DENVER & RIO GRANDE WESTERN ROUTE. 213 



•Just west of Mounds curious hard masses of rock which on ac- 

 count of their nearly spherical shape are frequently referred to as 

 " cannon balls" may be seen in the shale that forms the cut edge of 

 one of the terraces. These round masses of rock are known to 

 geologists as concretions,®** and they were undoubtedly formed in the 

 shale after it was deposited as mud in the bottom of the ocean. 



From the uplands at Mounds the road descends westward to Price 

 Kiver, which it reaches at milepost 607. Here the traveler is once 

 more gladdened by the sight of green trees and small irrigated farms 

 in the river bottom. The valley becomes rather nar- 

 Farn am. ^,^^^ ^^^ ^^ Famham the bluffs of shale encroacli 



DenTer T09 mifef" ^osely upon the river bottom. The shale hills are 

 gray and barren, but they form a background that 

 serves to heighten the color of the fields and trees. 



From Farnham the railroad follows Price River practically to its 

 head. Irrigation is generally practiced in the valley, but the supply 

 of water is not sufficient to serve all the land that is 

 Wellington. otherwise favorably situated. Towns have sprung 



Elevation 5,415 feet, ^^^p along the railroad and are achieving more or 

 Denver 614 miles. Igss succcss. The next town to be passed is Welling- 

 ton, which appears to be a thriving village, whose 

 most prominent building is a modern schoolhouse. 



Northwest of Wellington the valley is more open, and well-irri- 

 gated farms are abimdant. The country on both sides of the river is 

 served by canals that take their water from the river 

 Price. several miles above Price. Price is the county seat 



Elevation 5,546 feet, of Carbon County, which was so named because of 

 Denver 619 miles. ^^® great beds of coal that are found in the Book 

 Cliffs. It is a general supply point for the ranches 

 in Duchesne Valley, north of the Book Cliffs, and in Castle Valley, 

 south of them. 



For a distance of 4 miles above Price the course of the river is 

 southeastward and its bottom lands are fairly wide. The railroad 

 is in this bottom and affords good views on both sides of the best 

 part of the irrigated district. From this open valley the traveler may 

 see the shale ten^aces extending toward the river from both sides, like 

 long fingers, and at milepost 623 they approach so closely that the 

 river flows in a veritable shale canyon, with steep walls on either 

 hand that rise to a height of nearly 100 feet. 



" The origin of concretions is not 

 well understood, but they are supposed 

 to be due to the collecting together in 

 the mud of certain mineral particles, 

 in much the same manner as the 

 molecules of a mineral unite to form 

 80697°— 22 15 



a crystal. Concretions, however, are 

 generally rounded, or at least they are 

 without sharp corners or straight 

 sides, though they may take on a 

 variety of forms, some of which are 

 very complex and fantastic. 



