GEOLOGICAL SUEVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 



119 



geological position, and contains the remains of crinoids, which Pro- 

 fessor Agassiz refers to the genus Aplocrinites, which is Jurassic. To this 

 place has been given the name of Dial Bock, on account of the peculiar 

 dial-shaped form into which one of the columns has been worn. We see 

 at a glance that these rocks are stratified ; that they hold a nearly hori- 

 zontal position; that they stand out in the plains nearly isolated, 

 although in the immediate vicinity are other equally fantastic forms, 

 covering quite an extensive area. Where are the intermediate portions 

 of the rock out of which these singular monuments have been carved 

 by the chisel of time % These level plains, covered now with grass and 

 wild sage, were once on a level with the summits of these sandstones at 

 least, while the vast mass of sandstone which filled up the general level 

 has been swept away, who knows where % Who can estimate the forces 

 that have wrought this mighty work, or the immensity of the time that 

 it required? How many myriads of ages have the winds and storms 

 beaten against the sides of these rocks, gnawing out the cavities and 

 giving them the fantastic shapes they now possess % Every year smaller 

 portions crumble off and are mingled with the soil below, and in time all 

 these remnants of the past will be removed. It will be noticed that the 

 larger mass is worn into a form that can easily be imagined a human 

 face, and an American might fancy he saw in it some resemblance to 

 that of the Father of his Country. 



It is not an uncommon thing for the rocks of all textures in this coun- 

 try to weather into the forms which call to mind human beings and 

 animals. 



Fijr. 10. 



Triassic sandstones, west slope, Laramie range. 



These sandstones also afford a fine illustration of what is called irreg- 

 ular layers of deposition, and the materials are supposed to have been 

 brought here and deposited in turbulent waters. If we were to study 

 the actions of currents of water along our streams, or of the waves of 

 the sea-shore, we should continually find examples of the deposition of 



