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Land Use (2.04.3) <br />The proposed parcels surrounding uplands have been used primarily for rangeland (grazing), <br />with a secondary use of wildlife habitat. The area is sparsely populated. More information <br />concerning land use can be found in Sections 2.04.3 and 2.05.5 of the permit application package <br />(a.k.a. permit). <br />Cultural and Historic Resources (2.04.4) <br />Cultural resource inventories were prepared for the proposed parcel areas in the baseline surveys <br />for the Dunn Ranch Lease Boundary Area (LBA) for the Federal permit CO-0106C. Consultation <br />with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) found no adverse effect to historic properties is <br />anticipated. No surface disturbance is proposed for this permit revision. No cultural or historic <br />resources eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places or significant <br />archaeological sites that may be affected by surface disturbance (including subsidence) were <br />identified in the survey. Cultural and historical information is found in Appendix 3 of the PAP. <br />Geology and Topography (2.04.5 and 2.04.6) <br />The King Coal Mine lies at the northeastern corner of the Four Corners Platform. The La Plata <br />Dome and the larger San Juan Dome lie to the northeast. Southeast of the mine area lies the San <br />Juan Basin, which extends southward into New Mexico. The Hogback monocline forms the <br />boundary between the Four Comers platform and the San Juan basin. <br />Sedimentary rocks of the Upper Cretaceous Mesa Verde Group are exposed throughout the area. <br />The Lower Cretaceous Mancos shale forms the valley five miles to the north, through which U.S. <br />Highway 160 has been constructed. The Mesa Verde Group sits stratigraphically atop the <br />Mancos shale, and is composed of three major units (in ascending order): the Point Lookout <br />Sandstone, the coal -bearing Menefee formation, and the Cliff House sandstone. The general dip <br />of the strata is to the south, ranging from 2 to 11 degrees. Locally, the Point Lookout is <br />approximately 400 feet thick, the Menefee formation is 300 feet in thickness, and the Cliff House <br />unit averages 350 feet. A stratigraphic section is provided in Appendix 4 of the PAP. <br />Topography in the area consists of gently south -sloping upland surfaces, bisected by steep -sided <br />drainages which generally flow to the south-southwest. Within the permit area, the Cliff House <br />forms the top surface of the upland areas and is exposed, with the Menefee in some instances, in <br />the sides of the drainages. The deeper Point Lookout unit is not exposed within the permit area. <br />Quaternary sediments, both alluvial and colluvial, are present in the valley bottoms, and minor <br />landslides have been mapped on the valley slopes. <br />Of the two mineable coal seams exposed in the permit area, only the upper seam (Peacock, or <br />"A") of the Menefee formation was developed at the King I Mine and is currently being <br />developed at the King II Mine. Thickness of the upper seam ranges from less than 48 inches to <br />more than 76 inches. The upper seam lies approximately 22 feet below the base of the Cliff <br />House sandstone, and has 100 to 400 feet of overburden throughout much of the permit area. <br />The lower ("B") coal seam is well exposed at the Burnwell Mine, located adjacent to the King I <br />Mine. Operations began there in the 1940s, but the mine has long been abandoned and was <br />never permitted under SMCRA. The lower coal seam of the Menefee Formation has an average <br />2 <br />