PERMFILE68702

• Permit No: C1981038
• IBM Index Class Name: Permit File
• Doc Date: 12/11/2001
• Section_Exhibit Name: Volume 9B ARCHAEOLOGY APPENDIX Part 2 of 4
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

SDCI'ION II
I• DFS(RiPPION AMID INVIRLi~2di'AL OVERVI>ZJ OF THt; PFd~7FXT ARFA
The initial 880 acre study area includes the Sl$; of Sec. 13, the S}s
I of the SW; of Sec. 14 and all of Sec. 23 of T13S, R92W (Figures 3 and
4). It is situated on the southeast flank of Grand Mesa and overlooks
the Valley of the North Fork of the C~nnison River in west-central
Colorado (Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7). Grand Mesa is a prominent
I lava~apped plateau attaining altitudes as high as 11,000 feet. It is
located on the extreme east edye of the Colorado Plateau Province near
its contact with the Southern Rocky Mountain Province (Thornburg
I 1967:414-415, 334). The North Fork of the Gunnison River is situated at
ari elevation of about 5,600 feet in a valley which measures roughly
one-half mile wide near the study area. The study area itself extends
in elevation fran 6,600 to 8,000 feet on the north side of this valley.
A water line (Figure 4) will also be constructed into the revised area
of undertaking. This oartnences in the St+Bj, NFB; of Sec. 13 and passes
thrwgh Section 14 before arriving at the new portal area.
Paleo-environmental data are not segningly available for the valley
floor, but indications are that the local floral oamunity was carg~osed
of lush native grasses interspersed with box elder and what is locally
referred to as "Valley Oak" at the time of White settlement in the
1880's. One may reasonably suspect that cottonwood and willows were
also present in the local area as well. The climate was presumably
typical of the mountain valleys in the Gunnison Country where winters
are harsh and the summer gracing season short in oonQarison to valleys
•
at lower elevations. The faunal crnrtuuiity would have been typical of
the Rocky Mou ntains with deer, elk, bear, beaver, wolf, and other
maimals being conspicuous. The valley floor is today intensively
cultivated for hay and orchards.
The foothill slopes of the nnuntains rise steeply and reach an
elevation of about 8,000 feet within about two and one-half miles of the
Valley floor (Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7). Pinyon and juniper with a mixture
of scrub oak and other flora typical of the Transitional Life Zone are
evident on the slopes. Again, fauna typical of the Fock}• Mountain
Region would have been present at the time of initial White settlement
in the region.
Nortthaard beyond the steep slopes of the Valley, one enters more
deeply into the mountains (Figure 7) where elevations are maintained at
about 8,200 feet for about four miles. Within about ten miles north of
the bluffs overlooking the Valley, the mountains rise to an elevation of
nearl}' 10,000 feet. This region is characterized by the hbntane or
Canadian Life Zone and once exhibited conspicuous stands of aspen, with
lush grasses in the small parks, and spruce and fir obvious at various
points. Today the arw is notable for its heavy yrowt]-~ of large scrub
oak which local informants indicate has replaced the original grassy
slopes of the snall tributary valleys of the North Fork.
•
6