| San Juan Basin |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT SAN JUAN BASIN | |
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As a Drainage Basin , the San Juan Basin is defined by the drainage of the San Juan River and its tributaries, which include the Animas River and the Florida River . The San Juan River flows into the Colorado River . The drainage of the San Juan River is roughly coincident with the San Juan Structural Basin , a large downwarp of sedimentary rocks of mostly Mesozoic age. As a geologic region, the San Juan Basin is noted for its large deposits of Coal , Uranium , and Natural Gas . Since the 1980s, the Fruitland Formation in the basin has been one of the major US sources of Coalbed Methane . The region is notable both by its marked Arid ity and by a rugged topography of Plain s and Valley s interspersed by Butte s, Canyon s and Mesa s. Its most striking features include Chaco Canyon (northwestern New Mexico, between Farmington and Santa Fe ) and Chacra Mesa . The San Juan Basin also has uplands that exceed elevations of 9,800 feet. As the region gently increases in elevation in a southeasterly direction, the Basin's streams flow to the northwest, eventually draining into the Colorado River .Fagan 2005, pp. 41-43. CITATIONS REFERENCES
SEE ALSO Uranium Mining In The United States |
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