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GEOLOGIC APPRAISAL OF GRAVEL RESOIIRCE <br />POWDER MOUNTAIN RANCH PROPERTY <br />25.24-ACRE PARCEL IN SECTION 34 <br />MESA COUNTY, COLORADO <br />MARCH, 1999 <br />INTRODUCTION <br />Powder Mountain Ranch owns several parcels of land in the <br />vicinity of Rapid Creek near Palisade, Colorado. The purpose <br />of this appraisal, as requested by Dr. Robert L. Orr, is to <br />describe and quantify the gravel resource on a parcel of 25.24 <br />acres in the SW~ of Section 34, T 10 S, R 98 W, Sixth Principal <br />Meridian. The appraisal is based on a surface reconnaissance <br />of the site on March 18, 1999, and a report by the Colorado <br />Geological Survey titled "Mineral Resources Survey of Mesa <br />County", by Stephen D. Schwochow, 1978. <br />The site consists of a high terrace at the southeast portion <br />of the property, and a steep escarpment to the north and <br />northwest sloping down to the Interstate 70 Highway and the <br />Colorado River. The parcel consists of a total of 25.24 acres <br />divided into two parts by a right-of-way for the Interstate 70 <br />Highway. The portion south of the highway is about 23.48 acres <br />and the northwest corner consists of 1.76 acres along the <br />Colorado River. The terrace is underlain by a thick gravelly <br />deposit which is the subject of this report. The terrace portion <br />is gently sloping, and has been cleared of vegetation and surface <br />rocks in the past to allow creation of irrigated croplands. The <br />area is presently mostly dry grasses used for pasture land. <br />GEPERAL GEOLOGY <br />The subject area lies between the 10,000 foot-high, lava capped <br />Grand Mesa to the southeast and the Bookcliffs, an east-west <br />trending ridge. These two features are separated by a narrow, <br />deep canyon, known as DeBeque Canyon, eroded into sedimentary <br />rocks of the Mesaverde Formation by the Colorado River. The <br />dip of the beds is about 3° to the northeast away from the nearby <br />Uncompahgre Uplift. <br />SITE GEOLOGY <br />The Powder Mountain Ranch property is located near the mouth <br />of Rapid Creek on a complex and deeply dissected alluvial fan <br />sequence which involves several hundred acres. Mesaverde <br />sandstone and shale crops out on the northeast portion of this <br />parcel and at several other nearby locations. <br />1 <br />