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iiiiii ii iii i ii iiiiiii <br />999 <br />3.0 ENVIRONMENTAL RESOIIRCE INFORMATION <br />~v <br />S <br />3.1 Site Description and Land IIse Information <br />The Coal Ridge #1 Mine is to be located primarily on the hilly un- <br />developed slopes and rolling rangelands of the Grand Hogback (Coal <br />Ridge) adjacent to the Colorado River in Garfield County, Colorado. <br />Glenwood Springs, the county seat, which owns a portion of the coal <br />to be mined, is seven miles east of the project and the town of New <br />Castle is located approximately 1.5 miles north and west (Figure <br />3.1-1). <br />The first Europeans to visit the region were two Spanish friars <br />Dominquez and Escalante. In 1874, and subsequent years, the Hayden <br />survey made the first accurate measurements of the region, named <br />the Grand Hogback and the Grand (Colorado) River, and described <br />valuable deposits of coal. The Geological and Geographical Atlas <br />of Colorado prepared by Hayden in 1881 provided a map showing the <br />economic geology of the region and what is today known as Coal <br />Ridge. Hayden pointed out at this early date that coal mining <br />could be a major industry in the area. On August 10, 1882 all <br />former Indian lands in the area were declared public. The initial <br />expansion of miners into Garfield County came for the boom of <br />Carbonate, the first county seat. In November 1883, the Colorado <br />Midland Railroad was organized, and it reached New Castle in 1889. <br />The Rio Grande Railroad also served the other side of the river <br />from 1889 to the present day. The South Canyon Coal Company <br />Railway (an electric 20" Gauge line) was built to serve the area in <br />1905 and operated until 1918. <br />Arrival of the railroads brought about a boom in coal mining at New <br />Castle and at the nearby town of Sunlight. The thick seams of coal <br />• contained in the Grand Hogback run from Chair Mountain on the <br />NCEC - Coal Ridge #1 3-1 ASC/1145/900301 <br />