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<br />~ <br />w <br />~ <br />~ <br /> <br />mining, costs are relatively high for coal production. <br /> <br />The coal picture in Wyoming is the brightest of the Upper Basin <br />States from a production standpoint, although the quality of its coals <br />is slightly lower than that of other States, with an average heat value <br />of about 9,800 Btu/ton. Other characteristics are similar to those of <br />western coals. Wyoming is currently the largest coal producer in the <br />Rocky Mountains and is eighth in production in the Nation, although not <br />all of Wyoming's production is from the Upper Basin. <br /> <br />The nature of the Upper Basin's coal resource will, of course, in- <br />fluence the location and size of coal gasification facilities. However, <br />most any coal resource can be extracted and processed in such a way as <br />to accommodate a variety of gasification technologies. However, the <br />economic attractiveness of a deposit will probably be increased if it <br />can be mined by surface methods, which are generally cheaper than those <br />for underground mining. <br /> <br />Demographic and Economic Characteristics <br /> <br />The population of the Upper Colorado River Region grew from 271,000 <br />in 1940 to an estimated 438,000 in 1975. Much of that growth occurred <br />from 1970 to 1975, when the population increased by over 100,000 people. <br />In terms of its distribution, the population is divided about evenly <br />between the three ASAs that make up the Region. Only four cities in the <br />Region had populations of 10,000 or more in 1970. <br /> <br />The four largest employment sectors in the Region are wholesale and <br />retail trade, profession~l and Bovernmental services, agriculture, and <br />mining. These sectors were responsible for nearly three out of every <br />five jobs in 1970. <br /> <br />Relative to other employment sectors, and in absolute terms, farm <br />employment has been declining. By 1970, farm employment was less than <br />10 percent of the total. While total revenue from agriculture has <br />increased dramatically over the past several decades, it has been out- <br />paced by other industries. Farm population has also been declining <br />steadily since the 1940s as farms have been consolidated and as increased <br />mechanization has decreased labor demands. In 1970, the farm population <br />was only 35,000, while two decades earlier it was 76,OOQ. <br /> <br />To a large degree, economic activity in the Region has been sus- <br />tained by primary extractive industries. Because of large distances to <br />national markets, the only significant manufacturing industries are those <br /> <br />2-12 <br />