PEALE.] GEOLOGY UPPER CANON OF THE SOUTH PLATTE. 211 



tlie next chapter in connection with South Park. The rocks to the 

 north of the caiion were very carefully studied as far as the time would 

 permit by Mr. Taggart, and I will therefore quote largely from his 

 notes. " Going south from the road that leads from Colorado Springs 

 to South Park is a granitic ridge running out into the park, and having 

 a westerly direction. Passing southward we find a light grayish granite 

 standing up in rough, jagged points. They seem, looking at them from 

 one side, to have been thrust up through the coarse beds that lie about 

 it. More conclusive proof of this was found farther along on the south- 

 ern slope, where I could see the coarse beds tipped up against the 

 lighter-colored and more compact granite, with a dip of about 10<^. 

 They then sloped gradually to the bottom of a narrow valley, which is 

 the axis of a synclinal fold, for on the opposite side were the same beds 

 and resting on the same kind of granite. Passing still farther along 

 the ridge I found still another synclinal. The compact granite rises in 

 sharp conical peaks. After passing three of these peaks the ridge be- 

 comes flatter and continues to the canon. As we skirt the base of the 

 ridge we find first a red feldspathic schist bending slightly against the 

 base of the third cone. The dip is west of north, at an angle of not more 

 than 5°. Still farther along we find beds of micaceous gneiss dipping 

 in the same direction, at an angle of 10^. This is followed by a very 

 coarse and then fine, compact granite. The bedding one mile from 

 the canon shows a dip of 60^ to the northwest. As we go toward the 

 caiion it increases. Beyond the caiion the beds continue dipping at 

 about the same angle as in the caiion. 



" Going eastward along the caiion, the same beds with the same dip are 

 exposed. The granites are much broken at right angles to the bedding, 

 so much so as to make it somewhat difficult to determine the inclination. 

 To the south of the caiion there is a gradual rise in the ridge until it 

 terminates in a high cone. 



"North of the road is a ridge with a series of high points and rather 

 open valleys between. The highest of these points is the one next the 

 opening through which the road to Fair Play passes. This ridge is not 

 a continuation of the one described above, but is parallel with it. The 

 latter is more to the south and vrest, and the axis of upheaval seems to 

 pass out under the park. The other ridge extends about five miles to 

 the southeast, and presents the same general features as the one first 

 described. The eastern part is low, rising gradually toward the north 

 until within a few miles of the northern extremity, when the greatest 

 height is attained in a conical peak of light gray granite, then gradually 

 sloping to the park, the slope being broken by a few valleys. On station 

 35, one of the points north of the road about half a mile, the gneiss 

 dips nearly north." 



In the irregular triangular space between this range of hills on the 

 east side of the park, which Mr. Taggart refers to above, and the Platte 

 Eiver and Tarryall Creek, is a beautiful rolling park-like country, which, 

 although for the most part covered with debris, is plainly seen to be 

 underlaid by granitic rocks. The following is from the notes of Mr. 

 Taggart: "On the northeast side of Tarryall Creek are three high 

 ridges, the general trend being northwest and southeast. There are 

 two main ridges which to the north unite, inclosing a third which has 

 a less elevation. The dip on the southwest side is to the southwest, 

 forming a synclinal with the ridge on the east side of the park. On the 

 summit the beds are horizontal, and then there is a dip to the northeast, 

 and another synclinal is formed with the ridge farthest removed, form- 

 ing the saddle northwest of the middle ridge. On the southwestern 



