gannett.] GEOGRAPHY ELK MOUNTAINS. 419 



Across tbese heavy spurs the Gunnison makes its way, cutting a deep 

 canon. On the south side of the river, at the head of the canon, stands 

 alone, a conical peak called Park Cone. This peak ends this range. 

 Farther south a range of low hills connects with tbe range of the Con- 

 tinental water-shed. The branches of East and Slate Elvers are sepa- 

 rated by broad ridges, rising but slightly above timber-line. Around 

 their heads, however, separating them from the headwaters of Eoaring 

 Fork and Eock Creek, is a high, ragged ridge, set with lofty peaks, but 

 broken by low saddles. At the head of Teocalli Creek is a high summit, 

 known as White Eock Mountain, from the white, volcanic rock with 

 which it is capped. Between White Eock Mountain and Castle Peak 

 there are several very high summits, none of them, however, exceeding 

 13,500 feet in altitude. 



South of White Eock Mountain, on the ridge separating Teocalli 

 Creek from Dyke Creek, is a peak known as the Teocalli from its re- 

 semblance to the teocallis of the Aztecs. The strata composing this 

 mountain are nearly horizontal, and are so broken as to form a series of 

 steps from the base to the summit, a giant's stairway. The color of this 

 mountain is a dark-brown. 



On the north side of White Eock Creek is a spur separating it from 

 the head of East Eiver, on which are a number of high summits; also, 

 at the extreme head of East Eiver there is a high peak known as Belle- 

 vue. 



The ridge or spur separating East Eiver from Slate consists of three 

 isolated mountains, separated from one another by low saddles. The 

 northern one is known as Cinnamon Mountain, the middle one as Gothic 

 Mountain, from the spires and pinnacles in bas-relief upon its eastern 

 face, and the southern one as Crested Butte. The latter peak stands 

 entirely alone, in the angle of the two streams, and rises 3,000 feet above 

 the saddle north of it. This latter ridge is a part of a second range, 

 similar in direction to the eastern. Tracing it north of Slate Mountain, 

 it rounds the extreme head of Eock Creek by turning to the westward 

 for three miles. There it joins an enormous mountain mass known as 

 Treasury Mountain. In the south end of this mountain are the Elk 

 Mountain mines, and the name of the mountain is connected therewith. 

 This mountain extends, in a solid mass, in an east and west direction 

 five miles, and north and south three miles, to the junction of Eock 

 Creek with branch b. Between the mouths of creek a and &, Eock 

 Creek is in close, heavy canon, cutting its way through this mass. On 

 the east side of Eock Creek, this mass, though still continuous, is more 

 cut up by streams, and shows several high summits, with considerable 

 fall in the saddles. It connects, by a very high ridge, with the eastern 

 range. Its northern end is just west of Sopris peak, where a large 

 branch enters Eock Creek from the south. 



The third range commences west of Sopris Peak, on the west side of 

 Eock Creek, in a ridge slightly above timber-line, which separates Eock 

 Creek from the upper valley of the North Fork of the Gunnison. This 

 ridge turns to the eastward, and crosses Eock Creek just above the 

 mouth of the creek, leaving only a comparatively low saddle, whose top 

 is about 2,000 feet above Eock Creek. This saddle is several miles 

 long, and terminates suddenly in an immense mass of eruptive moun- 

 tains, of which station 33 is a summit. There are a number of peaks 

 in this mass, of heights from 12,500 to 12,800 feet. Some of the slopes 

 in this group are terrific. The west side of this mass rises straight up 

 from the plateau bordering "North Fork for 2,500 feet, at an angle of 65'°. 

 At the head of Slate Eiver is the highest peak in this range. It has a 



