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~.a rr;TRnoucnut; <br />1.1 Furpnse and location <br />Feabrdy Coal fempary {pCC) expects to resmoe surface coal mining <br />operations at the Ilucla I-07rF. early in 1907, the State of Colorado <br />requires that FCC rietcrmine t.hc nature and magnitude of disturbance of <br />these operations upon eultue•al resourcus. PCC has employed tiickens and <br />Associates (NA) to conduct the necessary t.rchaeoloyical investigations <br />in the proposed project areas. 4;e report here the methods artd results <br />of these investigations. <br />Tl+e project area 1s located near Lhe torn of Nucla, in t•;ontrose <br />County, Calarado (Figure 1-1). It consists of two blocks of land, here <br />labelled Tract 1 and Tract II (Figure 1-2). Tract 1 is an irregularly <br />shaped area of about 116 acres, located in the ld~ of Section 31, Town- <br />ship 47 North, Range 15 Hest, acid the NEi of Section 36, Tov+rsfiip 47 <br />North, Range 16 Hest, Tract 11 is a rectangular area of about 430 <br />acres, loczted in the Nt, of Section 6, Township 4b North, Rar:ge 15 West, <br />and the NE1 of Section 1. Township 46 tlorth, P.ange 15 West. Loth tracts <br />arc located within one mile of the Nucla torn limits. <br />1.': the t;atural Setting <br />7.2.1 Climate <br />• T}+e project areas are found in the extreme restern end of <br />Montrose County. Local climaus here, as they do throughout the state, <br />are greatly zffected by differer:ces in elevation and topographic relief <br />(Siemer 1977). Neathnr patter+.s are mare uniform in tke 4+estern <br />valleys, protected as they are by high terrain, than they are on the <br />eastern plains. Summer teaperatures are high, v+inter temperatures are <br />sligl+tly lower, and precipitation is mare evenly distributed in the <br />4restern valleys than an the eastern plains. <br />The county weather station closest to the project areas is Uravan, <br />loc<.ted about 12.5 m (20.2 knt) northwest, along the San t9iguel River at <br />an elevation of 5010 ft. (1527 r.+} (Siemer 1977). The average annual <br />temperature at Uravan (11 years of record) is 52,3 °F (11.3 `C), the <br />warmFSt and coldest montl+s respectively being July and January. The <br />average total yearly precipitation (I2 years of retard) is 12.7 in. (323 <br />mm), with the greatest amount of precipitation occurring in October and <br />the least amount in February. The average total yearly snowfall (o years <br />of record) is 15 in. (351 nm). ko data nn growing season arc kept for <br />if r•a van, but at Paradox, 23.4 mi. (37.7 krn} 4/ESL of the project areas, <br />Gee averayc leroth of tine tenaeen tho spring and fall freoze dates {3:. <br />`f) is 126 days. These Statistic. ran be comparrd to thcsr collected at <br />the f•?nntrusc P.o. 2 station (elevation ~C30 ft, or 1'!:J u.), at thr. <br />eastern end of tfie County: avar,tge annual trr.K+erature (>:0 years of <br />recr,ro) of ~L•.5 `F (9.2 `f,), .!uly and January Veiny tf!c warmest and <br />coldest months; av wage to Cal yna rly prec•i pitation (.°.4 rnro rci years) a: <br />'}.7 in. ('r.'4F• mn); total yea+•ly ~:nr•wfall ([:5 record yrar:i rf 31 in. (.•:'% <br />taa); ard, ~ growing Sra501\ (3U record ynnrs) of l52 clay::. <br />r1 <br />LJ <br />(Revised Ju1y2006) Attachment 2.04.4-1-9 <br />