ROCK-CUT SURFACES IN THE DESERT RANGES 443 
case will be described next; and certain conclusions more or less 
hypothetical will be stated last. 
Well-marked though dissected rock-cut benches occur in a 
number of areas within the Silver City quadrangle. Their rela- 
tions to the highlands, out of which they have been carved, and to 
Fic. 1.—Vertical scale double the horizontal. 1 square=1 mile 
the gravel deposits, to which they contributed material, are shown 
in Figs. 1, 2,3,and 4. The shaded portions show the areas in which 
the rock-cut dissected surfaces are found. Dotted areas indicated 
gravel. The most important features of these benches are: first, 
that they slope gently upward from the edge of the gravel with a 
profile concave upward and terminate abruptly against a mountain 
