GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE REGIONS EXAMINED. 27 



through a hroad caflon. The trail, which is a little rocky, follows its course, crossing it about 

 a dozen times. In about 20 miles, the caflon widens out into a valley, varying from 3 to 12 

 miles in width, which extends to the vicinity of GoQse lake. In some places, travelling is 

 rendered laborious by cracks in the soil, which is very light and dusty, but the road is generally 

 good. The region is not fertile, and grass is mostly confined to the banks of the river. 



The party discovered a boiling spring about 6 miles above the upper end of the wide cafion, 

 and at some little distance from the river, on its western bank. The basin was about twelve feet 

 wide, and in the middle a jet three feet in diameter boiled up six inches above the general level. 

 No gas escaped, but a slight smell of sulphur was perceptible. A column of vapor, thirty feet in 

 height, ascended from the spring. Its waters were impregnated with salts, but no deposit was 

 observed. 



Near Goose lake, Pit river rises from springs in the hills, and does not issue from the lake, 

 as has sometimes been supposed. Much obsidian is found near its sources. 



While exploring the mountains in this vicinity, Captain Warner and others of the party 

 were massacred by the Indians, and the survey terminated abruptly in consequence. 



The portion of Pit river lying between Camp 23 and the mouth of Canoe creek, was examined 

 on the recent survey. The whole region is volcanic in its character, and descends by successive 

 plateaus towards the western chain of the Sierra Nevada. Each of the two great canons is 

 situated near the edge of one of these plateaus, and the descent of the stream is, consequently, 

 very much greater in them than elsewhere in its course. From the summit of Stoneman's ridge, 

 this peculiar terraced formation of the country can be very distinctly perceived. The descent 

 of the tributaries, both from the north and the south, is very rapid. 



Much of the region south of Pit river, lying at the eastern base of the western chain of the 

 Sierra Nevada, consists of a rocky pedregal of scoriaceous trap, and Lieut. Williamson, who, 

 in 1851, explored the country immediately south-east of Shasta Butte, found the same formation 

 there. It is no uncommon thing in this region, for large streams to sink among fissures in the 

 rocks, and for others to burst from the faces of precipitous ledges. Infusorial mails are com- 

 mon near Pit river. 



Although there are a few fertile spots near the banks of the streams, the valley is generally 

 barren, parched with drought during the summer, and unfit to support a civilized population. 



Below the mouth of Canoe creek, Pit river forces its way through the western chain of the 

 Sierra Nevada. Lieut. E. G. Beckwith, 3d artillery, surveyed this portion of its course in 

 1854, and he reports that the stream flows with a winding course among heavily timbered 

 mountains, which rise abruptly to heights varying from 1,500 to 2,000 feet above the water 

 surface. 



PLATEAU BETWEEN PIT RIVER AND THE DES CHUTES VALLEY. 



• After leaving Pit river and before reaching the Des Chutes valley, our course lay over a 

 plateau bordering the eastern base of the Cascade Kange. There are occasional low mountain- 

 ous ridges upon it, but the general surface, for about 150 miles, retains an elevation above the 

 sea varying but little from 4,500 feet. 



Most of the region is sterile, although occasional fertile spots are found. Pumice-stone, trap 

 rock, and other volcanic products, strew the ground ; and pine forests or sage plains cover the 

 whole face of the country. The banks of the streams, however, are generally bordered with 

 grass of good quality, and we experienced no difficulty in obtaining a sufficient supply for our 

 large train of animals. 



