212 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 



" Llano Estacado'' ou the south and southwest, and contains about four- 

 teen thousand square miles. The amount of arable land in this section, 

 as heretofore stated, is estimated at about one thousand four hundred 

 square miles, or nine hundred thousand acres. This estimate is made 

 on very slender data, and therefore cannot be considered as very relia- 

 ble, but I am satisfied that it is not too large, and I think it is approxi- 

 mately correct. 



. The Canadian Eiver, rising in the Eaton Mountains, runs southeast 

 for about one hundred and fifty miles, to Fort Bascom, where it turns 

 east, and passes out of the Territory, a little north of the thirty-fifth 

 parallel — its whole length within the limits of the Territory being about 

 two hundred miles. Most of its tributaries of any importance in an agri- 

 cultural point of view flow in from the west, of which the following are 

 the principal ones : Vermijo, Little Cimarron, Ocate, Bayada, (a branch 

 of the Ocate,) Moro, Bio Conchas, Pajarito Creek, and Tucumcari Creek. 



As will be seen by a glance at the map of this region, its western part 

 slopes eastward, while the general descent is toward the south. Hence 

 the highest portion of its general surface is found in the northwest angle, 

 where the elevation is probably about five thousand feet above the sea- 

 level, while the southeast corner, which is the lowest, has an elevation 

 of only three thousand feet. 



The fall of the river, from the mouth of Pajarito Creek east for about 

 two hundred miles, is about nine feet to the mile. The fall above this 

 is unknown, but it is evidently greater. It is therefore evident that the 

 amount of land which can be irrigated is limited only by the supply of 

 water, which is somewhat uncertain. I know but little in regard to the 

 valley of this river, but understand that, as a general thing, it is not 

 extensive; that at many points the bluffs press closely upon it, 

 leaving but a narrow opening for the river, while at others they recede, 

 leaving broad and fertile bottoms. The bordering plains are generally 

 quite sandy, supporting but a scanty vegetation. The landscape is va- 

 ried by small elevated mesas rising from the comparatively level sur- 

 face, whose sharp outlines form a singular feature of this country. 



The following description of the western border, across which our 

 expedition passed in 1869, will give a tolerably correct idea of the 

 section: 



Starting from the crest of the Eaton Mountains, immediately above 

 the source of the Canadian Eiver, after passing down through a dense 

 forest of magnificent pines and firs, we enter a beautiful little valley 

 covered over with a thick sward of luxuriant grass. Here a considera- 

 ble amount is annually cut for hay and taken to Trinidad. But this 

 valley soon terminates, and the little stream and road enter a rugged 

 canon bordered by precipitous bluffs of gray sandstone, which continue 

 to the plains at the base of the mountain. Here a grand panoramic 

 view spreads out toward the south ; a broad, valley-like plain slopes 

 southward as far as the vision will reach. Scarcely a tree or shrub is 

 to be seen ; all is one smooth, grassy carpet, which, on the distant gentle 

 slopes, looks more like pale, pea-green velvet than anything else to 

 which I can compare it. Eising up from the broad base are two or 

 three huge basaltic tables, lifting their perfectly level surfaces one hun- 

 dred and fifty feet or more into the air, and all clothed in the same 

 velvety covering, but which fails to destroy the sharp outline of circular 

 rim. The little stream, like a silvery thread, is seen winding its tortu- 

 ous course along the gently descending plain, joined now and then by a 

 slender rill flowing down from the mountain on the west. It is a mag- 

 nificent pasture ground for sheep and cattle, where thousands might be 



