Laserfiche WebLink
<br />OG:CS' <br /> <br />Several mlnlng claims have been filed in the Black Canyon and <br />along the Gunnison River within the proposed reservoir site. <br />The claims had been filed chiefly for uranium prospecting. <br />Work done on these claims to date does not indicate the occur- <br />rence of appreciable quantities of uranium ore although a few <br />specimens have been found. Gravel and decomposed granite have <br />been produced from the area, but these commodities are in <br />plentiful supply from adjacent areas and have little value. <br />Feldspar is being mined on the rim of the Black Canyon. A <br />1956 survey of the. canyon by the Bureau of Mines found nO <br />significant mineral resources in the project area. <br /> <br />In the proposed project area are Precambrian granite and a <br />complex of metamorphic rocks overlain in places by sedimen- <br />taries of Triassic or younger age. Mostly the Precambrian <br />rocks crop out along the river canyon but are buried in the <br />wider valleys upstream from the Crystal Reservoir. <br /> <br />Detailed geological reports and the results of an intensive <br />drilling program conducted during 1971 are available to any- <br />one requiring further information. <br /> <br />D. Vegetation <br /> <br />Vegetation in the canyon is predominantly scrub oak, scattered <br />conifer ~nd deciduous trees, and a ground cover of various <br />native grasses. Because of the precipitous sheer rock canyon <br />walls, very little vegetation within the canyon is present. <br /> <br />E. Fish and Wildlife <br /> <br />Prior to construction of the Curecanti Unit the Gunnison River <br />which the Unit's three reservoirs affect was one of the finest <br />trout waters in the State of Colorado. Most of the river was <br />either privately-owned or inaccessible because of precipitous <br />canyon walls. With the construction of Blue Mesa and Morrow <br />Point Da""" the most productive fishery was inundated. Further, <br />water temperatures of the river for a few miles below Morrow <br />Point have been lowered to such levels that the quality of <br />the fishery has been reduced to mediocre quality. However, <br />beyond this point for 30-40 miles downstream to near the town <br />of Delta, Colorado, combination of trapping sediments and <br />lowering the water temperature has resulted in a change in <br />aquatic habitat from warm water trash fish to cold water habi- <br />tat able to sustain brown and rainbow trout. <br /> <br />In the Fall of 1971, the Colorado Game, Fish and Parks Division <br />conducted a shocking program in the Gunnison River at Delta and <br />upstream. Both brown and rainbow trout were found. This was <br />the first time that trout had been officially noted that far <br /> <br />3 <br />