Description
This open file report for Lincoln County includes introduction to the geology and mineral resources of the county along with an index map of tract locations, as well as maps of oil and gas test wells with oil field locations, and industrial mineral and construction material resources. Maps are not included for coal regions and mines or metallic mineral resources as they are not applicable in this county. The main body of the report is an evaluation of each individual tract, which includes text as well as corresponding topographic and geologic maps. Digital ZIP download. OF-03-01D
Four general categories of resources are included in this inventory:
- oil and gas
- coal
- metallic minerals
- industrial minerals and construction materials
Each individual tract evaluation includes:
- A bar graph which ranks each tract’s resource potential for each of the four mineral categories. An explanation of the categories may be found at the end of this introduction
- Tract identifier number, county name, and county location map
- Tract location on a 7-1/2-minute United States Geologic Survey topographic map
- Tract location on a United States Geologic Survey surface outcrop map
- Location as to section, township, and range and approximate acreage
- Overview of tract geology
- Specific assessment of the resource potential for the four resource categories
- References used in assessing tract potential
From the Introduction:
Lincoln County is located on the high plains of eastern Colorado, and is situated along the gently dipping eastern flank of the Laramide-age Denver Basin. This evaluation of the mineral and mineral fuel resource potential was conducted for the nearly 171,800 acres of state mineral lands within the county. It was conducted as part of its long-term evaluation of approximately 4 million acres of state lands administered by the State Land Board. For evaluation purposes, the county was divided into 154 individual tracts that range from approximately 80 to 29,560 acres in size.
Oil and gas are the most economically significant resources in Lincoln County, produced from 18 individual fields and 43 wells, although thirteen of the county’s fields are either shut-in or abandoned by 2002. There are no coal resources in Lincoln County and no known metal resources, although groundwater tests locally yielded elevated uranium levels (Nelson-Moore and others, 1978). Sand and gravel are the most prolific resources in the county and are the only industrial minerals historically or currently exploited.
