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., o;n04~ The' mainstem of the Dolores originates in the snowfields below Lizard Head Pass. Descending quickly from above timberline, it flows through rolling meadows and stands of conifers toward Rico. .. The study resumes below the McPhee damsite near the town of Dolores. The river is of sufficient size for 1-3 months in the spring and early summer to support an increasing river outfitter industry -- use is estimated at several thousand visitor days per year. Through the first 11 miles below the damsite the river moves slowly, 2-3 miles per hour, through the lower end of the montane life zone. Ponderosa pine and thickets of gambel's oak crowd the river in those places where the sandstone canyon walls are set back from the banks. A gravel road borders this reach. The river's subtle transition from Montane Zone to Upper Sonoran begins below Bradfield Ranch. Tall stands of Douglas-fir and ponderosa gradually give way to pinon and juniper. I n the upper part these old growth forests hide the 2400-foot red walls of the canyon; the forests gradually part, fully revealing the canyon walls near Mountain Sheep Point, site of some Fremont ruins. At this point, the transition is completed to the Upper Sonoran Zone. This reach, the Dolores Canyon, contains many easy rapids and Snaggletooth, which boatmen consider a miniature of Lava Falls in Grand Canyon. Above it tower red and tawny sandstone walls rising 2300 feet in alternating terraces and cliffs. Fast water and scenery alternately require one's attention. The river passes close to the towns of Naturita and Slickrock, focal points of the uranium boom of the 1950s. Evidence of the boom is frequent in the 20-mile segment between Disappointment Creek and Gypsum Valley, although a 6-mile reach called Little Glen Canyon remains relatively untouched. Beyond Gypsum Valley the stream enters 33-mile Slick Rock Canyon. This wild section of river, a serpentine meander en- trenched up to 1800 feet into massive red sandstone formations, evokes memories of Glen Canyon before it was flooded. It is per- haps the most beautiful of all the segments studied. Its side can- yons reveal life characteristic of the Sonoran or desert life zone - canyon tree frogs and peregrine falcons, for example. The segment beginning one mile above Highway 90 and ending at the confluence of the San Miguel River was specifically excluded by Congress in deference to the Paradox Valley Unit of the Colorado River Salinity Project. ., ~ Ii I f: I r 18