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• -7- • Description of the Environment The mine site is located three miles south of Trinidad, Colorado in an area characterized by dissected plateaus. Elevation at the mine site ranges from 6400 feet to 6700 feet. Land use in the area is classified as highland agriculture by Local planning and land use officials. This use basically comprises mountainous grazing and watershed protection. Zn the immediate area of the site, mining has been a previous land use. Evidence of these past mining activities can be found in most of the small canyons in the area. Due to disturbances from past mining activities, use of the area for grazing, and proximity to the town of Trinidad and a major highway (I-25)r the utility of the area as wildlife habitat is very limited. Large, undisturbed areas lie to the south of the mine that offer suitable habitat. Therefore, most wildlife species that existed at the site have been displaced into adjacent areas. The Animas Mine is located in the eastern limb of the Trinidad-Raton Basin syncline. The coal seam to be mined (Lower Starkville seam) occurs in the Vermejo Formation and dips to the west three to four degrees. Some minor faults have been noted in old underground workings. The Raton Formation lies stratigraphicall_y above the Vermejo Formation, and includes some coal seams of minor importance. Located below the Vermejo Formation is the Trinidad sandstone, an aquifer of regional significance. The Starkville seam outcrops in the mine area slightly above the Starkville drainage. This drainage flows only in response to rainfall or snowmelt. Starkville Gulch drains into Raton Creek, which is tributaru to the Purgatoire River. The region is characterized by a semi-arid climatic regime. Prevailing winds are from the southwest at an average speed of ten knots. The mean annual precipitation is ZS inches. The growing season is approximately 156 days. The area around the Animas Mine has been disturbed to varying degrees by preceding mining operations leaving varying amounts of mining refuse on the ground surface. Natural soils are derived from the sedimentary materials of the foothill slopes. The soils on the side slopes of the mine site are characteristically shallow, being derived from parent sandstone and shale layers which outcrop in the area. The soils are neutral to slightly alkaline, clay to clay-loam in texture,.with Low concentrations of salts and minimal organic water. Soil mapping units found in this area are 19idnight-Rombo and Louviers-Rombo- Travessilla.