AND THE ADJACENT COUNTRY. 159 
California. The rocky hills extend four or five hun- 
dred yards north of the junction, and between two 
and three miles to the south of it. Beyond the latter 
termination rises the great plateau, or desert. The 
Colorado flows through a bottom or valley from two to 
four miles in width, thickly covered with cotton-wood 
and mezquit; beyond which is the desert, from sixty 
to seventy feet above the valley. As far as I could 
judge, from a bird’s-eye view taken from Fort Yuma, I 
should think the bottom-land of the Gila was from three 
to four miles wide near the junction. The portion 
towards the river is thickly covered with cotton-wood, 
and with willows on the margin, while that further 
back has nothing but mezquit. <A fine panoramic 
view is presented of the whole country, from the sum- 
mit of the hills on which the fort stands. Looking 
northward, the course of the Colorado can be traced 
for about fifteen miles, when it suddenly winds around 
the base of a mountain ridge, and diverges to the 
north-west. In this direction the view is most exten- 
sive. Ridge after ridge of mountains is seen, one ris- 
ing above and beyond the other, for a distance of 
about eighty miles. The higher chains assume the 
most varied and fantastic shapes, resembling cupolas, 
minarets, pyramids, domes, chimneys, etc. One of 
these singular summits is called the ‘Chimney Rock;” 
and from Fort Yuma is the most striking object in the 
landscape. It is said to be fifteen miles distant in a 
direct line, and about thirty following the course of 
the Colorado. 
On the east of the Colorado is the delta of the Gila. 
How far this extends back cannot be seen, the trees 
