193 



channels was suddenly arrested by the seismie disturbances and the lava 

 tiows of Post-Tertiary times. The former chanjied the incline of the river 

 channels, and the latter dammed up the rivers, thus forming lakes. In 

 these lakes wei-e deposited the Pleistocene marls of the river valleys. At 

 the close of the I'leistocene. these lakes in turn were obliterated and the 

 country took on the .neneral appearance that it has today. 



ECONOMICS. 



The altitude of this region. ."i.oOD to O.diHt feet above the sea. and 

 the latitude thirty-tive to thirty-six degrees north, combine to give it 

 a climate which for mildness and equality has no superior in the world. 

 Its location, near the center of the vast rainless region of the West, and 

 its remoteness from any large l)ody of water, give it an atmosphere al- 

 most totall.v devoid of moisturt-. At the same time. l)y reason of the 

 latitude and altitude, the air is both warm and light, thus furnishing, in 

 unlimited quantities, nature's sovereign remedy for all diseases of the 

 lungs. 



Soil.—Tlie soil on the talile lands, especially on tlie Tertiar.v formatiou.s, 

 is pool'. There is too much alkali. P.ut if the water for irrigating pur- 

 poses could be had. even the soil of these mesas, in a few years, could be 

 made productive. It would reciiiire considerable lal)nr and the use of 

 fertilizers such iss gypsum. Iiurned lime. etc.. but in the end it would pay. 



On the mountain plateaus the soil is good, especially in the .lemez 

 Mountains in the \'alle (irande country. This great valley, to interpret 

 the Mexican, occupies a high altitude, aA'eraging 0.000 feet. "It embraces 

 100, 000 acres, and forms tine prairies with abundant grasses. On it also 

 the fir and pine are most magnihcentl.v developed." 



In the valleys the .'■oil is. without exception, the best in the Avorld. It 

 surpasses evtn the soil of the Nile Valley. In speaking of the Rio Grande 

 mud. Dr. Loew. in the I*. S. (Geological t-Uirveys of the Territories west of 

 the lIKttli meridian (\'ol. 111., p. .j78-."iS2) sjiys: 



"Irrigation with these mud-carrying waters furnishes the lands with 

 a layer of the l)est vii-gin soil in a finely pulverized condition, and the 

 belief of the farmer that the Rio Grande water is an efficacious fertilizing 

 agent is fully warranted liy tiie facts revealed l)y tlie chemical analysis. 



13— Aeaileiiiy of .^cienco. 



