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BRUCE A. COLLINS, PH.D.
<br />vnau, amwcc co.r~.rtir
<br />1116 MnvlioT~ DxrvE
<br />• Sn,r,COLORADO81652
<br />PHOrre/FAx (970) 87(x5397
<br />bcollins@csn.met
<br />AQUIFER CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ROLLINS SANDSTONE
<br />AND
<br />THE CAMEO COAL ZONE
<br />ROADSIDE MINE
<br />CAMEO, MESA COUNTY, COLORADO
<br />FEBRUARY 1996
<br />This report is based on data supplied by Powderhorn Coal Company, data in the writer's files, and
<br />available published information concerning the Cameo coal bed and, particularly, the Rollins
<br />Sandstone (Mesaverde Group) in the area of Cameo, Mesa County, Colorado, and was prepared to
<br />determine to the extent possible the aquifer characteristics of these units. The specific area of
<br />interest is that of Powderhom Coal Company's Roadside South Portal and Roadside North Portal
<br />mines (the Roadside Mine), Township [0 and l 1 West, Range 97 and 98 South, 6th Principal
<br />Meridian. Major drainages in the azea are Rapid Creek and Cottonwood Creek south of the
<br />• Colorado River; Coal Creek (Coal Canyon) and Jerry Creek to the north; and the Colorado River
<br />itself, which essentially bisects the properties.
<br />The Rollins Sandstone is a predominani]y-marine delta-front -barrier-baz-island -beach sandstone
<br />which, including its lithogenetic equivalents, can be traced from near the Utah border, northwest
<br />of Mack, around the southern Piceance basin and in the subsurface to the Paonia area, Crested Butte,
<br />the Carbondale -Glenwood Springs area, and north at least to Rifle Gap, where it is thought to be
<br />equivalent to the Trout Creek Sandstone. The Trout Creek in turn can be traced throughout the
<br />northeastern Piceance and much of the Axial basins and related structwes (see for example Ellis &
<br />Kelso, 1987', and Johnson, 19892, p. 14). There is apparently uo detailed information concerning
<br />the Rollins Sandstone in the Cameo area. Measured sections and other detailed information used
<br />in this report were obtained primarily from Erdmann (1934'), Johnson (1989, note 2), Franczyk
<br />~ Ellis, M. S., and Kelso, B. S., 1987, Cross sections showing stratigraphic framework of upper Cretaceous Dakota
<br />Sandstone, Mancos Shale, Mesaverde Group, and Mesaverde Formation, and lower Tertiary Wasatch Formation, west-central
<br />Piceance basir4 Garfield County, Colorado: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Field Studies Map, MF-2008-A.
<br />2 Johnson, R.C., 1989, Geologic history and hydrocarbon potential of Late Cretaceous-age, low-permeability
<br />• reservoirs, Piceance basin, western Colorado: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 1787-E, 51 p.
<br />3 Erdmuu4 C.E., 1934, The Book Cliffs coal field in Garfield and Mesa Counties, Colorado: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull.
<br />851, I50 p.
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