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Show 4 INTRODUCTORY. Between the second and third range of plateaus is a second valley parallel to that of the Sevier. This is called Grass Valley. It is long and rather narrow, walled upon the west by the long barrier of the Sevier Plateau and upon the east by the battlements of the third chain. It is treeless yet not wholly barren, for it is situated at that altitude where the possibility of agriculture is extremely doubtful, and where the grasses are rich enough for profitable pasturage. It carries the drainage of portions of both the second and third chains of plateaus, and the streams uniting from north and south near the southern end of the valley burst through the profound gorge of East Fork Canon in the Sevier Plateau and join the Sevier River. The third range of plateaus begins much farther north than the others. The northernmost member of it is the Wasatch Plateau, which overlaps the southern end of the Wasatch Mountain Range en echelon to the eastward. It is a noble structure, nearly as lofty as the summits of the Wasatch Mountains, but is a true plateau, or rather the remnant of one left by the erosion of the country to the east of it. It has not been studied as yet with the care and thoroughness it deserves, because it lies too far from the more compact district to the southward; is, in a certain sense, an outlier of the main group. Its southern terminus is walled by great cliffs, which look down upon a broad depression separating it from the next member of the range. This next member to the south is the Fish Lake Plateau. It is small in area, but one of the loftiest (11,400 feet), and is a true table Its length does not exceed 15 miles, while its breadth is about 4 or 5. Its southeastern escarpment looks down into a profound depression nearly filled by a beautiful lake about 6 miles long and rarely picturesque. This plateau is difficult to separate from the next member, the Awapa. Indeed, it is nearly confluent with it. The Awapa is of less altitude, and this constitutes the principal reason for separating it. This plateau feebly slopes to the eastward, somewhat after the manner of the half of a watch-glass. Its extent is very great, being 30 miles in length and nearly '20 in breadth. It is quite treeless, though it stands at an altitude where timber usually flourishes luxuriantly; and the scarcity of water combines with the monotonous |
