134 NATURAL RESOURCES SURVEY 



From the rim the view is down into a large depression, the 

 old crater abont six miles across, in whose center arises a 

 subsidiary cone a thousand feet or more in height. Much of 

 the Crater and all of this secondary cone is forest clad, and 

 stately pines grow where hissing blasts of steam and fiery 

 beds of lava once spread their lakes of molten rock far over 

 the crater rim. Today in the openings among the pines the 

 strawberry and violet bloom in August, and tardy spring is 

 followed by a few days of summer which are again super- 

 ceded by an autumn whose short existence ends with the 

 first southeaster of early November. 



"Looking into the Crater of Mt. Taylor." 



The lowest notch in the crater rim is on the eastern side 

 through which a stream of ice cold water, partially drain- 

 age from the inside of the crater makes ibs way out of the 

 cool shady glades to the thirsty sun baked mesa below. 



THE MT. TAYLOR AND SAN MATEO FOREST RESERVES 



Over much of the surface area of the Mt. Taylor lava flows 

 there grows such valuable timber that the Federal Govern- 

 ment has seen fit to reserve a large area which includes some 

 of the most valuable sections of the timber land. Under the 

 excellent care of the forest rangers there has sprung up 

 here and there in favorable localities heavy thickets of young 

 pines. In the openings and due to the abundant rainfall of 



