1881. 7 Trans. NN. Y. Ac. Sez. 
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 mountainsa 
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 4o 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 lined 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. Thena 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 resort, which far surpasses any other, and which will be 
reached by the railroad now being pushed through the Gap about 
January 1, 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 in 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. 
