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• flat-topped mountain capped by basalt flows of late Miocene <br />and early Pliocene age (about 10 million years old). The <br />Cretaceous-age Mesaverde Formation sandstones and coal-bearing <br />rocks make up the study area. <br />Elk Creek, a tributary wash of the North Fork of the ' <br />Gunnison River, cuts through the study area. Elevations in <br />the study area range from between 6100 and 6600 feet. These <br />and the surrounding higher elevations support two main plant <br />communities: Transitional Zane (oakbrush, serviceberry, <br />scattered pinyon and juniper) on the mountain sides, and <br />riparian woodland and sagebrush/grassland in the narrow valley <br />bottoms. Vegetation cover in the project area is primarily <br />oakbrush and ground visibility is less than 10 percent. The <br />region supports numerous wildlife species. Elk, deer, coyote, <br />black bear, rabbits and raptors are common. <br />Climatically, the yearly average temperature is 51 <br />degrees F., and there is a maximum of 120 frost-free days in a <br />year. Annual precipitation is about 12-15 inches (USDA SCS <br />1976, Cover type 239). Paleoenvironmental data for the area <br />are scant, but it is agreed that gross climatic conditions <br />have remained fairly constant over the last 12,000 years. <br />Still, changes in effective moisture and cooling/warming <br />trends probably affected the prehistoric occupation of the <br />area. <br />Literature Review <br />A files search made through the Preservation Office of <br />the Colorado State Historical Society showed no cultural <br />resources were previously recorded within the study area. <br />Files searches made through the Preservation Office, Colorado <br />Historical Society on 3 April 1990 and 11 November 1990 (Baker <br />1991) indicated no cultural resources had been previously <br />recorded in the study area. However, regional archaeological <br />studies suggest nearly continuous human occupation of west- <br />central Colorado for the past 12,000 years. Evidence of the <br />PaleoIndian Tradition, the Archaic Tradition, Formative <br />Cultures, and Protohistoric/Historic Utes has been found. <br />Historic records suggest occupation or use by Euroamerican <br />trappers, settlers, miners, and ranchers as well. Overviews <br />of the prehistory and history of the region are provided in <br />the Colorado Historical Society's publications entitled west- <br />Central Colorado Prehistoric Context (Reed 1984) and Colorado <br />Plateau Country Historic Context (Husband 1984). An overview <br />of the local history can be found in the recent study for the <br />Somerset Mine by Steven G. Baker (1991). <br />• 3 <br />