Geology of Albuquerque, N. M. — Her rick. 
39 
settlement of the larger question as to the age of man in New 
Mexico. 
The Paria Mesa, 
In connection with the flow at Isleta above described, 
another problem is to be noticed. About two and a half 
miles north of Isleta a part of the lava-topped mesa extends 
far out into the valley. It is here nearly one hundred feet 
high, though the lava is rarely more than ten to fifteen feet 
thick. (Fig. 4.) The talus is very steep. This area of about 
Fig. 4. The Paria mesa. The old river channel is to the left. 
one quarter mile in length and a little more than one-half 
that in width has been cut off from the rest of the area by what 
must have been an arm or old channel of the river at its high- 
est. This cut-off is nearly north and south in its course and 
is blocked at its northern end by bars, part of which may be 
due to drifting sand and more to bars accumulated when the 
river swept in an arch near the entrance, as there is evidence 
that it did at no very remote period. The bluffs of the west- 
ern bank of the river are here a considerable distance further 
west than the opening of the old channel, and there are rem- 
nants of both the loess and the gravel deposits, i. e., numbers 
one and two of the Albuquerque series. Similar gravel is 
found on the summit of the mesa. Near the northern end of 
the old channel is the small village of Paria, and the town is 
supplied from rather shallow wells, showing the existence of 
the river channel at that place. This ancient channel raises 
the interesting query as to the conditions which could have 
