DENVER & RIO GRANDE WESTERN ROUTE. 7 
the Atlantic coast, where the mean annual precipitation is 45 to 50 
inches. 
The description of the scenery along the line of the Denver & Rio 
Grande Western Railroad begins on page 
ONE-DAY TRIPS FROM DENVER. 
As most of the westbound travelers who pass through Denver stop 
over a few hours or a few days, it is desirable to call their attention 
to many side trips that may be made in one day by trolley, railroad 
train, or automobile. 
Most people are attracted by the mountains, and the excursions 
that are generally of the greatest interest are those made into their 
narrow canyons or over their snowy summits. Not only are the 
mountain trips enjoyable on account of the scenery, but they enable 
the traveler to have the pleasure of tramping over snow banks under 
the hot rays of a midsummer sun, to see something of the mines 
of gold and silver and other setats that have made this region 
famous, and to behold the magnificent exposures of rock along the 
canyon walls and in the highest peaks and thus to learn some of 
nature’s hidden mysteries regarding the earth upon which he lives. 
CONTINENTAL DIVIDE AT CORONA IN ROLLINS PASS. 
Corona is reached by the Denver & Salt Lake Railroad, or “ Moffat 
road,” as it is generally called. It is the objective point of most 
travelers who wish to enjoy the pleasure of snowballing on a hot 
summer day and of experiencing the sensation of standing on the 
backbone of the continent. On leaving Denver for this trip the 
traveler sees first the fine irrigated farms of Clear Creek valley 
(see Pl. ITT, A) and then the upturned beds of sandstone and shale 
which carry the coal of the Denver Basin. These rocks, which are 
called by geologists the Laramie formation, are of Cretaceous age, 
and their position in the geologic column is shown on page 1. No 
coal beds can be seen from this railroad, but a few miles to the north 
there are extensive mines. 
ne aha a ie - 
*Coal has been mined in Colorado 
basin, though not a surface basin, is 
so called because the beds of rock in 
it dip toward and under the city: from 
all directions, so that any one bed of 
rock, if it could be followed below the 
surface, would be found to have the 
form of an irregular basin. The west- 
ern rim of the basin is formed of the 
rock beds that are upturned along the 
mountain front in the vicinity of Mor- 
rison, Golden, and Boulder, but the 
eastern rim is not conspicuous, as the 
beds dip very gently westward ait 
formation) and 
