154 GEOLOGICAL SUEVEY OF THE TEERITOKIES. 



deep, as clear as crystal. The valley of Soda Creek extends off to the 

 northwest and unites with that of Blackfoot Fork. As far as the eye 

 can reach only a fragment of a ridge of limestone, or an old volcanic 

 crater, can be seen, bat on either side the high limestone hills rise up 

 like lofty walls. The basalt is shown along the base of these hills in 

 high, vertical walls, 50 to SOfeet, breakinginto irregular columnar masses. 

 Sometimes the springs sink beneath this crust of basalt, and thus dis- 

 appear for a long distance. Huge fissures and sink-holes are not un- 

 common. These limestones, from the inclination as shown in the sur- 

 rounding hills, must dip beneath all the Lake deposits and basaltic floors 

 of the valleys, and consequently the water of the springs may pass up 

 through 2,000 to 4,000 feet of limestone. A narrow-gauge railroad has 

 been projected, and partially constructed, by the Mormon authorities, 

 from the Pacific Eailroad, near Ogden, via Cache Valley, toSoda Springs. 

 This road will pass through the most thickly settled and most })rosperous 

 IDortion of Utah outside of Salt Lake Valley. It also opens up the fine 

 valley of Upper Bear Eiver with its 2,500 industrious farmers. 1 call 

 the attention of the public to this locality. Soda Springs, as a future 

 place of resort for j^leasure-seekers and invalids. The numerous springs 

 with their curious deposits, the beautiful valley with its river, surrounded 

 with most picturesque scenery, must very soon attract great attention 

 from tourists. About sixty miles to the northeast, on Salt Creek, a branch 

 of John Gray's Eiver, are some of the finest salt-works west of the Mis- 

 sissippi, which must sooner or later attract far more attention than they 

 liave yet done. 



The elevation at Soda Springs is 5,529 feet above the level of the 

 sea. From this point we pass up the valley of Bear Eiver, constantly, 

 but gradually ascending to higher altitudes until we reach the terminus 

 of our journey. We shall find the soil fertile, the vegetation exuberant, 

 the crops of the farmers usually good. We shall be constantly surprised 

 at the numbers of prosperous villages that will greet our eyes every few 

 miles. When the valley was first settled, a few years ago, the crops 

 were all destroyed either by grasshoppers or early and late frosts. The 

 prospects of the farmers are improving every year, and as the country 

 becomes settled, the climate seems to become milder and the confidence 

 and x^rosperity of the people are greatly increasing. 



I have continually spoken of the Lake deposits in the valleys among 

 the mountains, from the fact that they occur everywhere. There is 

 also a rem aik able uniformity in their mineral composition and color. 

 Still there is here and there a locality where these deposits present some 

 variations from the usual type. About three miles above Soda Springs, 

 on the margin of Bear Eiver, there is a bed of black slaty clay under- 

 neath the superficial deposits of drift, which contains a seam of impure 

 coal, visible only when the water is low in autumn. The slate above 

 the coal is literally crowded with fresh-water shells, as Planorbis, &c. 

 The beds are all horizontal and form a portion, I suspect, of the Plio- 

 cene Lake deposits of these valleys. A little farther up the river, on 

 the opposite side, there are hills, cut by the river, showing about 200 

 feet of gray indurated sandstones, with beds of pudding-stones, and 

 light-gray and whitish marly sand and clay, a very modern dejiosit^ 

 but attaining such a thickness and giving form to the high hills bord- 

 ering the river as to be regarded as worthy of attention in describing 

 the geological features of this valley. I may state in short that for ten 

 miles the valley and the foot-hills on either side exhibit an extensive 

 deposit, gradually passing up into the Quaternary or Drift, and over the 

 Drift is here and there a crust of basalt. There are also old spriug de- 



