Mancos Shale Landscapes—Slope and Aspect Geomorphology for Field Reconnaissance

Hill slope and aspect are important site-sampling, analysis, and modeling parameters for the Mancos Shale Landscapes project, an interagency effort primarily involving the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to address science questions associated with BLM management of the portion of the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area (GGNCA) in western Colorado underlain by Mancos shale.

These maps were developed to help project scientists choose, while in the field, the most appropriate sites based on predetermined slope and aspect categories shown by colors and patterns. The areas shown are subsets, having mostly exposed shale, of the larger GGNCA.