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.i <br />~ •~ • • <br />• 1.0 INTfd~DUCPION <br />Wyoming Fuel O~npany (WFC) sans and operates the New Elk and Golden <br />Eagle underground coal mines in southern ~lorado. This report presents the <br />hydrologic monitoring activities conducted at the tvo mines during the First <br />Quarter of 1987 (January, February, and March). <br />1.1 Site Description <br />The mine sites are located approximately six miles west of Weston in <br />Las Animas Oounty, ~lorado (T33S, R68W) and are situated in mountainous <br />terrain which provides numerous canyons contributing runoff to the series of <br />ephemeral, intermittent, and perennial streams of the area (Figure 1). The <br />surface facilities are adjacent to the Purgatoire River which is the primary <br />drainage of the area. The Purgatoire flan is easterly where it drains to <br />the Arkansas River also in Las Animas, O~lorado. <br />• The closest weather station is located at the Trinidad Airport <br />(elevation 5,746 ft) approximately 30 miles east. Over a recording period <br />of 50 years, total annual precipitation averaged 13.5 inches. The majority <br />of precipitation occurs Eton April to September. July has the highest <br />monthly rainfall. The mean temperature is 51.5°F. January and July have <br />the lowest and highest temperatures, respectively. The project area is <br />approximately 1,650 ft higher in elevation than the Trinidad Airport. 'Itie <br />mine has a lacer mean temperature and higher average precipitation. The <br />Golden Eagle and New Elk precipitation stations reported 16.26 inches and <br />18.90 inches at each station for 1985, respectively. These stations are <br />located approximately three miles apart (Figure 1) with the major difference <br />in recorded precipitation being observed during mid-summer thunderstorms. <br />Table 4 is a summary of the precipitation data crollected through March. <br />Soils are shallow and coarse-grained. Derivation is from the <br />underlying sandstones and shales. Bedrock exposures are caamn and <br />scattered throughout the area. The valley bottoms are characterized by <br />• alluvial and colluvial deposits which are also coarse-grained and deeper <br />than soils of the mountain slopes. <br />