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immense quantities of similar fragments of bluish-gray, laminated, 

 exceedingly brittle, slate-like rock, showing cleavage structure. That 

 these uppermost; belts represent sedimentary deposits which have been 

 converted into true metamorphic rocks seems highly probable ;' but 

 whether they pertain to the Cretaceous aud Tertiary, or represent still 

 more ancient formations, remains to be determined. 



At the time we crossed the pass, a considerable snow-field lay upon 

 the summit, concealing the nature Of the deposits immediately in the crest. 

 From this elevated outlook, which attains an altitude of about 11,000 

 feet, a magnificent view is gained, overlooking the country to the east- 

 ward. The dark, fir- clad slopes rapidly descend into the little valley 

 which lies at the foot of the mountain, beyond which the great Tertiary 

 plateau extends, gashed by the lower canon of the Cimarron ; and 

 nearly twenty miles away we distinctly descry the white walls of the 

 little town nestled in the mouth of the valley on the border of the 

 plains, which stretch to the distant horizon sixty to one hundred miles 

 away. The Urac ridge and the great plateau appear diminutive and 

 tame ; but far away to the northeast the horizon is broken by the mesas 

 and volcanic cones in the region of the Capulin, the beautiful plain of 

 the Canadian intervening. To the west, a large extent of the Moreno 

 Yalley is commanded, bounded by a range of low, wooded mountains 

 on the farther side, beyond which the massive snow-clad domes of the 

 Taos Mountains rise far above the timber-line. Away to the northwest, * 

 in the midst of the Eed B-iver Mountains, great white escarpments are 

 visible, constituting a conspicuous landmark, the character of which 

 was not ascertained. 



Eeturning to the foot of Ute Valley, a short distance above the toll- 

 gate, a low comb of light, columnar, granitic rock rises out of the plain 

 to the height of about 50 feet, presenting a mural face to the south : it 

 would appear to be the remnant of a dike, aud may have some connec- 

 tion with the ridge on the opposite side of the CimaTron, which rises 300 

 feet or more above the intervale. From this point, the valley narrows, and 

 two and a h^lf miles above its eastern or lower angle the stream emerges 

 from the upper caSon, the mouth of which is flanked by masses of more 

 or less metamorphosed sandstone, probably of Tertiary age. But a few 

 yards farther on, ledges of light-gray granitic rock, similar to that men- 

 tioned above, and strikingly like that composing the hump in the Urac 

 ridge, again appear, as though thrust up through the sandstone, which 

 latter is again met with. But very soon the granitic ledges recur, which 

 now seem to predominate, and two or three miles within the cahon it 

 becomes the prevailing rock, although occasional sandstone bowlders 

 are observed some distance higher up. 



The upper canon of the Cimarron is one of the most interesting 

 mountain-defiles in the West, which has been made accessible by an 

 excellently-constructed wagon-road. Hemmed in by high mountains 

 and enormous inclines, abounding in dizzy precipices and picturesque 

 crags, with a wealth of strange and beautiful vegetable forms, and 

 traversed by the changeable mountain-stream, here a mad torrent and 

 now a murmuring brook eddying along a brief level, refreshed at inter- 

 vals by incoming contributions of purest water from sources hidden deep 

 in the surronding fastnesses : what it must appear in midsummer, when 

 its vegetation is at the height of perfection, its yuccas and cactuses 

 crowned with rich and gorgeous blossoms, its rocks and shrubs overrun 

 with beautiful creepers and climbers, and its nooks of fresh turf smiling 

 with tiny varied-hued flowers, we may only venture to conjecture. But 

 its autumn raiment of deep greens, rich browns, aud brilliant yellows, 



