PARKS ON THE SUMMIT OF THE KAIBAB. 
171 
the mighty mass of Shiva’s Temple is interposed, and hides from view 
a large part of the panorama. It has, however, some advantages, for 
it gives us probably the clearest view we can obtain of the stupendous 
character of the side gorges. This aspect of the great butte, Shiva’s Temple, 
is on the whole decidedly marred by too great proximity. So vast a mass 
can be seen advantageously only from a considerable distance. Here it is 
only a little more than a mile away, and but a small portion of it is visible. 
From the Milk Spring we journey eastward. Two or three miles from 
the spring we descend into a very broad valley, forming a large open park, 
with a few scattered groves of spruce, aspen, and pine, but mainly clear 
meadow, densely carpeted with grass and flowers. It is one of a long chain 
of wide parks, of which the largest is He Motte’s. The one we are now 
entering is a few miles south of Little De Motte. It is conspicuously differ- 
ent in its features from the ordinary drainage channels which cover the sur- 
face of the Plateau, being very much wider. All of the others are narrow. 
Here the width is about two miles. Upon its western bank no ravines enter 
it, but those which head upon the summit flow away from it to the westward 
and southwestward. A few short ravines come into it upon the eastern side. 
This valley is a dividing furrow, completely separating the drainage of the 
Kaibab summit into two independent systems and areas. They never inter- 
lace or show any relation to each other. This broad valley on the summit 
of the Plateau completely separates them, and receives absolutely nothing 
from the area west of it, and almost nothing from the area east of it. 
At the bottom of the valley we find outcrops of the cross-bedded sand- 
stone. Inasmuch as the cherty limestone is found upon the heights over- 
looking tlie valley, and as the difference in altitude is just equal to the 
thickness of strata between the two geological horizons, we may safely 
conclude that the valley is the work of erosion, and is not due to the dis- 
location and dropping of a wedge of strata, as was at one time suspected 
Crossing the park and ascending the heights upon the east, we once 
more descend into a rather deep ravine of the usual type. Upon its bank 
the trail passes by a small trickling fountain, known as Thompson’s Spring. 
A basin has been dug and made water-tight by our parties to save the 
scanty supply of precious liquid which issties from it. The flow, though 
