OCR Text |
Show 291 immense quantities of similar fragments of bluish- gray, laminated, exceedingly brittle, slate- like rock, showing cleavage- structure. That these uppermost belts represent sedimentary deposits which have been converted into true metamorphic rocks seems highly probable; but whether they pertain to the Cretaceous and Tertiary, or represent still more ancient formations, remains to be determined. At the time we crossed the pass, a considerable snow- field lay upon the summit, concealing the nature of the deposits im mediately in the crest. From this elevated outlook, which attains an altitude of about 11,000 feet, a magnificent view is gained, overlooking the country to the eastward. The dark, fir clad slopes rapidly descend into the little valley which lies at the foot of the mountain, beyond which the great Tertiary plateau extends, gashed by the lower cailou of the Cimarron; and nearly twenty miles away we distinctly descry the white walls of the little tofrn nestled in the mouth of the valley on the border of the plains, which stretch to the distant horizou sixty to one hundred miles away. The Urac ridge and the great plateau appear diminutive and tame; but far away to the northeast the horizon is broken by the mesas and volcanic cones in the region of the Capulin, the beautiful plain of the Canadian intervening. To the west, a large extent of the Moreno Valley is commanded, bounded by a range of low, wooded mountains on the farther side, beyond which the massive snow- clad domes of the Taos Mountains rise far above the timber- line. Away to the northwest, in the midst of the Bed River Mountains, great white escarpments are visible, constituting a conspicuous landmark, the character of which was not ascertained. Returning to the foot of Ute Valley, a short distance above the toll-gate, a low comb of light, columnar, granitic rock rises out of the plain to the height of about 50 feet, presenting a mural face to the south : it would appear to be the remnant of a dike, and may have some connection with the ridge on the opposite side of the Cimarron, which rises 300 feet or more above the intervale. From this point, the valley narrows, and two and a half miles above its eastern or lower angle the stream emerges from the upper canon, the mouth of which is flanked by masses of more or less metamorphosed sandstone, probably of Tertiary age. But a few yards farther on, ledges of light- gray granitic rock, similar to that mentioned above, and strikingly like that composing the hump in the Urac ridge, again appear, as though thrust up through the sandstone, which latter is again met with. But very soon the granitic ledges recur, which now seem to predominate, and two or three miles within the canon it becomes the prevailing rock, although occasional sandstone bowlders are observed some distance higher up. The upper canon of the Cimarron is one of the most interesting mountain- defiles in the West, which has been made accessible by an excellently- constructed wagon- road. Hemmed in by high mountains and enormous inclines, abounding in dizzy precipices and picturesque crags, with a wealth of strange and beautiful vegetable forms, and traversed by the changeable mountain- stream, here a mad torrent and now a murmuring brook eddying along a brief level, refreshed at inter- t vals by incoming contributions of purest water from sources hidden deep * in the surrondiug fastnesses: what it must appear in midsummer, when its vegetation is at the height of perfectiou, its yuccas and cactuses crowned with rich and gorgeous blossoms, its rocks and shrubs overrun with beautiful creepers and climbers, and its nooks of fresh turf smiling with tiny varied- hued flowers, we may only venture to conjecture. But its autumn raiment of deep greens, rich browns, and brilliant yellows, |