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<br />• GEOLOGY <br />The site is covered by unconsolidated surficial deposits that overly bedrock formations. Tlic <br />surfic.al deposits consist of the Rocky Flats Alluvium, valley fill alluvium, and colluviunt. <br />The Rocky Flats Alluvium was deposited as a series of alluvial fan materials by streams <br />cntanating from Coal Creek Canyon. The thickness of these deposits is generally greater to the <br />west and thins to the east. The fan consists of cobbles, gravels, sand and fine grained material. <br />The deposits generally fine eastward as the distance Crom the mountains increases. The <br />thickness ranges from 10 to 100 feet. The valley fill alluvium occurs in modern stream valleys <br />and m:ty exceed 10 feet in thickness. Valley fill sediments are characteristically coarse grained <br />but fine grained materials occur in the lower reaches of the valleys. Cllluvium occurs on the <br />sides and base of hills and slopes. These deposits are the product of erosional processes and <br />consist. of soil and rock fragments derived from bedrock, and also sand and gravel derived from <br />the older Rocky Flats Alluvium. The colluvial deposits rarely exceed 2 [0 3 feet in thickness. <br />Bcdrot:k formations occur beneath the overlying surficial deposits in the site arcs and include <br />the Fox Hills Sandstone, Laramie Formation, Arapahoe Formation, and Pierre Shale. These <br />formations are cretaceous age. The Fox Hills Sandstone is approximately 75 feet thick in the <br />site ar~.a and is comprised of sandstones interbedded with beds of siltstone and shale. It dips <br />to the east at approximately 45 to 50 degrees beneath the site area. The Laramie Formation is <br />approximately 700 feet [hick, and is divided into two units consisting of a lower sandstone unit <br />• and an upper shale unit. The lower sandstone unit contains clay deposits. The upper shale unit <br />consists of an organic-rich claystone. The Arapahoe Formation is the uppermost bedrock <br />formation beneath the site and ranges up to 250 feet thick. The Arapahoe formation consists <br />primarily of claystones and sandstones. The sandstones occur in five channel sequences that <br />occur ;tt various depths and a basal sandstone. <br />The Pierre Shale is a lower Cretaceous formation consisting primarily of dense shale with <br />minor intercalated sandstone strata. <br />HYDROGEOLOGY <br />The unconsolidated deposits are hydraulically connected and are frequently referred to as the <br />unconsolidated Quaternary aquifer. The bedrock aquifers are composed of the lower sandstone <br />unit of the Laramie Formation and the Fox Hills Formation referred to as the Laramie-Fox <br />Hills aquifer and the Arapahoe aquifer. The Arapahoe aquifer consists of the sandstones <br />within the Arapahoe Formation. The upper claystone unit of the Laramie Formation provides <br />an upper hydraulic seal for the Laramie-Foxhills aquifer. The lower seal is provided by the <br />Pierre Shale. <br />• <br />