The Shinumo Area. 371 



Introduction. 



Location and geography. — The area studied lies in Coconino 

 County in the northern part of Arizona in what is known as 

 the Plateau Province of the Territory. It is inclosed between 

 meridians 112° 25' and 112° 15' and parallels 36° 20' and 36° 

 05', and includes about 150 square miles. It comprises rather 

 more than the eastern half of the area of the Shinumo topo- 

 graphic sheet of the United States Geological Survey. 



The greater part of the area lies within the depths of the 

 Grand Canyon and includes the Shinumo Amphitheater, which 

 is the largest of the great amphitheaters in the Kaibab divi- 

 sion. The eastern and northern parts of the area include that 

 part of the " mainland " north of the canyon which forms the 

 immediate rim of the Shinumo Amphitheater, reaching from 

 the promotory of Point Sublime on the east to the Muav 

 Saddle on the west; this northern mainland is a part of the 

 Kaibab Plateau. The northwestern part of the area includes 

 the surface of Powell Plateau, a great butte, or " island," lying 

 athwart the course of the Grand Canyon. The southwest cor- 

 ner includes a part of the southern " mainland " which cul- 

 minates in the great promontory known as Havasupai Point ; 

 this southern mainland belongs to the Coconino Plateau. 



About a mile west of Havasupai Point is situated Bass Camp, 

 the only habitation in the area. The camp was established by 

 Mr. "W. W. Bass some twenty-five years ago to accommodate 

 the tourist traffic. Prom this point a trail was constructed to 

 the river, which was crossed by boat at times of low water. 

 A permanent camp was established in the bottom of the can- 

 yon on the north side of the river about a mile up Shinumo 

 Creek, where an irrigated garden was made upon the site of an 

 ancient one cultivated by the prehistoric inhabitants of the 

 region. Later a trail was constructed up Muav Canyon to the 

 north rim, by means of which access may be had to points on 

 the Kaibab Plateau and the settlements in Southern Utah. 

 Recently deposits of copper and asbestos have been discovered 

 by Mr. Bass in the depths of the canyon, to which he has con- 

 structed additional trails. In March, 1908, three wire cables 

 were suspended across the granite gorge at the foot of Bass 

 Trail. On these cables travels a wire car, so that at the present 

 time the Colorado River may be crossed at this point regard- 

 less of high water. Bass Camp is most easily reached by 

 wagon road from Bass Station on the Grand Canyon branch of 

 the Sante Pe Railroad, a distance of 20 miles southeast ; or 

 from the El Tovar Hotel at the terminus of the railroad 25 

 miles east. Another road leads 20 miles southwest to the rim 

 of Cataract Canyon, into which a trail leads down to the Supai 



