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• Dunrud compiled a coal resources map of the region (USGS Map C-116). In 1998 the Colorado Geological Survey published Availability of Coal Resources in Colorado: Somerset Quadrangle, West-Central Colorado (CGS Resource Series 36). The general stratigraphy of the azea consists of members of the Mesa Verde Formation of the Upper Cretaceous System underlying the Wasatch Formation of Tertiary Age. The Barren Member of the Mesa Verde formation crops out lowest in the area with the overlying Ohio Creek member exposed along many of the steeper slopes. Above the Mesa Verde, rocks of the Wasatch Formation are exposed. The Upper and Lower Coal Members of [he Mesa Verde Formation are the major coal-bearing units in the area. The A (King), B (Somerset), and C (Bear) coal beds of the Lower Coal Member and the D (Oliver), E (Hawks Nest), and the F-Seam coal beads of the Upper Coal Member have all been mined within the North Fork Valley. General dip in area of the gob vent / de-gas boreholes is 3 to 4 degrees to the northeast. Stratigraphic displacements, faults, are known to occur in West Elk Mine. Known geologic data does not indicate that these faults are locatable on the surface. WATER RESOURCES The town of Paonia, situated about 10 miles west of the area, averages azound 16 inches • of precipitation annually. Given that precipitation increases as elevation increases, the annual precipitation of the West Flat Iron would be expected to be somewhat higher. An estimated 76% of the annual precipitation occurs during late winter and early spring, mostly as snowfall. June, July, and August are ofren the driest months. The gob vent / de-gas borehole pad proposed at RAV-10 is drained primazily by Deep Creek which flows northwestward into Ravens Gulch and by intermittent streams that comprise the south end of Sylvester Gulch. Both Ravens Gulch and Sylvester Gulch flow into the North Fork of the Gunnison River. The pad area at 96-27-1, (SOM 123, (S)), is drained by an intermittent steep gulch that forms Sylvester Gulch. VEGETATION Vegetation at the gob venU de-gas borehole is dominated by the mountain shrub communities of Gambel's oak, mountain sagebrush, with minor amounts of juniper and snowberry interspersed. Sagebrush and Ganrbel's oak occur in isolated stands typically in the lower elevations of the area. Various grasses and other mountain shrubs occur sporadically throughout the area and previous reclaimed coal exploration roads and pads. No threatened, endangered, or candidate plant species have been identified in the exploration area. Vegetation at the previous coal exploration sites (97-27-I, SOM 123 (S) and RAV-10) was described in a document titled, "Reclamation Status Report for • Mountain Coal Company, 7-23-2000, Prepared for Barr Engineering by Michael K. Ward".