Laserfiche WebLink
Elevations within the project range from about 5720 to 5880 feet. These altitudes are <br /> host to an and steppe land of low precipitations levels and harsh temperature extremes. <br /> Annual precipitation averages approximately 12 to 15 inches, at least half of which occurs as <br /> snow. Temperatures range from 100 degrees Fahrenheit to minus 35 degrees. The average <br /> length of the growing season is approximately 93 days (Reed and Metcalf 1999). <br /> The study area is characterized by soils that generally consist of well drained gravelly <br /> silty-clay and sandy loams. On the ridge and slopes of the project area the soils are of <br /> Torriorthents- Rock outcrop, sandstone complex, 25 to 75 percent, which are gravelly sandy <br /> loams whose parent material is colluvium derived from sandstone and/or residuum <br /> weathered from sandstone. The valley floor at the south half of the study area is comprised of <br /> Massadona-Youngston moist, complex, 1 to 8 percent slopes, which is silty clay loam, whose <br /> parent material is alluvium derived from shale. <br /> These soils support a dwarf Utah Juniper forest habitat on the ridges and a sage/salt <br /> desert scrub vegetation community in the valleys where the soils are more substantial. <br /> Ground visibility varies from about 70 percent on the ridgetops to approximately 50 percent <br /> in the valley bottom where sagebrush/grassland is present(Plates 1 and 2). Mule deer, elk, <br /> and coyote are common, as are jack rabbits, cottontail rabbits, various other rodents, <br /> mountain lion, bobcat, black bear, fox,beavers, skunk,badger, and weasel. Bird species <br /> observed in the area include songbirds,jay, raven, owls, golden and bald eagles, and various <br /> other raptors. Present land uses in the area include energy development, hunting, and <br /> ranching. <br /> PALEOCLIMATE <br /> Reconstruction of paleoenvironmental conditions is essential to the understanding of <br /> population movement and cultural change in prehistoric times(Euler et al. 1979). Changing <br /> environmental conditions altered the exploitative potential of an area and put stress upon <br /> aboriginal cultures by requiring adjustments in their subsistence patterns. To interpret <br /> whatever changes are seen in the archaeological record, an account of fluctuations in past <br /> climatic conditions must be available or inferences must be made from studies done in <br /> surrounding areas. Generally, only gross climatic trends have been established for western <br /> North America prior to 2000 B.P. (Antevs 1955; Berry and Berry 1986; Mehringer 1967; <br /> Madsen 1982; Wendlund and Bryson 1974; Peterson 1981). Scientific data derived from <br /> investigations of prehistoric cultures and geoclimatic and bioclimatic conditions on the <br /> southern Colorado Plateau over the past two millennia have achieved a much greater degree <br /> of resolution(Dean et al. 1985). <br /> SUMMARY OF FILES SEARCH AND LITERATURE OVERVIEW <br /> Files at History Colorado OAHP were reviewed on the 71h of August 2019,prior to <br />