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forwarded to the BLM for their review. One road and drill site was relocated to avoid newly <br />discovered archeological resources. <br />5.0 HYDROLOGY <br />5.1 Surface Hydrology <br />No major drainages occur in the exploration area. A few small gullies cut the rolling terrain, <br />which carry water intermittently after storm events. The narrow gullies follow the dip of the <br />strata and trend northeastward across the exploration area. To the north of the exploration area <br />these gullies turn eastward to parallel the axis of the syncline and eventually empty into Red <br />Wash. Elevations in the area range from approximately 5680 to 6140 feet above mean sea <br />level. A small, normally dry impoundment named "Red Wash Reservoir No. 1" occurs near the <br />northwest corner of the exploration area. The exploration activities are not expected to impact <br />this or other surface water resources in the area. Access the drill sites will utilize existing roads <br />and trails and avoid gully crossings to the extent possible. <br />5.2 Subsurface Hydrology <br />Rocks in the region are predominately consolidated sandstones and shales. Based on previous <br />drilling and hydrologic studies in the area, channel like sandstones are the main potential source <br />of sub - surface water in this area. These sandstones can locally be damp or may produce a <br />small amount of water. Because these channel sandstones are generally erratic in thickness <br />and extent and have limited lateral continuity, the potential for drilling to encounter significant <br />quantities of groundwater is low. <br />6.0 GEOLOGY <br />6.1 Stratigraphy <br />Most of the exposed rocks belong to the Mesaverde Group of Upper Cretaceous age. BME <br />divided the Mesaverde Group in this area into Iles, Lower Williams Fork and Upper Williams <br />Fork Formation equivalents as shown in Figure 6 -1. The major coal seams are found in the <br />Lower Williams Fork Formation. The coals are generally associated with siltstones, <br />carbonaceous shales and occasional fine grained channel sandstones. <br />6 <br />