64 
Teansactiois^s Texas Academy of Scieistce. 
Cummins^ W. F. 
nellee’s peak, and crossing Pease river to the Quitique ranch. 'At ten 
miles further north the foot of the Plains turns almost ahmptly west, 
caused by the erosion of the Palo Duro canyon. ;The high plateau can 
he seen to the northwest at about twenty miles distance; thence almost 
directly north, crossing the Port Worth and Denver '.City .Railroad at iG-ood- 
night, and thence north to a few .miles south of the Canadian river: thence 
turning westward parallel with the Canadian river and at a distance of 
from ten to twenty miles from it, trending southward to the west line of 
Texas, in Oldham county; thence a little south of west to a point south 
of Tucumcari mountain, in New .Mexico; thence westward about twenty 
miles to the northwest corner of the Plains ; thence a little east of south, 
parallel with the Pecos river, and at a distance of twenty-five to thirty 
miles east of it, to the Horsehead crossing, at the southeast corner of 
Ward county. 
“Within these limits is embraced the territory of the 'Staked Plains, 
except that of the southern extension, which can hardly be determined, 
from the fact that the surface of the country descends so gradually in 
that direction.” 
-JC- ^E- 
“The IStaked Plains is one immense plateau with a gentle inclination 
from northwest to southeast. It is so level apparently as to produce the 
peculiar appearance of being up-, hill in every direction, and its inclination 
is only determinable by instrumental measurements. The following alti- 
tudes show the gradual slope: 
Clarendon, east of the northeast corner of the Plains 2734 feet. 
Amarillo, on the edge of the Plains in northeast 3630 feet. 
Top of the Plains at Fossil Creek, extreme northwest 4520 feet. 
Top of Tucumcari mountain, west of last point 4720 feet. 
Midland, in southeast, on Texas and Pacific Railroad 2780 feet. 
Warfield, west of Midland, on Texas and Pacific Railroad 2875 feet. 
Odessa, west of Warfield, on Texas and Pacific Railroad 2900 feet. 
Duro, west of Odessa, on Texas and Pacific Railroad 3100 feet. 
Monahan’s west of Duro, on Texas and Pacific Railroad 2600 feet. 
Crossing on Pecos river, on Texas and Pacific Railroad 2590 feet. 
“Besides the canyons which traverse the Plains in several directions, 
there are several pernifinent lakes containing both salt and fresh water, 
and depressions in whioli rain water collects and stands for several months 
at a time. The only other diversity breaking the wide monotonous level 
are some drift sanddiills raised by the winds in the southwest.” Pp. 
129-133. 
FTotes on the Geology of the Oonntry west of the Plains. 
Third Ann. Eept. of the Geol. Snrv. of 'Texas, 1891, pp. 201- 
223. Austin, 1892. 
Contents: Tucumcari, New Mexico. (Extracts from Marcou and Hill 
bearing upon the Jurassic Age of the Tucumcari Beds. Discussion.) Val- 
ley of the Pecos. Carboniferous; Permian; Triassic; Cretaceous; Ter- 
