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<br />e to ography is gently sloping with a few small ridges and swa.les. Most <br />t e Tan surroura! I ''Ierm - it area is <br />e New or zon ne area as een rec a me a ere Is <br />'"6eing returned to pastureland andlor wildlife habitat. <br />The mine is located within the southeast portion of the Colorado Plateau. The <br />region is characterized by broad, fairly smooth surfaced plateaus and mesas <br />with gently dipping slopes dissected by steep canyons. Surface elevations at <br />the New Horizon Mine l range from a high of 5.767 feet (MSL) In the northwest <br />part of the permit area to a low of slightly less than 5.672 feet on the <br />southeast part of the permit area along Tuttle Draw (see the attached Index <br />Map Figure 1). Total topographic relief for the New Horizon 1 area is about <br />95 feet. Surface elevations at the New Horizon Mine 2 area range from a high <br />of 5,760 feet (MSL) in the northwest part to a low of 5,642 feet In the <br />southeast part along Calamity Draw for a total relief of about 110 feet. <br />Climate <br />The regional climate of the New Horizon area is typical of intermountain <br />regions. Ft is characterized by cold winters, hot summers, low rainfall, and <br />short growing seasons. The mine receives approximately 12 inches of <br />precipitation in an average year. The majority of the precipitation falls <br />between October and May. <br />Regional Geology <br />The New Horizon Mines are located near the axis of the Nucla Syncline <br />cyan Miguel Syncline), a shallow, broad synclinal fold running northwesterly <br />for 65 miles. No evidence of faults has been observed in drill holes at <br />New Horizon Mine 2 or at the New Horizon Mine i area. The Nuc1a Syncline is <br />TO to 15 miles southwest of the major regional geologic feature of the area, <br />the Uncompahgre uplift. The region lips in the Dolores River basin. The <br />mines are located two to four miles northeast of the San Miguel River. Gently <br />rolling terrain traverses the area and the mines occupy a predominantly <br />southwestern exposure. <br />The mines are located in the Nucla-Naturita coal field, The coal is found in <br />late Cretaceous sediments. The youngest Cretaceous racks in tre area consist <br />of Hancos shale, a dark grey marine shale, present only on isolated hilltops <br />south of the town of Nucla. Two hundred feet of Daitota sandstone outcrops <br />extensively along the axis of the Nucla syncline. This formation consists of <br />a yellowish-gray, fissile sandstone and conglomeratic sandstone interbedded <br />with dark grey shale and coal. There are two coal seams within 100 feet of <br />the base of the Dakota (Figure 2). The lower Cretaceous unit in the area, the <br />Burro Canyon Formation, is separated from the Dakota by an unconformity. The <br />Burro Canyon is comprised of white, grey and light brown sandstones and <br />conglomerates interbedded with green and purplish shales. slltstones, <br />mudstones and thin beds of limestone. This formation has a maximum thickness <br />of 200 feet and outcrops on rims of canyons west and northwest of the mine. <br />This formation is difficult to differentiate from the Dakota in this area and <br />is commonly considered hydrogeologically similar. The Jurassic Morrison <br />Formation is composed of 250 feet to 600 feet of varicolored siltstones and <br />muds.tones with beds of limestone and sandstone. <br />-4-