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Show 64 RECONNAISSANCE' IN THE UTE COUNTRY. end opening out into Hot Spring Creek Valley. Following up the river from this latter point on an arc curving to the right hand, we come to the third canon, or a narrow gorge, through the extension of the Rifle Canon walls, which bears the name of Wagon- Wheel Gap. Hot Spring Creek, to which reference has been made, is a southern confluent of the Rio Grande, is four rods in width, and averages one foot deep; but in its normal condition discharges a much smaller volume of water. One mile above the mouth are several thermal springs. The largest discharges about twenty gallons per minute, with a large amount of sulphureted hydrogen, which may be detected by the odor at a distance of one hundred yards. The water is probably little below boiling- point, ( or 196° F. at this elevation,) is of a crystal Hue clearness, and deposits a blue sediment. The ground in the vicinity is covered with a white incrustation, which has a pungent, acidulous taste. The next- spring in size discharges about eight gallons per miu ute, has a temperature of about 120° F., and deposits a large amount of oxide of iron sediment. Notwithstanding its temperature it is pleasant to the taste, and agreeable in its effects. From the romantic scenery and the dry, salubrious atmosphere, these springs are well calculated to become popular watering places, and I regret that circumstances are such as to preclude me from securing specimens of these waters for analysis. Soon after passing up through Wagon- Wheel Gap, isolated masses of vitrified cherty limestone were found at the foot of the mountain- slopes on the left side of the stream. Several miles farther up the valley the river runs against a high bank of buff- colored clay, thinly stratified, and alternating with a hard indurated slate, of the same color and composition. This formation seems to attain a thickness of over two hundred feet, and the stratifications are in horizontal positions. Fragments like these are traced along the granite slopes of the valley to Camp 17. The valley of Hot Spring Creek is one mile in width at the springs. The soil is passably good, but the climate too cold for general agricultural purposes, as the thermometer marked 31° F. at sunrise, and ice was observed at noon on northern slopes. The valley of the Kio Grande above Wagon- Wheel Gap soon expands to several miles in width. Scattering cacti and artemisia are found in some places, but, notwithstanding, good pasturage may be found for large herds. Five miles west of Camp 17 is a ledge of hard strata of buff argillaceous shale, or slate, interstratified with like- colored clays in their laminae. The ledge extends for a mile along the river, and measures, in some places, over 100 feet up from the water's edge, and by fragments I traced it up on the slope of the mountains to an elevation of 500 feet more. Above the exposure it seems to alternate, or is capped with coarse brown sandstone. Few or no organic remains are identified. A fragment of what might have been a Pinna, a cast of an orbicular shell too obscure for identification, and numerous impressions like the casts of Fusylina, or what might have been the foot- prints of a small reptile, were observed. These latter are so numerous as to cover entire surfaces of slabs, and the impressions are larger in the upper than in the lower strata. Five miles above Camp 17 the valley contracts, and thence the bottoms or level portions are limited to the right side. The Bristol Head Spur is a short and narrow range, with the valley of the Rio Grande on the east and Lake Mary Canon on the west. The highest point is about 12,000 feet, and is the product of volcanic action. The highest peaks are trachyte, and the southern extremity of the range is porphyry. Patches of white and purple clay are seen on the west side |
