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Water produced from the Vermejo Formation is also of fair to <br />poor quality. Surface expressions of this ground water are de- <br />scribed in the Spring and Seep Survey section. <br />Raton Formation <br />Sandstone beds of the Raton Formation are generally coarser <br />grained and more conglomeratic than those of the Vermejo. The <br />lower 300-400 feet of the formation is a series of these sands <br />and shales. Total thickness of the Raton Formation is less than <br />1000 feet in the Trinidad area. <br />In the Starkville area, sands of the Raton Formation should <br />exist in water table or perched aquifer conditions. The aquifers <br />will become more confined to the south and east where the over- <br />laying Poison Canyon Formation is present. <br />Water quality of the Raton Formation appears to be good. The <br />• Moores Canyon spring water had a total dissolved solids content of <br />270 milligrams per liter, making it suitable for drinking water <br />purposes. However, no known wells draw water from the Raton in <br />this area. Two wells near Moores Canyon Spring went dry 60 to 90 <br />days after drilling, and have not been used since. <br />• <br />As stated in the Regional Hydrology section, the general <br />direction of ground water flow is to the east. However, locally <br />the hydrologic gradient may be altered. This occurs where surface <br />exposure of strata allows recharge and discharge as in stream beds <br />or on mesa margins. Cross-sectional views of local aquifers shown <br />in Figures 2 and 3 illustrate this localized phenomenon. It is <br />seen that the ground water within the Vermejo Formation and Trinidad <br />sandstone has a tendancy to flow west and north-west from the permit <br />area. In those directions water table conditions will exist in the <br />FISHER, HARDEN 6 FISHER <br />122 <br />