82 Explorations in Colorado. [ February, 
that of an arid country. Dwarf pines, piiions, and sage-brush 
abound, to the almost entire exclusion of. other trees or grass. 
Traveling down White River this character is again found to 
change. A new series of bluffs, occasioned by heavy superin- 
cumbent strata, gives rise to the formations of deep caiions. 
For forty-five miles the party followed the cañon of the White, 
which no doubt is analogous to that of the Green, and probably 
closely resembles that of the Colorado in its detail features. Ver- 
tical walls enclose the narrow river-bottoms and the slopes of the 
higher portions are ornamented by thousands of curiously eroded 
rocks. Monuments of all kinds and figures that can be readily 
compared to those of animated beings enliven the scenery, which 
otherwise would be very monotonous. Two thousand to three 
thousand feet may be stated as the height of the walls inclosing 
the White River. Geologically speaking, the district is one of 
singular uniformity. Traveling westward, the older formations, 
reaching back as far as the Triassic, were found. This is fol- 
lowed by Cretaceous, which in turn is covered by Tertiary. 
About three quarters of the region surveyed was found to contain 
beds belonging to this period. Owing to the lithographical 
character of the strata, water was a rare luxury in this region, 
and men and animals were frequently compelled to look for 
springs. Farther west still, the Green River Group sets in, form- 
ing those numerous cañons of which that of the White River is 
one. 
Having completed their work by October 14th, the party 
marched eastward through Middle Park, and after twelve days 
of rain and snow reached Boulder City, Colorado. 
The field work of the Yampah division during the past season 
was principally confined to a district of Northwestern Colorado 
lying between the Yampah and White rivers, and between 
Green River and the subordinate range of mountains that lies 
west of and parallel with the Park Range. The area is em- 
braced between parallels 39° 30! and 40° 30! and meridians 107° 
30’ and 109° 30’. 
The party consisted of Mr. G. R. Bechler, topographer direct- 
inrig, accompanied by Dr. C. A. White, the well-known geologist. 
They proceeded southward from Rawlins Springs, a station on 
the Union Pacific Railroad, on August 6th, toward their field of 
labor. From Rawlins Springs to Snake River, a distance of 
eighty miles, table-lands form the chief feature of the topography, 
while from Snake River to the Yampah River the surface is 
