ee 
THE SANTA FE ROUTER, 138 
limestone and the underlying shales and sandstones are presented at 
the termination of the plateau province. 
Ash Fork owes its existence mainly to the fact that it is the junction 
of the branch railway to Prescott, 57 miles south, and Phoenix, 194 
miles south. Many of the trains stop here for meals 
Ash Fork. at the Escalante, a hotel named in memory of Fran- 
Elevation 5,144 feet. cisco S. Vélez Escalante, a Spanish missionary who 
_ spaces traveled through this country in 1775. Ash Fork 
has an exceptionally good climate and is ambitious 
to become a winter resort. 
A mile west of Ash Fork, in a low cinder cone just south of the 
railway, there is a large pit from which material is excavated for 
ballast. The exposed face, 50 feet high, exhibits the relations of the 
cinders with many included bombs and more or less admixture of 
volcanic ash. For some distance westward the train passes over a 
plain of lava which floors the wide valley in which Ash Fork is situated. 
To the west rises the prominent peak known as Picacho (pee-cah’tcho) 
Butte, and to the northwest Mount Floyd, both large masses of the 
older igneous rock similar to that in the San Francisco Mountains and 
Bill Williams Mountain. 
A mile or more beyond Pineveta the eastbound tracks diverge to 
the north, crossing over the old line, which is reserved for westbound 
traffic and which climbs out of this valley up the steep grade to the 
west by numerous large curves, including one notable loop known as 
Horseshoe Bend. On these loops there are excellent views to the 
east, in which Bill Williams Mountain is a prominent feature, rising 
far above the relatively even sky line at the crest of the high plateau. 
Farther east on the horizon the peaks of the San Francisco Mountains 
are conspicuous, though somewhat dwarfed by distance. The slope 
on which the track rises consists of lava (basalt) and toward its higher 
portion there are many junipers. 
Near Crookton, one-tenth of a mile west of milepost 419, where 
the summit of this grade is reached, the two tracks come together 
again, with that for the westbound traffic on the 
Crookton. ‘8 ht-t nd side. The summit consists of lava (basalt) 
right-hand side. (DSS 
Elevation 5,691 feet. and this rock extends along both sides of this divide 
Kansas City 1,339 miles. . : : 
and down the west slope. Picacho Butte isa promi- 
nent feature to the south and Mount Floyd and the surrounding 
peaks rise about 8 miles to the north. 
From Crookton to Seligman there is a long descent of 450 feet on 
lava-covered slopes into the valley of Chino (chee’no) Wash. The 
lava lies on the sloping surface of the limestone which caps the 
Aubrey Cliffs to the north. The interruption in these cliffs in this 
portion of their course was a fortunate thing for the construction of 
the railway. If they had extended continuously across the country 
