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town of Florence along Fremont County Road 79 . The mine site can <br /> be located on the USGS 7 . 5 quadrangle map entitled, "Rockvale" . <br /> Following is a brief description of the environment and of the <br /> operations and reclamation plans . More detailed information <br /> pertaining to a specific discipline, such as ground water <br /> hydrology, is found in this findings document within the specific <br /> discipline subsections under Section "B" . <br /> History <br /> Extensive past mining disturbances characterize the general area of <br /> the Southfield Mine. In 1860 the first coal mine was opened in the <br /> northern portion of the Canon City Coal Field. Production areas <br /> spread through the central area and into the southern portion of <br /> the coal field in the early 1900 ' s . Over 177 abandoned mines with <br /> 600 acres of existing associated surface disturbances have been <br /> identified by the Mined Land Reclamation Division' s Inactive Mine <br /> Program. <br /> Topography <br /> The existing environment in the general area of the Southfield Mine <br /> is one of an arid, steppe highland basin. The Canon City Coal <br /> Field/Basin lies in the transition zone between the foothills of <br /> the Wet Mountains and the eastern Colorado plains, ranging from <br /> 5 , 500 to 8, 000 feet . The area can be characterized as a high <br /> plains mesa dipping gently to the east-northeast . The mesa is <br /> dissected by several northeast trending ephemeral drainages . To <br /> the west and southwest of the mesa are the Wet Mountains, where the <br /> drainages have their headwaters . The Wet Mountain chain is fronted <br /> by a series of overthrust faults which results in pre-Cambrian <br /> materials unconformably overlying overturned sedimentary units . <br /> Erosion of the mountains has resulted in a pediment surface within <br /> the basin from 0 to 100 feet thick. The action of several <br /> ephemeral and some perennial streams has cut through the pediment <br /> surface, exposing the coal-bearing Vermejo Formation. This easily <br /> accessed coal has been extensively mined since the turn of the <br /> century leaving many unreclaimed spoils and waste piles . <br /> Additional information can be found in Section 2 . 04 .3 "General Site <br /> Information" of the permit application. <br /> Southfield Mine Permit Renewal 03 <br /> 16 <br />