GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 5 



known as the ' Divide ' between the waters of the South 

 Platte and those of the Kepubliean rivers. Near Colorado 

 Springs it is very marked, the bar being hundreds of feet 

 in thickness, and of unknown extent to the eastward ; 

 while to the southward it follows the trend of the moun- 

 tain range crossing the Arkansas, building the plateau on 

 which now stands the new town of Pueblo, until it is 

 finally lost in the volcanic regions about the head of the 

 Cimarron Eiver. How high the original and principal 

 upheaval must have been to have furnished such an 

 amount of detritus and washings is beyond computa- 

 tion. 



A little to the southward of the Spanish Peaks appear 

 the first evidences of fire ; but, from that starting-point, 

 far to the south and west, there is abundant proof that at 

 one time. in Earth's history Nature made it 'very warm ' 

 for whatever was in that vicinity. The whole surface is 

 a mass of partially molten rocks, of lava and volcanic 

 tufa. Hundreds of extinct volcanoes dot the country, 

 some of which are even yet remarkable for their beauty 

 and symmetry of form. Of these the most remarkable 

 is the ' Capulin,' near the head of the Cimarron Eiver. 

 Rising sheer from a nearly level plateau, and built by and 

 for itself of molten material to a height of 1,000 feet, 1 

 it has exactly the form, and nearly the perfect symmetry, 

 of a lady's thimble. 



The western side is partially broken down by the last 

 eruption, affording a comparatively easy access to the 

 crater ; and, fortunately, owing to its position, it does not 

 in the least detract from the beauty of the cone. Three 

 miles to the south-west is Mount Tilden, appearing from 

 the road an almost perfect hemisphere. It is only 

 700 or 800 feet high ; but the 'ascent is exceedingly 

 trying, from the fact that the whole surface is composed 

 of loose materials, into which the foot sinks at every step. 



1 The general level of the plateau from which these volcanoes rise is at 

 least 6,000 feet above tide-water. 



