DEKVER & EIO GRANDE WESTERN ROUTE. 179 



gether with forage plants, grow here in abundance. Two miles 

 south of Montrose was the home of Chief Ouray, for whom the peak 

 north of Marshall Pass and the mining town in the San Juan Moun- 

 tains were named. The main line and the branches of the railroad 

 north of Montrose were changed to standard gage in the summer of 

 1906. 



STANDARD-GAGE LINE FROM MONTROSE TO GRAND 



JUNCTION. 



From Montrose to Delta the railroad follows the valley of Un- 

 compahgre River in a general course a little west of north. The 

 country north of Montrose is more broken than that to the south, so 

 that a general view of the valley can not be obtained from the rail- 

 road. Throughout most of the distance from Montrose to Delta the 

 land near the river is well cultivated, but not far back from the 

 river there is generally a line of bluffs on both sides of it, which range 

 in height from 50 to 150 feet. These bluffs are but the fronts of 

 extensive terraces, many of which are well cultivated, but the trav- 

 eler can see only the barren shale underlying them. 



For a short distance out of Montrose there is nothing to interfere 

 with the view to the east, and the great Vernal Mesa, through which 

 Gunnison River has cut its famous canyon, stands out in bold relief. 

 For some distance the fault noted near Cimarron is still present, but 

 apparently about halfway along the mesa the red sandstone beds of 

 the Carboniferous and Triassic systems may be seen from the train 

 as they lap onto the mesa in gentle curves. The mesa here is an arch — 

 an anticline, as it is called by geologists — but the middle of the arch 

 has been planed off by erosion, leaving the granite still at the sur- 

 face. North of this point there is no fault on the west side of the 

 mesa. 



Along the railroad there is a high-tension electric transmission line, 

 which brings electric power from Telluride, in the San Juan Moun- 

 tains, for lighting Montrose, Delta, and other towns 

 Olathe. along the road. Olathe (o-lay'the), a place of 



Elevation 5,365 feet, recent growth, by utilizing the water supplied by 

 Denver 362 miles. the Guunison tunnel is becoming a horticultural 

 center. In passing along the railroad the traveler 

 will note that the farmers of the valley are troubled in places with 

 strong alkali, which makes the surface as white as if it had been cov- 

 ered by snow. This alkali, Avhich is brought to the surface by flood- 

 ing, due to overirrigation, makes farming difficult, but it can largely 

 be removed by subsurface drainage. 



One of the most promising parts of the valley for agriculture is the 

 terrace called California Mesa, which the traveler may see on the west 



