82 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES, 
between the Benton shale and the granite, and the shale and the 
granite must be brought into contact by a fault, as shown in figure 16. 
Above Parkdale the river is again confined in a narrow, rugged 
canyon, which has been cut in a plateau similar to that in which the 
Royal Gorge is cut. (See Pl. XXXIV, 4, p. 72.) Upon this plateau 
there are several ranges of mountains, which rise to elevations of 
12,000 to 14,000 feet above sea level and which are included in the 
San Isabel National Forest. This forest furnishes excellent summer 
pasture for a large number of cattle and sheep, which are driven into 
the mountains each spring from ranches in the lowland on both the 
east and the west. The forest is also an effective conserver of water, 
for in it lie the heads of a number of streams that supply water for 
domestic use and irrigation to the cities, towns, and ranches of the 
plains. It is a haven of refuge for wild animals, particularly deer, 
which thrive upon its excellent pasture lands. The fawns are almost 
as tame as the lambs which gambol about their mothers in the deep 
grass. (See Pl. XLII, 2.) 
In the Greenhorn Mountains many summer homes have been built 
by the citizens of Pueblo and connected with that city by fine auto- 
mobile roads. The use of the national forests for recreation is en- 
couraged by the Government, and in many localities sites suitable for 
summer homes have been mapped and laid off in lots so as to be 
available to those who wish to avoid the crowded cities during the 
heat of summer. The charge for building permits ranges from 
$10 to $25 a year, depending on the accessibility and attractiveness of 
the site. Logs and poles for building and wood for fuel may be 
procured free of charge under permit from the local forest officers. 
One of these summer homes is shown in Plate XLIT, A. 
The canyon above Parkdale, although it is generally considered 
with the Royal Gorge as constituting the grand canyon of the 
Arkansas, is really a separate canyon. It has a length of about 24 
miles, measured along the railroad, and may be divided, according 
to its width and the ruggedness of its walls, into three parts, two of 
them narrow and rugged and the third, separating the more rugged 
parts, broad and more or less smooth. 
The first part of the canyon extends from Parkdale to Texas 
Creek, a distance of 11 miles. This canyon is not so narrow nor 
so deep as the Royal Gorge, but it is nevertheless picturesque and 
well worthy of close attention, particularly as it can generally be 
seen from an open observation car. The charm of this canyon 
is the variety of its scenery. In places it is narrow and has steep 
and rugged walls; in others it is relatively broad, though here and 
there projecting points of rock have been cut by the stream into 
nearly vertical cliffs. In other words, this canyon looks as if it 
