CIIAPTERIII. 



ROUTE NEAR THE THIRTY-EIGHTH AND THIRTY-NINTH PARALLELS OF NORTH LATITUDE. 



The general consideration that determined the position of the route to be examined near 

 the 38th and 39th parallels of latitude, was its central position geographically it being about 

 midway between the northern and southern boundary lines of the United States which is 

 likewise the position, nearly, of the Bay of San Francisco, the two termini of the route, St. Louis 

 and San Francisco, being respectively in latitudes 39 and 38, nearly. 



A route near these parallels would probably give the shortest road from the Bay of San 

 Francisco to the navigable waters of the Mississippi. 



But, since the only passes in the Sierra Nevada practicable for a railroad, yet made known, 

 are found in latitudes 41 and 35, this advantage of centrality of position is lost upon entering 

 the Great Basin, in longitude 112 or 113. 



Neither do the features of the country, from and including the Rocky mountains to the Great 

 Basin, favor the construction of a railroad along this line, recommended by considerations 

 connected with its central geographical position, for the elevation of the two passes through 

 the Rocky mountains, the Sangre de Cristo and Coo-che-to-pa, 9,200 feet and 10, 000 feet, are the 

 highest known practicable for a railroad, exceeding by 4,000 feet and 5,000 feet the highest 

 mountain pass on the route near the 32d parallel, and by 3,000 feet and 4,000 feet the elevation 

 of the passes on the route near the 47th parallel ; and from the Rocky mountains westward to 

 the Great Basin, 500 miles, the country is so broken, and the difficulties of construction so 

 great, and the expense would be so enormous, that the building of a railroad over this portion 

 may be pronounced impracticable. 



In neither soil, climate, productions, nor population, nor from any other cause, does it 

 possess advantages superior toother routes, favoring the construction and working of a railroad. 



The concluding chapter of Lieutenant Beck with s report upon the route from Westport to 

 Sevier lake recapitulates so clearly and forcibly the characteristics of the country through 

 which it passes, the nature of the soil, climate, and topographical features, the amount and 

 quality of timber, fuel, stone, &c., with their bearing upon the construction and working of a 

 railroad, that nothing remains to be added to it. 



It appears that from the western frontier of the State of Missouri to the Sangre de Christo 

 Pass, 650 miles, no timber suitable for railroad purposes will be found upon the route upon 

 which reliance can be placed ; that from the Coo-che-to-pa Pass to the Great Basin, more than 

 500 miles, there is no growth of timber oa the route, and that such as exists in the mountains 

 north and south of the line is too difficult of access to be available ; nor is any to be found in 

 the Great Basin on the route as far as followed towards Sevier lake, the nearest known supplies 

 being in the mountains to the north, in latitude 40 or 41. With building stone generally, 

 it is, like the other routes, sufficiently well supplied. Of water, there is a sufficient supply 

 on the whole route, except between Grand and Green rivers, a distance of 70 miles, over which 

 at certain periods of the year it is probable little or none can be obtained. 



The soil west of the meridian of 99 is, under the present meteorological conditions, unculti- 

 vable, except in limited portions of river bottoms and small mountain valleys; these latter, 

 from their great elevation, being better adapted to grazing than agricultural purposes. This 

 description is completely in accordance with the geological formation and meteorological con- 



