1892.] Recent Literature. 935 
RECENT LITERATURE. 
Occurrence of Underground Waters in Texas, etc.'— 
In a report on the occurrence of artesian and other underground 
waters of Texas, New Mexico and the Indian Territory, Mr. Robert 
T. Hill gives first a brief resumé of the principles that govern the 
distribution of underground waters, and secondly an elaborate dis- 
cussion of water conditions of the regions named. 
Observation demonstrates that the best conditions for securing 
underground water are not in consolidated or mountain rocks; but, 
on the other hand, sandy upland plains, like the great Jornado del 
Muerto or filled-in river valleys like that of the Rio Grande, are 
the most favorable locations for imbibition and storage of under- 
ground waters. By taking advantage of this law, hundreds of wells 
have been obtained upon the supposed waterless plains, such as the 
Llano Estacado and the Franklin-Hueco basin north of El Paso. 
he areas treated of by Mr. Hill consist of the eastern divis- 
ion, the central denuded region, the mountain systems, remnantal 
plains of later or allied age to the Rocky Mountain uplift, and 
basin plains that lie between the mountain blocks of the Trans- 
Pecos region. ; 
The water conditions of these subdivisions may be summed up as 
follows : 
Throughout the eastern division, with few exceptions, wells can be 
obtained at moderate depths. 
In the central denuded region good wells (non-flowing) are abund- 
ant, but the structure of the region is unfavorable for any large flow 
of water. 
In the Red Bed Area, also, surface wells are abundant, but no 
results have been obtained in boring for artesian water. The incli- 
nation of the strata in Indian Territory and Oklahoma warrants 
the conclusion that experiments in these regions are justifiable. 
The fourth division, comprising the Llano Estacado and the Raton 
Las Vegas Plateau, was once continuous with the eastern division, 
but is now separated from it by a vast plain of erosion. The Llano 
1On the Occurrence of Artesian and Other Underground Waters in Texas, East- 
ern New Mexico and Indian Territory, west of the 97th Meridian, by Robert T. 
Hill, Assistant Geologist of the U. S. Artesian and Underflow Commission ; Prof. 
Robert Hay, Chief Geologist. 
66 
