| OCR Text |
Show PARC II DESCRIPTION OF REGION Upper Main Stem Subregion The Upper Main Stem Subregion is the area drained by the Colorado River and its tributaries above the mouth of Green River. Principal trib- utaries are the Roaring Fork, Gunnison, and Dolores Rivers. The subregion has an area of 26,192 square miles, with about 85 percent of the area in Colorado and the remainder in Utah. Grand Junction, Montrose, and Glenwood Springs are the principal towns of the subregion in Colorado. Moab is the only major community in the Utah portion. Interstate 'JO and the main line of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad traverse the subregion and provide the principal transportation, routes. A network of state highways and secondary roads also extends through the area. Mineral development is the predominant industry of the subregion. The area is the Nation's chief source of molybdenum and is a major source of vanadium, uranium, lead, zinc, coal, and gilsonite. Although gold and silver were the basis for early settlement, production of these metals is now of secondary importance. Like the Green River Subregion, the Upper Main Stem Subregion contains vast reserves of oil shale which offer po- tentialities for large future industrial developments. In the Upper Main Stem Subregion, as in the Green River Subregion, agriculture centers around livestock production and production of live- stock feeds on irrigated lands to complement the large areas of range- land. There is somewhat more diversification of crops in the Upper Main Stem Subregion, however, with some major land areas devoted to sugar beets, beans, potatoes, table vegetables, and fruit. This diversifica- tion is made possible by climatic and topographic conditions which crea"te favorable air drainage and minimize frost damage. The subregion contains numerous recreational areas of national sig- nificance. These include several national forests, the Rocky Mountain National Park and a part of the Canyonlands National Park, the Shadow Mountain and Curecanti National Recreation Areas, and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado, and Arches National Monuments. Also the area- contains such noted resort areas as Aspen and Vail as well as many pop- ular smaller resorts on both public and private land. San Juan-Colorado Subregion The San Juan-Colorado Subregion is the area drained by the Colo- rado River and its tributaries between the mouth of the Green River ancL Lee Ferry, Arizona. The largest of the tributary streams is the San Juan River which heads on the western slope of the Continental Divide |
