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-4- Tne rock units exposed in the permit and adjacent areas are all Cretaceous in- -- - " -- age. These units include the Lewis Shale, the Pictured Cliffs Sangstone, the Fruitland Formation and the Y,irtland Shale. The Carbon Junction Mine was to extract coal from the Lewis coal seam ("C"-seam),=Carbonero seam I"B" seam)- - - and the Shamrock seam ("A" seam) within the Fruitland Formation. - -_- Ground water within the general area of the mine occurs in the Pictured Cliffs - 5andstone, the interbedded and lenticular sandstones, and the coals of the Fruitland Formation, the Quaternary terrace deposits, and the alluvium of the Animas River. Ground water movement in the rock strata is controlled by the geologic structure and the stratiaraphy. Ground water within sandstone and coal units flows down the dip of the strata and through fracture zones. bedrock aouifers are recharged at their outcrops and subcrops. These aouifers discharge at - - -- - lower elevations, primarily in stream valleys. Lenticular and interbedded sandstones support only localized ground water flows. There are no alluvial valley floor deposits within the permit area. - The climate of the area is relatively moderate, with a monthly low mean temperature of 25.3oF in January and a monthly high mean temperature of 67_ OoF in Juiy. Record temperature extremes-range-from a nigh of 99°F, -. - recorded in August, tc lows of -27oF, recorded in January and February.- - - Annual Drecipitation averages 18.04 inches, with a maximum of. 2.36 inches in August and a minimum of 0.98 inches in November. The average snowfall is o=.3 inches, with the highest amount in January (21.2 inches), followed by Uece:gber- - (14.8 inches). The average wind direction"is generally from the west, with an average speed of less than one knot. I'ne SD115 Withln t'ne permit area CDn515t Of shallow to very oeeD clays and clay loams, which are suitable as a Dlant growth medium. About lE and 12 inches of soil will be replaced in the cropland and raneeland zreas, respectively. The permit area consists cf a mosaic cf pinyon-juniper, mountain shrub, old field and cultivated dryla_nd wh<at communities. The mountain shrub community 15 found pri~~~ariiy On the IoWer SIOD°_S and drainages and is dOminated py Gambel's oak. The pinyon-iuniper community occurs on higher areas and in locations with shallow soils. in addition to pinyon pine and L'tah juniper, other common shrubs include Utah serviceberry, Gambel's oak, *_rue mountain mahogany, cliff fendlerbush and sguawappie. Understory plants are relatively sparse. Dominant shrubs in t'ne old fie id community are rabbitbrush, 'o room snake weed, big sagebrush and true mountain mahogany. The Dominant grasses are wneatgrass and a wheatgrass hybrid. There has been no grazing on the site since 1979. The current land uses are dryland wheat farming and wildlife use.