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TOPOGRAPHY <br />The land covered by the emergency lease application is characterized by <br />hilly plateau tops cut by several drainages. The altitude ranges from <br />7,375 feet in the bottom of Pine Gulch near the southeast corner of the <br />lease tract to 7,720 feet at the northern boundary. The elevation <br />varies 345 feet between these two locations. <br />GEOLOGIC AND GEOGRAPHIC SETTING <br />The application site lies on the northwestern rim of the San Juan <br />Basin, within the Colorado Plateau Province. The San Juan Basin is <br />located in northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado (see Map 3). <br />The geologic structure of the area is characterized by gentle southward <br />dips away from the La Plata Mountains to the north. <br />The coal bearing formation, tl~e Menefee formation of the Mesa Verde <br />Group, dips approximately 3-4 in d southerly direction. The Upper <br />t'lenefee seam, tf~e proposed seam to be maned, is approximately 6 feet <br />thick, dips 3-4 south and strikes S 35 W. Overlying the Menefee <br />formation is the Cliff House sandstone, which is exposed on the surface <br />of this tract. The Point Lookout sandstone is below the Menefee for- <br />- oration. <br />MINING HISTORY <br />Of the numerous coal mines which once dotted the outcrops of the hlesaverde <br />and Fruitland formations in La Plata County, only the National King Coal <br />and Peacock No. 2 mines have recorded any production in 1980. The <br />-monthly inspection report for October 1980 from the Colorado Division of <br />Mines indicates that the Peacock No. 2 employs three (3) people, but is <br />presently "idle". As of October 1980 the production from the Peacock <br />No. 2 Mine was 656 tons. <br />Other mines operating in the past three years include the Coal Gulch <br />Strip and Peacock Mines. The Peacock and Peacock No. 2 arP located in <br />Hay Gulch. <br />On December 27, 1978, and in February, 1981, Menefee Land Company, Inc., <br />submitted a permit application to the Colorado t4ined Land Reclamation <br />Board and the Office of Surface Mining for the Shalako Mine. The proposed <br />mine site is at the abandoned 14inoletti Mine (approximately one mile <br />east of the King Coal Mine). The Colorado Division of htines October <br />report indicates that the mine is in "preparation". <br />12 <br /> <br />