tl, X~   0
i* 
REP ORT
OF
EXPLORIATIONS IN 1873
OF
THE COLORADO OF THE WEST
ITS TRIBUTARIES,
BY
Professor J. W. POWELL,
UNDER THE
DIRECTION OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE,
1874.
AND
- 44wi.
0 
tonI,' 
REPORT OF PROFESSOR POWELL ON THE SURVEY OF THE COLO                       RADO OF THE WEST.
SMiITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, D. C., May 1, 1874.
SIR: I have the honor to present a third preliminary report, made iu
accordance with the acts of Congress, approved March 31, 1871, June
10, 1872, and March 3, 1873, " appropriations for sundry civil expenses
of the Government," &c., for the survey of the Colorado IRiver of the
WVest, and its tributaries, by Prof. J. W. Powell.
This survey was placed under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution by Congress, without solicitation on the part of the Institution.
It has, however, endeavored faithfully to discharge the duty imposed
upon it; has given due attention to the plans and execution of the work
intrusted to it, and has received and prepared for exhibition in the
iNational Museum the valuable collections in ethnology and natural
history which have been obtained by Professor Powell.
The region embraced in this survey, as I have stated in a previous
report, is one of the most interesting, in a geological point of view, in
this or in any other country. The Colorado of the West and its tributaries traverse a series of remarkable chasms, in some instances of more
than a mile in depth below the general surface of the region, presenting
in several places, at one view, sections of the greater number of the
known geological formations of America.
In the report herewith submitted, a general summary is given of the
entire work. It exhibits a great amount of labor, and a series of results,
not only of importance to science, but also to a knowledge of the couiitry in its relations to agriculture and mineralogy.  The report embraces
a statement of what has been accomplished in the way of, first, Topography, as based on triangulation, including a description of the arable
valleys, the supply of water, the extent of timber and of pasture-lald;
second, Geology, including economic mnineralogical products, such as
coal, salt, and other minerals; third, Ethnology, comprising tribes, political organization, languages, manners, customs, mythology, poetry,
arts, &c.; fourth, Natural History, including mammals, birds, reptiles,
insects, and plants.
Professor Powell in his last year's survey completed the work for
which the appropriations by Congress have been made.  He now suggests the propriety of a further appropriation for one year, to enable
him to connect his surveys with those of Clarence King on the north,
and those of Dr. Hayden on the east.  I have no hesitation in saying 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
that this additional work is of importance, and that an appropriation
for the purpose would be well applied.
But whatever may be the determination of Congress on this point, in
view of the valuable results already obtained at a comparatively small
expense, I would respectfully and earnestly recommnend that a sufficient appropriation be made to prepare a detailed report of the whole
work.  Unless this be done, the labor and money already expended
will be of little or no avail to the Government or the public generally.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JOSEPH HENRY,
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
Hlon. J. G. BLAINE,
Specker of the House of Representatives.
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 30, 1874.
SIR: I have the honor to submit the following statement of the progress made in the survey of the Colorado River of the WXest and its
tributaries.  It is a summary of all the work which has been performed from the date of beginning to the present time.
TOPOGRAPHY.
The Colorado River is formed by the junction of the Grand and Green.
These streams unite in latitude 380 111 21" and longitude 110~ 7' 48",
approximately.
The mouth of the Colorado River, as determined by Lieutenant Ives,
is in latitude 310 53' and longitude 1150. The course of the river from
its head, the junction of the above-menotioned streams, to the mouth of
the Colorado Chiquito, is south 400 west.
From the mouth of the Little Colorado to the junction of the Rio
Virgen with the main stream, the general course of the river is to the
west.  From this point its course is to the south, until it empties into
the Gulf of California. This lower part of the river was explored by
Lieutenant Ives in the winter of 1857-'58; and the district of country to the east between the river and the Rio Grande del Norte, and to
the west between the Colorado and the Pacific, has been crossed by
various exploring parties and military expeditions.
The maps made by these several parties, when compiled, give a general sketch of the country of great value in determining many of the important features, but unreliable in details, contradictory, and confusing.
That portion of the Colorado between the mouth of the Rio Virgen
and the junction of the Grand and Green had never been mapped before
the one imade by the parties under my charge was constructed.  The
river had been crossed at two points by Lieutenant Ives, and at another by
Father Escalante, and such points approximately determined.  Nor had
4 
SURVEY OF THIE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
that portion of the Green between its junction with the Grand and the
crossing of the Union Pacific Railroad ever been mapped; but its position at three different points had been determined by Government
explorers, viz, at the mouth of Hlenry's Fork, at the mouth of the Uintab, and at Gunnison's Crossing, on the old Spanish trail.
During the years 1867, 1868, and the first part of 1869, I was engaged
with a small party of naturalists, volunteers like myself, in the exploration of the mountains of central and western Colorado about the sources
of the Grand, White, and Yamtpa Rivers. After exploring a number of
canions through which these streams run, I determined to attempt the
exploration of the great canions of the Colorado. Boats were built in
Chicago and transported by the Union Pacific Railroad, which was then
running construction-trains, to the point where that road crosses Green
River, and from thence in our boats we descended Green River to the
Colorado, and the Colorado through the series of great canons to the
mouth of the Rio Virgen.
On starting we expected to devote ten months to the work; but
meeting with some disasters, by which our store of rations was greatly
reduced, we were compelled to hasten the work, so that but three months
were given to it.
On this trip astronomic stations about fifty miles apart were made,
and observations taken for latitude with the sextant, and also for longitude by the method of lunar distances.  The meandering course of the
river was determined by comnpass-observations from point to point, with
the intervening distances estimated, thus connecting the astronomic
stations. For hypsometric data a series of tri-daily barometric observations were recorded, taken at the water's edge, and using this as an everfalling base-line, altitudes on the walls, and such adjacent mountainpeaks as were visited were determined by synchronous observations.
The results of this hypsometry were used in the construction of the
geological sections.  The course of the river and the topographic features
of the canons only were mapped.  It should be remarked here that a
portion of the records of this trio were lost at the time when the
men, who had them in charge, were killed by Indians.
Having demonstrated the practicability of descending the river in
boats, it was determined to make a more thorough survey of the series of
cations along the Green and Colorado Rivers, and of the more important side cafions, and also to include as broad a belt of country as it was
possible from the river, and application was made to Congress for the
necessary funds to carry on the work. The assistance asked was granted,
and the work has been in continuous progress from July, 1870, until
the present time.
It had been determined that it would not be practicable to perform
the elaborate work projected, depending on such supplies as it was possible to take with us on the boats from Green River Station, but that
0
5 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
it would be necessary to establish depots for supplies at a number of
points along the course.
Between Gunnison's Crossing, on Green River, and the foot of the
Grand Cation of the Colorado, a distance of five hundred and eighty seven and one-half miles, it was not known that the river could be
reached at more than two points.  One of these, at the crossing known
as E1 Yado de los Padres, where Father Escalante had crossed the river
in 1776, by following an old Indian trail; the other but a short distance
below, at the mouth of the Paria River.  This route had been discovered
by Jacob Hamlin, a Morlmon missionary.  These were so near together
that only one of them could be used as a depot for supplies.
The last part of the year 1870 was given to the exploration of routes
from the settlements in Utah to the Green and Colorado on the east
and Colorado on the south.  These lines of travel were mapped by fix ing astronomic stations with the sextant and connecting them by the
methods usually adopted in a meandering reconnaissance.
Early in the spring of 1871 boats were provided at Green River Sta tion. The latitude of this point was determined by observations with
the zenith telescope, and the longitude by telegraphic signals, with an
astronomic station at Salt Lake City, previously established by officers
of the United States Coast Survey. The altitude of this point above
the sea had also been determined by the railroad surveys, so that the
altitude, latitude, and longitude of the initial point of the survey were
fixed with a good degree of approximation.
In descending Green River, astronomic stations were established at
distances averaging forty-five miles by river, or about twenty-five miles
by direct lines, the instrument used being the sextant.  At each of these
stations the variation of the needle was determined. The river was
again meandered by two observers, working independently, and their
work compared.
The lines between stations on the river were used as a series of baselines, the lengths, of course, only approximately determined, and an intricate net-work of triangles was Ifojected to salient points on either
side of the river. From a vast number of points thus fixed, the surface
contour of the country was sketched so as to include a belt from twenty
to fifty miles wide, the parties making frequent trips from the river into
the interior of the country. At each of these astronomic stations barometric readings were recorded in hourly series, and as we proceeded
down the river tri-daily barometric readings were made, all referred
to the water's edge.  With the river as a base-line for hypsomuetric work,
altitudes were determined by triangulation and by barometric methods,
using both mercurial and aneroid instruments. Thus all of our altitudes
in this region are related to the river.
Our time during the spring, summer, and fall of 1871 was thus occupied until we arrived at the mouth of the Paria, a stream entering the
Colorado from the northwest, a little below the Arizona line.
6 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
Such was the character of the astronomic, topographic, and hypsometric work done up to this time, methods not absolutely correct, but giving valuable approximate results.
But the wonderful features of the Grand Caaion district had yet to be
mapped, and it was determined to do the work in this region by more
thorough methods. A general reconnaissance was made for the purpose
of selecting a site for a base-line, and the valley of the Kanab was chosen.
Then a point midway between the extremities of the proposed line was
selected, and an astronomic transit mounted for the purpose of determining the meridian direction and fixing the extremities of the line. This
accomplished, the alignments were made with a theodolite. The latitude of the northern extremity of the line was determined by an extended series of observations with the zenith telescope, and the longitude
by telegraphic signals with the previously-mentioned astronomic station
at Salt Lake City. The base-line was measured with wooden rods, levcled on trestles, and aligned by sighting on small steel pins in either
extremity.  The rods were trussed to prevent sagging and warping,
thoroughly seasoned, oiled, and varnished, and the extremities were shod
with small metallic cones, for the purpose of securing accurate contact.
The rods were measured with a standard steel tape, at a temperature of
520~.  Three rods were used, two always remaining in position as a protection against accidental movement. The leveling instrument was a
plummet, or an inverted T, the base of which was the same length as the
rods. Every hundred feet of distance was marked off by a stake, in the
top of which was inserted an iron wire sharpened to a point, and this
point connected with the point at the end of the rod by a plummet, and
each hundred feet of the distance was re-measured with the steel tape.
The ground selected for the site of the base-line was very good, being
nearly level and quite smooth, and we found that the work could be
done more rapidly than had been anticipated, the only delay being due
to windy weather.  WThen the wind was blowing briskly it gave a trembling motion to the rods, which rendered it impossible to make that correct alignment and accurate contact between the points which was
desirable, and for that reason the work was carried on only during still
weather.  The line was found to be 48S099 46 feet in length.  Then a system of triangles was expanded from the extremities of this line, so as
to embrace all of the country from the Mar-ka-gunt and Pauns-a-gunt
Plateaus on the north to salient points a few miles south of, the Grand
Cafion, and from the Beaver Dam and Pine Valley Mountains on the
west to the Navajo Mountain beyond the Colorado on the east, and still
farther to the northeast, so as to embrace the country from the Sevier
River on the west to salient points immediately beyond the Colorado on
the east, and as far north as the southern tributaries of the Dirty Devil
River. The angles of these triangles were measured with a seven-inch
theodolite. At the geodetic points mounds were built and flag-staffs
erected, and in that clear atmosphere it was found that it was practica
7 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
ble to make the sides of the triangles from twenty-five to thirty miles
long, and occasionally, when the artificial points were on very salient
natural points, the sides of the triangle could be made much longer.
Six of the more distant and important geodetic points were used as
astronomic stations where observations were made with the zenith telescope for latitude, for the purpose of checking any serious error that
might occur in the triangulation.
From the points thus established a number of observations made were
with the theodolite or gradientor, and from these observations a vast
net-work of secondary triangles was constructed. Thus the position of
all the salient topographic features were determined, courses of streams
and lines of cliffs were meandered, and the position of the observer constantly checked on the determined points, and pari passu with this the
topographical features were sketched. The great features were Marble
Cation and the Grand Cafion of the Colorado, and many salient points
on either side of the great chasm were fixed by triangulation.
Thefollowing summer we descendedthrough thesecafions in boats, and
fixed the course of the river and the topographic features of the canion
wall by compass and gradientor observations on the points thus previously determined.  The same system of barometric observations carried on in the cations above was continued through these canions, and
occasionally hourly observations of eight-day series were made.
The parties engaged in geodetic and topographic work carried with
them barometers, and made a vast number of observations over the
counitry traversed. All of these and all of those in the cations were
synchronous, with a continuous series made at the northern extremity
of the base-line in the valley of the Kanab, so that the altitudes along
the river and on the walls of the canions, and over all the country embraced in the triangulation, are referable to this hypsometric base.  We
have.compared this base of altitude with other points whose altitudes
have been approximately determined by other observers, as at the
mouth of the Rio Virgen, Saint George, Beaver, Salt Lake City, &c.;
but it is hoped that before this work goes on permanent record the altitude of Kanab above the level of the sea will also be determined by
the levels of the railroad survey, which is now in progress.
We have one unbroken series of observations at this point (Kanab)
of three months' continuance, and another of ten months, and several
shorter series. These were tri-daily, except that occasionally they were
expanded into hourly series.
By the methods last described, an area of country has been surveyed
embracing twenty-five thousand square miles, and by the less accurate
methods first given, an area of country embracing twenty thousand
square miles, making in all forty-five thousand square miles.
Preliminary maps have been constructed on a scale of two miles to
the inch, but the final result of all this work will be shown in a series
of maps on a scale of four miles to the inch, giving the topographic and
geological features of the region surveyed.
8 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
RIVERS.
As before stated, the greater part of the country embraced in this
survey was an unknown region in geographic science. An examination
of the map prepared by the War Department from data collected up to
1868, being a compilation of all knowledge of this class concerning the
territory of the United States west of the Mississippi River accessible
to geographers, will show that this region is left1an entire blank. We
have filled this blank and completed the survey of the last unexplored
region, mapping minutely the unknown portions of the Green and Colorado Rivers.
The junction of the Green and Yampa Rivers has been fixed, and the
lower course of this latter stream, which was unknown, has been
mapped. The junction of the San Rafael with the Green has also been
fixed, and the lower course of this river mapped.  It was also unknown.
The junction of the Grand and Green has also been determined, and
the lower course of the Grand mapped.
The Dirty Devil River, more than two hundred miles in length, was
discovered and mapped.  The Escalante, a river more than one hundred
and fifty miles in length, was discovered and mapped.  The junction of
the San Juan with the Colorado has been determined, and the lower
course of that stream, which was unknown, has been mapped.  The
Paria, a stream one hundred and twenty-five miles in length, which had
been seen only at one point near its mouth, has been traced for its entire
course. The junction of the Chiquito, or Little Colorado, with the Rio
Colorado, or Colorado Grande, has been fixed, and the lower and previously unknown course of that stream has also been traced.
The lower part of the Kanab was seen by Lieutenant Ives, but was
mistaken for the Colorado itself, and on his map the Colorado was
turned to the northeast, conforming to the course of the Kanab.  This
stream is more than a hundred miles long. Its whole course has been
traced.  In some places it does not carry a great volume of water, and
about midway of its length it is often lost in the sands, but through the
greater part of its course it runs through a deep gorge, which makes a
very important feature in the topography of the country. The Rio Virgen had been seen at points, but we have traced -its entire course and
that of all its tributaries. A great number of smaller streams have also
been discovered and mapped.
CANONS.
The whole region embraced in the survey is a canion country. At the
very beginning we have a series through the Uintah Mountains, as the
channel of Green River: Flaming Gorge, King-fisher Cafion, Red Canion, the Catnon of Lodore, Whirlpool Cafion, and Split Mountain Canion;
then Yampa Canon, the cafion along the lower course of the river of
the same name, and many other tributary canons; then below, still de
9 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
scending Green River, the Cation of Desolation, Gray Canon, Labyrinth
Canion, and Stillwater Ca-ion, with many lateral canions; then Cataract Canion, a profound chasm below the junction of the Grand and
Green; then Narrow Cafion, which terminates at the mouth of the
Dirty Devil River; then Glen Caeion, extending from the mouth of the
Diity Devil River to the mouth of the Paria, and Marble Carion from
the mouth of the Paria to the mouth of the Colorado Chiquito.
Then we have the Grand Cation, the imost profound chasm known
on the globe.  Were a hundred mountains, each as large as Mount
Washington, plucked up by the roots to the level of the sea and tumbled into the gorge, they would not fill it.
Along all of the streams mentioned we have series of cations, and yet
all of these represent but a part of the cations explored and mapped, for
there are many profound chasms, the channels of intermittent streams,
dry during the greater portion of the season, that are hundreds of feet
deep, and that never have a continuous stream for their entire length.
PLATEAUS.
To the knowledge of the geography of this country we have added a
great number of plateaus.  The streams cut through plateaus rather
than through mountain-ranges.
Immediately south of the Uintah and White River Valleys, streams
which unite with the Green at points almost opposite each other, the
last-mentioned river enters a great table-land, and cuts through it by
the deep gorge known as the Caiion of Desolation. We have called this
Ta-val-puts Plateau. The southern boundary of this plateau is an abrupt wall, and it slopes gently to the north until it is lost in the valleys
of the White and Uintah Rivers; on the west it is lost in the Wasatch
Mountains; its extension to the east is yet unknown. Still continuing
to the south, Green River cuts through another plateau, whih we have
named, in honor of Captain Gunnison, Gunnison Plateau. The southeren boundary of this is a line of cliffs mapped by Captain Gunnison,
and called by him Roan, or Book Mountains, east of Green River and
Little Mountains on the west.
Between Sanpete Valley and the headwaters of Price and San Rafael
Rivers there is an elevated district of country which has heretofore
been mistaken as the extension of the Wasatch Mountains to the south;
it is in fact a plateau. We propose to call this WVasatch Plateau.
Geographers and geologists have heretofore spoken of a great Colorado Plateau, referring to the district of country through which Marble
and Grand Canions are cut, for so it appeared to the observer standing
on the southwest margin of this great district; but it has proved, in
fact, to be a complex system of plateaus, bounded by walls of faults,
escarpments, or cliffs of erosion, and ca-ion gorges.
The Mar-kal-gunt Plateau is an extensive table-land, bounded by a line
of precipitous cliffs on the south, and by cliffs or abrupt slopes, which
10 
SURVEY OF TIlE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
have heretofore been mapped as mountains, on the west; to the north it
is lost in the Tu-shar Mountains; on.the east it is bounded by the upper
valley of the Sevier. Many of the western tributaries of this stream
have their sources in this plateau; it is also the source of the Rio Virgen.
The Pauns-a1-gunt Plateau is on the eastern side of the upper course
of the Sevier, and is bounded on the east, south, and west, by lines of
cliffs, and on the north by the canon of the East Fork of the Sevier, and
is the source of one of the upper branches of this stream; it is also the
source of the Kanab and Paria.
The Aquarius Plateau lies still farther to the northeast; it is bounded
on the south, east, and west by lines of cliffs and abrupt slopes, and on
the north it is separated from the Wasatch Plateau by the canon of
Salina Creek. Thousands of little lakes are scattered over its surface.
These are the sources of the Escalante and Dirty Devil Rivers and the
southern tributaries of the San Rafael. On its western margin many
little streams head that are tributaries to the Sevier. All three of the
last-mentioned plateaus carry on their backs extensive beds of lava and
volcanic cones developed to such an extent as to produce groups of
mountains.
The Kai-par-o-wits Plateau is a table land extending from the southeast corner of the Aquarius Plateau nearly to the Colorado River opposite the mouth of the San Juan, and is bounded on all sides by lines of
cliffs.
The Colob Plateau lies to the southwest of the Mar-ka'-gunt. It is an
extensive table-land traversed by deep, narrow cafons through which the
headwaters of the Rio Virgen find their way to a dosolate valley below.
South of the Pauns-a'-gunt, Aquarius, and Kai-par-o-wits Plateaus and
east of the Colob, there are a great number of smaller plateaus of which
I will make no farther mention, but their positions have been well fixed
and will be represented on the map.
South of the Paria, and west of Marble Canion, is the Paria Plateau
bounded by lines of cliffs on the south, east, and west, but on the north
by the canion of the Paria River.
The Kai-bab Plateau lies west of the Paria Plateau and the lower end
of Marble Canon, and north of the Grand Canion. It is about seventy
miles in length, and varies from five to thirty in breadth, and is bounded
on all sides by steep slopes or bold escarpments.
The Kanab Plateau is bounded on the east by the lower canon of the
Kanab, on the south by the Grand Canon, on the west by the To-ro'-wip
cliffs, and on the'north by a low escarpment of basalt. The U-in-kar-et
Plateau lies to the west of this, and is bounded on the east by the To-ro'wip Valley and a basaltic escarpment, on the south by the Grand Canion,
and on the west by the Hurricane Ledge; it runs to a point on the north.
The Shie-vwits Plateau is a terraced table-land; its southern extremity
extends far into an angle of the Grand Cafion; on the west it is bounded
by a line of cliffs, on the north it descends by abrupt slopes into the 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
valley of the Virgen, and on the northeast by a gentle slope into the
valley at the foot of Hurricane Ledge.
The Colorado Plateau lies to the south of the Grand Cation; it is
bounded on the north by this great gorge, on the east by an escarpment which faces the Little Colorado, and on the west and southwest
by an escarpment which has received the name of Aubrey Cliffs; the
southeastern extension is to me unknown.  We confine this name to
this single plateau, rather than to the more extended but uLLdefined
country to which it had been previously assigned. The outlines and
altitudes of these plateaus have all been traced and mapped.
LINES OF CLIFFS.
Perhaps the most wonderful of the topographic features of this country are the lines of cliffs, escarpments of rock, separating upper from
lower regions by bold, often vertical and impassable barriers, hundreds
or thousands of feet high, and scores or hundreds of miles in length.
These are of two classes, escarpments of erosion, presenting lines of
cliffs, usually having an easterly and westerly trend, and walls standing
along the lines of faults, having a northerly and southerly direction.
Of the first class I will enumerate the following:
The Brown Cliffs, the southern escarpments of the Ta-va'-puts Plateau; the /Book Cliffs bounding Gunnison Plateau on the south; the
latter is a great escarpment of blue shales capped with gray and buff
sandstones and limestones. Standing below, an extensive storm-qarved
fagade is presented, with giant forms of rocks, elaborately sculptured by
the rain, and colored in beautiful and delicate tints.
The Orange Cliffs are a broken escarpment which commences at the
foot of the Sierra La Sal on the eastern side of Grand River, passes the
Grand, then crosses Green River, and then turns to a southwesterly
direction, and runs parallel to the Colorado River for fifty miles, and
then turns again to the southeast and crosses the Colorado, terminating
in the slope of the Sierra La Sal, scores of miles south of the initial
point. Thus the head of the Colorado, the junction of the Grand and
Green, is encompassed by a towering wall-the Sierra La Sal on the
east, on the north, west, and south the Orange Cliffs. The Indian
name for this basin is Tum'-pin-wu-neir'-tu-wip, the Land of Standing
Rocks.
But'es, towers, pinnacles, thousands and tens of thousands strange
forms of rocks, naked rock of many different colors, are here seen; so
that before we had learned the Indian name, we thought of calling it
the Stone Forest, or Painted Stone Forest; and these rocks are not
fragments or piles or irregular masses, but standing forms, carved by
the rain-drops from the solid, massive beds. Weird, strange, and grand
is the Turnm-pin-wu-nier-tu-wip.
The Wasatch Cliffs form-the eastern boundary of the Wasatch Plateau
and separate it from the district of country about the headwaters of
12 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
Price River and the San Rafael. This district is covered with buttes
and many strangely carved rocks, and is known as Castle Valley.
Descending the river through Glen Cation several great lines of cliffs
are seen, which have not yet received names, as they have not yet been
fully traced., nor their geological relations fully studied.
To the north of the Grand Canion and facing it we see first a low line
of irregular, broken cliffs, everywhere capped by a conglomerate which
is covered with trunks and fragments of silicified wood, known to the
Indians as Shin-ar'-ump, and we call these Shin-ar'-ump Cliffs. Still to
the north and approximately parallel with this line, but sometimes coalescing with it, are the Vermillion Cliffs. These can be traced from the
west side of Rio Virgen across the Kanab and around the northern
extremity of the Kaibab Plateau, and across the Colorado, where they
turn to the south and form the eastern wall of the valley of the Little Colorado for many miles. Above, and approximately parallel with these, we
have the White Cliffs and many minor lines of cliffs due to erosion.  The
second class of cliffs are due to the displacement of the beds along the
lines of faults; these have a northerly and southerly direction at right
angles to the three great lines of cliffs last mentioned.  We have the
cliffs of the eastern Kaibab faults and the cliffs of the western Kaibab
faults; then the To-ro'-wip Cliffs on the west side of the Kanab Plateau.
There is a long line of cliffs known as the Hlurricane Ledge forming the
western escarpment of the U-in-kar'-et Plateau and extending far north
across the Rio Virgen.
The Sevier Cliffs constitute the boundary of the Pauns-a-gunt Plateau,
and are approximately parallel to the upper course of the Sevier River;
these and many other subordinate lines of cliffs have been traced and
mapped.
MOUNTAINS.
Many new mountains have been added to our geographic knowledge.
To the north of the Escalante River there is a group of eruptive mountains, the three highest peaks of which attain an altitude of about 12,000
feet above the level of the sea. We have called these Hienry Mountains,
in honor of the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Then we have
the Navajo Mountain a little to the south of the mouth of the San Juan
River, the greatest single mountain mass known to me within all the
territory of the United States; it is nearly 12,000 feet high. On the
UJ-in-kar'-et Plateau there is a group of eruptive mountains which we
have called U-in-kar'-et Mountains.
On New Year's day, 1854, Lieutenant Whipple, from an eminence on
the western flank of San Francisco Mountain, descried the summit of a
peak away to the north, and on the maps of the route of the expedition
he indicated the position of the mountain and called it iigh Mountain.
In the year 1858, Lieutenant Ives, from a position farther west, saw
what he calls a short range, and on his map indicates the supposed
13 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
position of the mountains and calls them North-Side Mountains.  This
group of mountains we have found to be composed of three great mountain masses along which and standing about for a score of miles in every
direction are volcanic coiies, 118 in number. The position of every cone
in the group has been determined in the secondary triangulation, and
the data collected to make an elaborate map of this region on a scale of
two inches to the mile. The Indian name for this group is U-iu-kar'-ets,
(the Mountains where the Pines stay) and this (U-in-kar'-ets) is the name
by which they are known to the people of Southern Utah and Northern
Arizona who live in sight of the mountains and who have daily use for
some name.  As the names given by Whipple and Ives were doubtless
intended only as provisional, this Indian name has been adopted. Other
mountains have been added to the general stock of geographic knowledge, and many which have been seen by other travelers have been
located and their outlines defined on the maps.
VALLEYS.
One-third of the entire area of the United States is so arid that
agriculture is dependent on irrigation, and within that same area it is
not possible to redeem for agricultural purposes more than three per
cent. of all this territory, probably much less.  The deposits of precious
metals, ores, and other minerals are the chief incentives to the settlement of this country. With a proportion of area fit for agricultural
purposes so small that the probable demand for the products of the soil
by those who follow other pursuits will be greater than can be supplied
by the agriculturists, it is a matter of primary importance to determine
the amount of water which can be used for irrigation, and the extent of
the several districts to which these waters cau be applied.  Impressed
with the importance of this, we have carefully examined the facts to
determine the several districts of country which can be used for agricultural purposes within the territory embraced in the survey. In the
mountainous regions where is found the maximum precipitation of moistune in this country, there are small elevated valleys, but they are too
cold for successful cultivation, and are only valuable for summer pasturage and hay-fields. On the more elevated plateaus we find extensive
grass-lands; they are also too cold for general agricultural purposes. On
the lower plateaus and hilly countries the lands are desert wastes, often
covered with drifting sands or surfaces of naked rock. A few valleys
nestling along the rivers can be made available to the farmer. Chief
among these are the following:
Henry's Fork runs along the northern slope of the Uintah Mountains,
and empties into Green River before the last-mentioned stream enters
the range. There is a narrow alluvial valley along its course for nearly
fifty miles, in a few places two or three miles in width, and covered here
and there with a growth of cotton-wood trees, but, being more than
6,000 feet above the level of the sea, it is rather cold; but the pas
14 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
ture-lands and grass-lands to the south, on the slopes of the Uintah
Mountains, would be of great value to settlers.
Brown's Park is a valley twenty miles long and from six to ten miles
wide; it is an expansion or widening of the cation of the Green where
it has a westerly course. Eight or ten small but beautiful streams come
down from the mountains on either side, and can be easily controlled
and used.for purposes of irrigation.
Forests of cotton-wood are found along the flood-plain of the river;
the hills further back are covered with cedars, and the mountains on
either side carry great forests, and a few miles to the north are extensive coal deposits. This valley is a few hundred feet lower than the last
mentioned, and hence much warmer.
On the south side of the Uintah Mountains we find a broad, rich valley.
A large body of land can be cultivated here by the use of the waters of
the Green, but will require a large outlay of capital.  It has many natural meadows, and a warmer climate than either of the last-mentioned
valleys, being but little more than 5,000 feet above the level of the sea.
The valley of the Uintah and its branches is one of the finest known
to me in all the southwestern portion of the United States.  The Uintah
has more than a score of important tributaries, all running near the surface, easily controlled, and capable of furnishing sufficient water to irrigate
more than 150,000 acres of the adjacent lands, which are well situated
for that purpose. On either side there are grass-lands of value, and in
the mountains to the northwest, and the Ta-va-puts plateau to the
south, there are pine-forests practically inexhaustible. Along the lower
valley of White River there are extensive bodies of lands which can be
redeemed by taking out the waters of that river, but it will be attended
with much expense.
South of Gunnison Plateau, along Green River, is Gunnison Valley;
here a narrow belt of land can be cultivated by taking out the waters of
Green River, but this can only be done by the expenditure of large capital. Below this point all of the tributaries of the Colorado River within
the country under consideration, run in their lower courses through
cations affording practically no area for cultivation, but along the middle courses of these streams there are many valleys and parks of limited
area which will eventually be settled. Already pioneers have penetrated
into some of them, as the Rio Virgen, Kanab, Paria, and Escalante.
HIYDROGRAPHY.
The hydrography of the country is intimately associated with the study
of the valleys, for under favorable hydrographic conditions only can they
be cultivated. The amount of water carried by the Colorado and its
tributaries has been carefully estimated. The springs also have been
located, and mention will hereafter be made of them in the geological
section of this report.
15 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
FORESTS.
The extent of the forests in the region of country embraced in the survey has been carefuilly noted, in order that they may be represented on
the maps; they are of pine, fir, and other coniferous trees. The forests
on the Uintah Mountains are of great value, and extend to the west
beyond the limits of our survey. The Ta-va-puts Plateau is covered with
a pine forestinterspersed with meadows and pasture-lands. Gunnison Plateau is covered with a scant growth of dwarf-cedars. The Wasatch Plateau is only partially forest-clad. Extensive and valuable forests are
found on theAquarius, Pauns-a-gunt, and Mar-ka-gunt plateaus. Kaipar-o-wits, Colob and Paria plateaus are covered with a scant growth of
dwarf-cedars and pinon pines.  The Kiabab Plateau is a forest of giant
pines and firs.
There are forests on the three great mountain masses of the U-in-karet Plateau. Scattered pines and cedars are found oni the Shi-vwits Plateau. The great Colorado Plateau is covered with one of the most extensive forests of the Southwest.  In a few places the low mesas and
valleys are scantily clothed with piflon pines and low cedars, but the
greater part of all the lower region is naked. I have thus briefly indicated the operations in geodesy, hypsometry, and topography, and the
general observations made for the purpose of properly representing the
character and extent of the work which has been performed.
GEOLOGY.
SECTIONS.
We turn now to the geological work. A running section has been
made from a point twelve miles above Green River Station, following
Green River and the Colorado to the mouth of the Rio Virgen, a distance of more than a thousand miles.  This section is unbroken for the
entire distance; the rocks are exposed in escarpments varying from one
hundred to more than six thousand feet in altitude. Perhaps no other
section has ever been made, the elements of which are of such magnitude. In this region of country, as fast as atmospheric agencies disintegrate the rocks, the loose sands are washed away so that the escarpments are clear of soil and vegetation, and under these circumstances
it was found possible to collect a great amount of details.
Again, the geological structure of the country is very complex. Great
and minor folds, great and minor faults, and great and minor non-conformities are found, so that the sections are also exceedingly complex
and elaborate.
The Uintah Mountains having an easterly and westerly directions,
stand across the course of Green River. Here we have a great fold,
the antielinal axis of which has an easterly and westerly direction, and
a total displacement of about 27,000 feet, so that in going down the
I
16 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THIE WEST.
river from Green River City to the heart of this range, we find a succession of beds 27,000 feet in thickness including rocks from the Miocene
Tertiary to the Silurian. On the north flank of the range we have an
extensive development of crystalline schists.  I considered them to belong to the same horizon as the non-conformable beds immediately
below the carboniferous rocks elsewhere exposed in the cantions, and
further that I could trace the metamorphism laterally into these rocks
through a series somewhat like this-gneiss, plicated schists with veins
of quartz, quartzites, and regularly bedded sandstones.  In that por.
tion of the cafion where no metamorphism is seen, I obtained 11,000
feet of these beds. In this district our work overlaps that done by
parties directed by Clarence King.
The grand fold of the Uintah Mountains is greatly complicated by a
series of transverse and oblique minor folds, some of which are anticlinal, others monoclinal. Our general section on the river, with a number of minor sections in various directions, together with the colored
geological maps of the mountains, will exp)lain this complex system of
corrugations; and, what I have considered of equal importance, the
progress and extent of erosion which is here exhibited on a vast scale
since the region was left by the retiring sea.
Going on south we pass a synclinal trough marked, topographically,
by the valley of the Uintah River, coming down  from the Wasatch
Mountains on the west, and by the valley of White River, coming down
from the Rocky Mountains on the east.
Still continuing to the south, we find rocks dipping to the north, and
in our progress down the river we pass a succession of underlying beds
until we find about 8,000 feet of Tertiaries at the foot of the Canion of
Desolation, then, 2,500 feet of Cretaceous rocks at the foot of Gray Catnon,
nearly 2,000 feet of Jurassic, and an equal amount of Triassic at the foot
of Labyrinth Catnon, when we once more enter beds of Carboniferous age.
In descending through Still-Water Catnon, and the upper half of Cataract Canion, we run into a great fold the axis of which is probably
marked by the Sierra La Sal. Then we turn through the lower end of
Cataract Cafion and Narrow Cafton until we pass out of the fold on the
same flank by which we entered it, and once more find beds of Triassic age.
From this point to the southern extremity of the great system of southern plateaus, marked by a line of eruptive mountains, of which San Francisco Mountain is the culminating peak, the general dip of the formation
is to the north, extending from a line some distance to the east of the
Colorado, and westward to the foot of the Pine Valley Mountains; but
this general slope is greatly modified by another, and doubtless later
systems of displacements which have northerly and southerly axes.
These displacements are either faults or monoclinal folds. I shall recur
to them again.
Descending the Colorado through Glen Caflon, we find this chasm
to be cut through rocks of Triassic age developed to a thickness
2aw
17 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
of about 1,800 feet. On the way we cross an abrupt monoclinal fold,
the drops of which is to the east, and the total displacement about 1,400
feet.  At the foot of this canion we cross another of these folds, the drop
of which is to the east.  Here we enter Marble Cafion, a chasm cut
through rocks of Carboniferous age.
The course of the river is nearly south, and the dip as above stated,
is to the north, so that at the foot we have passed through about 4,500
feet of carboniferous rocks. In passing through Grand Caton we are
going in the general direction of the strike of the beds, but there are
great displacements due to faults, which, back from the river, are in
many places monoclinal folds. The summit of the Grand Ca-ion is everywhere the summit of the carboniferous, which is froma 4,000 to 4,500 feet
in thickness; but the gorge is sometimes more than 6,000 feet deep, and'
at these points we obtain a succession of sections of non-conformnable
shales, sandstones, and limestones, the greatest of which gives us a little more than 10,000 feet of beds. These are traversed by dykes of
trap, or green-stone and irregular beds of the same eruptive material are
found in places between these non-conformable rocks, and the overlying
beds of Carboniferous age. Provisionally, I call these sedimentary
rocks Devonian and Silurian.
Still underlying these we find an extensive series of metaphoric crystalline schists, in some places yet showing faint traces of the original
stratification, but usually these are so degraded that the total thickness of
the beds cannot be determined, or at least we were unable to do so.  In
places they constitute about a thousand feet of the altitude of the walls.
These beds are traversed by dikes of granite, and beds of granite are
found.  I believe these beds to be intrusive, hence of igneous origin.
In some places the evidence is complete. An extensive period of erosion
separates these schists and granite from the overlaying Silurian and
Devonian rocks.
In the Grand Canon we also have the records of an extensive period
of deposition in the schists, followed by plication, erosion, fissuring, and
eruption. Again we have an invasion of the sea, which remains until
10,000 feet of shales, sandstones, and limestones are deposited; and this
is followed by a dry-land period, marked in some places by at least
10,000 feet of erosion, and accompanied by plication, fissuring, and
eruption.
Then follows another period, when the sea had dominion until the
rocks of Carboniferous age and the Triass and Jura and the Cretaceous
beds were deposited, and perhaps some Tertiaries; of this we cannot
now be certain; but at least 10,000 feet of beds were formed.  All this
is succeeded by a long period of erosion, in some places stripping off the
whole 10,000 feet of later beds, and in the gorges, where the streams
have made greater progress than the rains, channels are cut through
the underlying rocks of Devonian and Silurian age, and still deeper into
the schists and granite.
is 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
Such are some of the facts brought to light in the great section made
from Green River Sta,,tion to the mouth of the Rio Virgen.
It has already been seen, in the account given of the geographic work,
that a much greater length of time was expended in the studies made
on land than in those made on the river.
A geological section has been made from the Grand Wash to the Vermillion Cliff, west of Marble Cafion, near the parallel of 360 30'; another
from the Colorado River west to the Pine Valley Mountains, near the
parallel of 37~ 30'; another from the Sevier River east across the Wasatch Plateau, and still on to Green River.  One has been made along
the course of the Paria from its source in the Pauns-a-gunt Plateau to
its mouth, including rocks from the Tertiary age to the summit of the
Carboniferous.  Another has been made from the Pauns-a-gunt Plateau
south along the course of the Kanab to its mouth, representing rocks
of ages extending from the Tertiary to the base of the Carboniferous.
Still another has been made from the summit of the Mar-ka-gunt
Plateau, down the Rio Virgen to its mouth, embracing a series of rocks
from the Tertiaries through the Carboniferous, Devonian, and Silurian
into the schists.
In addition to these general or running sections, numbers of vertical
sections have been made for the purpose of giving the details of stratification.
PLAN OF SECTIONS.
The plan for these sections is as follows: The base-line at the bottom
of the section represents the level of the sea; the line immediately
above this, and parallel to it, represents the altitude above the sea of the
lowest point observed in the section; the upper line represents the
highest point. The meandering line between these points represents the
line of lowest observation in the escarpments seen along the course of
the chasms through which the sections are made, and a reference to the
scale gives the altitude of any point along this line above the level of
the sea.
Between this meandering line and the upper line the section is so
constructed with colored bands as to represent the general facts of geological structure, i. e., the succession of geological formations and many
important facts of stratification, and the faults, folds, and nonconformities; and these colored bands are so arranged as to represent the magnitude of the escarpment which has been studied, and the altitude of
the upper line of the section above the level of the sea, so that the highest as well as the lowest line above the sea, can be determined by reference to the scale.
Thus the sections not only represent the structural geology, but also
constitute a double profile; the lower profile or lower line of observation being the profile of the bottom of the canon, the upper line the profile of the summit of the wall, and the two combined the proper longi-.
tudinal profile of the cation itself.
19 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
FAULTS AND FOLDS.
An extensive system of faults of great magnitude has been discovered, usually having a northerly and southerly direction. In many
places these faults change either abruptly or gradually into monoclinal
folds, and these displacements are often scores or hundreds of miles in
length, and the throw varies from two or three hundred feet to two or
three thousand feet.
Some of the most wonderful and important topographic features of
the country are due to these displacements. The materials have been
collected for the preparation of a series of diagrams to represent the
ever-changing throw of these faults and folds, to be accompanied by
transverse sections exhibiting the varying characteristics which are
revealed in tracing these long lines of displacements.
ERUPTIVE ROCKS.
After the sea had left this region the last time, and during the progress of folding, eruptive matter has been poured out, trachytes and
rhyolites at first, then basalts. In some regions this eruptive matter
constitutes an important part of the mass of the groups of mountains
which stand on the plateaus; this is especially the case in the group of
mountains standing on the Mar-ka-gunt and Aquarius Plateaus. The
Henry Mountains are composed of beds of eruptive matter overlying
sedimentary beds.
The U-in-kar-et group is composed of three principal mountain-masses,
Mount Trumbull, AMount Logan, and Mount Emma, and 118 volcanic
cones, which are distributed in part over the mountains themselves and
scattered about the adjacent country for a distance of fifteen or twenty
miles.  The general surface of the U-in-kar-et Plateau, on which these
mountains and cones stand, is composed of the upper strata of the Carboniferous age, so that all the elevation above the general level of the
plateau is due to the occurrence of other rocks. An examination of
the three great mountains reveals the fact that the first floods of basalt
were poured out here, before the beds of Triassic age had been swept
away. These mountains are composed very largely of variegated shales
and sandstones of Triassic age, and the summits are great sheets of
basalt. Then we find a succession of lava-floods coming on with the
progress of erosion, always breaking out at later times and at lower
altitudes, so that the flanks of the mountains are covered with beds of
basalt of later age.
It is thus seen that the eruptive matter has protected certain districts
of sedimentary rocks from erosion, while the extension of these same
beds over the adjacent country has been degraded by atmospheric causes,
and these mountains remain as evidences of a wider geographic distribution of great formations that can now only be studied within limited
areas. There would have been no mountains had there been no floods
20 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
of lava; yet the mountains themselves are not principally composed of
lava, so that they can be called eruptive mountains only in the sense
that had there been no eruption there would have been no mountains,
but the plateau would have been degraded to a comparatively uniform
plain.
The general statement may be made that all the eruptive mountains
in the region which we have surveyed exhibit like facts.
Besides the mountain-masses due to eruptive agencies, and composed
in part of eruptive matter, there are many later floods of basalt found
throughout the country, spread as great protecting sheets over sedimentary beds, or elsewhere refilling valleys or canaons; and, with few
exceptions, all of the floods of basalt are crowned with cinder-cones.
The faulting and folding, of which mention has heretofore been made,
independently of the eruptive matter which is found so widely distributed, reveals the fact that the sedimentary beds of this country
have been fractured on an extensive scale, and we are able to trace
great lines of fracture in tracing the faults and folds. The relation of
the eruptive beds and volcanic cones in geographic position to the great
fractures that bave been discovered in the faults has been a subject of
much study, and interesting results have been obtained. The oldest
beds of the series of eruptive rocks above mentioned overlie EoceneTertiary formations, and the succession of later beds, which have been
poured out pari passu with degradation, are found to overlie sedimentary
beds of earlier geological formation. So, in general terms, it may be
stated that the later beds of igneous origin are associated with the earlier
beds of aqueous origin. Thus, floods of basalt have run down into
valleys deeply eroded in Carboniferous strata at a period so late that
sufficient time has not elapsed since their cooling for atmospheric agencies to have any appreciable effect upon them. Nor are they even
lichened. It is more than probable that some of these have been poured
out within the last two or three centuries.
Besides this great period of eruption, thus briefly mentioned, there
are two other eras of eruption revealed to the geologist in this region.
It has already been stated that the Carboniferous beds are deposited
unconforminably upon the underlying Silurian and Devonian beds, and
the period of erosion intervening between the disposition of these two
unconformable series was also a period of eruption, for again we find
faults, dikes, and beds of trap in the rocks of greater age, which do not
penetrate the beds of Carboniferous age.
The metamorphic crystalline schists revealed in the section along
the Grand Canion are seen to underlie Devonian and Silurian rocks unconformably; and here again, between the junction of the two, we find
another period of eruption, for the schists are traversed by dikes and
beds of granite, but which do not penetrate the overlying Devonian and
Silurian rocks.
21 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
In the sections along the Grand Calion, we are able to study three
great periods of oceanic sedimentation, three great periods of atmospheric erosion, and three great periods of eruptive activity.
LITHOLOGY.
The lithology of the country has also been studied, and collections
have been made of hand-specimens of the metamorphic  crystalline
schists and of the intrusive granites. Others have been made of the
traps found in the dikes and intrusive beds of Silurian and Devonian
age.
Extensive suites of the eruptive rocks of later age, trachites, rhyolites,
and basalts have been collected. The geological limits and relations of
these beds have been studied carefully, and when the hand-specimens
are carefully studied it is believed that important facts will be revealed
from all the data that are collected.
EROSION.
Erosion has been a subject of much study. The region of country
drained by the Colorado River and its tributaries is more than eight
hundred miles in length, and from two hundred and fifty to five hundred miles in breadth. There are two distinct portions embraced in
this great drainage basin. The lower third of the valley of the Colorado lies but little above the level of the sea, except that here and there
ranges composed of older rocks and eruptive matter stand across the
country, whose peaks reach an altitude of from three thousand to six
thousand feet above the sea.
The upper two-thirds lies from 4,000 to 8,000 feet above the level of
the sea. The line between these two regions is often well defined:
sometimes it is a bold escarpment, in other places it is complicated by
folds and groups of eruptive mountains. All of the region embraced in
the survey is in this upper portion of the valley.
On the east, west, and north the rim of the basin is set with snow-clad
mountains, reaching an altitude of from 10,000 to 14,000 feet above the
level of the sea. The plains, benches, mesas, plateaus, and groups of
low mountains within the basin receive but a scant supply of water from
the annual discharge of the clouds, but all winter long snow falls on the
mountain-crested rim, filling the gorges, half burying the forests, and
covering tlie crags and peaks with a mantle of snow. When the summer sun comes this snow melts and tumbles down the mountain sides in
innumerable cascades. Millions of these brooks, interrupted by cascades, unite to form thousands of creeks that run in torrents, and these
unite to form a hundred rivers beset with cataracts, and these all unite
to form the Colorado that rolls a mad stream into the Gulf of California.
Let us look at the action of one of these rivers, its source in the mountains, its way through the arid plateaus and plains.  If at the river's
22
fl,
i 
i.
4I 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
flood storms were raging along its course the adjacent country would be
washed down simultaneously with the deepening of the channel, but the
conditions for the precipitation of moisture are such that the river cuts
its gorge much faster than the adjacent country is degraded; there is
more through erosion than lateral wear, and the canons mark the difference between the progress of the general erosion by rains, and the progress of the erosion by rivers. In this way the Colorado has cut along
its course, for a thousand miles, a series of narrow, winding gorges. The
Rio Virgen Kanab, Paria, San Rafael, and many others on the west,
'Diamond, Coanine, Flax River, San Juan, and many others on the south
and east, have cut for themselves narrow, winding gorges in the solid
rock.
Every creek entering a river runs in a caion; every brook tributary
to a creek has cut a caion; every rill, born of a shower and born again
of a shower, and living only during these showers, has cut a narrow,
winding gorge through the solid rock, so that the whole of this region
is traversed by a labyrinth of cartons.
While the amount of this river erosion is so great as to almost stagger belief? it represents but a small part of the total amount of erosion
exhibited. There are places where by general atmospheric agencies not
less than 27,000 feet of beds have been stripped from the country, and
all this since the sea last retired. We cannot suppose that there is any
part of the country where there has been no erosion, but there are districts where there has been 277000 feet less than the maximum. VWhy
more in some places and less in others? This has been a very interesting problem, and for its solution we have accumulated many facts.
A glance at the map reveals the fact that the contours of this region
are angular; canions whose walls are everywhere abrupt, long lines of
cliffs, bold escarpments forming difficult, and in some places impassable
barriers to travel, benches, mesas, and plateaus that terminate in escarpments. Rounded hills and gentle valleys are rarely seen. The conditions under which corrugation, erosion, and eruption have produced
these wonderful and gigantic topographic features have been the subject of much study.
I cannot here give the results of these studies, although the theme is
greatly attractive, but I will briefly state onwe conclusion at which we
have arrived.  The displacements marked by the folding and faulting,
the erosion and the eruptions, were simultaneous; they began at about
the same time, and have all continued until a very recent period, and
probably are still in progress.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.
In a region of country in many places of naked rock and everywhere
exhibiting escarpments of great magnitude it is possible to trace with
accuracy the geographic distribution of the beds, and this has been
done with such care that we shall be able to indicate with minute
23 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
ness the surface exposure of all the great formations extending throughout the country which has been surveyed. It is hoped that this can be
done on a map, the topographic features of which are indicated by contour lines. The material for such a map has been prepared.
PALEONTOLOGY.
While much time has been devoted to the structural geology of the
country, we have not neglected the paleontology, and we have had such
success in collecting fossils as to be able to refer all these rocks to the
grand groups which have been established on a paleontological basis in
the general geology of North America. At the initial point of our work,
Green River Station, we have collected a good suite of Tertiary fossils,
consisting of the remains of vertebrates, insects, mollusks, and plants.
In the cations along the northern flank of the Uintah Mountains we
have again collected fossils of Tertiary age, and also of the Cretaceous,
Jurassic, and Carboniferous ages.
On the southern slope of the Uintah Mountains a like series was collected but in reverse order; in the Jura, especially, we find a great
variety of forms. Again, in the Canion of Desolation we collected Tertiary fossils; in Gray Cation, Cretaceous fossils, and on the river below
fossils of the Jura. In Cataract Canion we succeeded in making a large
collection of the remains of Carboniferous age, consisting of fish,
teeth, shells, and corals. In the Grand Cation of the Colorado, carboniferous forms were found in abundance. In like manner all of our geological sections can be studied with the aid of the fossil remains which
have been collected.
ECONOMIC GEOLOGY.
In much of the area embraced in the survey there are extensive
beds of coal. We first met with them in descending Green River, about
eight miles below the railroad crossing, and I note the interesting fact
that we discovered vertebrate and invertebrate fossils immediately
overlying the heaviest bed of coal.  We  again found extensive beds
outcropping in the upturned edges of the Tertiary rocks on the northern flank of the Uintah Mountains; still other beds are found on
the southern slope of these mountains and in the valley of the
White and the valley of the Uintah.  Again  a series of beds was
discovered in Gray Canon. On the headwaters of the Price and
San Rafael Rivers, or in Castle Valley, beds of great geographical extent and great thickness were discovered and we traced them on to
the south by the headwaters of the Dirty Devil, the Escalante,
the Paria, the Kanab, and the Rio Virgen, and then to the north
on the western escarpment of the Pauns-a-gunt Plateau. All of these
coal-beds have been carefully studied, so as to determine as far as possi.
ble their geographic extent, their thickness and their geological relations;
and this survey has revealed the important fact that a great district of
24 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
country which is already becoming the seat of many mining enterprises,
for gold, silver, copper and other minerals, has also an abundant supply
of coal.
The deposits of salt on the Rio Virgen in Nevada, Salina Creek and
Salt Creek in Utah, and others on the northern slope of the Paria Plateau and the eastern escarpment of the same, have been examined.
There are also extensive deposits of salt in the Devonian and Silurian rocks of the Grand Canion. All of these salt-beds have been the
subject of much study.
I have thus briefly outlined the extent of the geological work which
has been performed.  I have mentioned the fields of geological study
which have been entered, and have given a few of the general results
or the purpose of indicating the character of the work which has been
performed.  With what degree of fidelity and skill we have pursued
these studies can only be revealed by the complete publication of all.
the maps, sections, illustrations, and discussions.
ETHNOGRAPHY.
During the continuance of the survey much time has been devoted
to the ethnography of the country; and these studies have been extended to tribes beyond the limits of the country embraced in the survey. I will briefly indicate the character of the material collected.
LANGUAGE.
The following is a list of the languages or dialects studied, and the
number of words collected in each:
Pai-Utes.....................1,500  Shi-i-mo...........................  500
Ute................1,500   Nav'-a-jo......................... 300
Nu-a'-gun-tits........ —..........1,200   Chem-a-hui'-vis.................... 250
Go-si-Utes.............. —-..          800  Pa'-vants.- - -.... —......... 150
Pa-vi-o'-tsoes...................... 800   Sho-sho-nee.................. 100
To'-so-wets....................- 500  Mo-ja'-ve...................... 50
WVe have also paid some attention to the structure of the languages,
and have collected a large amount of grammatical material, especially
in the Ute, Pai-Ute, and Go-si-Ute.  The words denoting personal relationship among all the tribes have been carefully studied, so that
their systems of recognized consanguinity have been determined.
VWe have found another interesting field of work in obtaining geographic, astronomic, and meteorologic names and terms, and this has
revealed to us some very interesting facts concerning the Indian's conception of nature.
Their numeral systems have been carefully studied, and in some tribes
two systems of numbers have been discovered.
Their mythological terms and names have been collected, as far as
possible, and this has resulted in a study of their mythology, of which
I shall make mention hereafter.
25 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
The pronoun has also been carefully studied, and many interesting
facts have been discovered; for example, it is found that the general
concept of possession as denoted in the simple form of the English is,
among the Indians, divided into three forms: one class of possessive
pronouns denoting entire possession, another is used to designate the
person or thing possessed from others of the same kind, and a third to
designate the possessor.
But the grammatical structure has been chiefly studied in the verb.
Nouns become verbs to predicate existence and other ideas, by suffixing
grammatical inflections to denote number, tense, and mode.  In like
manner adjectives become verbs, and so also do prepositions; but this
subject is so intricate as to preclude its discussion here.
POLITICAL ORGANIZATION.
All that great region of country between the Rocky Mountains and the
Sierra Nevadas, stretching from Northern Oregon to the Gulf of Califor nia, is, by the Indians, divided into territories, sometimes well defined
by natural boundaries, such as mountain-chains, streams, cafions, &c., and
to each district there belongs a tribe of Indians.  These Indians have no
term which signifies tribe or nation-that is, a collection of people under
one government, but each tribe takes the name of the land to which it
is attached, and if you desire to ask an Indian to which tribe he belongs,
you must say, "how are you land-named?" or "'what is the name of
your land "
For illustration: with a certain tribe in Northern Arizona, kaivw is
the word signifying mountain; a-vwi' means reclining or lying down;
Kai'-vav-wi, a mountain lying down, is the name for a plateau. A great
plateau north of the Grand Cation of the Colorado is called by them
Kai'-vav-wi, and the small tribe of Indians inhabiting it are Kai'-vavwits.
The Indian is thus attached to his land and his name is his title-deed
to his home. These land-names are those by which the Indians know
themselves, and by which the tribes who are on friendly and intimate
relations know each other.
But another class of names is found by which tribes farther separated, either in geographic distribution, language, or hereditary enmities,
know each other. These names denote some peculiarity in the peoples
their habits or customs.
Certain tribes of Central Nevada are known by the surrounding tribes
as To'-so-wets or White Knives; the Utes call the Sioux Sa-ri'-ti-kai, or
Dog Eaters; they call the Navajos, Pa'-gu-wets or Reed Knives; and so
any one tribe may be known to the surrounding tribes'by several names.
I have found in no instance do the white men know the Indians by
their true names, but usually some name by which a little tribe has been
known to another has been adopted, and corrupted, more or less, and
applied indefinitely to a number of other tribes. Thus, all the tribes of
26 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
this country have at least three names, one by which they know themselves, one or more by which they are known to the surrounding tribes,
and a third by which they are known to white men. Their general government by chiefs and councils has also been a very interesting subject
of study.
HABITS AND CUSTOMS.
Their habits and customs, such as their preparation of shelters from
inclement weather, the rules which govern them in the selection of campsites, their method of preparing food, their rules of hospitality, the division of the spoils of the chase, their marriage customs and burial rites,
their sports and games, and many other items have also been noted.
MEANS OF OBTAINING SUBSISTENCE.
Special attention has been paid to their means of obtaining subsistence,
their methods of fishing, hunting, and snaring. All these Indians subsist chiefly by the products of the soil. They live on the seeds, fruits,
leaves, bark, fleshy stalks, roots, and bulbs of many plants.
Each little tribe, or governmental organization, is strictly confined to
the territory giving its name to the tribe, and they move about only within
these limits, seeking seeds and roots in their several seasons, and usually,
year by year, perform the same round of journeys.  Their methods of
collecting and preparing these foods have been carefully observed, and,
as far as possible, the seeds of these plants have been collected, sometimes in rather large quantities, so that very many bushels have been
brought on and distributed to botanists, ethnologists, and scientific in.
stitutions, both in America and in Europe, through the Smithsoni,an Institution. The collections of the last year are yet to be distributed.
INDUSTRIAL ARTS.
The condition of industrial art among these people, as illustrated by
their manufacture of lodges and other shelters, clothing, basket ware
agricultural implements, domestic utensils, hunting and fishing tools,
ornaments, &c., has been noted, Their method of manufacturing these
articles has been studied; for instance, it has been found that stone implements are made as follows: The obsidian or other stone of which the
implement is to be made is first selected by breaking up larger masses of
the rock and choosing those which exhibit the fracture desired and which
are free of flaws; then these pieces are baked or steamed, perhaps I
might say annealed, by placing them in damp earth covered with a
brisk fire for twenty-four hours, then with sharp blows they are still further.broken into flakes approximating the shape and size desired.  For
the more complete fashioning of the implement a tool of horn, usually
of the mountain sheep, but sometimes of the deer or antelope, is used.
The flake of stone is held in one hand, placed on a little cushion made
,27 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
of untanned skin of some animal, to protect the hand from the flakes
which are to be chipped off, and with a sudden pressure of the bone-tool
the proper shape is given. They acquire great skill in this, and the art
seems to be confined to but few persons, who manufacture them and exchange them for other articles. To illustrate this branch of this subject
we have made extensive collections, the catalogue of which embraces
many thousand of articles.
MYTHOLOGY.
We have found among these Indians a large body of mythology,
given in a vast number of stories or accounts, which purport to be the
history and doings of their mythological personages or gods. These
people have no conception of an all-wise, all-powerful, or all-great being.  They believe in a multitude of gods, some better than others,
some wiser than others, some shrewder than others, some more powerful than others, but no one of superlative attributes.
The earth, at one time, was peopled by a race of beings with wonderful powers; they could transform themselves or each other; they could
make themselves invisible, though in immediate presence; they could
restore each other to life, and even had the power of bringing themselves to life after certain periods of death. Many very wonderful attributes had these people. At last they quarrelled and fought, and for
their sins and through their evil deeds they degenerated into the present species of animals which inhabit the earth. Each species of animal- mammal, bird, reptile, fish, and even all the invertebrates-had
its progenitor or prototype in those wonderful ancient beings.
All the prototypes of existing species of animals are called by the
same name as these animals themselves, but sometimes slightly modified.  Shin-av is the wolf, Shin-au'-av the progenitor of' wolves.  Kwi'ant is the bear, Kwi'-ats the progenitor of the bear.  Kwai'-nants is the
eagle, and Kwai'-nants that mythological eagle.
Among these ancient personages those who take the greatest part in
their mythological history are perhaps, Ta-vwots, the prototype of the
little rabbit, (Lepus artemisia;) Shin-au'-av, the prototype of the wolf;
KwI'-ats, the prototype of the grizzly-bear; Si-k6r', of the crane; To-go'av, of the rattle-snake; Ong, of the Canada jay; IMu'-tu-chats, of the
humming-bird, and Po-a'-gunt, of the duck.
Then there is Tum-pwi-nai'-ro-gwi-nump, signifying one who has a
stone shirt, who is the prototype of an animal said to be covered with
an armor, probably the armadillo. The Indians aver that it lives to
the south. Won'-sits, the ancient antelope, is said by some tribes to
have been all eyes; by others to have two eyes in the head, an eye in
each shoulder, an eye in each hip, and an eye in the end of his tail, so
that he could see in every direction. TuLm-pwi-nai'-ro-gwi-nump, the
god with the stone shirt, and Won'-sits, the god with many eyes, were
28 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
often engaged as watchmen and defenders of other gods, especially of
Ta-vwots, Shin-au'-av, and Si-kor'.
There are many other of these personages who take a greater or less
part in the stories, but these are perhaps the most important. Of the
original form and appearance of these people there seems to be a strange
uncertainty and indefiniteness in the mind of the Indian. Sometimes
they are represented as having the forms of men; at others as having
the forms of animals, and of assuming temporarily many other shapes;
yet they all spoke the Indian language, though somewhat modified in
tone, for the grizzly-bear growled his words, the wolf howled his language, to-go'-av, the rattlesnake, hissed his speech; and a'-rum-pats, the
grasshopper, had a buzzing tongue. Such are the gods of the Numas.
The Indian was a hunter; he depended in part, at least, on the animals by which he was surrounded for his food and clothing. Not supplied with fire-arms as now, but using rude and imperfect hunting-tools,
the wild animals were much more abundant than they are at present.
These hunting implements were also noiseless, and it is probable that
the game was less shy than at present. His food, clothing, and most
valuable ornaments came from these animals, and his greatest skill
was employed in their capture. He studied carefully their habits, and
watched closely all their movements, and doubtless became more familiar with them than with any other objects or phenomena of nature. He
witnessed their wonderful instinctive skill, and saw that for which his
simple philosophy gave no account.
The powers, too, of these animals was a source of wonderment. The
badger lived in mysterious underground compartments; the squirrel
made his home in the trees, and could pass from branch to branch, and
from tree to tree, with a celerity which he could not understand; the
lizard made its way over the face of the rocks and cliffs with an ease and
swiftness that he could not comprehend; then he saw the serpent swift
without legs; the rapid darting of the trout in the waters; the soaring
of the eagle in the heavens; the art of the spider to make his snare, and
all the wonderful feats of the hosts of animals with which he could
never vie, and which he could not explain, and from admiration he
grew into adoration, and these animals became his gods.
Then another principle or sentiment, which seems to exist almost
universally in the minds of men, appears to exert a modifying influence
on his mythological beliefs. The men of to-day are never esteemed as
the men of yesterday; we can see their weaknesses, their foibles, their
faults, and their sins. Only the men of yesterday or yesterday's yesterday are great men; the perspective haze of time covers all that was unlovely. If this sentiment prevails with civilized nations, it is entertained
to a much greater extent by savage people.
Everywhere they bitterly mourn the degeneracy of the present time,
and speak with pride of their fathers and grandfathers. And this same
29 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
mental characteristic is observed in their deification of animals.  The
wolf of to-day is a howling pest, but the wolf of yesterday is a god.
In addition to the animal gods, the sun and moon are recognized as
deities, and they have gone but a step or two beyond this in creating
for themselves purely imaginary gods.
Some of the tribes have a god of thunder; still it is an animal god.
It is a monstrous bird perched on the clouds, and its cries are the rolling
thunder, its wings are the cloudlets, and it soars to earth at times and
carries away entire tribes on its back.
Then there is still another god or goddess, of which mention should be
made: Si-chom'-pa Ma'-so-its, the old woman of the sea. She it was who
brought up the tribes of Utes from the depths of the ocean. and placed
them on the land, and allotted to each its portion of the earth, and she
taught them their arts.
This mythology is their account of the origin of things and the expla nation of the phenomena of nature.  They accept as an original or pri mary concept that there is a land and a sea, an abyss below and a night
above. They have no term for, and seem to have no conception of,
earth as composed of land and sea. The land is a vast surface bounded by
lines of cliffs and by the sea; the cliffs are precipitous, and he who is so
fool-hardy as to stand on the brink will lose all control of himself and
be compelled to cast himself therefrom into the abyss below. The sea
is also bounded by lines of cliffs in the same manner.
Above is night, and between the land and sea below and the night
above there is a great domne-shaped space. The firmament is the side,
face, or surface of the night. To'-gwum is night-both the night of space
and the night of time. (And just here let me remark that it would
be very interesting indeed, to show how the Indian often confuses
time and space.) Pai'-av means face, side, or vertical surface. So
we have mu-kwa-ni-kunt pai'-av, the face of the cliff or wall, and we also
have to'-gwum pai'-av, the face of the night, meaning the sky or apparent firmament. The edge of the sky rests upon the sea or brink of the
cliffs; but these are so irregular that there are many places where the
people may fall through into the abyss below. This boundary of the
land and sea-the lower edge of the sides of the night, the horizon-is
called kung-war-ru.  They give no account for the origin or making of
the sun, but they have a host of mythological stories giving the reason
why the sun, a god, and a great god, who should have a will of his
own, is yet compelled to travel by a definite trail along the face of the
night. Others give the origin of the moon.
I was greatly puzzled.for a time as to the true character of their belief concerning the stars, and it is not usually very well defined, but in
general terms I will say that the stars are translated personages, either
gods or men, transferred from earth to the face of the night, where they
are compelled to travel in appointed ways. They distinguish between
individual stars themselves and groups of stars or constellations.
30 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
Concerning the constellations they have many interesting stories,
and while the individual stars are personages, the groups of stars are
various personages in attitudes performing various acts, or are spoken
of as things without life; and these stories of the constellations are
considered by them as mere fabrications. A meteorite is said to be
star-dung, and curiously enough a snail is called by the same name, and
supposed to be the excrement of some stellar personage; that is, snails
are fallen meteors. They explain thie origin of carions and valleys, of
fire and water, of snow. hail, and rain, of the rainbow, and many other
things.
The means by which this mythology is preserved from one generation to the other is very elaborate and very efficient.
DEMIONOLOGY.
In addition to the mythological personages they believe in a great number of beings which may be called demons. Kai'-nu-shuvs are beings who
live in the high mountains; they usually remain in deep chambers, caves.
and underground apartments in the mountains by day, but when the
storms gather over the mountains they come out under cover of the
clouds, mount their fleet chargers, the mountain sheep, and ride at
break-neck speed over the peaks and crags. They are supposed to
have special control over the mountain sheep, elk, and deer; and an
Indian, when he kills one of these animals, leaves some portion of the
carcass near by where the animal has fallen, to propitiate the good-will
of Kai-ni-shuv.  They tell many  wonderful stories of these beings.
Pong-a-wits is the sprite of the spring. Po-wha is the Demon of the
Lake. The U-nu-wits is the genie who performs many strange deeds,
and has the power of transforming himself in magical ways.  The Tumu-ur-ru-gwait-si-gaip, or rock-rover, lives among the naked rocks and
cliffs. His special delight is to catch unwary people and take them to
the brink of frightful precipices, and there exact from them promises,
a failure to fulfill which causes the wicked violator of his vows to lose
his own ghost, and another takes possession of him, and causes him to
behave in unseemly ways. This is their explaination of insanity.
The Yan-tups are the beings who produce the various diseases; thus
an Indian does not understand a sickness to be an improper working of
the physical system, but to be an entity-an evil being-a devil-a
Yan-tup who takes possession of the man, and all their medical treatmenit is sorcery.
They have a great variety of ceremonies, observances, and cruel
torturings by which these evil beings are driven from the sick. I have
myself witnessed a great number of them, and made record of what I
have seen.
POETRY.
Of poetry they have a great store, consisting of songs, usually of few
stanzas, rarely more than half a dozen, chiefly celebrating the beauties
31 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
of nature and the doings of the gods. Of these I have collected more
than a hundred. I will give an illustration:
THE EARTHQUAKE.
Tu-wip' pu-a tu-wip' pu-a
A-vwim'-pai-ar-ru-wip pu-a
Tu-r,-gu-ok tu-ra -gu-ok
Kai-vwa mu-tu-rai-ka-nok.
In that land, in that land,
In that glittering land;
Far away, far away,
The mountain was shaken with pain.
SUNSET CLOUDS.
Un-k,-pa-ris whu-ka-ri-nu-mi-va
Pi-vu-rant kaivw-ok'-u-mai.
The red clouds of sunset are drifting
Like down on the peaks of the mountain.
EAGLE'S TEARS.
T,-vi kwai-nant'-si y,-ga-wats
Si-ch6m'-pa kung-war'-ru
Tu-yung-wi-ra-vats.
At morn the eagle will cry,
On the farther shore of the sea,
And a rainbow will be in the sky.
THE RED ANT.
Ta-si-av ku-mai-a
Ma-na-pa win'-ka
So-ku-nas so'-ma
Wi-a wi-ga-va.
The little red ant
Descended the hill
With one arrow only.
A PARADOX.
Wi-glv'-a ka-ri-ri
Yfi-gu-kai-mai-u-uk
Yfi-gu-kai-imai-u-nk
Ma-mfml'-pa-ri-tum-pa.
The crest of the mountain
Forever remains,
Forever remains,
Though rocks continually fall.
ANTIQUITIES.
California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico were at one time
populated by races who built for themselves houses of stone or adobe
often three or more stories high. They also cultivated the soil, raised
32 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
cotton, and had some ceramic art. They' ha4 also devised a system of
picture-writing, the characters of which were made by painting or carving on wood, and by etching on stones.
The ruins of many of these houses have been discovered in the valley
of the Colorado, and in them broken pottery, stone implements, and
baskets have been found. In many places, also, their etchings on the
rocks have been preserved, and these have been copied to a definlite
scale, giving us an interesting set of their picture-writings.
The same system of picture-writing still exists with th~ remnant of
this great race that inhabits the pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona,
and we are able, in part, in the studies made among these later people,
to discover some of the meanings of these writings, but their full interpretation has not yet been made. It is hoped that future studies will
throw much light on this subject.
I have thus briefly indicated the extent of the ethnological work which
has been done, giving only such illustrations as were necessary to indicate the character and direction of the studies.
NATURAL HISTORY.
In the earlier part of the work, collections of mammals and birds
were made; no new species were found, but facts concerning the geographical distribution were obtained. During the same time collections
of reptiles, fishes, and insects were made. These were deposited in the
building of the Chicago Academy of Sciences, for the purpose of identification by specialists; but, in the great fire at Chicago, all these collections were lost. Both in the earlier and later part of the work extensive
collections of plants have been made, and eighteen species have been
added to the known flora of North America.
PHOTOGRAPHY.
Since the spring of 1871, a photographer has accompanied the expedition for the purpose of making views of geological and topographical
interest. Many of these are of prime importance to the geologist, presenting to the eye the structural geology of the country, and to the
topographer also, in presenting to the eye the outlines of cliffs and
mountains which are to be reproduced on the maps. Such ruins as
present walls or other features that could be caught by the camera,
were also photographed.
A great many Indian pictures also were made, representing the Indians engaged in their daily labors, or in attitudes which illustrate their
habits and customs. Altogether more than seven hundred and fifty
negatives have been made.
PROGRESS OF THE OFFICE-WORK.
The computations for astronomic, geodetic, and hypsometic works have
only been partially made. A computer is now engaged on that work.
3cw
33 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
Preliminary maps of the country surveyed have been constructed as
working-plans for the final maps, and for geological discussions.
The text of the report on structural geology is partly prepared, but
much of it yet remains in the form of field-notes.
The first draught of the ethnological report of the work has been
made; this needs re-arrangement and careful revision and correction
before it can be submitted to the printer.
FORMiER APPROPRIATIONS.
The appropriations which have been made for the work above described are as follows:
For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1871......... —------------—.... ----------- $12, 000
For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1872.-..................       12, 000
For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1873........... —----------------------—... 20,000
For  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1874....................................  10, 000
Total amount of appropriations.................................... 54, 000
Under authority of a joint resolution of Congress, approved June 11,
1868 the Commissary-General of Subsistence has issued rla,tions to the
Parties under my charge during all the time field operations have been
in progress. With this expenditure forty-five thousand square miles of
territory have been explored and surveyed, including more than a thousand miles of a river running in a deep gorge varying from a few hundred to more than six thousand feet in depth, descending in that distance more than 5,000 feet, and beset with rocks and interrupted by
rapids and cataracts, making the navigation both difficult and dangerous. The territory as a whole presents more obstacles to the explorer
than any other portion of the territory of the United States, as it is
traversed by deep gorges and set with long lines of cliffs, in many places
forming impassable barriers to travel.  Much of the country is also arid
and destitute of vegetation.
WHIAT IS NECESSARY FOR THiE COMPLETION OF THE
WORK.
For the proper representation of the minute topographic features
which have been noted, it will be necessary to construct maps on a
scale of four miles to the inch-1-253,440. This will require seven atlas
sheets.  For general discussion it will be necessary to have a map embracing the entire area surveyed on a scale of twenty miles to the inch
-1-1,267,200. For the purpose of representing the distribution of agricultural lands, waters available for irrigation, pasture-lands, and timber
tracts, a second map on the same scale as the last will be necessary.
This can be reproduced from the same working-plan, and, being an out
line map, will be inexpensive.
For geological purposes, seven maps on the same scale as those first
34
I 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
mentioned will be necessary, but the topography should be represented
by contour lines.
A special map on a scale of one inch to the mile will be needed for
the region of thle U-in-ka-ret Mountains, and another oni the same scale
for the great bend of the Grand Cation of the Colorado, south of the
Kia-bab Plateau.
The two latter will also be comparatively inexpensive.  It will thus
be seen that an atlas of eighteen maps will be required to properly
represent the work which has already been accomplished.
ESTIMATE FOR APPROPRIATIONS.
For the preparation and publication of the work the following sums
will be necessary:
To complete the computation and to prepare the topographic, geological, gen  eral, and special maps ready fbr the printer by the process of photo-lithog  raphy.................. —-----------------------------------------------------  $12,000
For the special study of fossils, minerals, and natural history collections..-..  1, 800
For the preparation of geological sections and other illustrations ready for the
printer..............................................  4, 000
For the preparation of the text of the geological report ready for the printer.  3, 000
For the preparation of the illustrations of the ethnological report ready for
the printer.-............................................2, 000
For the preparation of the text of the ethnological report ready for the
. printer................................................. 3, 000
Total............................................................... 25, n00
Should Congress decide that it is best to have the maps engraved on
stone, it will be necessary to increase the above estimate of $12,000 to
$25,000.
There is a district of country lying to the north of the region embraced in the above-mnentioned triangulation, and  to the west of the
belt of country explored along Green River and the upper course of the
Colorado, and south of the country surveyedby Clarence King, of which
little is known to geographic science. Government expeditions made
prior to the inauguration of this survey have crossed it on two lines,
and  one of Lieutenant  WVheeler's parties has since penetrated the
country for a short distance.  Our own parties have crossed it by several other lines in an easterly and westerly direction, and traversed it for
its entire length in a northerly and southerly direction. This was done,
not for tue purpose of making a survey of the country, but in order that
we might reach the river. Yet topographic and geological facts were
collected. It is greatly to be desired that a survey be made of this
area.  As  there  is but  one  base-line in  the territory which has
already been surveyed oy our parties, the only proof of the accuracy
of the work rests upon the astronomic checks and the connection made
between two separate lines of triangulation around the Kai-tab Plateau.
If this district could be surveyed from a new base-line, and the geodetic points be connected with those of the last survey, and also with
35 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST.
those made by Clarence King to the north, and those by Dr. Hayden
on the east, all of the work could be properly proved and correlated with
the other surveys.
The great structural lines of geology and topography in the region
already surveyed extend to the north through the country under consideration; in fact, it is a part of the same region of canions and cliffs,
a region entirely unique in geographic science.
To complete the survey of the country under consideration by the
methods which were adopted during the latter part of our work, an
appropriation of $16,000 will be necessary.
We have already gained some knowledge of the country, its topography and geology; we have men instructed and skilled in the work;
we have a train, instruments, and cam-p-equipage sufficient, with a very
little addition, to serve for this purpose, and doubtless the work could
be performed now at a much less expense than it could were it necessary to organize an original party for the same.
In case it should be decided to prosecute this field-work the coming
season, the appropriation for the office-work should be cut down from
$25,800, as above estimated, to $15,000, thus making a total appropriation of $31,000.
I beg leave to call your attention to the fact that heretofore all the
work has been accomplished for which estimates have been made, and
to state that the estimates above have been carefully considered, and
that they will be sufficient to accomplish all that has been represented,
but that the work cannot be done for a smaller sum.
Invoking your attention to the statements made concerning the methods and the extent of the work which has been accomplished, and to
the estimates which I have submitted for the continuance of the survey,
1 am, with great respect, your obedient servant,
J. W. POWELL.
Prof. JOSEPH HENRY,
Secretary Smithsonian lnstitution, Washington, D. C.
36
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