Appraisal Report for ALP Relinquishment Areas 1 & 2

AREA DATA
Subject is located in the south portion of Durango, the county seat of La
Plata County, Colorado. Actually it is outside of the city limits, but is bounded by
the city limits on three sides. Durango is located approximately 67 miles northeast
of the Four Corners, the common corner of the states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona
and New Mexico. This region is a rather sparsely populated portion of the
Colorado Plateau. The city of Albuquerque, New Mexico lies 212 miles southeast
of Durango while Denver, Colorado is 333 miles northeast, Salt Lake City, Utah is
413 miles northwest and Phoenix, Arizona is 456 miles southwest. The region is
depicted on the map on the following page.
La Plata County is an area of narrow valleys and broad mesas bounded by
rugged mountains to the north and northwest. It is an arid region west of the
Continental Divide at an elevation varying from 5,900 feet to over 14,000 feet. The
high mountains are the source of the La Plata, Animas and Pine Rivers which
transect the county. The southern portion of La Plata County is part of the
Southern Ute Indian Reservation, and to the southwest is the Ute Mountain Ute
Indian Reservation. Further south across the state line into New Mexico lays the
Navajo Indian Reservation.
The County was organized in 1874. It was occupied by the Anasazi Indians
from 800 to 1200. It was traversed by Spanish explorers in 1541 and in 1776 and
was settled in the 1870s as a result of a gold rush and the establishment of the
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