larger physiographic region known as the Colorado Plateau. Following periods of intense volcanic activity, glaciation, and massive crustal upheavals, during which the basic structure of the Rocky Mountains was formed, evolution of the present land forms of western Colorado began at the close of the Mesozoic era (approximately 60 million years ago). Another broad uplift of the region occurred at that time, and, in a following cycle of erosion, vast quantities of rock material were carried away. Following this erosion and surface wasting, layers of sands, clays, and gravels, which are known as the Eocene beds, were deposited over much of the area. Then, a renewal of erosion and the dE:!velopment of a drainage pattern on the Eocene beds occurred. It was at this time that the existing main drainage patterns were fixed, and it is since that time that the major topo- graphic characteristics of the county were carved by water and wind. As valleys deepened, the streamways were superimposed on the older, underlying rock. Erosion continued and an old-age erosion surface evolved. " ;0 6, --..