CHAP TER ar 
RUINS AND INHABITED VILLAGES OF TUSAYAN. 
PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE PROVINCE. 
That portion of the southwestern plateau country comprised in the 
Province of Tusayan has usually been approached from the east, so that 
the easternmost of the series of mesas upon which the villages are sit- 
uated is called the “ First Mesa.” The road for 30 or 40 miles before 
reaching this point traverses the eastern portion of the great plateau 
whose broken margin, farther west, furnishes the abrupt mesa-tongues 
upon which the villages are built. The sandstone measures of this 
plateau are distinguished from many others of the southwest by their 
neutral colors. The vegetation consisting of a scattered growth of 
stunted pinon and cedar, interspersed with occasional stretches of dull- 
gray sage, imparts an effect of extreme monotony to the landscape. The 
effect is in marked contrast to the warmth and play of color frequently 
seen elsewhere in the plateau country. 
The plateaus of Tusayan are generally diversified by canyons and 
buttes, whose precipitous sides break down into long ranges of rocky 
talus and sandy foothills. The arid character of this district is espe- 
cially pronounced about the margin of the plateau. In the immediate 
vicinity of the villages there are large areas that do not support a blade 
of grass, where barren rocks outcrop through drifts of sand or lie piled 
in confusion at the bases of the cliffs. The canyons that break through 
the margins of these mesas often have a remarkable similarity of appear- 
ance, and the consequent monotony is extremely embarrassing to the 
traveler, the absence of running water and clearly defined drainage con- 
fusing his sense of direction. 
The occasional springs which furnish scanty water supply to the in- 
habitants of this region are found generally at great distances apart, 
and there are usually but few natural indications of their location. They 
often occur in obscure nooks in the canyons, reached by tortuous trails 
winding through the talus and foothills, or as small seeps at the foot 
of some mesa. The convergence of numerous Navajo trails, however, 
furnishes some guide to these rare water sources. 
The series of promontories upon which the Tusayan villages are built 
are exceptionally rich in these seeps and springs. About the base of 
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