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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />CHAPTER I <br /> <br />PROJECT LANDS <br /> <br />General <br /> <br />Webster's Dictionary defines "paradox" as a person, situation, or act that <br />seems to have contradictory or inconsistent qualities. The Paradox Valley <br />derives its name from the fact that the main river in the valley, the Dolores <br />River, traverses the valley at right angles to the valley floor. Irrigated <br />lands served by the Paradox Valley Canal and Reservoir Company are moderately <br />deep with light colored surface soils. The soils are moderately course to <br />moderately fine textured and slope in a Southeasterly direction at a one to <br />ten percent grade. The land areas are moderately broad, and is traversed <br />virtually through the center by the West Paradox ,Creek which is tributary <br />to the Dolores River. The soils have developed from deposits of parent <br />materials consisting of sand stone and shale. The valley is bounded on the <br />North by Carpenter ridge, which raises from an elevation of 5,400 feet to <br />7,000 feet in less than a mile; and on the South by Nyswonger Mesa which <br />raises from an elevation of 5,200 feet to 6,200 feet in less than a mile. <br />The Paradox Valley has approximately 16,700 acres of land in private owner- <br />ship of which 2,580 acres are presently under irrigation. <br /> <br />All irrigation water is transported to the Paradox Valley by way of West <br />Paradox Creek. The source of irrigation water is from a 25.3 square mile <br />water shed located in the }funti-La Salle National Forest in Utah. Water for <br />irrigation purposes is stored in the Buckeye Reservoir which has a natural <br />drainage area of 3.3 square miles. Feeder canals from Deep Creek and Geyser <br />Creek bring water into the reservoir., <br /> <br />Location <br /> <br />The project lands are located in Montrose County, Colorado approximately <br />four miles West of the Utah border. The lands the Paradox Valley Canal <br />and Reservoir serves are approximately seven and a half miles long by <br />two miles wide at the widest area. The project lands vary from an elevation <br />of 5,400 feet above sea level at the West end of the project to 4,940 feet <br />above sea level at the East end. The project lands are scattered throughout <br />the Paradox Valley but can be defined by describing four distinct areas, these <br />areas are: a 2.25 square mile area centered by the Town of Paradox; a 0.80 <br />square mile area immediately East of the Town of Paradox; a 1.5 square mile <br />area located midway between the Towns of Paradox and Bedrock; and a 0.60 square <br />mile area located just North of the Town of Bedrock. The project lands are <br />shown on the location map which precedes this Chapter. <br /> <br />Climate <br /> <br />The climate of Paradox Valley is semi-arid. Records of the Weather-Bureau <br />station at Paradox, located at a elevation of 5,309 feet above sea level, have <br />recorded only the precipitation and not the temperature. Mean year around <br />temperatures in H'estern Colorado, at an elevation of 5,300, are usually around <br /> <br />I-I <br />