170 GEOLOGY OF THE HIGH PLATEAUS. 



torrid heat of July, we see the fields of lingering snow light up their 

 gloomy crests. To the westward rises the Pdvant, its eastern flank ascend- 

 ing with a smooth swell to a crest line which looks down into Round Val- 

 ley; and beyond that rise to still greater altitudes the mildly sierra-like 

 summits of the range. The broad valley of the Sevier is treeless, and sup- 

 ports but scantily even the desert-loving Artemisia. It is floored with fine 

 loam, which, under the scorching sun, is like ashes, except where the fields 

 are made to yield their crops of grain by irrigation. As we ascend the 

 valley to the southward the scenery is impressive, for every object is 

 molded upon a grand scale; though it is only by long study and familiarity 

 that the huge proportions are realized. The absence of details, the smooth- 

 ness of crests and profiles, .it first deceive the eye and always tend to 

 belittle the component masses. A stretch of 10 miles from Gunnison 

 throws to the westward the salient of the Pavant and reveals the south- 

 ward extension of the valley for 35 miles, beyond which rise the summits 

 of the Tushar in full view. Right opposite this point the Pavant has now 

 changed its aspect to one contrasting strongly with the view we had of it 

 from Gunnison. There we saw a dull, monotonous slope; here we behold a 

 splendid array of cliffs, showing the edges of Tertiary strata gently slop- 

 ing towards us, carved and broken after the usual fashion of the Plateau 

 Country, and lit up with flaring colors — red, white, and yellow. The indi- 

 vidual cliff's and crags are neither very high nor very long, but rise above 

 each other terrace-like, after the manner of a rambling series of fortifica- 

 tions, with tier upon tier and with numberless salients and curtain walls. 

 To one viewing plateau scenery for the first time this portion of the Pavant 

 would be a souixe of surprise and enthusiasm; to one familiar with the 

 colossal walls in the heart of the Plateau Province it is tame and almost 

 insignificant. 



Fourteen miles south of Gunnison is the little Mormon village Salina, 

 a wretched hamlet, whose inhabitants earn a scanty subsistence by lixiviat- 

 ing salt from the red clay which underlies the Tertiary beds in the vicinity. 

 Around and beyond this village is a dismal array of bad lands of great 

 extent, presenting a striking picture of desolation and the wreck of strata, 

 while beyond and above them rise the northern volcanic sheets of the 



