542 A..C. VEATCH 
Mr. Hague studied the region of the Laramie Plains in the fall of 
1872. At the Rock Creek locality he reports and maps only Fox 
Hills strata,t although he states he did not see the coal openings 
reported by Hayden, near one of which typical Upper Laramie plants 
have since been found,? thus confirming the early observations of 
Hayden. Carbon was therefore the only locality on the Laramie 
Plains where Hague recognized Laramie strata. The strata at this 
point which he refers to the Laramie are clearly Upper Laramie. 
In opening the discussion of the Carbon locality, Hague says: 
Geologically the place has also received considerable attention in examining 
the question of the age of the Wyoming coals. There would appear to be but little 
doubt that the beds belong to the Laramie division of the Cretaceous sandstone. 
It would certainly have greatly simplified one point in the considera- 
tion of this greatly involved subject if Hague had said here, as he has 
since said in conversation, that the beds are called Laramie because 
of their exposure at this point on the Laramie Plains. It is unques- 
tionably the only point on the Laramie Plains where the Laramie 
beds were recognized and critically studied by the King Survey, and 
King was too keenly alive to the absolute importance of a geographic 
origin for geologic names (the names being derived from type locali- 
ties at which the beds were well exposed and could be unquestionably 
defined) to have permitted the adoption of, or even seriously con- 
sidered, a term not definitely fixed in this way. His feeling in the 
matter is clearly shown by the fact that he refused to use the prior 
name ‘‘Wasatch” solely because at what he considered the type 
locality of Hayden, the Wasatch Mountains, the beds were not fully 
and typically exposed. He considered this sufficient reason to reject 
this name and to apply a new name, “Vermilion Creek group,” 
taken from the locality where the beds were well exposed and could 
be fully defined. In the light of these facts, it is clear that the 
t Report of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel, Vol. 11 [1877 (1878)], 
pp- 86-87. 
2 Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, Vol. VIII (1896), pp. 141, 142. 
The field-work of 1906 practically connected this locality with that at Carbon and 
completely confirmed the provisional reference by Dr. Knowlton. 
3 Report of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel, Vol. I (1878), p. 354. 
King’s belief that the name “ Wasatch” was taken from the Wasatch Mountains is shown 
by a careful consideration of Hayden’s writings to have been unfounded. The type 
