GEOGRAPHICAL EXPLORATIONS AND DISCOVERIES IN 1873. 313 



years, in the extent and value of its acquisi- 

 tions. It embraced a journey of seven hun- 

 dred miles from Salt-Lake City to a point on 

 the Columbia River west of the inouth of the 

 Des Chutes River. The Blue Mountains were 

 crossed, the Shoshone Falls visited, ami the 

 route on approaching the Columbia was 

 through the valley of the John Day, a region as 

 yet but imperfectly delineated upon our maps. 

 The observations made during the journey 

 seemed to warrant the conclusion that Salt 

 Lake had formerly a northern outlet, and the 

 terraces examined indicated that the lake is 

 but tint remains of what was once a vast 

 body of water, equaling in magnitude our 

 great lakes. That the lake had at an earlier 

 period a southern outlet into the Colorado is 

 already known. The region about the John 

 Day River was carefully explored by Prof. 

 Marsh, and is a very rough country. In the 

 pliocene and miocene formations were found 

 the remains of various species or bodies of 

 rhinoceros, camels, and horses, as well as great 

 numbers of oreodons, the anchitherium, and 

 other carnivora. The collections made were 

 Numerous, and five tons of specimens were 

 brought back. The explorers received great 

 attention from the Mormons, which is thus 

 explained : In the " Book of Mormon " certain 

 events are related as occurring in the prehis- 

 toric period of America in which horses are 

 mentioned. The Spanish historians state that 

 no horses were found in America, and that 

 they were introduced by the Spaniards, a 

 statement relied upon as proof of the fabri- 

 cation of the Mormon work. The discovery, 

 therefore, by Prof. Marsh, of the fossil horses 

 in Oregon, has given great satisfaction to the 

 Mormons, being regarded by them as proof of 

 the inspiration of the " Book of Mormon." 



The State Geological and Natnr.il History 

 Survey of California, under Prof. Whitney, as 

 well as the exploration along the fortieth par- 

 allel, by Clarence King, were both continued 

 during 1878. There were but few items of 

 geographical interest in their explorations, 

 however. Mount Whitney has been for sevornl 

 years supposed to be the highest of the Cali- 

 fornia summits, and indeed the highest peak in 

 the United States. It was demonstrated in 

 1873 that this supposition was erroneous. A 

 neighboring peak, called by Messrs. Johnson, 

 Begole, and Lucas, who ascended it on the 18th 

 of August, 1873, "Fisherman's Peak," overtops 

 Mount Whitney by several hundred feet. 



A wealthy citizen of San Francisco, Mr. 

 James Lick, has made provision for the erec- 

 tion of an observatory of the first class on the 

 summit of one of the Sierra Nevada Moun- 

 tains, at a height of not less than ten thousand 

 feet above the level of the sea. The site was 

 elected in the autumn of 1873. It is to be 

 provided with the largest telescope yet made, 

 nnd with all other instruments necessary to 

 the equipment of a perfect observatory. 



One of the most interesting discoveries of 



the year in California is that of a new Yo- 

 semite, in several respects surpassing the well- 

 known valley, or cation, through which the 

 Merced River flows. It is situated in the Tuo- 

 lumne River Canon, seventeen miles north of 

 the Yosernite. The main Tuolumne River, 

 which is a much wider stream than the Merced, 

 runs through the great Tuolumne Canon. This 

 canon and its connections have an unbroken 

 length of forty miles. For twenty miles of 

 this distance the canon is shut in by vertical 

 walls of granite, some of which are from two 

 to five hundred feet higher than the very high- 

 est in the Yosemite Valley. The Tuolumne 

 Canon or Yosemite, at its widest part, is only 

 a quarter of a mile wide, while the Merced 

 Yosemite Valley is from half a mile to a mile 

 and a quarter wide. The falls in the latter 

 surpass those of the Tuolumne Canon in un- 

 broken volumes of falling water; but in end- 

 less variety of cascades and water-shoots the 

 Tuolumne Cafion is the most grand. There 

 is one water-leap one thousand feet high in 

 the latter! One of its water-falls spreads out 

 at first like a great fan of silvery-threaded wa- 

 ter; but, after a descent in this shape of about 

 two hundred feet, it is whirled over, closed up, 

 changed in color, and shot down a narrow 

 groove worn in the rocks, like an arrow of 

 steam. There are a greater display and variety 

 of water-hnes, tints, motions, and expressions, 

 in the Tuolumne Cafion than in Yosemite. 



We have, in previous volumes of the ANNUAL 

 CYCLOPAEDIA, referred to the Crater Lake in 

 Oregon, twenty-five miles from Klamath Lake. 

 A party have recently explored it, nnd find 

 that it is thirty miles in circumference, with- 

 out any shore, being entirely surrounded by 

 high volcanic walls, and presented a scene of 

 weird and wild magnificence. It is a place of 

 great religious reverence among the Indians. 

 Whence this vast body of water comes, or 

 where it empties itself, is unknown. It is evi- 

 dently the crater of a volcano, and probably 

 one of the largest in the world. 



General Hazen has published, under date of 

 January 1, 1874, in an article on the Northern 

 Pacific Railroad, statistics of the temperature, 

 rainfall, etc., of Fort Buford, where he has been 

 for some time stationed. His records are of 

 value so far as Fort Bnford is concerned, nnd 

 we give the monthly menn of temperature for 

 the eight years 1866-1873. For January, 8. 

 75; February, 1 2. 09; March, 21. 14; April, 

 42. 40; May, 56. 38; June, 67. 21; July, 72. 

 30; August, 67. 70.; September, 54. 31 ; Oc- 

 tober, 41 . 42 ; November, 26. 63; December, 

 9. 81. The warmest day of the eight years 

 wns in July, 18fi8, when the mercury stood at 

 106 in the shade, though the average of 

 warmest dnys in July and August was 98, nnd 

 in Juno about 95. The coldest day of the 

 eight years was in January, 1869, when the 

 spirit thermometer marked 60 ; but the aver- 

 age of coldest days in January for the eight 

 years wns 34. The average annunl rainfall 



