THE FORESTS A XD DESER TS OF A RIZONA 2 1 1 



but they are of imiiortance economically ; not merely for the i)j\.s- 

 turage that might be gleaned from their slopes,or for their timl>er 

 (which on the higher levels is not worth the cutting), but for their 

 meteorological effect, which is increased by the forest cover. Their 

 peaks arrest and precipitate the clouds, which would otherwise 

 pass over the jdateau and find no cause for precipitation over the 

 eastward desert. Nu-va-ti-ky-obi(Homeofthe High Snows) is the 

 name the Indians give to them. They form the only elevation in 

 Arizona on which snows can and do accumulate, giving up their 

 stores in spring, furnishing supplies for many springs and wa.shes 

 and to at least one perennial stream— Oak creek. From this con- 

 sideration it would be i)roper to make into a forest reservation all 

 the area above the level of 8,500 feet. 



We may take our descent on the western Aiceof the mountain, 

 passing one of the loveliest S})ots where a never-failing spring of 

 cold delicious water invites us to camp among the aspen growth 

 which intermingles with the spruces and white pines; and we 

 may also extend our excursion to pay a brief visit to Walker 

 lake or to Crater lake, whose yawning mouth, once spouting 

 molten masses, is now sealed by a sheet of water, a welcome find 

 to the cattle herds roaTuing over the ])lateau to })ick the some- 

 times scanty herbage. 



Water even on the plateau is the one deficiency of the wliole 

 territory ; not that there is not sufficient and even too much at 

 times, but in its distribution it is uncertain and extreme, both 

 by localities and by seasons, and even within the rainy season 

 the dry air makes constant and excessive demands. 



Here, as in the southern portion of Arizona, there are two wet 

 seasons, winter and summer. On the plateau, after the beautiful 

 da3^s of Indian summer in November, winter begins with Christ- 

 mas. While mostly clear and calm, with temperatures rarely 

 below 22° at night, ranging to 50° or 60° in the day, snows come 

 every ten to fourteen days to a depth of 4 to 24 inches, drifting 

 badly, but rarely lying long, except on the higher levels, and 

 even the frozen ground becomes soft in the middle of the day. 

 Spring begins about the middle of April and is the dry season — 

 windy, dusty, the first half cooler, the last half warmer, than one 

 would wish. With the first week of July the rainy season sets 

 in, lasting until September. With it comes the profusion of 

 flowers which is characteristic of the Rocky mountains, and 

 which by and Ijy will fill the pine woods below with gay beauty 

 and luxuriance. Whole fields of the blue tlag (/>•<»• versicolor) 



