GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 207 



and ninety-six feet, it is not probable this is practicable except where 

 there are lower intermediate levels. 



As a general thing the soil along the river is quite sandy, but when 

 well watered proves to be very fertile; and, although seemingly adapted 

 to the growth of wheat, this cereal does not prove as productive here as 

 farther north. Indian corn grows finely, and when the better varieties 

 are introduced and cultivated, large and remunerative crops may be 

 raised. Here is to be found one of the finest grape-growing sections in 

 the Union, its only rivals being the valleys of California. All the usual 

 varieties of fruit can be raised in abundance and with great ease. Mel- 

 ons, pumpkins, frijoles, and in the southern extremity cotton, can be 

 produced. In the greater part of this valley two crops of cereals can be 

 raised in one season. 



THE PECOS VALLEY. 



As I have visited only the northern part of this section, and have 

 received information in regard to some detached portions only of its 

 southern half, I can form no reliable estimate of the amount of arable 

 land it contains. Yet I am warranted, by what I have seen and learned, 

 in saying that the proportion is less than in either of the sections here- 

 tofore described. In fact, the valley of this river is one of erosion, worn 

 out of the broad plateau of this region, and presenting, north of the 1 

 Guadalupe Mountains, the appearance of one vast arroyo. Its tribu- 

 taries are few, and, with the exception of two or three, of but little im- 

 portance in an agricultural point of view. 



The Gallinas Elver and its little tributaries afford narrow belts offer- 

 tile soil, the area being equal to the supply of water. Around Las Vegas 

 a considerable breadth is under cultivation, corn being the chief crop. 

 The Pecos, to its junction with the Gallinas, runs through a very narrow 

 valley, which has been correctly described as "ribbon-like," a few bay- 

 like expansions forming the only exceptions, as at San Miguel. The 

 valley bottom throughout this distance is generally flanked by high 

 bluffs, which sometimes, as in the neighborhood of La Cuesta, reach an 

 altitude of five hundred feet. Lieutenant Whipple, whose line of survey 

 crossed at Anton Ghico, estimates the cultivable land in a belt thirty 

 miles wide and reaching directly across this section, from Pajarito Creek 

 to Anton Chico, at one-thirtieth of the area embraced. From an exam- 

 ination in person of a similar belt immediately north of it, I am inclined 

 to think this estimate very near correct ; it may be a little too low, but 

 not much. In the neighborhood of Fort Sumner, as I w T as informed by 

 Mr. Maxwell, there is a considerable breadth of fertile land which can 

 be irrigated, and which is well adapted to the growth of fruits and 

 grapes. Along the headwaters of the Rio Bonito there are some fertile 

 spots, where not only fine crops of cereals are raised, but where fruits, 

 grapes, and even sweet potatoes grow well. Very little appears to be 

 known in regard to the valley of the Penasco. 



From the north end of the Guadalupe Mountains to the mouth of the 

 Delaware Eiver the valley of the PeCos is level and very fertile, averag- 

 ing in width some three or four miles. But from all I can learn in re- 

 gard to this part of the section the tillable area could be extended far 

 beyond the immediate bottoms. For here the plateau, instead of ter- 

 minating in abrupt bluffs, descends gradually, and in a somewhat gen- 

 tle slope to the river bottom. The supply of water in the river being 

 ample, and the fall rapid in this part of its course, irrigating canals could 

 be carried far up the slope, if not to the top of the plateau. The soil on 



