Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Soils within the permit area can be classified into three groups. A <br />silty-sandy clay-loam covers the gently rolling grasslands. This soil has a high <br />water capacity with variable runoff, from slow to fast. Along the steeply-dipping <br />slopes the soil is primarily swell-drained, moderately-permeable, sandy-loam. Its <br />water-holding capacity is low to moderate and runoff is medium to rapid. A fine <br />sand-loam covers undisturbed areas along Maitland and Gordon Arroyos. The soil <br />was formed from the alluvium and eolian sand and has a moderate permeability and <br />water-holding capacity. Runoff is slow to medium. <br />Generally, vegetation along the western margin of the permit area is a <br />pinon-juniper community with minor amounts of grass. In the lowlands and arroyos, <br />the vegetation is mainly sagebrush and grass. <br />SURFACE WATER HYDROLOGY <br />• The mine plan area is drained by two ephermeral drainages, Maitland <br />and Gordon Arroyos. Surface flow in the arroyos occurs only when significant <br />runoff saturates the permeable alluvium. This only occurs when spring snowmelt is <br />combined with precipitation events and during sudden precipitation events in the <br />summer and fall. During the remainder of the year, the arroyos are dry. Minor <br />drainages in the area such as Gordon and Maitland Arroyos are influent, while <br />major drainages such as the Huerfano and Cucharas Rivers are effluent. <br />Because of the ephemeral nature of Maitland and Gordon Arroyos, no <br />quantity or quality measurements of surface runoff has been made to date. <br />However, five crest stage gauges were installed in January 1983. The locations of <br />these gauges are tabulated below. <br />• <br />-3- <br />