PROJ00505

• Contract/PO #: C153419
• Contractor Name: San Miguel Water Conservancy District
• Water District: 0
• County: San Miguel
• Bill Number: XB 99-999
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

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3.2 Land Description

The land in the Norwood-Redvale area consists of a relatively long, narrow

area know as Wright's Mesa. The mesa runs in a northwesterly direction and is

bounded on the southwest by Naturita Canyon and on the northeast by Maverick

Draw. The irrigated land has gently rolling topography with slopes that range

from 2 to 3 percent on most of the land. Some land in the area has slopes that

range up to about 10 percent.

The elevation of the land on Wright's Mesa range from 7,240 feet where the

Cone ditch leaves Ed Joe Draw to 6,050 feet at the northwest end of the Mesa,

approximately 4.5 miles northwest of Redvale. The land is underlain by the

Dakota Formation consisting principally of gray, yellow and buff flaggy

sandstone. The sandstone beds are interspersed with thin fingers of shale and

coal seams. Small gravel terraces are found in a few areas.

The Dakota formation is generally covered with a 5- to 10 foot thick

mantle of reddish-brown soils composed of uniform medium textured materials

which are believed to be aeolian in origin and to have originated outside the

area. They are similar to soils covering the other mesas over a wide area of

the surrounding region. Residual soils derived from the Dakota sandstone are

also found over parts of the mesa, particularly where the soil profile is

relatively shallow. Buried soil profiles are evident where residual soils are

overlain by aeolian deposits. Some alluvial soils are found in swales and

depressions (USBR, 1966).

3.3 Land Classification

An extensive land classification survey was conducted in the Wright's

Mesa area by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in 1962. Approximately 10,780

acres of cuurently irrigated land were classified in the Norwood-Redvale area,

which includes Mailbox Park, and Upper Mailbox Park in addition to the land on

Wright's Mesa. The classification performed by the Bureau appraised land use,

productivity, land development, water requirement, and land drainability.

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