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• Loma Seam The uppermost seam in the section remains officially unnamed, however, for identification purposes, it is referred to as the Loma Seam. The Loma Seam does not attain a mineable thickness within the boundaries of the exploration azea. Carbonera Zone Most of this coal seam is split into thin stringers scattered through 100 feet or more of section. The Cazbonera's lenticular bedding and thin split seam deposition makes mining in the Cazbonera Zone problematic. Cameo Seam Current data and projections verify the Cameo Seam is present as either one or two seams throughout the exploration azea. As two separate or one total seam, the Cameo is at least 17 feet thick throughout the exploration azea. Palisade Zone The Palisade zone includes several thin stringers of coal. Stratigraphically it is more than 300 feet lower than the Cameo seam in the exploration azea. The sulfur content of the Palisade Seam is significantly greater than the Cameo. The Palisade Seam may not be mineable because of depth of overburden, seam thickness, and quality problems. Water Resources • The exploration area lies north of the Grand Valley in the rugged terrain drained by Big Salt Wash and its deeply incised tributaries. These tributaries are intermittent by definition. The ephemeral channels flow generally southwest and southeast through the exploration area to the Colorado River, a distance of about 20 miles. The ephemeral channels flow only in direct response to precipitation in the immediate watershed or in response to the melting of a cover of snow or ice. The occurrence of ground water in the exploration area is controlled mostly by the combination of the local topography, stratigraphy and geologic structure. Water bearing strata aze developed in alluvial sediments along the local streams and in the bedrock. Bedrock aquifers aze contained in sandstone strata and locally in the coal seams. The erratic location of these perched groundwater occurrences, low transmissivity and permeability, and the absence of development and exploitation diminishes the possibility of being used as a groundwater resource in the foreseeable future. The Book Cliffs Coal Field area is considered a desert and only a few springs exist within the coal bearing strata. Most of the mines in the Book Cliffs Coal field aze dry because most of them have been developed above the local streambeds, The McClane Canyon mine encountered water because it is below the local streambed. Ve etation Five vegetation types characterize the proposed exploration azea and surrounding azea. They include a Greasewood Shrubland, Big Sagebrush Shrubland, Shadscale Shrubland, Juniper Woodland and Mountain Shrubland.