238 
THE GEAND CAHON DISTEICT. 
tliunder storms of the eastern States. It is not at all uncommon to see the 
rain streaks descending from a small cloud and falling upon areas no greater 
than three or four square miles. Still more curious is the formation of rain 
streaks without any cloud. When the season is showery many of the 
showers fail to reach the earth, the rain being completely re-evaporated in 
mid-air. It may thus be inferred that while rain is formed in the air daily 
throughout this region, only a small portion of it reaches the earth in 
showers sufficiently copious to saturate the soil and set the channels awash. 
Still, in an ordinary summer, a great majority of the days are somewhere 
marked with showers of sufficient volume to start the arroyas and canons 
and pour a debacle of mud and sand into the Colorado. The river itself is 
rarely clear, and is rarely otherwise than turbid and muddy. In the latter 
part of September and early part of October, the river is in some years 
quite clear, and at its lowest stage of water displays that beautiful pis- 
tachio-green color which is seen in the waters of Niagara below the falls. 
At this season showers are infrequent. In the latter part of October, or in 
November, a rain storm, lasting from two or three to eight or ten days, may 
be looked for, and indeed rarely fails. It oversj)reads the entire region, and 
though the precipitation is not usually very coj)ious on an average, yet it 
is so in many localities, and is always sufficient to flood many canons which 
are normally dry, and to raise the water in the river very considerably. 
Immense quantities of sand and silt are then washed into the river, which is 
sometimes overburdened temporarily with sediment. 
The greater part of the precipitation takes place in the winter months. 
Its amount varies more with the altitudes of the localities than with any 
othei’ cause. Upon the higher levels it falls almost wholly as snow, and is 
usually very considerable. On the Kaibab the snow is always vexy heavy. 
Upon the lower and middle levels the jxrecipitation in winter is moi’e irreg- 
ular when ditferent years are compared. One year will furnish a heavy 
snowfall; another year will yield only a small amount of i-ain.* 
* Our knowledge of the meteorology of this region is as yet very imperfect, especially as regards 
the precipitation of the winter and spring months. Such as we have is derived largely from the state- 
ments of the most intelligent of the Mormon people residing there. During the last six years I have 
had occasion to make many thorough inquiries of them and to converse with them at much length upon 
the subject. But the want of actual measurements of the amount of precipitation through a series of 
years is to be regretted. I can venture only so far as to give a general statement of what 1 am con- 
