162 GUIDEBOOK 0¥ THE WESTEEX UXITED STATES. 



anc 



Moor. 



divide between the drainage of Independence Valley 

 umboldt River is readied, and the traveler enters 

 the area tributary to the ancient Lake Lal\ontan, an 

 extensive body of water that formerly spread out 

 Elevation 6,166 feet. throuo"h iiiost of the lower vallcvs in northwestern 



Omaha 1,166 miles. o ^ 



Nevada; (See p. 172.) 

 From the summit of Moor the train makes a long westward descent, 

 at first down a heavy grade betw^een Moor and WeUs. Mhior stations 

 along the way are Cedar and Kaw. A broad valley extends off towafd 

 the north, the railroad skirting its southern side, Tuhisco Peak, the 

 prominent pointed summit in the range across this valley, is fomied 



Wells 



of limestone and quartzite of Carboniferous age, with lava (rhyolite) 

 at its base and l)eds of Pliocene tuff in the valley. 



Well^, formerly a more important settlement and trading center 

 than it is now, was named from a group of springs (*alled Humboldt 



AYclls, an objective point along the branch of the old 

 Wells. overland emigrant trail, which here comes from 



Elevation 5,631 feet, the soutli iuto the route foUowcd by the Southern 



Population 598.* -p *n 



Omaha 1,175 miles. X MCIIIC, 



lowed in general the route which has been taken by 

 the Western Pacific Railway. From Wells to a point a little beyond 

 Winnemucca both the Southern Pacific and the Western Pacific run 

 in nearly parallel hnes down the valley of Humboldt River, beyond 

 which thc}^ diverge to separate passes across the Sierra Nevada. 



Tlie springs at Wells are reported to be from 30 to 150 in number 

 and range in size from a few inches to 3 or 4 rods across. They are 

 inconspicuous little pools scattered about in a grassy meadow just 

 north of the railroad, a short distance Avest of the town. The flow* is 

 variable; it reaches a maximum about October, but during a large 

 part of the year there is no overflow at all. This variability with the 

 season indicates that the springs may originate in the underflow drain- 

 age in the valley, rather than from some deeper-seated source, wliich 

 probably would not be so subject to seasonal influences. These w^eUs 

 have been called the head of Humboldt River, but that stream has 

 longer branches, which enter the valley below WeUs. 



Wells is still the center of an extensive cattle and sheep industry, 

 which has now largely replaced the mining of earlier days. A large 

 private irrigation project is being carried out in the valley beyond 

 the high mountains to the north. Near Wells, Humboldt Kirer, 

 Willow Creek, Trout Creek, and ^Meadow Creek suddIv water for the 



•rigation 



devoted principally to growing winter feed for stock, although, 

 according to reports, barley, oats, potatoes, and cabbage are also 

 raised. Clover Valley, at the foot of the Ruby or East Humboldt 



W 



^ .alley 



