1 88 1. 7- Trans. N. Y. Ac. Set. 



placer gold deposit he visited on the west flank of Mount Wheeler, the 

 highest mountain in Nevada, and mentioned the discovery of an out- 

 crop of lower Silurian rocks full of fossils, including several new trilo- 

 bites, discovered by him in Southwestern Utah, but deferred all details 

 till he should make them the subjects of special remark to the 

 Academy. 



Colorado. — Reference was made to the general character of South- 

 western Colorado, the interesting topography of the region, especially 

 the vast plateau which rises westward from the base of the Rocky 

 Mountains on to the slopes of the Wahsatch ; the ascent of Marshall's 

 Pass by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, the most remarkable 

 feat of railroad engineering performed in the country, and the exceed- 

 ingly picturesque region about the Pagosa, the greatest hot spring on 

 the continent. Where the San Juan River issues from the mountains a 

 prairie occurs, surrounded by picturesque forest-clad hills, and with a 

 beautiful view of snow-clad mountains in the distance. In the centre 

 of the prairie lies a basin 40 by 60 feet across, boiling like a huge 

 caldron, the ebullition being produced by the violent escape of car- 

 bonic acid gas. The banks are Imed by the remains of beetles, snakes, 

 etc., destroyed by too trustful reliance upon the hot waters, and by in- 

 teresting mineral deposits. This is one of the most beautiful places 

 in the country and likely to be a famous resort. 



Along the route from Pueblo to Gunnison and Lake City, and thence 

 eastward by Del Norte, there are some places of resort for invalids and 

 pleasure-seekers, which are destined to be very well-known, being far 

 more beautiful and salubrious than the now celebrated localities at 

 Manitou and Colorado Springs. One of these is Wagon Wheel Gap, 

 on the Rio Grande. The river is a rapid, turbulent stream, and the 

 Gap is seven to ten miles long, just wide enough to permit a wagon- 

 road. Then a wide, open space is reached, the basin of an ancient lake, 

 girdled by a wonderfully beautiful amphitheatre of mountains. Here 

 8500 feet above the sea, the hot springs, charming rides, fine hunting 

 and fishing, an atmosphere as pure and clear as crystal, constitute the 

 attractions of a i^esort, which far surpasses any other, and which will be 

 reached by the railroad now being pushed through the Gap about 

 January i, 1882. 



From Gunnison, specimens have been recently brought of mag- 

 netite and hematite, which probably represent inexhaustible masses, and 

 at Crested Butte, within twenty-five miles of .this locality, is found the 

 best coking coal ni the West. The region borders on a volcanic area, 

 and the coking coal is from that portion of the basin which has mostly 

 escaped the alteration by volcanic heat. It is firm and not affected by 

 the weather, with a small amount of ash and sulphur. 



