Description
This open file report for Morgan County includes an introduction to the geology and mineral resources of the county along with an index map of tract locations, as well as maps of metallic mineral prospects, industrial mineral prospects, oil and gas resources, and coal resources. 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-02-09D
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:
Morgan County is located in northeastern Colorado and is geologically situated in the eastern Cheyenne Basin. The county is located in northern-most Colorado along the border with Wyoming. This evaluation of the mineral and mineral fuel resource potential was conducted for the nearly 78,408 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 83 individual tracts that range from approximately 50 to 5,000 acres.
In 1998, Morgan County ranked 16th among Colorado’s counties in annual oil production and 18th in annual natural gas production from a total of 40 producing fields. There are no known coal or metallic mineral resources in Morgan County. Sand and gravel are the only industrial minerals and construction materials that occur in the county.
