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Show 132 great inland lake, whose margins may still be traced along the western and southern slopes of the Cerro Blanco. The southern extension of the park is traversed by the Culebra and Costilla Creeks, two streams carrying a considerable bulk of water, and sufficient for irrigating large areas. The soil is very good, as is shown by the following analysis of a specimen from the valley of the Culebra: Potassa 0.113 Soda 0.085 Lime 0.708 Magnesia 0.030 Oxide of iron and alumina 7.032 Phosphoric acid 0.193 Hygroscopio water 5.310 Chemically- bound water and organio matter 6.080 Insoluble in hydrochloric acid 79.060 The average temperature of the four days of travel through San Luis Park ( August 17 to 21) was, at suurise, 50° F.; at 2 p. m., 82°; and at sunset, 63°. Some Mexican settlements have been established here within the last twenty- five or thirty years. It is an interesting fact, and one I have not seen stated in print, that a continuous migration of Mexicans from New Mexico to Colorado has set in since the forlher was annexed to the United States. I did not visit the Taos and Conejos valleys. Our way led up the San Antonio Creek to the San Juan range, across a basaltic plain covered with but little grass. The sage- brush, so abundant on the eastern side of the Rio Grande upon the pebbly sou of the higher portions, has entirely disappeared from here. For long distances the San Antonio Creek is shut up in a basaltic canon of an average depth of 45 feet, a canon commencing a few miles west of the Mt. San Antonio, a round basalt cone at an altitude of 9,000 feet. This, of course, is unfavorable as a locality for farming purposes, but as the valleys of that altitude are covered with fine grass, it is well suited for stock- raising. There is excellent pine- timber in this portion of the San Juan range, but the altitude at which the pine begins usually to grow is here not the same, but about 600 feet higher on the northern slopes. Here are evidences of destructive forest- conflagrations, sometimes hundreds of acres being covered with fallen charred timber, which is a great obstacle to travel. In altitudes above 8,500 to 9,000 feet such burnt areas will be quickly grown over by quaking- aspen, these trees developing in such dense masses as to render one's progress almost impossible, many hours with the ax being required to advance a single mile. In altitudes lower than 8,000 feet, forests once burned down will re- appear but very slowly, and in many oases never again. This alarming fact is due to tne dryness of the climate in summer, which prevents germination or kills the young germs. Descending the southern slopes of the mountains, we reached Tierra Amarilia, a small and comparatively recent Mexican settlement amid the pine- woods. Two streams of moderate size traverse this region- the Brazos and the Nutritae- the former threading its winding course some distance above the town through a narrow canon in quartz-ite 800 feet deep. Here the grandeur of the scenery is overwhelming and awe- inspiring. The altitude of Tierra Amarilia being so great, 7,900 feet, Indian corn cannot be raised, but wheat, rye, and oats succeed well. Here cattle find abundance of grass, but the snow- fall in these mountains being quite considerable, in winter they have to be driven into the lower valleys of the Rio Chama and Bio San Juan. Elk, beaver, and trout abound. There are in the vicinity several other small Mexican settlements- Nutritas, Brazos, Los Puentes, Ensenada. The name Tierra Amarilia, or yellow earth, is derived from a yellow clay which colors the river- water after rain. Between Tierra Amarilia and Abiquiu, forty- seven miles south, and on the banks of the Chama, are some limited sections useful for agricultural purposes; also, some narrow strips along Cebolla and Cangelon Creeks. The country between the Cebolla and Chama is very irregular and cafioned. The Chama is wide, and carries a considerable bulk of water; at Abiquiu it measured 30 feet in width and 2 feet in depth. Above this town little land can be irrigated, the country being very broken and the river shut up in a canon; but from Abiquiu to the junction of the river with the Rio Grande ( nineteen miles) are bottomlands that can be irrigated. Although the soil is a deep heavy sand and the surrounding country has a barren appearance, still there are a number of Mexican farms, with numerous fields. The soil is a good average one, the analysis of which resulted as follows: Potassa 0.038 Soda 0.013 Lime 0.726 Magnesia <. 0.149 Oxide of iron and alumina 1.730 |
