GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 205 



in altitude, and proximity to high mountains. Beginning at the San 

 Luis Valley, with an elevation of 7,000 feet above the level of the sea, 

 we find when we reach Santa Fe the height is still 6,840 feet, which is 

 higher than some of the valleys farther north. Keeping on the same 

 plateau, and moving south, the elevations of the principal points are as 

 follows : Gallisteo Village, 6,165 ; Los Cerillos, 5,804 ; Canon Blanco, 

 6,320, and a little southwest of the canon, near Laguna Blanca, 6,943 

 feet. Moving southwest from this point toward Albuquerque, we fiDd 

 the elevation at San Antonio is 6,408 feet. But when we descend into 

 the immediate valley of the Kio Grande, as far north as Pena Blanca, 

 it is only 5,288 feet above the sea-level, or 1,552 lower than at Santa Fe. 

 At San Felipe it is 5,220 ; at Albuquerque, 5,026 ; at Isleta, 4,910 ; at 

 Socorro, 4,560 ; at Alamosa, 4,200 ; and at El Paso about 3,800. Strange 

 as it may appear, when we cross the ridge east of Santa Fe,- to the 

 headwaters of the Pecos, we find the altitude at Pecos Village but 6,360 

 feet — about 500 feet lower than at Santa Fe ; while at Anton Chieo it is 

 only 5,372 feet, corresponding very nearly with that of the Bio Grande 

 valley at Pena Blanca. 



I have given these particulars in regard to the elevation of this 

 region to show that, sweeping around the southern terminus of the Bocky 

 Mountain range, is an elevated plateau, or extended mesa, which, reach- 

 ing north along the inside of the basin for some distance, occupies both 

 sides of the river, but southward recedes from it. At Pena Blanca we 

 descend into the Bio Grande Valley proper, which continues along the 

 southern course of the river with little interruption throughout the rest 

 of the Territory. From this point south, fruits and the tenderer vege- 

 tables and plants are grown with ease, which fail no farther north than 

 Santa F6. 



But the difference in altitude is not the only influence tending to vary 

 the temperature and vegetation between the northern and southern 

 parts of the section, for about opposite the point where this lower level 

 begins, the mountain range on the east terminates, and, as a matter of 

 course, the depression of temperature and the cold of the nights, so far 

 as caused by the proximity of snowy peaks and icy waters, also cease. 



From the region of the Galisteo south the features of the country 

 change ; instead of the vast and lofty ranges of the Bocky Mountains, 

 a succession of shorter, narrower, and less lofty mountains forming a 

 chain which runs directly north and south a short distance east of the 

 river and almost parallel with it ; and what is somewhat remarkable, 

 instead of corresponding with the range east of the San Luis Valley, 

 this chain runs almost directly in a line with the bottom of the valley. 

 While the mountains have thus diminished, on the other hand the minia- 

 ture table lands of the regions farther north are here replaced by vast 

 plateaus which spread over the country forming its general level, out of 

 which are scooped the valleys and basins. 



On the east side of the Bio Grande, between the Taos Valley and 

 Joya, the country is broken and mountainous, mostly covered with a 

 heavy growth of timber, chiefly pine and fir. This area is traversed 

 east and west by a few small streams, which are bordered by narrow 

 strips of cultivable lands. The three principal ones are the Penasco, 

 Pueblo, and Chumesal ; the first being a vigorous creek which traverses 

 a valley varying in width from one to five miles, which is flanked on 

 each side by high bluffs. A good part of it is already under cultivation, 

 and, as the soil is fertile and the valley sheltered, the crops produced are 

 quite heavy. The other two are small and less important than the 

 Peiiasco. 



