PRELIMINARY ACCOUNT OF THE ANTIQUITIES OF 
THE REGION BETWEEN THE MANCOS AND LA PLATA 
RIVERS IN SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO 
By Eart H. Morris 
DESCRIPTION OF THE REGION 
The region here dealt with consists of a triangular plateau bounded 
on the west by the Mancos Canyon, on the east by the La Plata 
River, and on the south by the Colorado-New Mexico line. Its ele- 
vation varies from 6,000 to 7,000 feet above the sea. It is traversed 
from northeast to southwest by a low divide composed of a series 
of broken hills. The canyons which drain to the Mancos are exceed- 
ingly deep and rough, rivaling those on the opposite side of the 
river. The arroyos running to the La Plata are less precipitous and 
much of the country on that side of the divide is a rolling tableland. 
An unusually dense forest of pifion and cedar covers much of the 
region, and the parts not covered by forests are overgrown with 
sagebrush. Along the watercourses are cottonwoods and willows, 
and in the canyons draining to the Mancos quaking aspens, wild goose- 
berries, and chokecherries are of common occurrence. A few rock 
pines stand at the heads of the canyons, and along the foot of cliffs 
and in the deep coves are numerous spruce trees, some of them of 
large size. It appears that the pines, spruces, and aspens, together 
with the other plants common to the associations in which these are 
predominant, are being slowly crowded out by more xerophytic 
forms, a condition indicating that there is a less abundant rainfall 
than there was in times past. 
Until the coming of the whites, deer, elk, bear, and mountain lions, 
as well as smaller mammals, were plentiful, and even at present they 
are occasionally encountered in the fastnesses of the canyons. 
The sagebrush glades interspersed through the heavy timber fur- 
nished the aboriginal inhabitants with abundant and fertile land 
for cultivation. In the summer of 1914 corn could have been grown 
successfully without irrigation upon these mesas. Thus it appears 
that the region offered all the conditions indispensable to primitive 
culture. To-day it is uninhabited except for a few “dry farmers,” 
who are endeavoring to reclaim the lands west of Cherry Creek. 
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