PARRY — PHYSIOGRAPHY OP ROCKY MTS. 273 



Boulder Creek, and passed over a series of uplands adjoining 

 the foot of the mountains. Owing to prolonged spring rains, 

 an unwonted luxuriance of vegetation was spread over the 

 entire district, including the most arid sandy tracts. The 

 streams crossed on our route were high, and, in many 

 instances, difficult of fording. The mountains were en- 

 tered by a narrow canon, two miles south of Boulder City. 

 By a series of winding and steep ascents, this canon pen- 

 etrated the first range of mountains, which were com- 

 posed of metamorphic rock, inclined at a very sharp angle 

 with the horizon. Succeeding this, is the usual form 

 of coarse-grained feldspathic granite, traversed at various 

 points by veins of milky quartz. Thence by a series of mode- 

 rate elevations, passing over rocky knolls, or winding through 

 level uplands, agreeably diversified by pine groves and grassy 

 swells, we reach the foot of Gold Hill, having thus in a dis- 

 tance of about seven miles attained an elevation of 1500 feet 

 above the base of the mountains. To reach this higher ele- 

 vation we are forced to make a still more abrupt ascent by 

 numerous zigzags till we gain the commanding height occu- 

 pied by the mining settlement of Gold Hill, being 8,636 feet 

 above the sea. Following thence the divide between Four- 

 mile Creek (a branch of North Boulder) and Left-hand Creek 

 on our right, we come to a chain of small lakes mainly occu- 

 pied by rushes and aquatic plants, emptying by several small 

 outlets and by a steep descent into Left-hand Creek. 



At this point, on the borders of one of these lakes known 

 as Osborn's Lake, we made a stationary camp — a series of 

 barometric observations showing its elevation to be 8,821 ft. 

 above the sea and 3,300 ft. above the base of the mountains, 

 ten miles distant. The region immediately adjoining is com- 

 posed of mountain swells, alternating with depressions and 

 open valleys, which latter, when assuming a basin shape, are 

 occupied by small lakes; the ridges are mainly occupied by 

 a growth of Pinus ponderosa, mostly of small size. The 

 larger streams (such as Left-hand Creek) lie deep below the 

 general level, and are reached by very steep descents. From 

 elevated points there is a fine view of the Snowy Range, 

 the main ridge being about ten miles distant. Farther north, 

 Long's Peak is conspicuous, plainly exhibiting on its south- 

 east slope the rugged features which subsequent explorations 

 fully verified. 



Among other conspicuous points, our attention was spe- 

 cially directed to a smooth rounded peak, apparently of easy 

 ascent, at that time pretty uniformly covered with snow, but 

 showing several bare spots on its more abrupt sides. After 

 taking as thorough an observation as we could obtain from 

 different points of view of the intervening country, we con- 

 cluded to attempt the ascent as early in the season as the 



