Laserfiche WebLink
<br />SMUGGLER MINE SITE <br />B-3.0 Soils <br />5a ExHlarrB <br />There is little soil within the disturbed area of the permit boundary at the mine because of <br />mining activity at the site over the past century. The undisturbed azea within and outside the permit <br />boundary contains natural, mostly undisturbed soils. The Soil Conservation Service's Soil <br />Reconnaissance, SURVEY OF THE ASPEN-GYPSUM AREA, COLORADO (MAY 1992), names the native <br />soils of the area as the "Uracca Series" and the "Mine Series". The Uracca, moist Mergel Complex <br />occupies the more gentle side slopes of the valley at the base of Smuggler Mountain and the Mine <br />Loam occupies the steeper slopes of the mountain. <br />The SCS Survey indicates that the Uracca soil is deep and well drained. The soil formed in <br />alluvium derived dominantly from mixed igneous and metamorphic material. About 3 to 15 percent <br />of the surface is covered with boulders, stones, cobbles, and gravel. Typically, the surface layer is <br />brown cobbly sandy loam about 3 inches thick. The upper 5 inches of the subsoil is cobbly sandy <br />loam. The lower 7 inches is very cobbly sandy clay loam. The substratum to a depth of 60 inches <br />or more is extremely cobbly loamy sand. The content of coarse fragments ranges from 35 to 85 <br />percent, by volume, in a major part of the surface layer and subsoil. Permeability is moderately rapid <br />and the available water capacity is low. The effective rooting depth is 60 inches or more. Runoff <br />is medium, and the hazard of water erosion is slight. <br />Characteristics of the Mergel soil are similar to the Uracca except that it contains more rock <br />and was formed from glacial outwash. <br />The Mine loam is a deep, well-drained soil on fans and valley side slopes. It formed in <br />moderately coarse textured alluvium and colluvium derived dominantly from metamorphic rocks. <br />Typically, the surface layer is very dark grayish brown loam about 4 inches thick. The upper 33 <br />inches of the substratum is gravelly sandy loam over cobbly sandy loam. The next 8 inches is very <br />cobbly loamy sand. The lower part to a depth of 60 inches is very gravelly sandy loam. The <br />effective rooting depth is 60 inches or more. Permeability is rapid to very rapid and the available <br />water capacity is low. Runoff is rapid and the hazard of water erosion is moderate. <br />The commitment to soil salvage is preserved in Exhibit C, the Mining Plan. The commitment <br />to the provision of an adequate depth of suitable growth medium to assure successful revegetation <br />in the Alternate Reclamation Plan is presented in Section D-4.0. <br />B-4.0 Permanent, Man-made Structures Outside Permit Area <br />The only permanent, man-made structures presently within 200 feet of the permit boundary <br />are the Smuggler Mountain County Road (Smuggler Mountain Road), the Centennial-Aspen <br />Apartments parking lot, the Salvation Ditch, and parts of the access road to and three lots within the <br />newly created SilverLode Subdivision. <br />- I I - SMUGGLER MINE SITE <br />