GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 



59 



the second canon; but this entire lake basin seems admirably adapted 

 for grazing and for the cultivation of the usual crops of the country. 

 The cereals and the roots have already been produced in abundance^ es- 

 pecially wheat and potatoes. The mountains on either side are covered 

 with snow, to a greater or less extent, all the year, which in melting, feeds 

 the numerous little streams that flow down the mountain sides in the 

 Yellowstone. Hundreds of springs flow out of the terraces. One terrace 

 near Bottler's Eanch gives origin to fifty springs within a mile, and then, 

 all aggregating together in the river bottom,form a large stream. Thus 

 there is tlie greatest abundance of water for irrigation, or for any of the 

 purposes of settlement. The elevation of the valley at this ranch is 

 4,925 feet, and this may be regarded as the average in altitude. But a 

 small portion of it is occupied as yet, but the time is not far distant 

 when the valley will be covered with fine farms and the hills with stock. 

 It vill always be a region of interest, from the fact that it is probably 

 the upper limit of agricultural effort in the Yellowstone Valley. 



CHAPTER IV. 



FIRST CA:S0N— SNOWY RANGE— EMIGRANT PEAK— BUTLER'S RANCH- 

 SECOND CANON— DEVIL'S SLIDE— WHITE MOUNTAIN— HOT SPRINGS^ &c. 



In our last chapter we described the beautiful lake-basin below the 

 second caQon. We found that rocks of volcanic origin predominated 

 over all others. In this caiion, which is carved out of a lofty range of 

 mountains by the river, we see that the core or nucleus is true gneissoid 

 granite. Before reaching the caiion for a mile, the gneissic rocks are 

 well shown high up on the mountain sides with a stratification so clear 

 and distinct as to be a noticeable feature. The strata incline west 10° 

 to 15°. The ui^per beds are composed mostly of feldspar and quartz, 

 and are, consequently, compact and rather massive; but lower down 

 they are a black, micaceous gneiss. About midway up the caiiou the 

 walls on either side rise up nearly vertically, on the east side 1,500 feet, 

 and on the west side from 1,000 to 1,200 feet, the strata having a general 

 dip of 30° to 40° westward. The different shades of color, give to the 

 sides of the caiion a peculiarly stratified appearance, produced by alter- 

 nate layers of micaceous granite, feldspar, and quartz. Protruding 



Fig. g, 



through the- layers, here and there 

 may be seen, as indicated by the dark 

 hue, masses of trap, (Fig. 9.) Scat- 

 tered air over the valley, and on the 

 sides of the mountain, are great quan- 

 tities of broken masses of granite. 

 This canon was undoubtedly started 

 in a fissure, bat it is mostly one of 

 erosion. It is about three miles long. 

 This is, of course, an extension of the 

 range of mountains in which Emi- 

 grant Gulch is located, and it undoubt- 

 edly contains mines of gold. The 

 rocks, with their peculiarly distinct 



and contorted strata as well as texture gneissic strata, with trap. . 

 remind one of the gneissic mountains in the mining districts of Colorado. 

 The river rushes with considerable force over the loose masses of rock 



