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4-22 <br />• Flow rates during this period increase five to ten times <br />over those occurring during other months of the year, pro- <br />during 60 to 65 percent of the total annual flow. Low flows <br />normally occur during the winter months when surface runoff <br />is minimal and most of the flow represents ground water <br />discharge from the watershed (U.S. Department of the Interior, <br />1979). <br />4.5.2.2 Local Hydrology <br />The permit area lies in the rugged terrain drained by East <br />Salt Creek and its deeply incised tributaries, including <br />Munger Creek. East Salt Creek heads on the Roan Cliffs, in <br />the area southeast of Douglas Pass, and drains southwestward <br />• through the permit area about 28 miles, entering West Salt <br />Creek about one mile upstream from its confluence with the <br />Colorado River. <br />The East Salt Creek channel maintains an average gradient <br />through the general area of the mine of about 1.1 percent. <br />East Salt Creek locally represents the base level below <br />which all permeable materials are water-saturated. <br />All tributaries of East Salt Creek traversing the mine area are <br />ephemeral, flowing less than one month of each calendar year, <br />in direct response to precipitation in the immediate watershed <br />or the melting of a cover of snow and ice. Further, the <br />channel bottom is always above the local water table. <br />• <br />