224 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 



Atlantic City, &c. Near the lower end of this opening the left bank m 

 flanked by a second level or table, which might be reached by an irri- 

 gating ditch, a few miles long, and would give an additional amount of 

 farming land equal to the entire bottom. Below this the hills again 

 close in upon the valley for a few miles, and then separate, leaving a 

 very pretty triangular area, containing some forty or fifty square miles 

 of quite level and fertile land, which can easily be irrigated. Toward 

 the north and northwest the hills slope down so gradually that a con- 

 siderable area along their lower margins could be reached with water 

 if the river would supply a sufficient amount for this and the bottoms. 

 The stream here is about thirty feet wide and one foot deep, and the 

 fall some ten or twelve feet to the mile. Here, as also in the vicinity 

 of what is known as St. Mary's Station, small colonies would find very 

 good locations ; and by combining and digging large primary ditches 

 the land could be irrigated at a moderate expense. The only difficulty, 

 except the exposure to Indian depredations, would be the obtaining of 

 a supply of timber, which at the last point is scarce. Near St. Mary's 

 no difficulty in this respect would be experienced. 



From this point the river bends around to the northeast, passing 

 among the hills, and is flanked by alternate bottoms, of small extent. 

 To the south of the river, forming a chord to its circular bend, runs a 

 singular valley, which is some ten or twelve miles wide ; and although 

 its surface looks exactly like the plateaus of this section, yet its general 

 appearance is that of the bed of a stream that was very broad and shal- 

 low. If the water of the river can be brought upon this level, as much 

 land can be irrigated as the water of the river can supply. But as I 

 had no opportunity of ascertaining the height of this plain or valley 

 above the river level, I cannot say positively that the water can be 

 brought upon it. 



Where the road again strikes the river, going east, there is a consid- 

 erable expanse of arable land ; and, although there is very little imme- 

 diate bottom, the second level is quite broad and of moderate elevation, 

 which might be irrigated by cutting a ditch a few miles in length. 

 Below this, as we come near the " Three Crossings," the granite hills 

 set in and continue to flank the valley as far as Independence Bock. 

 Near the west end of this irregular range, for some seven or eight miles, 

 the river breaks through it, and is closely walled in by lofty bluffs, with 

 here and there a little level plat containing a few hundred acres of fer- 

 tile soil. Around the south side of these bluffs runs an open plain, 

 several miles in width, which probably might be reached by a ditch 

 some twelve or fifteen miles in length. There is near the remains of the 

 old stage station (Three Crossings*) a very remarkable evidence of the 

 effect of the wind : an immense deposit of sand in a bend of the granite 

 hill, piled up against the bluff like a huge snow-drift. 



After passing through the gorge here the river enters a broad and 

 beautiful valley, the upper portion of which is thickly covered with 

 chenopodiaceous shrubs, the lower part being covered with a tall and 

 thick growth of grass. The soil, though somewhat sandy, is very rich 

 and light, and if irrigated would produce heavy crops of such products 

 as are adapted to the climate. The immediate bottoms are narrow, 

 sometimes entirely absent, but the second level is not more than ten or 

 fifteen feet above the water, and could be reached by a ditch four or 

 five miles long. And I think it probable an area of 80 to 100 square 



* These stations — St. Mary's, Three Crossings, and Sweetwater — have been abandoned 

 for some years, but I use them to give names to the localities, as they are yet retained 

 on some maps. 



