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<br />ex) <br />I.'? <br />C'J <br /> <br />NATIONAL PARK SERVICE REPORT <br /> <br />The normal water surface level would be at el. 5,940, forming a 300-acre <br />reservoir. The minimum reservoir, at e1. 5,$82, would be only some 50 <br />acres in extent, involving a vertical fluctuation of 58 feet. In view <br />of the purpose of the reservoir, it appears reasonable to assume that <br />this would occur annually, and that the drawdown with resulting minimum <br />pool would occur during the recreational-use season, which normally coin- <br />cides with the crop-growing season with its irrigation requirements. <br /> <br />Physical Characteristics <br /> <br />The dam site is exceptional and consists of a stratum of rock, free <br />standing, vertically, and eroded by Rifle Creek to form a narrow gap. <br />The reservoir would occupy a basin, now mostly hayfields, where a small <br />stream joins Rifle Creek. The surrounding steep hills, mostly of carbon- <br />iferous shale, appear dry and have brush along the lower slopes and juni- <br />per and pine starting 50 feet or more above the creek bottom. Ridges <br />rise several hundred feet above the reservoir level on the south side, <br />and high mountains show to the north and east. <br /> <br />The stream is depressed between 10-foot cut banks and is murky during <br />the summer, so value for fiShing is very slight, according to Fish and <br />Wildlife Service appraisals. <br /> <br />Trucks carrying ore make extensive use of the road through the site. <br /> <br />Climate <br /> <br />The climate in the vicinity is agreeable, involving winters that are <br />rarely severe over long periods, but which involve considerable snowfalls <br />in sections on the western slope of Colorado. SUlIlIIlers are pleasantly <br />warm, rarely if ever oppressive at the altitude involved, and nights are <br />invariably comparatively fresh. <br /> <br />Historical and Archeological Investigations <br /> <br />Records available in the Region Three office indicate no archeologi- <br />calor historic sites are known in the Rifle Gap Reservoir area. Further, <br />Service archeologists are of the opinion that it is unlikely that they <br />occur in this general section of the Colorado River Valley. It is <br />believed that nominal reconnaissance, or possibly contact with interested <br />and qualified State agencies, would satisfactorily confirm this impression-- <br />or reveal indications of sites which should be investigated prior to <br />danger or loss by project development. <br /> <br />Present Recreational Value of the Site <br /> <br />It does not appear that the area has any value for recreation at <br />present. The stream is apparently murky during sUllllller months, and it <br />seems unlikely that it has much, if any, value for fishing, as previously <br />noted. <br /> <br />3 <br />