CHAPTER II. 



GENEEAL DESCRIPTION OF THE DISTRICT. 



THE COUNTRY NORTHWEST OF AND ADJACENT TO THE WHITE RIVER 



AGENCY. 



An area of nearly 400 square miles directly northwest of White River 

 agency represents the more hilly portion of the district under descrip- 

 tion. The northeastern and highest portion of these hills are called 

 Danforth Hills, and show by their structure no development of the 

 plateau character, but, on the contrary, show a crest with many peaks, 

 cones, and saddles, the ordinary form of mountains of the third order.* 



The Grand Hogback (see Plate XXII), an upheaval of most peculiar 

 type and geological interest, crosses the White River eight miles below 

 the agency, and approaches and connects, by means of a saddle, with 

 the Danforth Hills in their most southern portion. 



Consistent with the general type of the whole country in this region, 

 the northern slopes are also of comparatively moderate descent, while 

 their southern and eastern faces are in some places extremely steep and 

 in other places only moderately so. Their extreme height is not much 

 over 8,800feet. While the Danforth Hills represent only half of this hilly 

 district, the Hogback Valley, as well as TJnga-too-wiss Valley, serves as 

 a division line between the Danforth Hills and the Western Group, 

 where, particularly in Citadel Plateau, the mesa-like form is strongly 

 expressed. In the Gray Hills, which form the southwestern portion of 

 the group under consideration, mixed orographic features exist. The 

 western wing of the Gray Hills, running in a southwestern course 

 toward White River, shows in a great portion the plateau form, while 

 the others indicate a waving crest, showing strongly expressed spurs 

 and generally deeply eroded character in their totality as hills. That 

 portion of the hills referred to is covered in places with an abundant 

 growth of piiions. . 



In the whole group, Danforth Hills as well as the western portion, the 

 drainage system is expressed in a small number of dry-washes, tribu- 

 tary to White River, and an equal number of drainage-beds tributary 

 to the Yampa River are found along the northern slopes. While 

 water may flow in all of them abundantly during the snowy part of the 

 season, for the greater part of the year their beds are dry. In the 

 higher portions of the Danforth Hills springs are more numerous and 

 patches of brushwood not so scarce as elsewhere in the district between 

 White and Yampa Rivers, but as a general rule the supply of water is 

 more abundant near the sources of the springs than in any other part 

 of their courses, and very often water will disappear altogether after 

 leaving its source. 



From the fact that the country in this region is totally destitute of 

 even Indian names, we have attached many names to the creeks and 



• See Report U. S. Geol. Survey for 1875, p. 372. 



365 



