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The Pictured Cliffs Sandstone conformably overlies the Lewis Shale, is 200 feet thick, and consists <br />of two members. The lower member consists of 80 feet of interbedded shales and sandstones. The <br />Upper Pictured Cliffs Sandstone consists of 120 feet of massive sandstone with some thin interbeds <br />of shale and siltstone. The sandstone is white to light gray, well sorted (uniform grain size), fine to <br />medium grained, silica and calcic cemented. This sandstone is resistant to erosion and forms <br />prominent ridges, cliffs, and steep sided stream valleys (water gaps) in the area. (Fasse[t and Hind, <br />1971 and Shomaker, et. al., 1971.) <br />The Upper Pictured Cliffs Sandstone is locally intertongued with the overlying Fmitland Formation. <br />The intertongue of Fmitland Formation iscoal-bearing. The Lewis or "C" coal seam is located within <br />this tongue of the Fruitland Formation. The Lewis coal seam is the lowest coal seam which will be <br />mined. <br />The Fruitland Formation is the coal bearing formation in the permit and adjacent areas. This <br />formation is composed of discontinuous interbedded and lenticular sandstones, sil[stones, shales and <br />coals. The formation is a terrestrial deltaic deposit and is gray to brown and black with greenish shale <br />and gray-green fine grained dense feldspathic sandstones in the upper parts. <br />The Fmitland Formation contains three minable coal seams. In ascending order, these are the Lewis <br />or "C" seam, the Carbonero or "B" seam, and the Shamrock or "A" seam. The Lewis seam is <br />approximately 17 feet thick and consists of high volatile C bituminous coal. The Carbonero or "B" <br />seam is approximately 28 feet thick, contains afive-foot parting of shale and bone, lies 105 feet above <br />the Lewis seam, and is a high volatile C bituminous coal. The Shamrock or "A" seam is located about <br />87 feet above the Cazbonero seam, is about 21 feet thick. and is classified as a high volatile C <br />bituminous coal. The Shamrock seam is overlain by 0 to 120 feet of overburden strata in the permit <br />area. The entire overburden section is in the Fruitland Formation. <br />The Kirtland Shale conformably overlies the Fruitland Formation. This shale is divided into three <br />main members -the upper and lower shales and the middle Farmington Sandstone. The Farmington <br />Sandstone member forms a permanent ridge separating Carbon Junction Canyon and REA Canyon. <br />The lower shale member consists of gray to gray green shale and sandy shales. The upper shale <br />member consists of interbedded shales and sandstones. <br />The Quatemary terace deposits consist of Pleistocene aged gravels related to glaciation in the azea. <br />Three gravel terace layers have been mapped in the area and represent previous flood plains of the <br />Animas River. These deposits vary between I and 100 feet thick and consist of boulders and cobbles <br />in a silt clay matrix. <br />Quaternary alluvial deposits are primarily located along the Animas River. Thin (less than three feet <br />thick) isolated alluvial bodies are located in Carbon Junction Canyon. <br />Ground Water Hydrology <br />The applicant has supplied sufficient information to describe the quality and quantity of ground water <br />a <br />