﻿PEALE] 
  UNCOMPAHGRE 
  VALLEY 
  GUNNISON 
  SIVER. 
  43 
  

  

  caSons 
  may 
  possibly 
  show 
  iu 
  some 
  few 
  places 
  the. 
  red 
  saudstoues 
  that 
  

   lie 
  beneath"^ 
  the 
  Jurassic 
  shales. 
  Of 
  this, 
  however, 
  I 
  cannot 
  speak 
  

   positively, 
  not 
  having" 
  followed 
  the 
  gullies 
  or 
  caiious 
  to 
  their 
  heads. 
  

   On 
  the 
  opposite 
  side 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  the 
  streams 
  cut 
  through 
  not 
  only 
  

   to 
  the. 
  red 
  beds, 
  but 
  also 
  to 
  the 
  archajan 
  rocks 
  upon 
  which 
  the 
  Triassic 
  

   strata 
  rest. 
  The 
  summit 
  of 
  the 
  plateau 
  is 
  well 
  timbered 
  with 
  pines 
  and 
  

   groves 
  of 
  quaking-aspens. 
  

  

  The 
  geological 
  features 
  of 
  the 
  crest 
  will 
  be 
  referred 
  to 
  in 
  another 
  por- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  report. 
  The 
  terraces 
  on 
  the 
  west 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  Uncompahgre 
  

   are 
  from 
  50 
  to 
  70 
  feet 
  high 
  opposite 
  Cedar 
  Creek. 
  As 
  we 
  go 
  down 
  

   stream 
  they 
  increase. 
  On 
  most 
  of 
  them 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  vegetation, 
  the 
  summit 
  

   being 
  strewn 
  with 
  pebbles. 
  In 
  some 
  places, 
  where 
  there 
  is 
  an 
  abundant 
  

   growth 
  of 
  sage, 
  irrigation 
  would 
  doubtless 
  cause 
  the 
  now 
  almost 
  useless 
  

   soil 
  to 
  sustain 
  farms. 
  A 
  short 
  distance 
  below 
  the 
  caiion 
  some 
  Ute 
  In- 
  

   dians 
  are 
  farming 
  in 
  a 
  rude 
  way. 
  Frosts 
  in 
  June 
  (1875), 
  however, 
  had 
  

   killed 
  their 
  first 
  crops, 
  and 
  the 
  facilities 
  for 
  irrigating 
  the 
  land 
  were 
  in- 
  

   suflBcient. 
  When 
  the 
  Ute 
  Indian 
  agency 
  is 
  moved 
  here 
  from 
  the 
  old 
  

   site 
  on 
  Los 
  Pinos 
  Creek, 
  the 
  capability 
  of 
  the 
  land 
  for 
  agricultural 
  pur- 
  

   poses 
  will 
  perhaps 
  be 
  more 
  fully 
  demonstrated. 
  Along 
  the 
  course 
  of 
  the 
  

   river 
  are 
  occasional 
  grassy 
  bottoms 
  which 
  would 
  make 
  rich 
  farming 
  

   land. 
  They 
  are 
  limited, 
  and 
  liable 
  to 
  inundation 
  during 
  the 
  eai-ly 
  spring. 
  

  

  The 
  western 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  lower 
  Uncompahgre 
  Valley 
  is 
  an 
  alkali 
  desert, 
  

   a 
  sparce 
  growth 
  of 
  stunted 
  sage-brush 
  being 
  the 
  only 
  vegetation. 
  In 
  

   many 
  places 
  even 
  this 
  is 
  absent. 
  The 
  soil 
  is 
  light-colored 
  and 
  clayey, 
  

   with 
  gypsum 
  and 
  alkali. 
  There 
  are 
  numerous 
  little 
  gullies 
  cut 
  into 
  it 
  

   by 
  the 
  drainage 
  from 
  the 
  line 
  of 
  buttes 
  that 
  lie 
  between 
  the 
  Uncom- 
  

   pahgre 
  and 
  the 
  western 
  wall 
  of 
  the 
  Grand 
  OaQon 
  of 
  the 
  Gunnison. 
  

   There 
  are 
  two 
  lines 
  of 
  these 
  buttes 
  of 
  Middle 
  Cretaceous 
  shales. 
  The 
  

   soil 
  is 
  derived 
  from 
  the 
  breaking 
  down 
  of 
  the 
  soft 
  strata. 
  During 
  dry 
  

   weather 
  it 
  is 
  soft 
  and 
  i^ulverulent, 
  making 
  traveling 
  across 
  it 
  exceed- 
  

   ingly 
  difficult. 
  The 
  sun 
  reflected 
  from 
  it 
  is 
  glaring, 
  and 
  its 
  creek-beds 
  

   are 
  totally 
  devoid 
  of 
  water 
  all 
  summer. 
  This 
  Uncompahgre 
  Valley 
  has 
  

   been 
  called 
  the 
  paradise 
  of 
  the 
  Utes. 
  They 
  usually 
  winter 
  in 
  it 
  ; 
  its 
  

   comparatively 
  low 
  elevation, 
  ranging 
  from 
  5,000 
  to 
  6,500 
  feet, 
  rendering 
  

   it 
  particularly 
  suitable 
  for 
  that 
  purpose. 
  The 
  Uncompahgre 
  Park 
  has 
  an 
  

   elevation 
  of 
  from 
  7,000 
  to 
  7,500 
  feet. 
  At 
  Ouray, 
  and 
  near 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  

   the 
  river 
  in 
  the 
  mountains, 
  mining 
  is 
  carried 
  on 
  to 
  a 
  limited 
  extent. 
  The 
  

   greater 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  is 
  inside 
  of 
  the 
  limits 
  of 
  the 
  reservation 
  for 
  the 
  

   Ute 
  Indians. 
  

  

  GUNNISON 
  RIVER. 
  

  

  The 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  Gunnison 
  Eiver 
  to 
  be 
  considered 
  here 
  is 
  that 
  

   between 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  the 
  Uncompahgre 
  and 
  Grand 
  Elvers, 
  with 
  the 
  

   country 
  on 
  the 
  west 
  side. 
  The 
  eastern 
  side 
  and 
  all 
  above 
  the 
  Uncom- 
  

   pahgre 
  was 
  fully 
  described 
  in 
  the 
  report 
  for 
  1874. 
  The 
  first 
  stream 
  join- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  Gunnison 
  below 
  the 
  Uncompahgre 
  is 
  Eoubideau's 
  Creek. 
  This 
  

   is 
  an 
  unimportant 
  stream 
  marking 
  the 
  entrance 
  of 
  the 
  Gunnison 
  into 
  its 
  

   lower 
  caiion. 
  It 
  rises 
  on 
  the 
  plateau 
  north 
  of 
  station 
  23, 
  and 
  is 
  sim- 
  

   ilar 
  to 
  the 
  branches 
  of 
  the 
  Uncompahgre 
  southeast 
  of 
  it. 
  It 
  is 
  cut 
  through 
  

   Dakota 
  and 
  underlying 
  sandstones, 
  and 
  is 
  bordered 
  with 
  terraces. 
  

  

  With 
  the 
  next 
  creek, 
  to 
  which 
  we 
  have 
  given 
  the 
  name 
  Eio 
  Escalante,* 
  

   we 
  enter 
  a 
  region 
  much 
  more 
  cut 
  up 
  by 
  the 
  water-courses 
  tributary 
  to 
  

   it. 
  The 
  plateau 
  here 
  has 
  a 
  width 
  of 
  about 
  twenty-five 
  miles 
  from 
  station 
  

   26 
  to 
  the 
  Gunnison 
  Eiver. 
  The 
  creek 
  is 
  formed 
  by 
  four 
  branches 
  flowing 
  

  

  ^Escalante 
  was 
  a 
  Roman 
  Catholic 
  priest, 
  who 
  traveled 
  across 
  the 
  country 
  in 
  1777. 
  

  

  