REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 55- 



The general topography is a gentle rise from White River toward the 

 south, and a sudden breaking off, when the divide is reached, into rugged 

 and often impassable cliffs, known on the maps as the Roan or Book 

 JNIountaius. The gentle plateau slope of the ^Vhite River slope is cut 

 by almost numberless and often deep caiious, and in many cases the 

 surface of the country has been eroded away, leaving broken and most 

 picturesque, the lower benches generallj^ covered with cedars and 

 pinons, and the upper rich in grass. There are four main streams 

 draining into the White, the most eastern of which is a large running 

 stream. The second has in summer no running water for the greater 

 part of its course, although pools of good water may be found in its 

 bed. The third is for the most of its length a mere trickling stream of 

 alkali water; while the fourth and most western one is dry for 25 miles 

 from its mouth and then forks, one branch containing good water in 

 pools, while the other is a running stream of bitter alkali. The trails 

 generally keep on the summits of the ridges to avoid crossing the nu- 

 merous caiions. Geologically speaking, the district is one of singular 

 uniformity. Traveling westward, the older formations, reaching back 

 as far as the Triassic, were found. These were followed by Cretaceous, 

 which in turn was covered by Tertiary. About three-quarters of the 

 region surveyed is covered with beds, belonging to the latter period, 

 dipping gently from the summit of the Book Cliffs northward. Owing to 

 the lithological characters of the strata, water was a rare luxury in most 

 parts of the district. In the far western portion and outside the limits 

 of the reservation, one large vein of asphaltum and several small veins 

 were found, with, also, running springs of the same material, all of 

 which, if once reached by railroads, will prove of great commercial 

 value. At present, they are about 50 miles from white settlements and 

 100 miles from the nearest railroad communication. Work was com- 

 pleted October 14, and the party marched eastward through Middle 

 Park to Boulder City, Colo., having been in the field rather more than 

 two mouths. 



The Yampah River division, in charge of Gustavus Bechler, with 

 Prof. C. A. White as geologist, reached the field late in August. The 

 district assigned to the party for exploration is virtually the northwest- 

 ern corner of Colorado, embracing also a small belt of country lying in 

 Utah. The Bear or Yampah River forms the natural boundary of this 

 area on the north as the White does on the south ; both tributaries to 

 the Green and eventually of the great Colorado of the W^est. Their 

 course in general is westward through the whole extent of the district. 

 The eastern and western limits of the district are the same as those of 

 the W^hite River district, which lies immediately to the south of the 

 Yampah district. Between the two rivers the country is composed for 

 the greater part of plateaus or table-lands, which, according to their 

 elevation, have the features of high plateaus, terraces, benches, and otf- 

 sets. This belt of country is about fifty miles in width. It is cut by 



