4 INTRODUCTORY. 



Between the second and third range of plateaus is a second valley 

 parallel to that of the Sevier. This is called Grass Valley. It is long 

 and rather narrow, walled upon the west by the long barrier of the Sevier 

 Plateau and upon the east by the battlements of the third chain. It is 

 treeless yet not wholly barren, for it is situated at that altitude where the 

 possibility of agriculture is extremely doubtful, and where the gi-asses ai-e 

 rich enough for profitable pasturage. It cari-ies the drainage of portions of 

 both the second and third chains of plateaus, and the streams uniting from 

 north and south near the southern end of the valley burst through the 

 profound gorge of East Fork Canon in the Sevier Plateau and join the 

 Sevier River. 



The third range of plateaus begins much farther north than the others. 

 The northernmost member of it is the Wasatch Plateau, which overlaps the 

 southern end of the Wasatch Mountain Range en echelon to the eastward. 

 It is a noble structure, nearly as lofty as the summits of the Wasatch Mount- 

 ains, but is a true plateau, or rather the remnant of one left by the erosion 

 of the country to the east of it. It has not been studied as yet M^ith the care 

 and thoroughness it deserves, because it lies too far from the more compact 

 district to the southward; is, in a certain sense, an outlier of the main 

 group. Its southern terminus is walled by great cliifs, which look down 

 upon a broad depression separating it from the next member of the range. 



This next member to the south is the Fish Lake Plateau. It is small 

 in area, but one of the loftiest (11,400 feet), and is a true table Its length 

 does not exceed 15 miles, while its breadth is about 4 or 5. Its southeast- 

 ern escarpment looks down into a profound depression nearly filled by a 

 beautiful lake about 6 miles long and rarely picturesque. This plateau is 

 difficult to separate from the next member, the Awapa. Indeed, it is nearly 

 confluent with it. The Awapa is of less altitude, and this constitutes the 

 principal reason for separating it. This plateau feebly slopes to the east- 

 ward, somewhat after the manner of the half of a watch-glass. Its extent 

 is very great, being 30 miles in length and nearly 20 in breadth. It is 

 quite treeless, though it stands at an altitude where timber iisually flour- 

 ishes luxuriantly; and the scarcity of water combines with the monotonous 



