Guidebook of the western United States.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Harold L. Ickes, Secretary

W. ©. Mendeabal, Director meg
FS5

F ,
to.

Bulletin 845

GUIDEBOOK

OF THE

WESTERN UNITED STATES

Part F. THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES
NEW ORLEANS TO LOS ANGELES

BY
N. H. DARTON

UNITED STATES

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : Sy | y
Se ‘
A

WASHINGTON : 1933

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C. - = = Price $1.00 (Paper cover)

RussOUR! SOT ANICAL
SEN

Principal divisions of geologic time +

Dura-
Era Period Epoch Characteristic life tion,»

ss Recent. “‘Age of man.’”” Animals and plants of
Quaternary. Pleistocene (great modern types.
ice

Cenozoic (recent age). 60
life). Pliocene.
ifiocene. “Age of ape peace nga first
Tertiary. Oligocene —- of m: Rise and devel:
Moses: ment of highest ¢ orders of plants,
‘Age ofreptiles.’’ Rise and culmination
Cretaceous. (*) of huge land reptiles (dinosaurs), of
shellfish with complexly itioned
coiled shells (ammonites), and of great
Mesozoic (inter- (4 flying reptiles. First appearance of | 120
mediate life). Jurassic, birds and pligoe ee (in Jurassic); of
palmlike plants
©) plan Se and of ris :
; ¢ an _— Ww . are
Triassic. ood trees (in sarnchoas S).
“Age of amphibians.” of
pee ater slg Ae en rev gs ‘ants of
ve
Permian. flowering oe. pe aaa o wai
Carboniferous. | Pennsylvanian. g trees. Beginnings of back- | 120 -
Mississippian. boned land animals (land vertebrates). lee
sects. Animals with nautiluslike ,
Louse so aay (ammonites) and sharks
“Age of fishes.”” Shellfish (mollusks)
Devonian. (°) also abundant. Rise of amphibians | 90 a
and land plants. ain
pine faces viene ean = tilus
es y nau
sk ag aoe OE (cephalopods). Rise and
Silurian. (©) of the : 30 om
known as sea lilies (crinoids) and of
giant scorpionlike crustaceans (
ape ). Hise of fishes and of:
Ordovician (G) 90
tes. niet trace of insect life.
Trilobites and oe en :
2 © acteristic weeds (algae
Cambrian. ad abundant. No trace of land _ (algae) 60
found,
os <8 BM an - Ai a ge
Proterozoic (pri- | “!eonkian. ; —— ~~
mordial life). 2 ee
Archean. Crystalline rocks. | No fossils found.
«The record consists mainly of sedimentary beds (beds deposited - oe Over large areas
long pei of uplift and erosion intervened between See ete ee mnonition, aia pip hape ends wave
deposition in any area produces there what geologists term an unconformity. Tlany oftie pitas
por sina a” ag ge aed heer ti unconformities; that is, the dividing lines in the table represent local or x
widespread oe -_ “tthe serie.
Ages interpolated from H olmes, geo Eart wets k, Harpe B 1927.
¢ Epoch names omitted; in less common use than those gi had = oe

_ Notz.—Total estimated age of earth, 1,800+ million years,
i 4

CONTENTS

Ts b | 4:

Itinerary

New Orleans, La., to Lobo, Tex
Side trip to Carlsbad Caverns, N. Mex

North line from El Paso, Tex., to Meseal, Ariz
South line from El Paso, Tex., to Mescal, Ariz

Main line, Picacho to eae and Wellton, Ariz
Detour by the Apache T

aso, Tex

Main line, Phoenix to wWaltiis Ariz

Old main line, Picacho to Wellton, Ariz
Wellton to Yuma,

Yuma, Ariz., to Los Angeles, Calif
Yuma, Aris, to San Diego, Calif

Index

Sueer 1.

SOMN HAP wh

—_

eailardintl al
HASgaRARE

pee
©

. Toreer to El Paso

ILLUSTRATIONS

New Orleans to Schriever, La
Chacahoula to Segura, La

Burke to Welsh, La

Lacassine, La., to Orange, Tex
Terry to Liberty, Tex

Liberty to Richmond, Tex-__-

Rosenberg to Borden, Tex

Weimar to Luling, Tex

. Sullivan to Macdona, Tex

Idlewild to Ra Tex

Rosenfeld to Alpine, Tex

. Toronto to Chispa, Tex

. Wendel to Lasca, i

N. Mex. tacit line)

aso,
. Ysleta, Tex., to Caton. N. Mex. (north line), and Malpais

?

Akela to Ladim, N. Mex. (north line), and Arena to Hachita,

N. Mex. (south line)

Iga, Ariz. (north line), and Minero, N. Mex.,

par, N. Mex.,
to Perilla, Ariz. (south line)

rt

IV ILLUSTRATIONS

Sueret 21. Holt to Chamiso, 7 haya line), and Silver Creek to San
Juan, Ariz. (sout
22. Mescal to Wymola, ner
23. Ocatilla to Norton (north line) and Estrella, Ariz. (south line) _
24. Liberty to Athel, Ariz. (new line), and Shawmut to Aztec, Ariz.
(old line
25. Horn (new line) and eee (old line) to Fortuna, Ariz_______
26. Araby, Ariz., to Niland, C
27. Mundo to Carnes Calif
28. Hugo to Colton, Calif
29. Colton to Los Angeles, Calif Bic
PuaTE 1. Map showing precipitation in the Southwest___.____________-
lief map showing larger features of the Southwest and the
location of areas covered by sheets 1 to 29
3. A, Old French market in Vieux Carré, New Orleans; B, Typical
graveyard in New Orleans
4. A, Woodland scene, south-central Louisiana; B, Salt mining,
Avery Island, La
5. A, Oil field near Jennings, La.; B, Galveston,
6. A, Cotton ready for shipment, Galveston’ Nel: B, Block of
sulphur at New Gulf, T
FA, — Alamo, San hekiuin Tex.; B, Palace of Spanish gov-
rnor, San Antonio, Tex
8A, anetii chalk, San — Tex.; B, Quaternary and Eocene
deposits, San Antonio, T
9. A, Armadillos in central Seek B, Fault in Buda limestone
northwest of Bonds Tex.; C, Columnar structure in basalt
near Knippa, T
10. A, Asphalt aides pon ab of Cline, Tex.; B, oe Ford and
Buda contact northwest of Hacienda siding. 7

11. A, Anacacho limestone north of Hondo, Tex, * B Del Rio clay
Recesses and

capped by Buda limestone, Comstock, Tex. Gad
buttresses, Castle Canyon, west of Del Rio, T
12. A, Bridge over canyon of Pecos River, Tex.; B, Miskin cattle_
13. A, Comanche limestone on tilted Pennsylvanianstrata, Tesnus,
rae B, Sinuous ridges of esi beds in Marathon Basin, Tex.;
C, Mitre Peak, near Alpine, T

14. A, Lava mee tuff of Davis Mountains west of Alpine, Tex.;
ass, Davis Mountains, T spa se

16. A, Finback lizards of Permian time; B, Carlsbad Caverns,

ex
17. A, Badlands in lake beds; B, Overturned syncline of Malone
Mo i

untains, Tex
18. A, Smelter at El Paso, Tex.; B, Kilbourne Hole, a crater west
of El x

19. — — of lava west of El Paso, Tex.; B, Restoration of giant

ye ie a, of the desert”; ‘'B Water from the biznaga_-------
21. Mission of San Xavier de Bac, near Tucson, Ariz

Ariz
23. A, Rattlesnake, common in the = sete B, Gila monster_-_
24. A, Casa Grande, Ariz.; B, Typical Pima home_.__._._______

ILLUSTRATIONS

PiaTE 25. A, ees plain, western Arizona; B, Pictographs near Sacaton,

26. A, “Dries = ee River Valley, Ariz.; B, Cotton field, Salt
River
27. A, stad of "Salt River Valley, Ariz.; B, Irrigating in Salt
River Valley
28. A, Cliff bets S isag National Monument, Ariz.; B,
Roosevelt Dam, A
29. A, Encampment of jee Indians; B, View across Canyon
ke, Ariz
30. Canyon of Fish Creek, Ariz
31. A, Blossoms of prickly pear cactus; B, Superstition Moun-
tain, Ariz
32. A, Montezuma Face, near Hyder, Ariz.; B, Northern part of
ohawk Mountains, Ariz
33. A, The Explorer, of the Ives expedition; B, Gila River from
Antelope Hill, Ariz
34. A, Part of Yuma, Ariz.; B, Irrigated district near Yuma_-_-_-_-
35. Map of the Colorado River delta region, below Yuma, Ariz_-
36. A, Drifting sands near Amos, Calif.; B, Salton Sea, Calif __--
37. A, _ Trrigating date palms, Imperial Valley, Calif.; B, Cotton
mperial Valley
38. A, Mud voleanoes eae apy of Niland, Calif.; B, Travertine of
Lake Cahuilla, C
39. A, B, San Andreas ca northwest of Indio, Calif
40. A, ee pgs east of Mecca, Calif.; B, Tilted late Ter-
beds in Indio Hills, Calif
41. A, ‘Ocotillo and cholla, Coachella Valley, Calif.; B, Washing-
ton palms in Palm Canyon, Calif
42. A, San mages A jatar Calif.; B, Orange trees in fruit,
Redlands, C
43. View up San visi Valley, Calif
44, A, San Bernardino Peak from point near Redlands, Calif.; B,
Magnolia Avenue, Riverside, Calif
45. A, Picking lemons near Riverside, Calif.; B, Orange groves
near Riverside
46. A, The great arrow-shaped scar near Arrowhead Springs,
Calif.; B, Bitcreed strata in Palen Phi CO sce t ie
47. Los Aeeeien Plain, Calif
48. A, Shore of the Pacific Ocean at Santa Monica, Calif.; B,
pins pits at La Brea, Calif
49. Carrizo Gorge, Calif
Ficure 1. Hypothetical section of salt dome at Avery Island, La
. Section across dome near Sulphur,
3. Section through Spindletop salt dome, Tex
4. Section through Columbus and oi Tex
5. Section across Salt Flat oil field, T
6. Diagram = changes in ERE Spofford to San
Antonio,
7. Sketch ae from Turkey Mountain through Anacacho
Mountain, Tex
8. Section at Langtry, Tex
9. Section near Maxon. Tex

264

vI ILLUSTRATIONS

Page
Fiaure 10. Section through House Mountain, Tex 89
1 section showing lithologic variations in the Permian of Glass
Mountains, Tex 94
12. Section southeast of Dugout oan, Tex 95
13. Section of Altuda Mountain, Tex 95
14. Section across Alpine Basin north of Alpine, Tex 96
15. Profile of northern part of Tierra Vieja Mountains, Tex___-- 102
16. Section across Van Horn Mountains, Tex 103
17. Map showing route from Lobo, Tex., to Carlsbad Caverns,
N. Mex 104
18. Section of east front of Sierra Diablo at Victorio Peak, Tex-.-- 107
19. Section across Sierra Diablo and Baylor Mountains, Tex-___- 108
20. Sections across Guadalupe Mountains at El Capitan, ae and
Carlsbad Caverns, N. Mex 109
21. Section across western part of Wylie ape {30 ee 110
22. Section from Diablo Plateau to Eagle Fl ex 115
23. Section from Quitman Mountains to ber piace ee 117
24. Section across Malone Mountains, Tex 118
25. Section through south end of Hueco Mountains, Tex_______- 121
26. Section across Franklin Mountains, Tex 127
27. Section west of El Paso, Tex 134
28. Cross section of Kilbourne Hole, west of Lanark, N. Mex.___ 134
29. Section through Goodsight Peak, N. Mex 136
30. Sections across Florida Mountains, N. Mex 139 .
31. Sections across Little Florida Mountains, N. Mex 140
32. Section across Fluorite Ridge, N. Mex 141
33. Sections across Cooks Range, N. Mex 142
34. Sections across Victorio Mountains, N. Mex 144
35. Map showing Gadsden Purchase 151
36. Section of Dos Cabezas Mountains, Ariz 155
37. Sections across n Mountains, Ariz 158
38. Section through Johnson mining district, Ari 159
39. Section across northwest end of Whetstone iadatainn. Aris. 162
40. Section through Bowen siding, N. Mex 163
41. Section across Tres Hermanas Mountains, N. Mex 165
42. Section across north end of Hatchet Mountains, = Mex... 467
43. Section of Chitication Mountains near Portal, A 170
44. Section a t of Chiricahua, Avis. o': 37%
45. Section across Bis bee region, Ariz 176
46. Section north of Helvetia iting camp, Ariz 182
47. Geologie map and sections east of Vail, Ariz 184
48. Section at Picacho de la Calera, northwest of ee Ariz-. 192
49. Section of west side of Tucson Mountains, Ari 193
50. Section through Tempe Butte and Tempe Well, Artec: es 203
51. Map showing route of Apache Trail, Ariz 209
52. anon across Hayes Mountain, southwest of Saa Carlos,
Sota reat se eaten a 211
53. aver of region near Globe, Ariz 212
54. Outline geologic map of etna region, Ariz 212
55. Section northwest of Miami, Ar 213
56. Section through Sierra Ancha, jes 214
57. — at Roosevel elt Dam, Ariz 215
58, Section t of Roosevelt Dam, Ariz 216 :

Fiqurn 59.
60

61.
62.

63.
64.
65.

66.
67.
68.
69. Restoration of saber-toothed tiger, sloth, and dire wolf at La
70.
ai:

Section at Gillespie Dam, A

ILLUSTRATIONS

Section in Yellow Medicine Butte Ari

Section of north end of Gila Moun ita Ari

Diagrammatic section across Coachella "Valley through
Mecea, Calif

Section through San Jacinto Mountains, Calif______________

Cross section of San Gorgonio Pass near Cabazon, Calif_______

Section from Banning, Calif., north to San Bernardino
Mountain

Sections northwest of San Bernardino, Calif ei;

eee man Jose Hills, Calif.-..--.. 5s

BO A so i ee Sh a
Section across Coyote Mountain, Calif
Section north of Jacumba Springs, Calif

a 4 sry
7 4 : 3 Bes) Sate stay
i= ite ; z . * : rae Be fe Bes Fie ok Leh ¥ ee
pee io ee

rat
Shap ese

GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

PART F. SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES, NEW ORLEANS TO
LOS ANGELES

By N. H. Darton

INTRODUCTION

The Southern Pacific Railroad from New Orleans to Los Angeles,
a distance of about 2,000 miles, passes through a region exhibiting
a great variety of geographic and industrial conditions. The climate,
especially the amount of precipitation, is the most influential factor
in causing this variety. (See pl. 1.)

The low Coastal Plain of southern Louisiana and eastern Texas,
with ample rainfall and thick rich soils, is a province distinct in con-
figuration, human occupations, and products. There are extensive
swamps, prairies, and wooded areas, but a large part of the land is
under cultivation, with sugarcane, cotton, and rice as the principal
crops. The streams are wide and slow, the winter climate is mild,
and the summer heat is tempered by breezes from the Gulf of Mexico.
Flourishing towns occur at short intervals, and some of them are
growing rapidly. The entire region is underlain by a great thickness
of sand and clay of alluvial origin.

In central-eastern Texas the Coastal Plain is higher, the soil con-
ditions are materially different, the streams run more swiftly, swamps
become rare, and although much land is under cultivation, many
areas are either in pasture or not cleared. The vegetation changes
with change of soil and increase of altitude, and the crops are more
diversified than in the lower parts of the Coastal Plain. The region
is underlain by sandstone, shale, and other formations, which rise
toward the west, cropping out in regular succession as they are
crossed from east to west. Some of these formations are hard enough
to make ridges and knobs, and there is general terracing at various
levels. Parts of the highest lands are remnants of an old plain of
former wide extent.

Beyond San Antonio the traveler observes several changes inthe
general aspect of the country, for although the Coastal Plain extends
west to Del Rio, there is both a gradual increase in elevation to about
1,000 feet and a marked diminution of rainfall to the west, which
greatly affect landscape and industries. Cacti become larger and

i

2 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

more abundant, and many special trees and plants are prevalent,
notably the mesquite; forests diminish in density, and far to the
west trees occur only in the bottom lands. Agriculture here depends
largely on irrigation, and the raising of cattle, sheep, and goats is
the dominant industry. The principal underlying rocks are shale,
soft sandstone, and chalk, which do not make strong relief but produce
hills and ridges of moderate height separated by wide valleys, which
along the larger streams are bordered by bottom lands. Northwest
of San Antonio the Coastal Plain gives place rather abruptly to the
Edwards Plateau, owing to the rapid rise of hard limestones; from
San Antonio to Del Rio this feature lies north of the railroad but
is visible at many places.

For many miles west from Del Rio the railroad is on the plateau,
which is floored by hard limestone and deeply trenched by the
drainageways, notably by the canyons of the Devils River, the Rio
Grande, and the Pecos River. In this district, where semiarid con-
ditions prevail, vegetation is sparse and trees are mostly confined to
valley bottoms except where the limestone supports a growth of
juniper or live oak. The soil is thin, but it sustains grass and shrubs
which afford good pasturage for many goats, sheep, and cattle.
Owing to the gradual general rise of the strata to the west the land —
increases in elevation, and much of the plateau in south-central
Texas is 2,000 feet above sea level in its eastern part and 3,000 feet
in its western part. Near Sanderson this rise develops into the great
dome of the Marathon uplift. The central part of this uplift is
truncated, revealing a large area of closely folded Paleozoic rocks,
making sharp ridges of the Appalachian type. The Edwards Plateau
ends on the east side of this uplift. To the west is the Davis Moun-
tain region, a wide province of volcanic rocks, characterized by rugged
peaks and irregularly disposed ridges in great variety, which rise to
elevations considerably more than 6,000 feet.

The voleanic rocks continue far west of Marfa, but near that place
begins the Basin and Range province, which extends thence across
New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California. In this province
there is a prevalence of long ridges separated by wide plains or bolsons
floored by sand and gravel. They present a succession of strata or of
voleanic flows, mostly tilted or flexed and faulted. Many of the great
mountain faces stand along lines of uplift. At intervals there are
large masses of intrusive rocks, which have been forced up in a molten
condition and are now so hard that they are conspicuous topographic
features.

The climate of this region is arid or semiarid. The Rio Grande
flows between ridges in New Mexico, but at and below El Paso it
either crosses the axes of the ridges in canyons or passes around their
ends, The Gila and Colorado Rivers have similar relations in south-

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 3

western Arizona after leaving the canyons in which they cross the
Arizona Plateau. The mountains of the Southwest are rocky and
jagged, and the meager vegetation is so scattered that they appear to
be bare. The broad desert plains of gravel and sand between the
mountains likewise sustain only scant vegetation, for this is the most
arid province in the United States. Parts of it, however, that have
water for irrigation are highly productive.

The San Bernardino, San Jacinto, and associated mountain ranges in
California form high barriers on the north and west sides of the Salton
Basin which intercept the moist air currents from the Pacific and thus
cause the aridity that prevails over a wide area to the east. These
mountains are uplifted blocks, made up largely of granitic and meta-
morphic rocks.

In southern California lowlands extend from the mountain slopes
east of Redlands to the Pacific Ocean, a distance of about 120 miles.
The surface slopes mostly to the west and south and is diversified by
scattered rocky ridges. The climate is mild, and although the precipi-
tation is only moderate in amount, water is available for irrigation
and wide areas are under cultivation for citrus fruits, grapes, nuts,
and many other valuable crops.

In these days of wide culture it is hardly necessary to point out the
practical utility of geologic knowledge and the relation that exists
between geology and the occurrence of nearly all materials of economic
value. Soils are derived by geologic processes from rocks of various
formations. Ores, minerals, oil, coal, and water all have close rela-
tions to the structure and history of the geologic formations in which
they occur. Some igneous rocks carry or have been the source of
ores, and their history and relations have much to do with mining.

The order and general succession of the strata making up the rocky
shell of the earth are shown in the table on page m1. The oldest
rocks now seen at the earth’s surface include some granites and other
crystalline rocks, partly of igneous origin and partly of other types
that have become crystalline through the agency of heat and pressure
within the earth and have later been exposed by erosion. These are
overlain by a great succession of sedimentary strata (laid down by
water), consisting of sandstone, limestone, and shale, which have a
thickness of many thousand feet. Some of these later rocks have also
been altered by heat and pressure into schist, marble, and quartzite.
In many areas there are lavas, ash, and tuff extruded by volcanic
action at various times, some of it recent. Seas, lakes, and rivers
have been the principal agents in depositing sand, clay, and limy
sediments, which have later become sandstone, shale, and limestone.
In general, sands were deposited mainly on the shores and by streams,
clays in quieter waters, and limestones in deeper waters, so that
these various materials indicate the geologic conditions at the time of

4 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

their deposition. The wind has also played some part in the accumu-
lation of sand, and much detrital material has been moved by glaciers.
The character of the rocks and the order of the sedimentary succession
vary in different regions; thus a system may be fully represented in
one district and be entirely or partly absent in another, owing to lack
of deposition or to removal by erosion in an interval of uplift. In
some places a portion of geologic time may be represented by limestone
alone, while in others the same portion is represented by shale, sand-
stone, or volcanic rocks. Fossil shells, bones, and other parts of

they are the key to geologic problems, such as the structure and order
of formations, that in many places could not be solved without them.
The total thickness of the sedimentary formations is many thousand
feet, and the time represented is hundreds of millions of years.
Note.—For the convenience of the traveler the sheets of the route map in this
bulletin are so arranged that they can be unfolded one by one and kept in view
while reading the related text. The contour lines, in brown, represent elevation
above sea level. Each line indicates the path that would be taken by one who
walked over the country by a course always at the same level, curving in and out
with the irregularities of the land surface. The lines are drawn at the vertical
distances apart (‘‘contour interval”’) stated on each map; where these lines are
close together they indicate a steep slope; where they are far apart, a gentle slope
orplain. Most of the contour lines have been compiled from detailed topographic
maps published by the United States Geological Survey, the names of which are
given in the southwest corner of each. In some areas the contour lines are taken
from surveys by the Engineer Corps, U. S. Army, and the Los Angeles Depart-
ment of Water and Power, and from reconnaissance by the author. A reference
to each map is made in the text at the place where it should be unfolded. The
areas covered by these sheets are indicated on Plate 2, and a list of the sheets
and the other illustrations is given on pages 11I—vil.
res given on mileposts in Louisiana indicate miles from Algiers, a Southern
Pacific freight terminal on the south bank of the Mississippi River opposite New
ime they are about 1% miles less than the distance from the Union Station,
West of Houston the mileposts give distances from Harrisburg,
an Rae terminal off the present main line about 3 miles south of Houston station.
West of El Paso the mileposts give ‘distances from San Francisco. As a rule the
mileage given on the posts does not allow for differences due to subsequent
eaeelerscoe.! or Provencte sige ae of — eet _ Most of rena ethan at stations given in
compan but others are derived
from | precise levels of the United “it Coast and Geodetic Survey or the United
States Geological Survey.
The statistics given in t idebook tal official Government
sources, such as the United States Census and the United States Bureau of Mines.

stated or not. Authors’ names cited in parentheses refer to the bibliography on
pages 293-296.

ITINERARY
NEW ORLEANS, LA., TO LOBO, TEX.

The journey westward over the Southern Pacific lines begins at New
Orleans, one of the largest cities in the United States and one that is
unique in character, history, environment, and
economic relations. Founded in 1718 by Capt.
Hits voot pol Jean de Bienville, as a nucleus of a French settlement

in America, it was named in honor of the Duke of
Orleans, the regent of young Louis XV. It was colonized mostly by
people from France, and a part of the population still follows the cus-
toms and traditions of their French ancestors. The city consists of
two portions, presenting the strong contrast of the quaint old French
with the new American.

The area of the original palisaded city is now known as the “Vieux
Carré”; it centers about the old St. Louis Cathedral in the Place
d’Armes, now Jackson Square, laid out in 1720 by Le Blond de la
Tour, Bienville’s engineer. A few French and a great many Spanish
houses, built from 100 to 150 years ago, still remain; once the homes
of aristocratic and distinguished people, they are now mostly con-
verted into trading establishments and rooming houses. The Place
d’Armes has been the scene of many historic events, notably the
gathering of troops to repel the expected attack of the Natchez
Indians in 1728, the reception of the Acadians driven from Nova
Scotia by the British in 1755, the arrival of Gen. Alejandro O’Reilly
in 1769 to take possession after the transfer of the colony from France
to Spain, and the triumphant return of Gen. Andrew Jackson from
the Battle of New Orleans January 8, 1815. Here also were made
the three great transfers of Louisiana Territory subsequent to the
treaties of cession—first from France to Spain in 1764, then from
Spain to France in 1803, and finally, in 1803, from France to the
United States, a transaction very distressing to many of its Creole
inhabitants but resulting quickly in marked increases in property
values and population.

_ The cathedral, erected in 1795 by Don Almonaster y Roxas, who
is buried under the altar, replaced a small church built in 1718 and
destroyed by fire in 1788. Next door is the Cabildo, built in 1795 for
the Spanish Legislature and for nearly a century the seat of govern-
ment. Adjoining the cathedral is the Presbytére, formerly the house
of the Capuchin priests, used later for the civil courts of the city.

New Orleans.

1 The figures given in this book for population has been estimated, and
population of incorporated places are such figures are marked with an
those of the United States Census for asterisk (*),
1930. For some of the small places the

6 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

This and the Cabildo are now part of a free museum and the home of
the Louisiana Historical Society. Not far distant is the house built
for Napoleon, who was to have been rescued from St. Helena by one
of Lafitte’s pirate crew had he not died before the expedition could
start. Many other buildings near by have great historic interest and
also present peculiarities of construction not seen elsewhere. The
city was largely destroyed by fires in 1788 and 1794; in its rebuilding
the Spanish influence has affected the architecture. The French
market (shown in part in pl. 3, A), on the site of the market built by
the Spaniards in 1791, attracts many tourists. Not far away (1727
Chartres Street) is the Archbishopric, erected in 1734 for an Ursuline
convent, said to be the oldest building now standing in the Mississippi
Valley. Rampart Street is on the outer line of the city defenses,
built in 1793 by Baron de Carondelet, then Spanish governor, and the
Terminal Station is on the site of Fort Burgundy. The old ceme-
teries are filled with vaults, many with three tiers of niches for caskets,
for originally the water level was so near the surface that burial in the
ground was impracticable. (See pl. 3, B.) The Spanish fort where
Bayou St. John joins Lake Pontchartrain marks the place where
the first colony landed. The Chalmette Monument, in the lower
end of the city, commemorates the battle in which Gen. Andrew
Jackson and his 5,000 backwoods militia routed a good-sized British
army under Sir Edward Pakenham in 1815. The mint, erected in
1821, the oldest one in the country, was built on ramparts of General
Jackson’s old fort. The Pontalba buildings, still in use, were erected
in 1849 and were long used as high-class apartment houses. In 1862
New Orleans was captured by Gen. Benjamin Butler and held by the
Union forces until the end of the Civil War.

New Orleans is built on the “Isle d’Orléans” (no longer an island)
in a great crescent-shaped bend of the Mississippi 107 miles above its
mouth (South Pass). It lies on the slope of a natural levee, or low
ridge built up by the river, and comprises an area of 44 square miles.
Most of the city is below the high-water level of the river, and parts
of it are below the level of the Gulf of Mexico. The first levee, built

*The land slopes down from the
river bank into two basins 1 foot or

under New Orleans are sand, silt, and
clay, probably of the overflow or levee

more below sea level—one north of
Claiborne Avenue and another in the
neighborhood of Earigny and Elysi

Field Avenues. North of these basins
there is a ridge with crest 3 to 5 feet
above sea level that was probably built

of this ridge the land is less than 1 foot
above sea level and slopes gently to
Lake Pontchartrain. The sediments

deposits, though they may have been
deposited in the Gulf in front of an off-
shore bar. In the sediments are unde-
cayed cypress stumps, some as deep as
12 feet below sea level. At depths of
more than 43 feet below sea level recent
marine shells are found (Trowbridge).
It has not been definitely determined
how much true delta material underlies
New Orleans,

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 7

in 1727, was 900 feet long; eventually, as levees were extended, the
city developed in a wide, deep saucer, out of which no drainage could
flow. Throughout its history, therefore, it has had to contend with
flood overflows, rain water, seepage, and sewage removal. Now,
however, pumps with a capacity of 7,000,000,000 gallons a day lift
surplus water into Bayou Bienvenue aiid Lake Pontchartrain. At
times of heavy downpours the volume of water to be handled is very
great,* but it is claimed that the present pumping system can dispose
of a rainfall of 14 inches in 24 hours. The annual precipitation is
57 inches. The sewage is pumped to an outlet down the river, 20
feet below mean water level. Surface water and seepage are collected
in large canals, and by this means the general ground-water level has
been so greatly lowered that cellars are practicable and graves can be
dug where formerly all interments were made in tombs.”

In these days of large buildings it has been difficult to obtain stable
foundations, but by the use of many wooden piles, in some places 80
feet long, office buildings and hotels of considerable height have been
erected.> One notable structure is the auditorium, which has a seating
capacity of 12,000 and is used for the great balls of the Mardi Gras

estiv

There are four great institutions of learning in New Orleans:
Tulane University (formerly the University of Louisiana), the H.
Sophie Newcomb Memorial College (the women’s department of
Tulane University), Loyola University, and the Isaac Delgado Cen-
tral Trades School. There are many parks, libraries, churches, and
clubs. About two-thirds of the population are native whites. The
city water supply, of about 50,000,000 gallons a day, is pumped from
the river, and plans have been developed to double this amount; the
water is purified by treatment, so that its quality is satisfactory.
New Orleans once had a high death rate, but this has been reduced
by sanitary measures to 12% per 1,000 for the resident population,
according to local records. The divided scourges of yellow fever and
bubonic plague have been eliminated, and malaria has been made

* One night in April, 1927, a fall of 13
inches of rain ca h an inunda-
tion that the levees had to be opened
at Poydras, 15 miles below the city, to
let out the flood waters, an expedient
that cost the city $5,000,000 for dam-

a spillway 35 miles above
the city serves to divert water into Lake
Pontchartrain in times of river flood.

5In building most of the railroad
embankments a great canal was first
excavated to remove mud and then
filled with sand. For foundations in
the lower part of the city 30 feet or

more of silt is removed to a layer of
long-buried cypress stumps, through
which closely spaced piling is driven to
form a mesh which by friction will sus-
tain heavy buildings. One high build-
ing with a foundation of this character
has settled a few inches, but the subsi-
dence has been so uniform that there
is no rupturing. In some places even
the lowering of water level by drainage
has resulted in the decay of wooden
substructures with consequent settling
of buildings.

8 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

rare.© Although in latitude 30°, and with a warm climate for much
of the year, the mean annual temperature is only 69.3°, with rather
small seasonal range from 54° in January to 82.4° in July.

New Orleans has become a great commercial center, as much of
the vast foreign commerce of the Mississippi Valley and central
United States passes through its portals. It is reached annually by
about 1,000 vessels whose capacity in 1928 amounted to 11,204,573
tons, according to the New Orleans Association of Commerce, It is
a port of entry for a large part of our business with Latin-American
ports. It claims to be the largest market in the United States for
cotton, bananas, rice, and burlap and one of the largest for sugar,
mahogany, coffee, furs, hides, and naval stores. According to state-
ments furnished by the New Orleans Association of Commerce,
from 350,000,000 to 450,000,000 pounds of coffee, 500,000 bales of
cotton, and 23,000,000 bunches of bananas are handled every year.
The grain elevators have a capacity of 2,622,000 bushels. The
imports in 1928 amounted to $208,430,587 and the exports to
$384,597,092, all transported on the Mississippi River through the
great passes at its mouth. This river at New Orleans is 2,000 feet
wide and in places 200 feet deep. Although there is provision for
many vessels on the city’s long water front, additional space to ac-
commodate the heavy traffic has been obtained by the construction
of a canal 30 feet deep and 5 miles long, connecting the river with
Lake Pontchartrain. This canal has a huge lock to provide for the
drop from river to Gulf level and cost $21,000,000.

In order to permit the access of large ocean-going vessels to New
Orleans, two of the outlet channels, South Pass and Southwest Pass,
at the mouth of the Mississippi River, originally having only 10 or
12 feet of water, have been dredged to depths of 30 to 35 feet, with
widths of 750 to 1,000 feet. The filling of these channels by the great
volume of silt carried by the river is prevented by a current of sea
water which passes under the fresh-water outflow, forming a deep-
seated eddy which keeps the sediment in suspension and carries it off,
Great care, however, has to be taken to prevent the river from
creating new passes, which would decrease the strength of the current
in the main channel and diminish its effectiveness in transporting
sediment,

New Orleans is also a great manufacturing center, the 1929 output
of its 786 factories being valued at $148,388,315, according to the
United States Census. Its manufacturing industries have the great
advantage of natural gas from the Monroe field, in Louisiana, cheap

$In the summers of 1853 to 1855 | present water supply has been estab-
there were 37,000 deaths from yellow | lished the death rate from typhoid fever
fever, at times at the rate of 300 a day. | is only 2 per 100,000. (Data from New
In 1889 the death rate f: laria was | Orleans Association of Commerce.)
156 per 100,000; now it is 1. Since the

. S&S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 PLATE 1
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———————————==—_—_—— 7
(0)
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nS” 110° 105° 100° 90)

MAP SHOWING PRECIPITATION IN THE SOUTHWEST

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY .
NE

BULLETIN $45 PLATE 2
119° 17° 115° 113° mee? 109° 107° 10s° 10 B9°
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i | Topography ~ ates of Arizona, New Mex — Texas by N.H.Darton
7? 115° 113° mice 109° 107° 105° 103° 101° 99° ea
a
CONTOUR MAP OF THE SOUTHWESTERN Aaah STATES
Areas shown on the route maps are outlined in

WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO. WASH. D.C.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 3

A, OLD FRENCH MARKET IN VIEUX CARRE, NEW ORLEANS

Looking out a typical street in center.

B. TYPICAL GRAVEYARD IN NEW ORLEANS

In the early days the water plane was so near the surface that interment was undesirable.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 4
x :

A. WOODLAND SCENE, SOUTH-CENTRAL LOUISIANA

Showing the parasitic Spanish moss.

B. GALLERIES IN THE

SALT MINE, AVERY ISLAND, LA.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 9

oil, and water transportation. Sugar, cane sirup, cotton goods, and
celotex (board made from bagasse, or sugarcane refuse) are important
local products.

Louisiana, with an area of 48,506 square miles, had in 1930 a
population of 2,101,593, an increase of nearly 17 per cent since 1920,
placing it twenty-second in rank in the United States.
Owing to large areas of thinly populated swamp lands,
however, the average density of population is only 43
to the square mile. New Orleans is by far the largest city. Shreve-
port, which is growing rapidly, is next in size; Baton Rouge (the
capital), Monroe, Alexandria, Lake Charles, and Lafayette are
considerably smaller.

The greater part of Louisiana consists of lands less than 100 feet
above sea‘level, and a large area along the Mississippi River and the
Gulf coast stands at less than 50 feet. The alluvial valley of the
Mississippi occupies all of the eastern half of the State. There are
more than 4,700 miles of waterways, but some of them are small. A
great intracoastal canal utilizing many of these natural waters is in
course of construction. (See p. 17.)

The principal products of Louisiana are agricultural, with crop
values of $161,078,688 in 1929,’ but only about one-fifth of the area
is under cultivation. Furs, lumber, petroleum, natural gas, and
miscellaneous manufactures, especially sugar refining, are sources of
large income, In 1929, 402,422 acres of rice yielded 16,317,463 bush-
els, 1,945,354 acres of cotton yielded 798,828 bales, and 205,394 acres
of cane yielded 208,000 short tons of sugar. Corn production was
about 20,000,000 bushels. According to data from the New Orleans
Association of Commerce, the lumber cut in 1928 was 2,278,442,000
board feet, the State ranking second in the production of pine lumber,
and its value, together with turpentine, rosin, tar, and other naval

Louisiana.

general, has a higher sugar content and
tougher fiber, and requires replanting
only every second or third year, in-
stead of annually. According to data

7 Statistics are taken from United
States Census reports except as other-
wise stated.

8 Sugarcane was introduced from

Santo Domingo by Jesuits in 1751, but
not until 1780, when slave labor was
utilized, did its cultivation become
Louisiana grows about 95

€

siderable raw sugar for its refineries.
For a while the extinction of the sugar
industry was threatened by a blight
called the mosaic disease, but it was
saved by the aubptiiution. of cane im-
rted from Jaya, which not only re-
sists the disease but is more hardy in

152109°—33——_2

furnished by the New Orleans Associa-
tion of Commerce, 200,000 acres of this
cane was growing in 1929, with a yield
of over 18 tons of cane to the acre, or
more than double that of the earlier
cane, and yielding 160 pounds of sugar
to the ton, instead of 1388 pounds. The
1929 sugar crop ranked next to cotton
and rice in value. Sugarcane makes a
heavy draft on the soil, but many fields
have been producing it for 100 years or
more.

10 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

stores and wood pulp, was $154,766,819. The petroleum production
in 1931 was 21,804,000 barrels, according to the United States Bureau
of Mines. Refining of petroleum is one of the principal industries,
with an output in 1929 valued at $151,966,142, or more than one-fifth
of the total value of the manufactures of the State. The sugar re-
fineries in 1929 had a production valued at $74,706,373. \ Natural gas
is obtained in several fields. The Monroe field gave 103,000,000,000
cubic feet in 1931, much of which was piped to many cities, although
some was used at the source for the production of carbon black, of
which Louisiana produced 28,740 tons in 1931. (U. S. Bureau of
Mines.)

There is a large yield of fruits and early vegetables in Louisiana,
and pecan nuts are an important product. The annual output of
oranges, both Louisiana Sweets and Satsumas, is about 82,500 boxes.
On account of the mild climate there is a long growing season, and in
places three successive field crops can be raised in a year. Pastures
are perpetual. Corn, which is increasing in popularity, yields 30 to
75 bushels to the acre. Rice, one of the principal crops, occupies a
wide area in the southwestern part of the State, Louisiana ranking
first in the United States in rice production. Hay is raised in large
amounts, also lespedeza, or Japanese clover, which grows 12 to 15
inches high. Although many forest areas have been cut off, reforest-
ation is in progress, and 500,000 acres has been planted in pines, to
be sold years hence for lumber and pulp or to furnish turpentine.
These plantings are mostly in areas not favorable to agriculture.
Meanwhile, in order to conserve trees now developing, logs are
imported to help supply the great sawmills at Bogalusa.

There are three game preserves in Louisiana, created to give sanc-
tuary to the wild birds that live in or visit the State in vast numbers.
These preserves are Avery Island, 34,000 acres; Rockefeller Preserve,
104,000 acres; and Russell Sage Preserve, 94,000 acres.

Louisiana is the largest producer of furs in the United States, for its
great marsh areas sustain a vast number of fur-bearing animals.
The muskrat is the one principally sought, and during the open season
of 1928-29 about 5,000,000 pelts of this animal were obtained, at a
value of about $1 each. These, with opossums, raccoons, minks,
skunks, otters, wildcats, and foxes, yielded 6,000,000 pelts (equal to
the Canadian production), valued at $8,500,000, according to data
furnished by the New Orleans Association of Commerce. The pelts
are all obtained by resident trappers, who in most places pay a rental
for the land on which the trapping is done.

Louisiana produces many terrapin and shrimp, and according to
local reports it ships 6,000,000 pairs of frogs’ legs a year. Oysters are
marketed in large numbers, and there is a vast area available for their
culture, with the advantage that the oysters mature here in two years.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 11

The great shell reefs on the Gulf shore are valuable for lime, road metal,
chicken feed, etc.

Salt is one of the great resources of the State, with a production of
529,280 tons in 1931, valued at $1,962,690, according to the United
States Bureau of Mines. A part of the salt is used for the manu-
facture of sodium carbonate, soda ash, caustic soda, and sodium sul-
phite, used for glass, in paper making, and in dyeing. Large factories
in New Orleans produce these and other chemicals.

The Gulf region has an annual rainfall averaging about 62.5 inches,
and although high temperatures occur during the summer, the heat is
tempered by nearly constant breezes from the Gulf; these breezes also
diminish the chill of the winter.

The history of Louisiana is full of interesting events, of which the
first was the discovery of the mouth of the Mississippi River by the
Spanish explorer, Painfilo de Narvéez in 1528. In 1542 Luis de
Moscoso, who had accompanied Hernando de Soto to the mouth of
the Red River, descended to the mouth of the Mississippi and sailed
down the Gulf coast to Mexico. In 1673 Jacques Marque tte and Louis
Joliet, sent by the Canadian colonial government to find an outlet to
the West, descended the great river to its junction with the Arkansas
ee aad in 1682 René Robert de La Salle sailed to its mouth,

possession of the region under the name of Louisiana, in honor
ot his patron Louis XIV. The region claimed by La Salle included the
entire drainage basin of the Mississippi River and much of the Gulf
coast. Three years later he returned with a colony which he expected
to locate near the mouth of the river, but he missed the Mississippi
and landed instead at Matagorda Bay, in Texas, near which he was
murdered in 1687. In 1699 Pierre d’Iberville, a French naval officer,
landed at New Orleans with a colony, the first permanent settlement
of the region, but he established it in Spanish territory (near Biloxi,
Miss.). In 1712 Antoine de Crozat, a French merchant, obtained the
exclusive right to trade in ‘‘ Louisiana,’ but he surrendered this grant
in 1717 to the Company of the West, which began sending out colo-
nists. In the following year Capt. Jean de Bienville, a brother of
Iberville, landed a colony of 68 persons at the site of New Orleans.
In 1719 the first cargo of slaves arrived from Africa, valued at $150
each. This was just a century after the first slave cargo landed at
Jamestown, Va. The seat of government was established in 1722 at
New Orleans, and in 1726 the settlement had a population of 800.
Life was made difficult by floods, Indians, diseases, and hurricanes.
November 3, 1762, France, finding the territory a burden, ceded the
portion west of the Mississippi, together with the city and island of
New Orleans, to Spain in the secret treaty of Fontainebleau; the next
year the remainder of Louisiana, east of the Mississippi, was ceded to
England. The boundary between Spanish and British possessions,

12 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

exclusive of the Isle of Orleans, was defined as the center of the Mis-
sissippi River. Spain, fearing that the settlements to the north would
interfere with the interests of her possessions to the east, endeavored to
defeat progress by prohibiting access to the mouth of the river. In
1800, in the secret treaty of San Ildefonso, Spain returned to France
the area west of the Mississippi which she had acquired in 1762, but
the actual transfer of authority was postponed for three years. On
April 30, 1803, Napoleon ceded this territory to the United States for
the sum of 60,000,000 francs and the assumption of certain claims
against France. The part of Louisiana east of the river which was
known as West Florida was ceded in part to Spain and in part to
the United States by Great Britain in 1783. The Florida Purchase,
effected by the United States in 1819, completed the transfer of
Louisiana Territory.

The part of the State lying west of the Mississippi River was organ-
ized in 1804 as the Territory of Orleans, and in April, 1812 (the year
the first steamboat made the trip from Pittsburgh to New Orleans),
it was admitted to the Union under the name Louisiana. The area
lying east of the river, although its ownership was disputed until 1819,
was added to the State a short time later.

The present State of Louisiana is about one-twentieth of the area
of the Louisiana Purchase, which was divided into 15 States. New
Orleans was the capital until 1829 and again from 1831 to 1846.

Leaving the Union Station, New Orleans, the Southern Pacific train
uses the tracks of the Illinois Central Railroad as far as Harahan
Junction, a switch station on the north side of the Mississippi River.
(Turn to sheet 1.) Thence the line crosses the river flat in a southerly
direction and in 2 miles reaches the levee, over which it passes on an
incline. Here on the bank of the Mississippi the entire train, divided
in sections, is placed on a huge steel barge (The Mastodon) to be
ferried ° across the swift current to Avondale, on the southwest bank,
a distance of nearly a mile. The floats are adjustable for different
stages of the river, for there is considerable variation in the water
level consequent on floods and droughts.

The Mississippi River, flowing past New Orleans to its great delta in
the Gulf of Mexico, is the largest river in North America.” It has a
drainage area of 1,231,492 square miles, and it flows across nearly
the entire width of the United States.

* This ferry is regarded as a tempo- | Orleans is from 135,000 to 1,360,000
rary expedient, as a $20,000,000 bridge | cubie feet a second. There is @
is projected. mean flow of 800,000 cubic feet a second

ies It is estimated by the Mississippi | at Old River, 130 miles above New

River Commission that the Mississippi | Orleans, equivalent to a total annual
River carries ually 500,000,000 tons | discharge of 25,228,800,000,000 cubic
of sediment. The average flow at New feet.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 13

At Avondale, not far south of the ferry, the train reaches the
Southern Pacific tracks coming from Algiers, the terminal on the
south side of the river opposite New Orleans, used
only for freight. The land is low behind the levee, and
most of it is too swampy for economical cultivation.
In this area will be noted many cypress trees, water
hyacinths, and other plants typical of the swamps and lowlands of
the South. In wet places there are scattered palmettoes with their
clusters of fan-shaped leaves. Most of the larger trees are festooned
with the parasitic Spanish moss, A typical view in this region is
given in Plate 4,

To the small local settlement at Boutte the railroad proceeds along

the natural embankment of the river and then follows a low ridge

through the woodlands to Des Allemands, where
Des Allemands. Bayou des Allemands is crossed. This name is de-
Seren rived from a small settlement of Germans founded in
New Orleans 33 miles. COlonial days, but the population now consists mostly

of people of French origin living in primitive dwellings
along the water’s edge. For many years there was a sawmill here
which cut cypress lumber from the adjoining swamp lands; now the
supply of this material is practically exhausted, and the main re-
sources are fishing, crabbing, and the trapping of muskrat and other
fur-bearing animals.

In midsummer the water bodies in this region are spangled with a
beautiful growth of the purple flowers of the water hyacinth. Bayou
des Allemands empties into Barataria Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of
Mexico, which was at one time the headquarters of the pirate Jean
Lafitte! Formerly some of the district about Des Allemands was
reclaimed for agriculture by ditching and pumping. Now the first
signs of extensive cultivation begin near Raceland Junction, where
there are fields of cane supplying the large sugar refinery at Raceland,
a short distance south. This refinery, which presses about 150,000

Avondale.

Elevation 8 feet.
New Orleans 13 miles.

1 This notorious person, about whom
center hundreds of colorful legends of
this region, ran a blacksmith shop in
New Orleans in the early days of the
nineteenth century (at 810 Chartres
Street, just off Canal Street). At this
time privateersmen in the Caribbean

countries that hired them, and Lafitte

became the agent through whom they

disposed of the captured cargoes. In

time he became the leader of a fleet

es ange privateersmen and estab-
rtified post on

Bay. He trafficked extensively in
slaves, at one time selling 450 negroes
at public auction. The proceeds of
these sales and his piratical booty bur-
ied for safe-keeping are still the object
of treasure hunts in the bayou country.
For his loyalty to the American forces
in the War of 1812, his neces outlawry
wasoverlooked. He resumed his piracy

1817 and moved his headquarters
from Barataria Bay to Galveston Bay,
where his fortifications continued until
he was driven out in 1821. Apparently
he was finally lost at sea.

14 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

tons of cane a season, draws part of its supply from more distant
sources, some of it brought down the near-by Bayou Lafourche in
barges. An interesting industrial development in the sugar industry
in Louisiana is the utilization of the cane residue (bagasse) after the
sugar-bearing juice has been pressed out. This material compressed
into bales is shipped from many refineries to a large factory at Gretna,
across the river from New Orleans, where it is pressed into sheets of
building board known as celotex. In some of the cane fields at Race-
land experiments are in progress to ascertain the results of using
Chilean nitrates as fertilizer. Bowie siding is in the midst of cane
fields, and there is a sugar refinery not far south of it.

The abrupt change in agricultural conditions at Raceland is due to
the presence of a ridge of alluvium built up by sediments spread by
the overflow of Bayou Lafourche. Alluvial uplands of this character
are of great economic importance in many parts of the great valley of
the Mississippi, for although not wide they have rich soils and are
sufficiently high to afford good drainage, roadways, and places for
settlement. On them are the principal farm lands in this part of
Louisiana. ‘The mound of Bayou Lafourche extends from the Missis-
sippi River at Donaldsonville nearly to the Gulf of Mexico, a length
of more than 100 miles. Its height for most of the distance is only
about 15 feet, and its width is from 3 to 4 miles.

Bayou Lafourche is the narrow stream crossed by the railroad just
beyond Lafourche station. Originally this bayou was an outlet for
part of the flow of the Mississippi River and was ex-

Lafourche. tensively utilized by freight boats, but to avoid the
rer ey floods that occasionally came down the bayou, the

Orleans 53 miles. Connection at Donaldsonville was dammed off in 1903,

and the navigability of Bayou Lafourche was greatly

reduced. However, it is still used for traffic into the Mississippi

River, with which it is connected by locks, and part of its lower

course will be followed by the Intracoastal Waterway now projected

a the lowlands, some distance south of the Southern Pacific
es.

Three miles northwest of Lafourche Crossing, but not visible from
the railroad, is the town of Thibodaux (population 4,400), an old
village of French origin, with important agricultural and commercial
interests.

An alluvial ridge extends southward along Bayou Terrebonne
through Schriever, and another, extending along Black Bayou, is

followed by a branch railroad to Houma. At this

ee old town there is a large sugar refinery and an exten-
rv} va ba Ad .
PaRLSEC eeerenierag sive business in oysters and other gulf products.

New Orleans 56 miles. Much sugarcane is raised in this part of Louisiana,
and formerly there were many small sugar refineries,
some of which are still visible. Potatoes have lately become an impor-

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 1

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
: 90°30" ° Louisiana
!
ioe ca
a
mere ST JOHN
[7 E BAPTIS
n
tAi eserve lace
amer ppd CAS 5 £
(ny) MISSISSip,. +1) Z »
Ly at oS A) L AN.
arahan a3
ot “SiPete ck Tee R
L ELAS
agan ; StRose Rie io
i “oO V Salix Algi
! Luling*—s 2 Kenly 2
Berea. ! H ? A one ia 4%
y EL8. ne
= fe Boutte pita ts \
4 aie,
" ~ Eas - pear dis Belle Chass :
~ i
“ DesAllemands ee 3 )
2 ) 3 4
E ) 4 atere ~ | FANS wn 3 ft
yp? ibodaux Cp ile ies “a 1 2 Y 6
cn fo on E Robix ne a 6.8 ertrandville
- . fa
- WE: S ee Bowie 3 ‘
a hriever se irateland :
60 De sex Mathews rataria
ea Y
SY
— f
~
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~< \ Lockpo
Blacg
S D
° um
< > RES
Les
0) * a 4
v ra)
0 )
(r yl % °
Ee (C ( 29,
Scale 500,000
linch-8 miles (approximately)
° 5 10 bd 45 20 MILES &

° 5 15 _20 KILOMETERS

ee

The distances from New Orleans, La., are > shone every the
10 miles, and the crossties are drawn t tle apa in

Each quadrangle shown on the map with an
lower left corner is — in detail on the U.

ame in parentheses
. B.. Be

to, ypographic map of that n
30°

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 15

tant product, and considerable corn is raised. Between the alluvial
ridges the land is low and swampy, but in places it can be drained by
pumping; one notable reclaimed area of this kind southwest of Race-
land is yielding large crops of corn. In the swamps cypress, tupelo
gum, and other trees flourish. Lumbering has long been an active
industry, but many years of vigorous lumbering has greatly reduced
the amount of timber available. There was formerly a sawmill at
Chacahoula, and at Donner a large mill is in operation on logs brought
by rail and in ‘‘booms” rafted through the great system of waterways

traversing the lowlands to the north. (Turn to sheet 2.)
Donner is in the large lowland area that was covered by the great
flood of the Mississippi River in 1927, when in the lower places the
water was from 6 to 10 feet deep for several months.

Donner. The flooded district extended far to the north and
Popa: oe: northwest over the lake region and the country tra-

Oriana ayaa versed by the Grand and Atchafalaya Rivers. The
bayou ridges described above (p. 14) were not covered,
but the water extended far up their slopes. During the flood Gnas
sands of residents on the lower lands were driven out by the water,
and there was considerable loss of crops and effects. The railroad
embankment near Donner was slightly submerged, and parts of it
had to be protected from the flood waters. In this region the roads
are surfaced with oyster shells, which make an admirable road metal
for light traffic. Shells are also burned as a source of lime.
Gibson is a small village on Black Bayou, a waterway of some im-
portance. A quaint old church is about the only feature of special
interest. Gibson was formerly an extensive lumber-
Gibson. milling community, drawing on the rich supplies, now
Elevation 11 feet. mostly depleted, of cypress and other trees in the
Population 60.*
New Orleans 67 miles. great Swamp country to the north. This swamp veg-
etation is still a picturesque feature along the railroad
in places, especially the drapery of Spanish moss on many of the
12

The small old settlement of Boeuf is on the bank of an outlet of Lake
Palourde, one of the water bodies of the widespread swamp region to
the north. From Boeuf to Morgan City the railroad

Boeuf. follows the north bank of Bayou Boeuf on a ridge of
elena: ne alluvium built up by overflows. In this general region
St Orleans 74 miles. the deposition of this material has also developed a
series of islands of sufficient elevation for farming.

They are not high, and in places the fields have to be protected from

2 Spanish moss is extensively utilized | airing to decompose the living portion,
for making mattresses and other cush- | then dried, carefully worked to remove
ions at moss “gins” at many places. | dirt, sticks, and other undesirable ma-
The moss is cured by moistening and | terials, and thoroughly washed,

16

overflow by dikes. The soil is rich and mostly under cultivation in
cane and other crops. Many scattered cypress trees remain in the
swampy areas.

The extensive swamp lands in the Mississippi Valley in Louisiana
are mostly useless for settlement without expensive diking, but they
are valuable for growing cypress and other lumber. Some areas in
the midst of the swamps that are high enough for cultivation are uti-
lized for small farms, but even these are subject to overflow at times
of high water.

Morgan City, on the right bank of a baylike expansion of the
Atchafalaya River, i is a commercial and lumber center of considerable

importance, as it has waterways of moderate depth

GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Morgan City. into many parts of the cypress swamps as well as into
tion 18 feet. the sugarcane country. The wide river here is the out-
Population 5,985.

cw Orleans 8036 mileslet of a series of large shallow lakes and numerous

bayous occupying the area known as the Atchafalaya

Basin. It receives the water of the Red River ® mixed with some

overflow water from the Mississippi River, which joins the Red River

by way of the Old River near latitude 31°, 50 miles above Baton

Rouge (130 miles above New Orleans). In the great flood of 1927 a
large part of Morgan City was under water for two months.

Morgan City (originally Brashear, later renamed for Charles Mor-
gan ') is near the head of tidewater and from 1850 to 1869 was the
terminus of the railroad from New Orleans. At that time there were
extensive boat connections in all directions by the rivers and bayous,
and by way of the Gulf of Mexico to Galveston. The United States
Government took possession of these communications d the
Civil War. Charles Morgan, who had controlled most of the boat
oe purchased the railroad in 1869; it was extended west to Lafayette
0. Formerly the city’s luraber business was extensive, but

18 When the Mississippi River is low
and the Red River is high the slope in
the Old River is reversed and some of
the Red River water flows through it
into the Mississippi. No doubt the

of a natural levee on the west bank of
the big river forced the Red River to
find an independent course to the Gulf
down the channel now called the Atcha-

mostly by way of Plaquemine Bayou
and locks to the Mississippi.

4 Charles Morgan is regarded as one
of the most important influences in the
development of southern Louisiana. He
was born in Connecticut in 1795 and
died in New York City in 1878. He
inaugurated various early coastwise
steamship lines, mainly to places on the
Gulf of Mexico, developed the railroad
from New Orleans to Cuero, Tex., and

a steamboat channel through
Atchafalaya Bay. In 1836 he founded
a great iron works in New York, and in

he same year he sent the first vessel

from New Orleans to Texas, stopping
at Galveston when that place consisted
of one house.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 17
now the principal occupations are agriculture, shipping crabs, and

reparing shells for chicken feed and other uses. The shells are
brought from the large reef of Pointe au Fer in Atchafalaya Bay, 30
miles southwest of Morgan City. One of the water routes of com-
merce in the region now is by the Grand River and a 7-foot canal
through Plaquemine Lock, which enters the Mississippi River 20
miles below Baton Rouge.

The projected Intracoastal Waterway is to follow Bayou Boeuf into
the Atchafalaya River at Morgan City and thence go westward
through Wax Bayou.”

After crossing the Atchafalaya River over a long bridge the train
reaches Berwick, a companion town to Morgan City and sharing
with it the river trade and crab industry. In the
region west of Berwick much of the land is under
cultivation in sugarcane, but some woodland remains.
An abandoned sugar mill (Glenwild) is conspicuous
north of the railroad 3 miles west of Berwick.

A typical small sugar plantation may be seen just north of the
tracks 2 miles beyond Patterson (near Calumet siding), with groups
of whitewashed houses for laborers and many very large, handsome
moss-hung live oaks.

The principal outlet of Grand and Sixmile Lakes, at a point about
4 miles north of Patterson, is regarded as the beginning of the lower
Atchafaiayia River, and into it empties the famous
Bayou Teche (Indian for Snake Bayou) at a point
about 2 miles north of the town. This bayou origi-
nates far to the northwest. Running along the west

side of the great alluvial valley of the Mississippi, it
has built up a typical bayou ridge, 10 to 20 feet high, that is exten-
sively settled and cultivated. The railroad is built upon this ridge
from Patterson through Franklin, Baldwin, Jeanerette, and New
Iberia, and in places the water of the bayou is visible from the train.
With its many plantations, fine houses, luxuriant gardens, and hand-
some live oaks and pecan trees, it is one of the most interesting fea-
tures in southern Louisiana. The bayou is a useful waterway,
although at present the traffic is light.

In early days the bayous and rivers were highways of travel to “re
Acadians and other settlers, who built their houses overlooking th

Berwick.

Elevation 14 feet.
Population 1,679.
New Orleans 82 miles.

Patterson.

— 8 feet.
Population 2,206.
New Grleans 88 miles.

45 This waterway is being built by the
Government to provide an inside chan-
nel along the coast from New Orleans
to Corpus Christi (at a cost of $16,-
000,000) and, eventually, to the Rio
Grande at Point Isabel. The bill
passed by Congress in 1927 provides

for a canal 100 feet wide to carry 9 feet

y
are to be utilized, some of them, how-
ever, requiring deepening and straight-
ening. For much of its course it is
from 10 to 20 miles south of the
Southern Pacific lines.

18 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

The settlers used pirogues, or dugout canoes, and flatboats for trans-
porting themselves and their produce from place to place, traveling
by day only and camping on shore at night. Later on, in the French
and Spanish régimes, every grantee of land was required to build a
levee along the bayous and on top of it a road. Such was the origin
of the Spanish trail from New Orleans to San Antonio that goes
through Lafayette and of many other roads still existing in southern
Louisiana,
There is a much used airport in the midst of the cane fields about
3 miles west of Patterson. Cane fields extend far westward up the
“Teche country,” with sugar mills at several places, including
Shadyside and Bayou Sale. At Garden City a sawmill is in opera-
tion, using logs floated up Bayou Teche from the Grand Lake region.
Franklin, on the south bank of Bayou Teche, is an old commercial
and sugar center, with large lumber and planing mills. Recently
the operation of these mills has had to be discon-

Franklin. tinued, as the supply of cypress became exhausted
Elevation 10 feet. or too remote.
Population 3,271.

ew Orleans 102 miles, WOUisiana is not usually regarded as an earthquake

region, but it has experienced occasional quakes.

The last notable event of the kind was the earthquake of October 19,

1930, the epicenter of which was in the Atchafalaya Valley between
Franklin and Donaldsonville.

Baldwin is a local center of the sugar business and of a district in

which various crops are raised on the Bayou Teche ridge and the

Baldwin. slopes extending south. A branch railroad and a
eee highway lead southwestward to the Cypremort sugar
Population 2. ‘refinery and the great salt mine at Weeks Island (or

822.
Raw Ortenne 00 miles. Grande Cote), (See p. 21.)

In traveling across central-southern Louisiana the only visible
features of geologic interest are the delta and bayou deposits, espe-
cially the mounds built by bayou and river overflow which have been
referred to on previous pages. Farther west are the wide terrace
plains of low altitude, floored by alluvial deposits of Recent age. It
would scarcely be suspected that under this smooth cover there are
formations which represent a long and complex geologic history.
Many deep borings have revealed this subsurface geology to a depth
of 8,000 feet or more. Below the Eocene beds is a great thickness
of earlier Tertiary, Cretaceous, and older strata down to the crystalline
rocks which underlie them. The principal formations so far recog-
nized are listed in the following table:

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

19

Formations of Quaternary and Tertiary age underlying southern Louisiana

Age Formation Character Boon or
Beaumont clay. Clay and sand.
Pleistocene. 1,500+-
Lissie gravel Sand and gravel.
U on fi rmity-
Pliocene. Citronelle formation. oi ~ieess yellow and red sand and 50-400-+-
U neonform mity-
Paseagonla clay. a neon: blue-green and gray | 959 1 400(7)
nf —
Miocene. Hattiesburg clay. Ni or nt a eray clay, thin 300-350

Nonmarine; gray sand, sandstone, fine 600-800

Catahoula sandstone. conglomerate, clay

Jackson formation. — gray sand and dark calcareous 100-600

Eocene,
Palustrine; gypsiferous sand and clay

Cockfield formation. with lignite. 400-800

Some recent estimates suggest that in the southern part of the area
the Pliocene and later beds are 4,000 feet thick, the Miocene 4,000
feet, the underlying Tertiary more than 10,000 feet, and the Creta-
ceous possibly as much as 8,000 feet. This great succession of sedi-
ments indicates that the region was under water for a long time, during
which a vast amount of material derived from the land was deposited.
During this deposition the basin kept sinking much of the time, and
doubtless the total amount of subsidence was fully 5 miles. There
were also intervals of uplift when the land was above the water, a fact
indicated by unconformities between most of the formations above
listed. There is evidence that the region is still subsiding, for a few
centuries ago cypress swamps were much more extensive than at
present, as shown by the dead cypress on Cypremort Point and by the
stumps of cypress in Weeks Bay, exposed at very low tide

Southern Louisiana has had a somewhat complex fluviatile history,
some of it decipherable from the resulting configuration or the distribu-
tion of deposits. Near New Iberia there are small areas of character-
istic Red River deposits, which indicate that at no distant date the
Red River drained south for a short time through Bayou “Teche.
Deposits of the latter stream overlying the low terrace plain southeast
of New Iberia indicate that for a while this bayou overflowed its banks
in the wide gap east of New Iberia and reached the Gulf between
Avery Island and Weeks Island. (Howe.)

20 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Jeanerette is an old and picturesque village named for an early
French settler, Jean Erette, who operated a small corn mill, For
many years the principal industry of Jeanerette was

Jeanerette. sawing cypress and other lumber brought from the
Elevation 19 feet. swamps far to the northeast, but this activity has
Population 2,228.

New Orleans 115 miles. Ceased because the sources of supply have become too

remote. There is, however, considerable farming and
dairying, and rice and cotton are produced. Formerly there were
many small sugar mills in the vicinity, but only a few remain; on
about 2 miles west of the town, on the bank of Bayou Teche, is
conspicuous from the railroad.

From Jeanerette northwestward the railroad follows the high south
bank of Bayou Teche through cane fields and small woodlands.
Throughout this district fine live oaks festooned with Spanish moss
are conspicuous, many of them surrounding stately old homes. Am
these are the Delgado-Albania plantation, on the bank of Bayou
Teche, now owned by the city of New Orleans, and several other
notable old estates, such as Bayside, Westover, Loisel, and Beau Pré,
all surrounded by fine trees. About 5 miles west of Jeanerette, on
the north bank of the bayou, is the livestock experiment station,
1,000 acres in extent, sustained by the cooperation of the United States
Department of Agriculture and the State of Louisiana.

New Iberia, one of the oldest settlements in southwestern Louisiana,
is a commercial and sugar center at the junction of several local

railroads. Situated on the bank of the Bayou Teche,

New Iberia. it has water communication with many places. It
pant wean was incorporated as a town in 1839, and it is said that
New Orleans 127 miles. fully 80 per cent of the people are descendants of the

Acadians.

These people originally were French settlers in Grand Pré, Nova
Scotia (French Acadie), where they had lived for a century and a half
before the English conquest in 1755. Then, when they refused to
transfer their allegiance to England, their property, so industriously
accumulated, was confiscated and they were deported. During the
following decade many of them sought refuge in the French colony
of southern Louisiana, where, however, they found conditions not
entirely congenial, for Spain had just acquired control of that terri-
tory. But they were cordially welcomed, and many established
themselves in the moist, fertile lands along the bayous, an environ-
ment far more agreeable than the rugged north country to which
they had been accustomed. The effect of this propitious climate upon
their character was diverse: some were content with a bare subsist-
ence; others developed into landowners and men of affairs whose
hospitality and graciousness were famous. Many descendants of the
old Acadians remain, together with a large percentage of persons of
French descent from the original New Orleans colonies. The local

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 21
name for these people represents the defective pronunciation ‘‘Cajun.”’
One group of Acadians that left the Mississippi at Plaquemine and
came southwest through the swamps in 1757 found a small settlement
at the present St. Martinsville, 9 miles north of New Iberia, where the
newcomers were given tracts ofland. Trappers, traders, and ranchers
were scattered sparsely through the Teche country, and under the
Spanish régime the settlement became a headquarters and finally a
military post called the Poste des Attakapas (a-tak’a-pa). Four
different flags have floated above it. Now, under the name St.
Martinsville, it still has an Acadian population, dialect, and atmos-
phere, and these, together with its ancient structures, render it a most
interesting place to visit. The region is perhaps most popularly
known from Longfellow’s narrative poem of the fair Acadian “‘ Evange-
line,”’ the scene of which is laid principally on the Bayou Teche. At
St. Martinsville is the heroine’s grave, under the ‘‘ Evangeline oak” in
the yard of the church constructed in 1765, and various souvenirs
of her life are on exhibition. In this headquarters of the old Acadian
colony a monument in memory of Evangeline was erected in 1931,
for she had become to the ‘‘Cajuns”’ the symbol of their early suffer-
ings, their romance, and their faith.”

Eight miles south of New Iberia the hill known as Petite Anse, or
Avery Island, rises prominently above the lowlands and marsh. Its
height is 152 feet, and it is dimly visible from the railroad. It con-
sists of a thumb-shaped mass of salt thrust up several thousand feet
through the Coastal Plain deposits. The salt has been extensively
mined for many years from a shaft about 200 feet deep, and great
galleries, such as are shown in Plate 4, B, extend far underground in
white salt. Borings 2,263 feet deep have not reached the base of the
deposit. A feature of this kind is known as a salt dome, and its
general relations are shown in Figure 1. Similar bodies of salt
occur at the mounds constituting Jefferson Island, 8 miles west of
New Iberia, and Weeks Island, 15 miles south of New Iberia, where
also it is extensively mined for domestic use and for the manufacture
of sodium chemicals. The production of salt at these localities has
exceeded 7,000,000 tons, valued at more than $27,000,000," and the
supply is practically inexhaustible.

The three “islands” above mentioned and two smaller ones to the
southeast occur along a line bearing N. 49° W., which probably marks

16 It is locally stated that Longfellow
based his poem on the narrative of an
old Acadian in St. Martinsville but
modified it to have a different ending.
The young woman referred to was
Emmeline Labiche, and “‘ Gabriel” was
Louis Arceneaux, who told Emmeline
that after waiting a long time for her to

come he had given his pro
another. Demented by the on we
wandered through the Teche region
and finally died and was buried in the
churchyard at St. Martinsville.

7 Mineral Resources of the United
States

22 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

a narrow deep-seated zone of uplift or faulting that extends across the
country for many miles. The movements along this line, especially
at the domes, have continued into recent times. Owing to the uplift of
the strata the domes reveal formations which in the adjoining region
are concealed by alluvial deposits. At the surface there is more or
less loam resembling loess, 10 feet or more thick, and in many places
where this has been removed by erosion older gravel (Citronelle,
p. 19) is exposed. On Avery Island there are small exposures of
sandstone, clay, and lignite which may be of Pliocene or Miocene age.

Sa Ae oe

Recent
Pleistocene

Pliocene

Miocene

an
Oligocene (?)

Jackson (Eocene)

Claiborne
(Eocene)

; Wilcox
(Eocene)
Midway (Eocene)

Upper Cretaceous

(Lower Cretaceous)

alt,age?

FIGURE 1.—Hypothetical section of salt dome at Avery Island, La.
By ’. Howe

In places here the beds dip 44°. The lignite, which is 18 feet thick,
may have economic value.

At Jefferson Island there is a small mound only 75 feet high, but it
has been found by recent boring that the area of doming is consider-
ably larger, the salt core extending under Lake Peigneur; the depres-
sion in which the lake lies may be due to subsidence caused by the
removal of salt by underground solution.

There have been several theories as to the origin of the numerous
salt domes in the Coastal Plain of Louisiana and Texas, but most
geologists regard them as due to the flow of the relatively plastic salt
from a deep-seated stratum, to relieve stress in the earth’s crust.
The salt body has forced its way through the overlying sand and clay

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 23
and to some extent domed and faulted the strata. The top of the
salt core has risen to various heights in the different domes, but in one
dome it is 6,400 feet below the surface. The domes near New Iberia
above mentioned give rise to surface mounds of greater or less height,
and the salt is near the surface, but in many salt domes the salt body
lies deep and there is no topographic indication of its presence. Not
long ago the only domes recognized were those which had surface
manifestations, but exploration with the torsion balance and seismo-
graph, instruments which detect the disturbances to gravity and to
rock conductivity resulting from the uplift, has indicated the presence
of many more, and drilling has verified their existence.'8 In some of
the domes the disturbed strata surrounding and overlying the salt
core serve as a reservoir for oil. The association of petroleum with
many of the domes is believed to be due to a condition favorable for
its migration and accumulation. About 80 domes are now known in
the Louisiana-Texas Coastal Plain. More than two-thirds of them
produce petroleum, with an aggregate of nearly 70,000,000 barrels in
1930, according to the United States Bureau of Mines. The sulphur
and anhydrite occurring as cap rocks on most of the domes have
resulted from secondary chemical reactions. The structure of a typi-
cal dome is shown in Figure 2, but there is considerable variety in
character, form, and relations and in the depth to the top of the salt
mass,

The easternmost is the Chacahoula dome, 3 miles north of Donner,
discovered by seismograph exploration. Here the salt was pene-
trated in a test boring at a depth of 3,485 to 5,150 feet, where boring
was stopped. No boring in these domes has passed entirely through
the salt, although some holes have been drilled 4,000 feet in it.

The sandy loam exposed on Avery Island has yielded fossil shells of
no very great geologic antiquity, and bones of the mammoth, elephant,
buffalo, horse (Equus complicatus), Mylodon, and Megalonyz, all of
which have been extinct for a long time (Howe). These deposits have
been correlated with the Sangamon or third interglacial stage, indicat-

The field attained a production of

18 A deeply buried salt mass has been
16,800 barrels in 1927. The salt core

discovered on the western margin of

Lake Fausse Pointe, about 11 miles
east-northeast of New Iberia. The
only surface manifestations of the up-

paraffin in the soil, but a seismograph
survey in 1926 showed the presence of
a dome, and a boring found salt at 1,392
feet. Several borings found petroleum,
the first one yielding 125 barrels a day
from sands probably of lower Pliocene
age lying at a depth of 1,062 to 1,143
feet, 100 to 200 feet above the salt core.

is more than 2 miles in diameter and at
one point comes within 823 feet of the
surface. Another salt dome that un-
derlies a small area about 6 miles east
of New Iberia afforded a small produc-
tion of petroleum in 1916-1920. Sev-
eral borings in this dome that reached
a depth of more than 3,000 feet are
thought to have entered beds of Mio-
cene age. The apex of this salt core
comes within 805 feet of the surface.
(Howe.)

24 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

ing that Avery Island has stood above sea level since that time.
Remains of man have been found associated with the bones, but
paleontologists have not been fully convinced that they were
contemporaneous.

The fact that the salt marshes stand above sea level indicates that
Avery and the other islands can not be very old, for in such a moist
climate reduction of the salt by solution would progress rapidly,
although possibly the salt is rising at a rate to keep pace with solution.
Although Avery Island and the other mounds rise but slightly above
the general low plain and marsh, they have some notable characteris-
tics of flora, due mainly to soil differences, and also some peculiarities
of animal and insect life.

A sanctuary for herons and other birds, established on Avery Island
in 1894, is locally estimated to give refuge to over 100,000 herons, the
same birds returning year after year. Some of the birds are labeled,
and a record is kept of their zones of migration. Many wild fowl
winter in Louisiana, but the draining of wet lands has diminished
their former plentiful food supply, so that now large numbers of birds
move on to Central America and Mexico. Myriads of blue geese
come from their breeding grounds in Baffin Land to spend the winters
in this region. As the number of birds has decreased, the sale of wild
birds has been made illegal, and the hunting season and the bag limit
are much reduced. On Avery Island also is a large arboretum in
which a great variety of semitropical plants have been assembled.

On this island is manufactured the famous tabasco sauce, a fiery but
savory essence of a special pepper imported from Mexico, which
thrives in the warm climate of this region; many of these peppers are
also dried and ground for flavoring. The cultivation of this pepper
and the bottling and shipping of the sauce give occupation to many
persons living near New Iberia. Another special industry here is a
paper mill in the east edge of the town that utilizes rice straw, a mate-
rial which is largely wasted under ordinary conditions of harvesting.
Considerable sugarcane is raised near New Iberia, and corn and
vegetables are grown.

One of the most noticeable topographic features in the vicinity of
New Iberia is the northward-facing margin of the Hammond terrace,
10 to 15 feet high, which extends northwestward from that place.
It is ascended by the railroad a short distance west of New Iberia.
Beyond Segura it forms the south bank of Spanish Lake, on some maps
called Tasse Lake, which lies between it and the natural levee that
Bayou Teche has built up. To the west it merges into the general
upland which lies west of the lowlands of the Mississippi Valley.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

3

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 2
91:30 i Louisiana
bg
ANE
M L i ie
00,00)
2 | inch=8 miles (approximately)
1@) 5 10 5 20 MILES
> 10 20 KILOMETERS
> The distances from New Ori , La., are shown every
=M A R x i | N — 10 miles, and the seem og are seep 1 mile apa
— } = quadrangle shown on the map with a name in parentheses
th the lower left corner is — in detas on the U. S. G. 8.
3 = Siccrusts map of that
& z
a
<S én
MartinsviNe =<
>
=
- Q
| Spdgésh és >
a ;
3 ue e fi Loreauville “ SSK fe 3
w
eg .
EL 29
‘
w lberi
F EL 2/ Ne eria { a
= ‘ited | e
Oliviete Platteny lle
avids 20
uboin . <8, “ae UM © N
~
\ Lydia Se apoleonville
EL 9,
eanerette
EL 2)
e c Avoca
es Adeline Ne.
LIG
+
De Ashton ELIF
ks , a . S
Glencoe ‘ x
= i Efi li 3
Louisa > apnin a
® y / Char ehouls
altdome 4) 2
Bay 4 j le :
EL | ae ee
Et 9/2 Yn. BPG “ sipse onn
Calumet o6 = @ ae LM
Patterson é£L
ry Y oe rsa
: e \ =
ooster ated
pe y J Fo,
‘\ ps
. ~
MARSH : e a
ISLAND of A S
G er
: Kant ; od
aes

WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO. WasH. D.C.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 25

Just east of Lafayette the terrace step is only about 12 feet high,
but at Opelousas, 25 miles northwest, its steep eastern face is a
bluff nearly 40 feet high. Its elevation is 35 feet near Rayne
and for some distance beyond. The land is better drained than the
lowlands of the valley of the Mississippi or the low prairies to the south,
and it contrasts also in having a slightly rolling configuration and
sandy soil. Refugees of the flood of 1927 went to this upland near
Segura as the nearest highland that was available. At the crest
of this flood the swamp lands to the north were under 5 to 10 feet of
water, and even New Iberia was inundated for several days. This
flood was the first in a century that overflowed any of the country
south of Bayou Teche.

Southeast of New Iberia there is a terrace or upland somewhat
similar to the Hammond terrace, lying south of the Bayou Teche
mound and extending to and beyond Jeanerette. South of this ter-
race is a lowland flat that extends as far to the west as Vermilion and
Mermentau Prairies, which are mostly less than 20 feet above sea
level. (Turn to sheet 3.)

An important resource of southwestern Louisiana is underground
water, which yields flowing wells at moderate depth in the lower
lands and water available for pumping in the higher areas. The
wells are mostly from 200 to 300 feet deep and obtain their supplies
from gravel and sand in the younger formations.

At Cade is the junction with a branch railroad which goes to Port
Barre, a small town on Bayou Cortableau about 40 miles north.
The first station north of Cade on this branch line is
St. Martinsville, above referred to in connection with
the legend of Evangeline. Cade is surrounded by
cane fields, and considerable quantities of cane and
other farm products are shipped here and at Burke and Duchamp
sidings.

At Billeaud, a mile east of Broussard, a large sugar refinery just
north of the railroad utilizes cane from the adjoining region. Brous-
sard is an old town sustained in ayet part by the
sugar industry and surrounding farms. It was
named for a French captain by one of his descendants
New jauie% 140 miles, When the town was established after the Civil War.

The rolling country is covered with cane fields that
extend at intervals to Lafayette, where they give place to rice. Much
pepper also is raised.

152109°—33-——3

Cade.

Elevation 32 fe
New Orleans en rifles.

Broussard.
a ly +

26 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

The region hereabouts is called the Attakapa country, from the
Indians who originally occupied it, of whom now a very few known
descendants remain near Grand Lake. They were nearly annihilated
by neighboring tribes, notably the Choctaws, at a battle on a hill
about 3 miles east of Billeaud, just before the white settlers came
into the country. Many of their burial mounds occur along the
banks of Bayou Teche, and their weapons and utensils are found
occasionally.

Three miles northwest of Broussard the railroad crosses the Ver-
milion River near the place where the first settlement was made in

this region. It was located at the head of navigation
Lafayette. and was of considerable importance as a trading post
piaern age under the successive names of Little ee,
New Orleans 146 miles, Pinhook, Vermilionville, and Lafayette. Here als

in 1863 occurred an important battle of the Civil
War when the Union troops moved through the Teche country and ~
established a camp at Lafayette. Lafayette, in the heart of the
Attakapa country, has nearly doubled its population in a decade,
owing to its advantages as a railroad and general commercial center.
A branch railroad runs to Alexandria, on the Red River. The mean
annual temperature here is 65°; the average for July is 81° and for
January 52°. Lafayette is the westernmost of the old French towns,
and many descendants of French settlers are included in its ner
tion. In the southern edge of the town is the Southwestern Louisiana
Institute. On exhibition at the railroad station is the first locomotive
used on the Morgan Line, the predecessor of the Southern Pacific
in this section. It contrasts strongly with modern locomotives.

According to the United States census, in 1929 Lafayette Parish
produced 18,394 bales of cotton, 135,524 bushels of rice, 146,246 tons
of sugarcane, 45,027 pounds of figs, 166,045 bushels of sweetpotatoes,
14,144 bushels of Irish potatoes, 14,262 bushels of soybeans, and
505,445 bushels of corn. Oranges and pecans are also produced.

There is a salt dome at Anse La Butte, 5 miles northeast of Lafay-
ette, but holes drilled in it to a depth of 3,400 feet found only a small
amount of petroleum.

From Lafayette the railroad goes due west for 16 miles to and
beyond Rayne over wide prairies with an average elevation near 35
feet. Three miles west of Scott siding the Bayou Queue de Tortue
(French, tail of a tortoise) is crossed. Rice fields soon begin to be
conspicuous, especially near Duson, a siding named in honor of a
Canadian refugee settler of early days.

as

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 27

The village of Rayne i is in an important agricultural community,
with its chief interest in rice, which is raised over a wide area in the
Baris: vicinity. The fields are irrigated by water pumped
Flevation 36 feet, f£0m bayous and wells. The Southern Pacific Rail-
Population 3,710. road here crosses a branch of the Texas & Pacific
Yew Orleans 160 miles. “Railway which connects Opelousas and Crowley.

Crowley, the parish seat of Acadia Parish, is now the center of the
great rice industry of southwestern Louisiana. About three-fourths

of the area of the parish is in rice, which is irrigated

Crowley. by 300 miles of canals and water from 125 wells.
Sei i The principal supply of underground water here is

Naw Be desu: found about 300 feet below the surface, and consid-
erable water is also obtained at depths of 17 to 60
feet. One of the large canals is crossed between Rayne and Crowley.
It is claimed by local authorities that one-third of the rice produced
in the United States is raised within 30 miles of Crowley. Acadia
Parish alone produced 16,317,463 bushels of rough rice in 1929
(Fifteenth Census). There are many rice mills where the rice is
cleaned and polished, with an annual production averaging 1,500,000
barrels of 162 pounds, according to the Crowley Chamber of Qe
merce. Rice is milled to cull out broken and small material and
remove the hull and the several thin layers that surround the grain,
a process which robs it of valuable food elements. Most of the rice
to be exported has to be coated with a very thin film of tale in glu-
cose. A large part of it is shipped to Puerto Rico. Rice requires a
generous supply of water, not only for the growth of the rice plant
but to kill weeds that would otherwise choke it. This water is
. pumped from wells and bayous and in large amount from the Sabine
River. Many of the canals and ditches that bring the water, some
of them from long distances, are crossed by the railroad. Fortu-
nately, in most seasons there is an abundant water supply, but it is
found that in some bayous strong pumping causes the backing up of
brackish water, which is deleterious. The pumping is done by steam
and electricity, with oil for fuel, and most of the water is supplied by
companies that irrigate their own fields and sell water to others.
Some of the batteries of pumps require from 400 to 800 horsepower.
The fields are crossed by a network of small ditches like furrows,
with low banks to retain the water.
Ordinarily the irrigation of rice costs about one-fifth of the value
of the yield, which is 40 to 50 bushels to an acre. Rice sprouts in

28 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

two or three weeks after planting and soon grows to 8 to 12 inches,
when it is flooded until practically mature.

The extensive cultivation of rice in this region is relatively modern,
dating back to 1894 and 1895, when the first large pumps were intro-
duced near Crowley. The early Acadians planted small areas of rice
along the lowlands and in various dammed areas, but the drainage
of all these tracts was difficult in wet weather, and the crops failed
in dry years.

From Crowley a railroad runs north, serving the rice country as far
as Alexandria.

Just west of Estherwood a wide ditch is crossed which carries
aici water for the irrigation of the extensive rice fields
Elevation 19% feet, 22 the neighborhood. Most of the prairie land is
Population 40.* utilized for this crop, but narrow wooded strips
New Orleans 173miles- romain along the streams.

At Midland are branch railroads, one going north to Eunice and
Mamou and the other south to Gueydan and Abbeville. The old

village of Mermentau, with a quaint ancient grave-

Midland. yard on its main street, is built on the east bank of
Elevation 18 feet. § the Mermentau River. This stream, resulting from
Population 80.*

New Orleans 176 miles, the confluence of Bayou des Cannes and Bayou

Nezpique, is bordered by swamps in which many
cypress trees remain with their festoons of Spanish moss. It empties
into Lake Arthur, 15 miles south, a famous resort for hunting ducks
Siete and geese and for fishing. There is a local tradition
eecke ek that the vessels of the pirate Lafitte (see p. 13)
Population 394. made a practice of ascending this river to sell stolen ©
New Orleans 181 miles. slaves.

Jennings, the parish seat of Jefferson Davis Parish, is a local

headquarters for rice and other agricultural products. Therice crop in

this parish was 4,717,628 bushels in 1929, according to
Jennings. the census returns, which showed also 182,439 bushels
viene soam of corn and 4,185 bales of cotton. A very special
te ton allen. industry is the extensive cultivation of Bermuda or

Easter lilies, which are shipped from this place all
over the United States. The pretty town is built on a low, flat
ridge between the valleys of the Mermentau River and Bayou Chene,
in a region of wide prairies with many rice fields.

Five miles northeast of Jennings is the productive Jennings oil
field, which obtains petroleum from a sharp local doming of the
strata. The derricks are not visible from trains owing to timber
along Bayou Nezpique. They are shown in Plate 5, A. This field
has been described by Barton and Goodrich. It was one of the
earliest oil developments on the Gulf coast, having given its first
_ Manifestation of oil eight months after the strike at.Spindletop in
_ 1901. In 1906 the field had a production of more than 9,000,000

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 3

se 92°30 92° Louisiana
Opelousas
SI ?
Pe
a “ . Sante ~_fEunice ‘
BN Elton é |
2 * y
é 9 ce i
3
x
t
r\ Sen & RS) Mowata -—
Church
4A Point
® v
: 0
y § 9)
. & vt
Maxie J x)
0"
: "6 II ;
astille
- 2 A
Bavrou
FL IE _
- 160
o
a
‘ sae
$ eee > ff Crowley ®
” Esth erwood of +
4 EB
3e :
Morse
7 Milton Duchamp) (
42 36
v He
e
& QY LeleGx
Sa,
t xs ~
(Lakeside Gueydan Wright.
} ~~. Ce ee
OE aa } 30
a Jefferson Is!
A | @ salt dome
Me |
, Scale 500,000
linch=6 miles (approximately)
2] 5 ie} 15 20 MILES
ee 1S _20 KILOMETERS
a jinn ah om New ’ Orle leans, La., are gS every
0 miles, and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart V om ‘ R M
@ Sait domes

WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO. WASH.0.C-

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 29
barrels, but finally the amount diminished, and the yield in 1930
was only 527,834 barrels. It is estimated that in all about 40,600,300
barrels has been produced from an area of about 300 acres, which is
a larger production than that of any other field in Louisiana. Some
of the borings found considerable gas. Salt was reached at a depth
of 3,716 feet, but most of the oil was obtained at 1,700 to 2,000
For several years the oil from this field sustained a refinery
at Jennings.

Southwest of Jennings, between the railroad and the Gulf of
Mexico, are noted hunting and fishing grounds with a great variety
of fish and wild fowl.

A short distance beyond Jennings, just before crossing Bayou
Chene, the railroad turns due west, a course which is continued 50
miles to Edgerly, over prairies with an average eleva-
tion of 20 feet. While many parts of the region are
under cultivation for rice, other crops are raised, in-
There are many cattle

Welsh.

Elevation 23 feet.

SN appatligs 197 miles. cluding considerable cotton.
in the numerous pastures.

Three miles west of Welsh there is another low local dome, known
as the Welsh oil field, the derricks of which are mostly about a mile
north of the railroad. About 90 wells have been drilled here, and
some of them yielded a small production for a few years. Much of
the oil was used for lubrication on the locomotives of the Southern
Pacific lines. (Turn to sheet 4.)

Just beyond Welsh the railroad crosses the east branch of Bayou
Lacassine, the water of which is used to some extent for rice irriga-
tion; the west branch of this stream is crossed just east of Lacassine
siding. A short distance west of that siding there is a small clump
of pines south of the railroad, a sporadic outlier of the great pine
forest that covers a large part of western Louisiana and eastern
Texas. Not far beyond this place the Missouri Pacific Railroad
is crossed.

In this region ‘‘pimple mounds” appear in the prairies, and they
become more numerous toward Lake Charles and beyond, though
somewhat scattered. Most of them are less than 3 feet high and
approximately circular. A few of the larger well-formed mounds are
very conspicuous and reach 75 to 100 feet in diameter. Many of
them have been more or less obliterated by cultivation, and some

have been cut by drainage ditches and road grading.

They occur

19 The subsurface geology (see table,
p. 19) showed clay (Beaumont) to 90
feet; sand (Lissie and Citronelle), 90
to 1,100 feet; clay, mainly Pascagoula
an 1,100 to 2,800

to an unknown depth. Probably Jack-

son strata were penetrated in the
deeper holes, several of which were
from 7,294 to 7,447 feet deep. One
dry hole 8,903 feet deep was aban-
doned in hard blue shale regarded by
some geologists as Oligocene.

30 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

at intervals far into eastern Texas and over a wide area in the region
north. Their origin is unknown, although many theories have been
advanced to account for them.

The city of Lake Charles is attractively located on the wooded
shores of Lake Charles, a broad expansion of the Calcasieu River,
one of the principal streams of southwestern Louisi-
ana (formerly called the Rio Hondo). The name
Calcasieu is derived from that of an Indian tribe
_which once occupied the region and is now repre-
sented by a few descendants living in the northern
part of Calcasieu Parish. This river, which is crossed west of the
town, was the resort of slavers in the early days when the region
west to the Sabine River was neutral territory between Mexico
and the United States. The name of the city is taken from the
lake, which was named for Joseph Charles, an old settler. This city
is the farthest inland of the Gulf ports, being 75 miles from the coast,
with which it is connected by a 30-foot channel dredged through the
river, Calcasieu Lake, and Calcasieu Pass, at the joint expense of
the parish and the United States. This channel has no tide and
no locks. The harbor basin has accommodations for all classes of
ocean vessels, by which it ships more rice than any other port in this
country. One of the three large mills in the city manufactures
cellulose from rice hulls and is said to be the only plant of its kind
in the world. Considerable cotton is raised near by, and lumbering
is an important industry.

In the marshlands of Cameron Parish, south of Lake Charles, are
two isolated domes, the Hackberry and the East Hackberry, which
produce a large amount of petroleum. The latter was discovered in
1926 by means of seismograph survey in a region where there are
no surface indications of geologic structure. The oil is derived largely
from sand of Miocene age * at a depth of 3,900 feet, but oil is also
produced from sand over the “cap rock,”’ which lies about 2,955 feet
below the surface. One 6,995-foot hole is in shale of supposed Jack-
son (Eocene) age. From 1927 to the end of 1930 a little more than
4,000,000 barrels of oil was produced from 50 wells in this district,
according to the United States Bureau of Mines.

Lake Charles is about at the eastern margin of the great pine belt
which extends westward to and beyond Beaumont, Tex., and far to the

Lake Charles.

Elevation 16 feet.
Population 15, 791.
220 miles

mostly fine grained, representing the
Pliocene and Miocene, 5,000 feet or
more; older Tertiary gray silty sand,

%” The subsurface geology of this part
of Louisiana as revealed by borings is as
follows: Recent marsh deposits of much
sand and clay, about 50 feet; sand and
gravel of the Beaumont formation (350

feet) and Lissie formation (650 feet);
a thick succession of blue sandy silt,
blue and gray sl _— clay, blue-
green shale, and clean sand,

lain by heavy shale believed to be of
Jackson age. (Bauernschmidt.) (See

also table, p. 19.)

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 31

north; for much of the distance between these two places the railroad
skirts its southern border. Originally there were large forests of fine
timber in this region, but much of the pine has been cut.

In the great marshes between Calcasieu and Sabine Lakes, south-
west of Lake Charles, is a muskrat ‘“‘ranch,’’ 29 miles long by 14
miles wide, comprising 170,000 acres and having 70 miles of canals.
Here a large number of pelts of this animal are obtained every year.
The region is also famous for hunting and fishing. Water hyacinths
grow in picturesque abundance in its many ponds and bayous.

NW.

SE.
Sea Marsh Mound Marsh
ee —~ — |
(SS SS eae ee ees. ee
jae press ae See ae ed ea
(a ia AO WY AN Y)
A Sulphur MN inp wh bliin Dp K\\ WZ GE
Yi ih ioe y A Ny ZS
LM DS Wi}
aN | ANY
. '
SY =
SS | 25
SS Anhydrite —)
vy NN
> \ GZ an
NN at
, : on pe So eee MAR po eR ae OG: Ci .
. / » _ oe
% u “a = PI \ t+ \ ee
ap . + > a Salt ¢ # 4 : ee 3 ~
+ : ; +
: , + : * . si Ba +
5 ' ~ ee ‘ eerie < 5 *< ree >,

FIGURE 2.—Section across dome near Sulphur, La. After Kelly

To most persons it may be surprising to learn that our largest sup-
plies of sulphur have been found under the smooth, low prairies of
southwestern Louisiana and eastern Texas. One
Sulphur. mine that was a very large producer for many years
Fd i pr was 2% miles northwest of Sulphur and only a short
New Orleans 230 miles. distance north of the Southern Pacific tracks. The
total production here exceeded 10,000,000 tons and
had a gross value of more than $150,000,000 (Kelly). The sulphur
is now exhausted. The mineral occurred in the anhydrite cap of a
circular, flat-topped salt dome of small extent, 75 acres in all, where it
had accumulated through chemical reaction for a very long period.
The relations are shown in Figure 2.7" The sulphur was discovered in
21 The overlying material consists of | from the reduction of the calcium
about 250 feet of yellow and red clay | sulphate of the anhydrite, an
alternating with sandy clay and sand | indicated by the fact that the volume of
(Beaumont clay) and gravel (Citronelle | sulphur and limestone (calcium
formation) to the cap rock. The sul- | ate) was found to inerease in proportion
phur is thought to have been derived | to the decrease in calcium sulphate.

32 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

a 1,230-foot boring for petroleum, of which a small surface seep had
long been known, the black ooze being used by early settlers for axle
grease. The first attempts at mining were made by a French com-
pany, which planned to use a huge iron caisson shipped in sections
from France, but the enterprise failed after the expenditure of nearly a
million dollars. One of the rings of this caisson still lies on the bank
of the Calcasieu River, with a pine tree 2 feet in diameter growing
through it. After several other vain attempts to mine the sulphur,
the Frasch process ” was developed in 1903; by this process the sulphur
was melted in place by steam, pumped to the surface in liquid form,
and stored in great vats until needed. (See pl.6, 8B.) In this way the
sulphur accumulated in solid blocks 1,000 feet long, 500 feet wide, and
50 feet high, from which it was easily broken for shipment. Since
1919 the great deposits of sulphur at Gulf, New Gulf, and other places

in Texas have become the chief source of our commercial supply, with

reserves of many millions of tons.
dome has developed an oil field which in 1930 had a production of
1,351,195 barrels from 33 wells.”

There are extensive rice fields interspersed with swamps and
forests about Sulphur and in the region west, notably about Edgerly
and Vinton.

Just south of Edgerly conspicuous oil derricks mark the occurrence
of petroleum in another structural dome under the level lands of the
region. Strong surface indications of gas and oil at
this place were noted at an early time, but drilling did
: $04 not begin until 1907. The first holes were not success-
Now Orleans a8miles. ful, but after repeated attempts considerable oil was

obtained at depths of 2,300 to 3,100 feet from beds of
Pliocene age. Salt found at a depth of 4,000 feet shows that
a sae ion is present far underground. The oil is heavy (19° to
22%° Baumé) and when refined makes a fine lubricating oil (Minor).
The field reached its peak production of 1,688,862 barrels in 1915;
there has been a great decrease in recent years, the production in 1930
being only 142,380 barrels.

Recent drilling on the Sulphur -

2 This ingenious method of obtaining
~ ee, £. - EY 2 ho proveny ita

was perfected by Hermann Frasch in

deposit, which is mostly a mass of
honeycombed limestone filled with
sulphur. Into the hole three concen-
tric pipes are placed with perforations
at their ends; through the outside pipe

ted steam (300°) is supplied,
The central

superhea'
which melts the sulphur.

and somewhat longer pipe conveys hot
compressed air, which so lightens the
liquefied sulphur that it is forced to the
surface by the combined air and steam
and water pressure. The heat of the
steam and water in the outer column
and in jacketed pipes on the surface
keeps the sulphur melted while it is
conveyed to vats built up with wooden
walls to the requisite height.

% South Louisiana Oil Scouts Assoc.
Bull. 1, 1930,

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 5

A. OIL FIELD NEAR JENNINGS, LA., IN 1928

Total production more than 40,000,000 barrels from 504 wells.

B. PART OF GALVESTON, TEX.

General view from an airplane. Shows the sea wall.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 6

A. COTTON READY FOR SHIPMENT, GALVESTON, TEX.
19,000 bales.

B. BLOCK OF SULPHUR AT NEW GULF, TEX.
Ready to be broken up for shipment.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 33

About 3% miles southwest of Vinton is a typical Gulf coast salt
dome yielding petroleum, the first dome discovered with oil on its
flanks. The dome makes a low mound at the surface
Vinton. with a lake in the center and has a salt core about a
Elevation 16 feet. mile in diameter. It was looked upon as a likely
nti lation 1,989.
New Orleans 243 miles. Source of petroleum, especially as it had oil and gas
seepages on its summit, and some oil had been
obtained in shallow wells near by. Paailline began in 1901, resulting
in finding traces of oil, but it was not until 1910 that a Ini produc-
tion was developed; in the next few months more than 2,000,000
barrels of oil were produced. Production declined later, and now it
is confined to some old wells, which are pumped. The total produc-
tion to the end of 1930 was 34,317,000 barrels from an area of 150
acres, mostly from a depth of 2,200 to 2,300 feet.2* The salt lies at a
depth of 925 feet, with a 500-foot cover of “‘cap rock’’ limestone.
The deeper borings penetrate the Jackson (Eocene), with the Oligocene
pinched out by the salt on the west and southwest sides of the dome.
The oil ranges in gravity from 19° to 37° Baumé, the latter coming
from a sand at 3,385 feet. The producing sands are regarded as
Miocene and possibly Oligocene. (Thompson and Eichelberger.)
From Vinton the railroad follows the crest of a long low ridge south-
westward to Toomey, where it curves to the west to cross the Sabine
River. For nearly 200 miles this river is the boundary line between
Louisiana and Texas; it empties into Sabine Lake 8 miles below
Orange. North of the railroad crossing the river is navigated only by
small craft, but many logs are floated down it, and the water volume
is large in times of freshet. No precise survey has yet been made of
its tortuous course, most parts of which are bordered by swamps.
Much of its water is pumped for the irrigation of rice fields.
After crossing the Sabine River into Texas the railroad makes a
great curve to the south.
The State of Texas is the largest of the United States, measuring
772 miles from east to west and 723 miles from north to south. It
has an area of 265,896 square miles, or 7.2 per cent of
Texas. the United States. It is larger than France and than
the States of Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Virginia,
and all of New England combined. A diagonal across the State from
Texline to Brownsville is 1,107 miles long, and the length along the
Southern Pacific Railroad across the State is 940 miles. The Rio
Grande is its southwestern boundary for nearly 800 miles, and there
is 400 miles of shore line along the Gulf of Mexico.
The population in 1930 was 5,824,715, or nearly as much as that
of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined, an increase of about
25 per cent in 10 years. In 1836 the Anglo-American population of

% South Louisiana Oil Scouts Assoc, Bull, 1, 1930,

34 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Texas was probably less than 30,000. Ten years later it was 100,000,
with 35,000 slaves. The density of population is now 22.2 to the square
mile. The largest city is Houston, with a population of 292,352, and
the other large cities in order of size are Dallas, San Antonio, Fort
Worth, and El Paso. The population includes about 20 per cent of
persons regarded as ‘‘Mexican,”’ most of whom live in the southern
part of the State, and every season many laborers come from Mexico
to assist in harvesting cotton and other crops.

Texas has vast agricultural interests, for, according to the census
reports for 1930, nearly 75 per cent of its land area is in farms or
ranches, which, with buildings and machinery, are valued at
$3,779,593,795. Among the principal items of production in 1929
were rice, 5,158,544 bushels (from 105,616 acres); hay, 650,992 tons;
and cotton, 3,793,392 bales (500 pounds each), or 40 per cent of the
cotton produced in the United States. In 1926, a record year, the
cotton crop was 5,620,831 bales. In 1929 vegetables valued at
$14,125,151 were produced, and grains other than rice 217,000,000
bushels. The aggregate value of agricultural products in 1929 was
more than $1,000,000,000. The production of grapefruit in 1929 was
997,551 boxes, but as yet only one-third of the trees are productive.
Although most of the great ranches of former days have been sub-
divided, the number of cattle in the State in 1930 was 6,602,702 head,
and of sheep and goats, 10,163,655 head.” In 1929 the wool and mo-
hair clip was 50,302,601 pounds, valued at $16,636,096; 4,726,363
pounds of honey was produced; the fig crop was 8,425,468 pounds;
peanuts, 2,290,000 bushels; and pecans, many of them from cultivated
trees, 9,588,376 pounds. Pecan trees, some of them 3 feet in diameter,
grow wild in most parts of central and eastern Texas. According to
the Texas Almanac, Texas ranks seventh among the States in lumber
production, with a cut of 42,000,000,000 board feet in 1910-1930, not
counting poles, posts, ties, and unrecorded wood for local use.

Texas leads in sulphur production, having shipped in 1930, accord-
ing to the United States Bureau of Mines, 3,372,338 tons, valued at
$30,841,065, or between 80 and 90 per cent of the world output and
97 per cent of the output of the United States. This mineral comes
from the Gulf coast region not far west and southwest of Houston.
The petroleum output was 296,876,000 barrels in 1929 and 290,457,000
barrels in 1930, and a large amount of natural gas was utilized. Much
of the petroleum is produced in the portion of the Gulf coast region
traversed by the Southern Pacific Railroad. Extensive deposits of
lignite occur, also some bituminous coal, of which in all about 1,000,000
tons is mined annually. The cannel coal of Santo Tomas, in Webb

Many of the Boats are Angoras, | The first ones were introduced in 1849,

J p of 3 to 8 pound h, | a gift from the Sultan of Turkey.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 35

County, is, according to Ashley,?> the largest body of cannel coal
of bituminous rank in the United States. <A large percentage of
the product is used at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. Consider-
able iron ore is available, and there are many minor mineral deposits
of value. Helium from bore holes near Amarillo is an important
product, and potash exists in the northwestern part of the State.

According to the Texas Almanac, Texas is second only to New York
in the value of exported materials originating in the State, which in
1929 had a value of $657,559,600. The total exports, of which about
two-thirds were shipped from Galveston, were valued at $834,000,000.

When Texas was admitted to the Union it retained its public lands,
which, with the exception of large areas reserved for the benefit of
the State university and schools, have since been disposed of. Many
square miles were donated to aid railroad construction, and the last
3,000,000 acres in the “Panhandle” defrayed the cost of the construc-
tion of the State capitol. A large revenue has come to the State
university from the discovery and production of petroleum on the
university lands. Texas public lands were divided into areas of var-
ious sizes and shapes, some of them in units of 1 square mile, called
sections and many of them in irregular areas mostly measured in
varas.”7
With its great area and variation in elevation, Texas presents many
differences in climate, ranging from semitropical in the lowlands at
the south to temperate in the highlands at the west. The rainfall is
heaviest in the eastern part of the State, where the mean annual pre-
cipitation exceeds 50 inches. (See pl.1.) There is a gradual diminu-
tion westward along the Southern Pacific line to 30 inches near the
longitude of San Antonio, 20 inches near longitude 101°, and from
10 to 20 inches in most of the western part of the State, some por-
tions of which are decidedly arid. The rain in eastern Texas comes
largely from the Gulf of Mexico and falls most abundantly in the
winter; that in the western part falls mostly in heavy showers in
summer. Most of the country south of the latitude of San Antonio
has a mean annual temperature of 70° or more, approaching 75°
in the southern counties. In the high plains region the mean annual
temperature is in general less than 60°, and the winters, although
usually short, are decidedly cold.

The history of Texas is full of interest. It is believed that the
first white man to reach the region was Cabeza de Vaca, a member
of the expedition of Panfilo Narvéez, who sailed from Spain in 1527
to occupy a royal grant in Florida but, disappointed in its character,

*° Ashley, G. H., U. S. Geol. Survey | league of 5,000 varas is very nearly
Bull. 691, p. 251, 1919. 2% miles. A square league is called a

7 A vara is an old Spanish unit | sitio (4,428.04 acres), and 5 sitios make
Measuring 33% inches, The old | an hacienda.

36 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

set out for Mexico and in 1528 was shipwrecked on the coast some-
where between Matagorda and Galveston. The five survivors were
held captive by the Indians, but De Vaca and a negro, Estevan,
finally escaped, and after several years of wandering, probably across
south-central Texas and the Edwards Plateau, crossed the Rio
Grande into Mexico somewhere between Presidio and El Paso, and
finally reached San Miguel de Culiacan (me-gale’ day coo-leea-can’)
in 1536. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado crossed Texas in 1541 on
his expedition to Quivira, and Antonio de Espejo explored a part of
the Pecos Valley in about 1582. He was followed by Gaspar Castafio
de Sosa in 1590. The oldest settlement is Ysleta (ees-lay’ta), near
El Paso, which began as a settlement of Tiguex Indians established
there by Gov. Antonio Otermin, whom they had accompanied from
Isleta, N. Mex., whence he fled during the Pueblo uprising of 1680.
The first white settlement in the State was a short-lived French
colony set up by René Robert La Salle in 1685 near Matagorda Bay,
which he mistook for the mouth of the Mississippi. The first mis-
sions were established in 1690 and 1716-17 in eastern Texas, in the
general neighborhood of Nacogdoches, among the Tejas Indians, but
they were built of perishable materials and in time were completely
obliterated. Alonzo de Leén and Padre Damian Massanet, who
founded the missions in 1690, came from Coahuila, Mexico, into
central Texas and discovered and named the Nueces (nway’sace),
Hondo (own’do), Leon (lay-own’), Guadalupe (gwa-da-loo’ pay), and
other rivers. They brought a party of 88 soldiers and friars, 12
muleteers, 13 servants, 720 horses and mules, 82 pack loads of pro-
visions, and 3 pack loads of presents for the Indians.

San Antonio, the capital city during nearly the whole era of Spanish
and Mexican rule, was started by the Spanish Government as a presi-
dio in 1718, primarily as a bulwark against the French. The missions
near by were begun soon thereafter, some of them having been trans-
ferred from other localities. Difficulties with the Indians finally led
to the abandonment of all settlements except San Antonio, Goliad,
and Nacogdoches. In 1817 the Anglo-Americans joined the Mexican
revolutionists and with a force of only 800 men defeated the Spanish
Army of 2,500 near San Antonio, a victory which led to Mexico’s
revolt from Spain in 1821. This part of Texas became a department of
the State of Coahuila (co-a-wee’la) and Tejas (tay’has), of the
Republic of Mexico. The name Tejas was derived from a confedera-
tion of friendly Indian tribes which occupied part of the eastern
section of the State. Texas is the old Spanish spelling of Tejas, but

pronunciation has been anglicized. After Mexico won its inde-
_ pendence many colonists from the United States were admitted under
the leadership o: ‘‘empresarios,”’ of whom the most famous and most
_ successful was Stephen F. Austin. Owing largely to this fact, Texas

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES ai

desired to be separated from Coahuila and recognized as a State of the
Republic of Mexico. This was not acceded to, and instead Mexico in
1830 forbade further colonization by adjacent nations and in 1832
placed the coast region under military rule. All this caused so much
discontent that in 1832 the uprising began which led to the declaration
of independence from Mexico in 1835. An attempt at subjugation by
Mexico led to the crushing defeat of the Mexican Army under Gen.
Antonio Lépez de Santa Ana at San Jacinto, near Houston, by the
Texans under Gen. Sam Houston in 1836. From this time to 1845
Texas was an independent republic, with ministers to foreign courts
as well as to Washington. Mexico repudiated the treaties made after
the Battle of San Jacinto (ha-seen’toe) and made various raids with
transient success. The proffer of annexation to the United States
made by Texas after the Battle of San Jacinto was accepted only
after nearly 10 years, when, in December, 1845, Texas was admitted
as a slave State.

Texas as a division of Mexico did not extend beyond the Nueces
River, but the Texas Congress in December, 1836, marked the limit
as the Rio Grande. Mexico protested against this claim. After the
Mexican War brought the Territory of New Mexico into the United
States the compromise of 1850 removed from Texas the part of New
Mexico that lies east of the Rio Grande and areas now included in the
States of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming. For this and
other items relinquished Texas received a payment of $10,000,000.

The Sabine River has long been important as a boundary line, more
or less contested. In 1806, by virtue of a semiofficial treaty between
contending military authorities, it became the western boundary of
a neutral territory extending from the Rio Hondo branch of the Red
River (the present Calcasieu), and by the Florida Purchase in 1819 it
was made the boundary between the United States and the Spanish
possessions in the Southwest.

The traveler crossing Texas will be strongly impressed by the great
change in vegetation that occurs every few hundred miles. This
change is closely connected with climate, particularly the diminishing
rainfall, and the increasing elevation to the west. Eastern Texas,
with a mild, humid climate, has the Gulf flora, with longleaf pine
(Pinus palustris) ,* the cane (Arundinaria macrosperma), bald cypress
(Taxodium distichum), and many other characteristic species. About
Orange, on the Sabine River on the Coastal Plain, only a few feet
above sea level and with 50 inches of annual precipitation, there are
many swamps with cane and reeds, cypress, and tupelo; bottom-
land forests with magnolias, bays, pecans, hollies, oaks, gums, and

*8 Most of the botanic terminology | of Texas, by J. M. Coulter, Contr. U.S.
in this section is taken from the Botany | Nat. Herbarium, vol. 2, 1891-1894.

38 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

thickets of palmetto (Sabal glabra). On the slightly higher slopes are
heavy forests of longleaf and loblolly pines. At Houston, still on
the Coastal Plain, the sand ridges are higher and many of them are
forested with pine, but the western limit of this tree is soon reached.
The prairies with wet-soil grasses have rushes, sedges, and many
prairie annuals. Here the rainfall is about 45 inches. In the next
hundred miles a rolling upland 300 to 400 feet high is traversed, with
sandy ridges and rich alluvial bottoms. There is much grass land,
abundant clumps of post oaks, scattered live oaks, and many sandy-
soil species, besides several cacti of the “pricklypear” character,
called ‘‘nopal”’ by the Mexicans. The rainfall is about 35 inches a
year. About San Antonio, 316 miles west of the Sabine River, near
the inner margin of the Coastal Plain, where the elevation has
increased to 500 to 700 feet and the annual rainfall has decreased to 30
inches, the change in vegetation is very marked. Here the mesquite,
huisache, cactus, zizyphus, yucca, and acacia, with many dry-soil
grasses and annuals, are prevalent. On the Edwards Plateau, not
far northwest, there is much small timber comprising numerous
junipers, mountain live oak (encino), hackberry, shin oak, cedar elm
(Ulmus crassifolia), and a few northern and Sonoran types, notably
madrofio (Arbutus xalapensis).

Near Spofford and Del Rio the western portion of the Rio Grande
Plain is crossed. Its elevation is about 1,000 feet, and the annual
rainfall averages 20 inches. Its surface consists of wide plateaus and
low rolling ridges covered with gravel, sustaining much chaparral

east. The average height of woody growth also is much reduced.
Mesquite predominates, but there are many other plants characteris-
tic of semiarid regions. The creosote bush (Covillea tridentata) begins
and from this region into California is a prominent member of the
flora in many places. Cacti are more abundant, and the grasses are
mostly in bunches. From a point near Langtry to and beyond San-
derson plateau topography prevails, with elevations of 1,300 to 2,000
feet, and the rainfall is about 15 inches. There is great development
of sotol (Dasylirion texanum), lechuguilla (Agave lechuguilla), covillea,
yueea, the allthorn (Koeberlinia), ephedra, many cacti, maguey,
ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), and bunch grass. This region has
been called the sotol country. With gradually diminishing rainfall
in the Marathon Basin the vegetation becomes more sparse and the
cylindrical cacti appear, but in the mountains there are junipers,
_ pifions, and other trees of similar habit. In the Davis Mountains
small trees, mostly oaks, are also abundant, but in the descent to
_ Marfa and in the wide basins beyond, the sandy soil has wide-spaced
_ vegetation, the most conspicuous of which is the abundant yucca

(Yucca elata). Toward El Paso, more than 900 miles west of the

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 39

Sabine River, with an annual rainfall of less than 10 inches, the
desert conditions become still more pronounced, especially on the
mesas, bolsons, and lower mountain slopes.

Although there is a great change in the character of the soil, from
the deep moist earth of the east to the dry, open, unprotected soil of
the west, the most important reason for the desert flora is the dimin-
ished supply of moisture. The average humidity of the air decreases
from about 80 per cent in the eastern part of the State to less than
40 per cent in the far western part. There are, however, many com-
plex factors in the adjustment of plants to zones in which moisture,
sunlight, soil, and temperature are different.

On the west side of the Sabine River is the old freight division sta-
tion of Echo, about 6 miles north of Orange. Apparently this some-

what inconvenient location was necessary to obtain
Echo. suitable conditions for a railroad bridge across the
Elevation 16 -Sae8. river. Along the east side of the river is a wide strip
Population 30.*
New Orleans 252 miles. Of marsh and on the west side pine-covered plains
rom 15 to 20 feet above sea level. -

The wide area extending west from the Sabine River to San Antonio
was for a long time a ‘no man’s land,” claimed in an indifferent
fashion by both the French in Louisiana and the Spanish and Mexi-
can authorities in the west. There was no legalized trade in this
area, although the people of Louisiana trafficked with the Indian
tribes. Outlaws and cattle and slave smugglers roamed at will, and
lawless conditions prevailed even after the settlement of the boundary
in 1819, just before the Mexicans revolted from Spain. This region
was a complete wilderness in 1820 and 1821 when it was crossed
with immense hardship by Moses Austin and later by his son Stephen
F. Austin ® when arranging to establish his colony of 300 families at
San Felipe de Austin on the lower Brazos River.

e is on a wide plain on the west bank of the Sabine River.

_ Until recently it had a lucrative lumber industry, with several saw-
mills cutting logs brought from the great long leaf

Orange. pine region to the north.° Much of the product
preter nanny found a water outlet by way of the ship canal, 26
New Orleans 258 miles. feet deep, which has been excavated down the Sabine
River and Sabine Lake through Sabine Pass to the

Gulf of Mexico. The projected Intracoastal Witerway will reach the
Sabine River just below Orange and accommodate small vessels,

* The first notable map of Texas was *° There is also a large amount of
prepared by Stephen F. Austin in 1829 | other timber in the forests of south-
and published in Philadelphia the fol- | western Louisiana and southeastern _
lowing year. Reproductions of this | Texas, including gums and oaks and
map and an earlier one by Austin and | some cypress. Much so-called mahog-—
wee of a map of Mexican origin dated | any is made from gum lumber.

Austin

40 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

which will carry freight east and west. At Orange is a paper mill
using the sulphite process with yellow pine. In the region about
Orange artesian water is obtained from sands in the Coastal Plain
succession, and a well at the dock flows 200 gallons a minute. (Turn
to sheet 5.)

In the lowlands west of Orange the southern margin of the ereat
pine belt of southern Texas is crossed, and though there are many
small farms of various crops, not much land is under cultivation.
Cow Bayou, a tributary of the Sabine River, is crossed about 8 miles
west of Orange.

Small mounds are noticeable here and there west of Orange, most
of them from 3 to 5 feet high and a few yards in diameter. They are
“pimple mounds,” similar to those mentioned on page 29. Six miles
southwest of Orange is a group of derricks of the Orange oil field.
This field, discovered in 1913, has had 416 borings, but at the end of
1930 only 86 wells were in operation, with a total yearly production
of 790,000 barrels. The total production of the field to the end of
1930 was 27,716,594 barrels.** Some of the borings are 6,000 feet
deep. No salt has been encountered. Another small field at Bessie
Heights, some distance farther southwest, has a few deep wells and
so far only a moderate supply of oil.

This is a region of wide level prairies with scattered clumps of pines
and a few swamp areas of small extent. Just before reaching Beau-
mont the railroad crosses the Neches River (nay’chase), one of the
moderately large streams of eastern Texas. Near Beaumont a swamp
extends along its east side. In 1834 fair-sized steamboats were navi-
gating the Neches, Trinity, and Brazos Rivers, with smaller boats
using the lesser streams.

Beaumont is an important commercial center for eastern Texas,
and its prosperity is indicated by the fact that its population increased

40 per cent in the decade from 1920 to 1930. From
Beaumont. Beaumont to its mouth the Neches River has been
eer ea, dredged out as a ship canal (opened in 1917), 26 feet
New Orleans 279 miles. deep and 150 feet wide, capable of carrying vessels of

as much as 15,000 tons dead weight, and it serves as
an avenue for commerce, which in 1930 aggregated nearly 12,000,000
tons. The canal reaches Sabine Lake, 17 miles southeast of Beau-
mont, and, passing along the east shore of that water body, finds
outlet through Sabine Pass into the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of
about 35 miles. Sabine Lake and Sabine Pass are the drowned valleys
of the Neches and Sabine Rivers, a condition doubtless resulting from
subsidence in Recent geologic time. A large basin excavated at the

*! These figures and some other totals | Assoc. Bull. 1, 1930. The yearly figures
for the other oil fields in Texas are are those published by the U. S. Bureau
taken from Texas Gulf Coast Oil Scouts | of Mines.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 4

Bae &,
Gratis Echo af

~ oupique

eo '
Hackberry

oo os oo 9s Louisiana-Texas
} It
30, G | yr on “ee © jae 6 Pe er
30 g - : g
& & oo | ] 2: | ce or. Qi iA
0°)
AK Q % fa c 4 }
oe of
eS Sere peter ce
: :
ks Pe = ou
Lunita ei
Pa
Starks Hokston iz
c '
: Edégerly . Sufphur° Ve ae £L/8 lowa
Lemonvill no glne na GY Chics wo ae
emonville ,
Y Vinton yf" Se
EL/6

Sheet 3

\
Scale 500,000
linch=8 miles (approximately)
5 lo 15

20 MILES

s ire) 15 20 KILOMETERS
The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every
10 miles, and the practi are pacdieg 17 mile apart

WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO. WASH Dc

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 41

head of the ship canal serves as harbor and turning basin. Accord-
ing to the chamber of commerce at Beaumont, the value of exports
from Beaumont through the canal was $75,000,000 in 1929, and more
than 600 ocean-going ships, about half of them oil tankers, call annu-
ally. It is expected that the Intracoastal Waterway will soon be
completed to connect with the ship canal at Port Arthur (population
50,902), 20 miles southeast of Beaumont. At Port Arthur is one of
the largest oil refineries in the world, covering 4,100 acres, with several
smaller ones and a large asphalt factory.

Originally Beaumont was developed by its large lumber industry,
and even before oil was discovered near by it had a population in
excess of 9,000. Its sawmills utilized the yellow pine from the forests
to the north; these have been largely cut off, but will in time be in
part reforested. At present there is a lull in the lumber business in
this region, but there remain in the adjoining districts of western
Louisiana and southeastern Texas large amounts of hardwood timber,
comprising red and black gum, tupelo, and oaks of various kinds, that
will eventually be utilized. Hardwoods are also imported cheaply
from the Tropics. Many manufacturing plants have been established
at Beaumont, notably the Magnolia Petroleum Co.’s plant and the
Petroleum Iron Works. There are four rice mills and a large package
rice plant, for Beaumont handles much of the rice of the adjoining
country, which produces 2,000,000 bushels annually. Much cotton
is exported, and sulphuric acid and paint are produced. Many rail-
roads converge at Beaumont.

The great assemblage of oil tanks about Beaumont indicates that
its principal interest at present is petroleum. It is stated that these
tanks have a capacity of 70,000,000 barrels. There are in this vicinity |
20 pipe lines bringing oil to great refineries that produce about 10
per cent of the oil products distilled in the United States. Their
capacity is 266,000 barrels a day.

The famous Spindletop oil field is at Guffey station, 4 miles south-
east of Beaumont, and the derricks are visible from the train. This
field is a monument to the vision and persistence of F. A. Lucas, who
discovered it and led the way to the discovery of many more fields of
somewhat similar salt-dome structure, several of which have been
described on previous pages. Gas and other indications of oil had
been noted at Spindletop for a long time, and a small supply of gas
was found in a well drilled in 1893. Early in 1901 Mr. Lucas “brought
in” the gusher at a depth of 1,139 feet, of which the flow was 75,000
barrels or more a day, throwing a 6-inch stream of oil 200 feet in the
air. In 1902 there were 1,200 wells with a production of 17,420,429
barrels. The yield declined to about 500,000 barrels in 1925; then, —

152109°—33——4

42 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

with the discovery of deeper sand, rose to nearly 21,000,000 barrels in
1927. The yield in 1930 was somewhat more than 6,000,000 bar-
rels. The total production from 1901 to 1930 has been estimated at
115,163,000 barrels from an area of 265 acres. Some of the wells
yielding the later production from the deeper sand are as much as
5,800 feet deep. The Spindletop mound is underlain by a salt core a
mile in diameter with an anhydrite-gypsum cap, and the older sedi-
mentary beds dip away steeply on all sides. The depth to the salt
is 1,200 to 1,600 feet in greater part. (Fenneman; Barton and Pax-
ton.) The relations are shown in Figure 3. The name is derived
from a clump of timber near by which resembled an inverted spindle
top.

West of Beaumont the railroad passes over a smooth plain which
has a nearly regular rise from an elevation of 29 feet at Amelia siding
to 77 feet on the east rim of the Trinity Valley west of Ames siding.

———

_—oo

‘pee nas ee ee Bh ai
EE Se d
6 0 06M Bikes ee Ss
EE "Paste,
PORK SOR RQOK XXX xXx

Salt core

\
Fictre 3.—Section through Spindletop salt dome, Texas, Partly after
Fenneman

The geologic formation is clay and sandy clay (Beaumont), which is
exposed at intervals in shallow road cuts and stream trenches. There
are many wide prairies, with scattered woodlands, mostly of yellow
pine and oak, and numerous plantations, some of them about Amelia
devoted to fig raising. Rice fields occupy large areas, and ditches for
water for their irrigation are crossed by the railroad at intervals.
From China to Nome the configuration of the alluvial deposits
: marks a wide old stream bed believed to have been
_ Nome. the channel of the Trinity River in Pleistocene time.
nner (Barton.) From Nome to Raywood, a distance of
New Orleans 299 miles. 22 miles, there are many ridges composed of sand
deposited by streams which formerly crossed the

n.

Seven miles south of Devers is the Hankamer oil field in a dome
Sania: discovered in 1929 by torsion-balance exploration. It
Elevation oo fect, Yielded 546,000 barrels in 1930 from 13 wells. At
ag eo Devers the railroad crosses the pipe line of the Pure
‘Oil Co., one of the many pipe lines which con-
vey petroleum from tbe oil fields to the refineries at Port Arthur.

U. 8. GEOLOGICAL

SURVEY

| @ Salt domes

____ Scale 500000
ee miles has lac oo eee
I KILOMETERS
New Orleans, La., are shown every

The distances from
10 miles, and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart

Renna.

gieniu

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 5
94 30’ 94° Texas
Kountze Silsbe ¥&
1
2
Nona 1
od A R Dio 1 N - ;
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s CERN bee eo sperm
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: EAUMONT nerdy, Terry
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WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO, WASH, OC

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 43

Liberty, founded in 1831, is in the wide valley of the Trinity River,
one of the great rivers of Texas, which rises west of
Liberty. Fort Worth and flows into Galveston Bay 20 miles
epee fo below Liberty. This valley extends nearly to Dayton,
opnilation 2,187. J ; Pe ah

New Orleans 321 miles. Where there is a steep rise to the ordinary prairie
level. The swamp occupying part of the valley shows

some cypress and gum trees with Spanish moss.

Three miles below Liberty on the Trinity River is the South Liberty
salt dome and oil field. The salt here comes within 500 feet of the
surface and has a thick capping of gypsum and anhydrite, topped by
a thin body of limestone. Its area is more than 2 square miles, and
the volume of salt is very great, for it has been penetrated 2,100 feet.
The field, discovered in 1905, was not productive at first, but several
holes finally obtained satisfactory supplies of oil. The production
in 1930 was 1,503,000 barrels, and the total yield is estimated at
12,651,800 barrels. Some of the deeper wells penetrated to the Oligo-
cene(?) beds, which are believed to underlie the Coastal Plain at a
depth of about 2,900 feet.

Near Liberty was the ‘Champ d’Asile,”’ where 120 French colo-
nists who had moved from an unsatisfactory settlement in Alabama
established themselves on Spanish soil in 1818, They were soon
ousted by the authorities anu retired to Galveston. (Turn to sheet 6.)

From Dayton the railroad goes nearly due southwest to Houston.
That the Coastal Plain is gradually rising in elevation is shown by the

increasing depth of the trenches cut by rivers and
Dayton. creeks. On the broad prairie uplands considerable
perder oni dagaets pine timber remains, and there are numerous farms,
~ eae mostly of small size. About 7 miles northwest of

Dayton is the small North Dayton oil field, discovered
in 1905 and yielding 406,000 barrels of petroleum in 1930 and 1,605,100
barrels in all. The field occupies an area of about 300 acres and has
salt at depths below 300 feet. The derricks of this field are visible
north of Stilson siding.

About 6 miles southwest of Dayton is the Esperton (or Sheeks)
dome, discovered by a torsion-balance survey made late in 1928. This
dome lies deep under the sands and clays of the Coastal Plain, and the
oil was found at a depth of about 3,300 feet. Wells nearly 6,000 feet
deep penetrated the Jackson (Eocene) beds. (Bowman.) test
hole 7,836 feet deep did not reach salt. According to the Texas Gulf
Oil Scouts Association, the production in 1930 was 846,486 barrels

from 27 wells.

44 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

About 2 miles west of Crosby the San Jacinto River is crossed,
flowing in a wide, deep trench in the smooth Coastal Plain. About
10 miles below this crossing the river is joined by
Crosby. Buffalo Bayou, which has been deepened into the
Elevation 49 feet. Houston Ship Canal. It was on a rounded ridge just
Population 417. Ps Z
New Orleans 341 miles, SoOUth of the junction of these two streams that the
Battle of San Jacinto, which gave Texas her inde-
pendence from Mexico, was fought April 21, 1836. This battlefield
has been laid out as a handsome park reached by a highway from
Houston, 20 miles west. In this battle the Texas army of 783 men
under Gen. Sam Houston routed the Mexican army of about 1,550
men under Gen. Antonio de Santa Ana six weeks after the fall of the
Alamo (ah’la-mo) in San Antonio. Houston’s men were inspired by
the battle cry, “Remember the Alamo.” There was one swift charge
of 15 minutes in which the stampeding Mexicans lost 630 killed, 208
wounded, and 522 prisoners, while the Texans, raw farmers with poor
equipment and only 50 horses, lost only 6 killed and 23 wounded.
Santa Ana was captured the next day, and after an imprisonment of
eight months was sent back to Mexico, where, from 1832 to his death
in 1876, he continued to be alternately revolutionist, President of
Mexico, and exile.

From the west bank of the San Jacinto River near Sheldon siding
the railroad follows a straight course southwestward over the level
plain of Beaumont clay to Houston. In the interval there are several
bayous or creeks which cut steep-sided trenches; pine woods are on all
sides, and in places a few palmettos are growing. South of the
railroad near Houston is a large creosoting plant for the treatment of
ties and other timber for railroad use.

Houston, the largest city in Texas, is built on the wide, level plains
adjoining Buffalo Bayou. Its population increased slightly more than

111 per cent from 1920 to 1930. It is named for Sam

Houston. Houston, renowned soldier, governor, and Member of
aon Congress, who was elected the first constitutional
New Orleans 63 miles. President of Texas after it achieved independence
through his victory over the Mexicans a San Jacinto.

_ Once the capital of the Republic, long an important railroad center,
Houston has added greatly to its commerce by a ship channel opened
in 1920 from Galveston Bay to a great basin excavated on the eastern
edge of the city, which has berths for 50 ocean liners. This waterway
cost $20,000,000. According to the Houston Chamber of Commerce,
nearly 15,000,000 tons of freight was handled on this waterway in
1930, including nearly 2,000,000 bales of cotton and a large amount of
rice and lumber. It is visited by vessels from all parts of the world.
Houston claims to be the greatest spot-cotton market in the world and
to rank second in cotton export, It exports grain from Iowa, Kansas,

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 45

and Nebraska and receives oil by pipe lines from all parts of the south-
central United States.

The city has many fine avenues, handsome residences, large modern
office buildings, and numerous shade trees, parks, and gardens. Rice
Institute, with an endowment of $10,000,000 and assets of $14,000,000,
is a great educational establishment. Railroad lines connect Houston
with the city and port of Galveston (population 52,938), on the Gulf
of Mexico, 50 miles to the southeast. (See pls. 5, B, and 6, A.)
Houston experienced its first railroad activity as early as 1853 and
was connected with neighboring towns long before 1881, when the
first train arrived from New Orleans.

The first settlement at Houston was made early in 1836, when it
was the head of navigation for small boats on Buffalo Bayou. It was
the capital of the Republic until 1840, when a new capital was
ordered established at Austin.

On the southern outskirts of Houston, at Pierce Junction, there is a
salt dome that produces a large amount of petroleum. Originally the
place was marked by a slight mound on which gas was found in shal-
low borings. Considerable drilling was required to develop the field,
the first 54 holes being unsuccessful. From 1901 to 1930 a total of
19,637,240 barrels was produced from 86 wells, and the production in
1930, at about 10,000 barrels a day, amounted to 3,847,000 barrels.
The oil comes in greater part from depths of 3,500 to 4,600 feet, from
strata of lower Miocene, Oligocene(?), and Eocene age on the flanks of
the uplift, where the beds are tilted up against the salt core. The top
of the salt here is about 630 feet below the surface. One later hole
5,260 feet deep is a producer. From 1,300 feet to about 4,000 feet are
pink and other colored clays interbedded with sand and gravel.
Gray and blue clays below 4,000 feet are regarded as probably Oligo-
cene. The basal Miocene appears to lie 3,500 to 3,600 feet below the
surface near the dome and 3,800 to 3,900 feet below farther away from
the uplift. (Bowman.)

From the Sabine River westward nearly to Columbus, eastern Texas
presents a plain with wide areas of level lands and low terraces
trenched slightly by valleys of the larger drainageways. The eleva-
tion of this plain, which is near 15 feet at the east, rises to 50 feet near
Houston, to 100 feet beyond Richmond, and to 225 feet on the divide
between the San Bernard and Colorado Rivers. To the north it
extends to the Hockley scarp, at which there is a distinct rise. The
lower part of the plain is mantled by a deposit of clay and silt known as
the Beaumont clay, and the upper terraces to the north and west are
covered by a sheet of sand and gravel known as the Lissie formation,
both regarded as of Pleistocene age. The boundary between these
two formations has not been mapped exactly, and only the general
outline of their history is known. Underneath is the eastward-

46 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

dipping succession of Coastal Plain formations, including a great
thickness of strata of Tertiary age which have been penetrated by
many deep borings. They are listed on page 50. Some of them
yield artesian waters which supply flowing wells. The Lissie sand
contains bones of animals of Pleistocene age, including the mastodon
and mammoth, which have been found in gravel pits near Columbus.

It is interesting to picture the assemblage of animals which ranged
over this country a short time ago, in a geologic sense, and which are
now entirely extinct. Many of them were very different from the
animals of to-day, but were similar to animals found on other conti-
nents. Notable among these were the large elephantlike mastodons
and mammoths. The former (Mammut americanus), which was
covered with long, coarse hair, ranged over a wide area, especially in
the forested tracts. There were also mammoths of several species,
notably Elephas columbi, which attained an average height of about
11 feet, and Elephas imperator, which was considerably larger. They
had huge curved tusks and teeth like those of modern elephants, with
large grinding surfaces; apparently they lived on the open plains.
Horses of several kinds and sizes were abundant, apparently ranging in
immense herds over the wide interior plains, but after having persisted
from a very remote period geologically they became entirely extinct
here long before the coming of the Europeans with the modern horse.
Tapirs were abundant in the south-central areas, and camels, wild
hogs, and llamas were widely distributed. Deer and bison (buffalo)
were plentiful, and some species of these have continued into the
present era. The carnivores were varied and numerous, including the
saber-toothed tiger, and some of these may have been contempora-
neous with primitive man. Among the more curious-looking animals
were the ground sloths, large unwieldy creatures covered with long
hair and moving slowly, walking on the outer edge of their feet.
Their enormous claws may have served for defense, but were very
useful in dragging down branches of trees and digging roots and tubers.
The Megalonyx, one variety of the sloth, was discovered and named
by Thomas Jefferson, who was greatly interested in natural history.
Another genus was Megatherium, which had a body as large as that of
an elephant and much shorter legs. The genus Mylodon, smaller and
lighter than the other genera, was common in part of the plains region.
Giant armadillos existed in some parts of the region, and there was a
great variety of rodents, reptiles, birds, and other animals, which have
_ been replaced in large part by different genera and species. The
modern armadillo, which abounds in part of central Texas, is shown in
Plate 9, A.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 47

Three miles south of Missouri City is the Blue Ridge salt dome and
oil field, with numerous derricks on and near two hills that rise a few
i rie feet above the general plain. There is also a shaft
Missouri City. nk for the salt:that constitutes the core of the
Hee eiee e ee ies, Uplift below a depth of 450 feet and is at least 850
feet thick. It is estimated that 250,000,000 tons of

salt is available. Development of the petroleum began in 1903, but
there was little production prior to 1919, when several good strikes
were made that gave a production of 326,000 barrels in 1921 and a
peak production of 2,205,000 barrels in 1928. In 1930 the produc-
tion was 644,000 barrels. In structure this mound is very similar to
the one at Pierce Junction and other places—a stocklike core of salt
with anhydrite cap, with the older strata considerably uplifted on its
flanks. The dips on the east side are reported as 35° to 45°, and those
on the west side seem to be greater. An oil sand at 3,900 feet is prob-
ably in the top of the Oligocene, and this apparently is the source of
the oil in most of the successful wells. In one well the base of this
division is placed at 3,410 feet, and a sample at 3,662 feet yielded
fossils classed as “low in the Jackson” (upper Eocene). (Hager and

The smooth plain of the Houston region extends widely with its
thick cover of clay and loam. Much land is under cultivation with
ek fields of cotton and other crops. Many figs are
Stafford. ised, an industry which is growing rapidly. A few
Faced ig sed oaks are noticeable, and Spanish moss is
New Orleans 383 miles. present on trees in some of the ill-drained areas. A
short distance west of Stafford, north of the tracks,
is the radio broadcasting station KPRC.

Sugar Land lies in the bottom lands of the Brazos River in the midst
of a 17,500-acre plantation on which large amounts of cotton and
. garden truck are raised. Here the dark soil of the
Sugar Land. Lake Charles type gives place to chocolate-brown
ee soils deposited by the overflow of the Brazos River.
Now Simian ak Sugar Land is a center of various industries. Its
most conspicuous feature is a refinery which handles
raw sugar imported through Galveston and has a capacity of 1,500,000
pounds a day. In this section artesian wells afford oxcelléat water

from the deposits that underlie the Coastal Plain.
Four miles southwest of Sugar Land is the De Walt oil field, in a
salt dome of small extent discovered by geophysical methods and

48 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

proving to be rich and productive. It is controlled by one oil com-
pany and had a production of 4,274,000 barrels in 1930. The derricks
are plainly visible from the train. The oil comes from sands overlying
the salt, which is at a depth of about 4,300 feet.

West of Sugar Land are the extensive cotton and corn fields of
the State farm “‘Sartartia,’”’ and half a mile to the north is a canning
factory in which the State preserves vegetables of many kinds for use
in State institutions.

On approaching Richmond the railroad crosses the Brazos River,
one of the largest streams in eastern Texas. It is more than 900 miles

long and drains a wide area in the central part of the
Richmond. State. Its headwaters are the Salt and Double
reales roam Ray Mountain Forks, which rise in the Llano Estacado.
New Orleans 387 miles. Its deposits are of pronounced reddish tint, owing to

material derived from red beds far to the northwest,
a feature which causes the marked change of soil that is observed just
east of Sugar Land. The banks of this river are from 20 to 30 feet
high at Richmond, revealing the sand and clay that underlie the
adjoining plains. West of Richmond the river water is pumped to
the top of the bank into a canal to supply water for irrigating rice
fields lying to the southeast. In Richmond, where he died in 1837, is
a statue erected by the State to the memory of Erastus (Deaf) Smith,
one of the patriots active in the campaign that culminated in the
Battle of San Jacinto.

From this place a railroad to Corpus Christi passes through Goliad,
about 120 miles to the southwest, near which is the ancient presidio
of La Bahia (bah-ce’ah), located here in 1749. At Goliad on March
27, 1836, three weeks after the fall of the Alamo, the entire garrison
of 400, mainly Anglo-American volunteers, were slaughtered by order
of the Mexican General Santa Ana.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 6

95 30°

Texas

b- SN \ \
Le / ry / \

\. co i Noi ny Ss Ny
/ ‘ @ —T\
D On ea K A * 0 ‘ wins
oll ii.

i
Scale 506,000
linch-8 miles (approximately)
5 1O 15

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every
10 miles, and the ti drawn 1 mile apart

ig /
4 a
Pierde 0
ad . B
— 50
~ Sugar |
$ Land, oe zre*MissQuri
& i oe Pg Almeda
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FZ eWa
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: ne \ /
ser . ey Se Vm Duke Arcola =
Big Creek Thompsons a E
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% 20 MILES
TTT |
nate —— reel __20 KILOMETERS
Contour interval 25 feet
t. he f

® Salt dome

95 30

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Pasadena
rk Place Strang
outh H ton
<8 Porte
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AS
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aa

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ue

95

S\Goose Creek

oN ic réa A, Poins

GALVESTON

ee sensed i
eee

WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO. WASH. D.C.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 49

Rosenberg is a commercial center for a large farming and dairy
district and the junction of several branch railroads. Twenty miles
south-southwest of Rosenberg is the Boling salt dome,
Rosenberg. a large uplift which has yielded some oil and contains
Mesa tt an enormous body of sulphur.*? The town of New
New Orleans 400 miles. Gulf (population 1,700*) has been established here,
and the sulphur is bap melted by steam and pinniped
up to the surface by the Frasch process. (See p. 32.) The deposit
lies at depths of 450 to 1,200 feet and is believed to contain from
50,000,000 to 60,000,000 tons of sulphur. Two huge sulphur blocks
have been made, each 600 feet long, 200 feet wide, and 40 feet high,
as shown in Plate 6, B, and a still larger one is in progress. The
material is about 99 per cent pure. The investment at this place is
said to be $14,000,000. The production in 1930, according to the
United States Bureau of Mines, was about 750,000 long tons, shipped
largely to Galveston for water transportation.

Damon Mound, 20 miles south of Rosenberg, is a prominent
feature in the flat lowlands, above which it rises 83 feet to an eleva-
tion of 140 feet. It is due to a typical salt dome in which a steep-
sided plug of almost pure rock salt is capped by gypsum, anhydrite,
and limestone. The salt mass penetrates and uplifts Tertiary for-
mations, which dip away on all sides at steep angles. As in many
other salt domes, the uplifted strata contained petroleum, most of it
here being in sandstone and limestone of Oligocene(?) age. Up to
1924 the production was more than 5,000,000 barrels from 85 wells,
and in 1930 the yield was 224,000 Lienoks About the mound and
penetrated by shallow wells are red, blue, brown, and yellow clays of
the Beaumont formation, apparently deposited around the uplift.
The salt core, which is of great but unknown thickness, comes within
about 500 feet of the surface under the heavy cap rock, which is
present in all domes. It is estimated to contain more than
1,000,000,000 tons of salt (Bevier). Damon Mound was an impor-
tant headquarters for the Karankawan Indians, as shown by the
presence of many fragments of pottery, burial aber stone imple-
ments, and arrowheads. The Indians regarded the “sour earth” of
the mound as good medicine, and it had a favorable reputation over
a wide area. This sour earth is due to the seepage of mineral solu-
tions, which are usually present about a salt mound.

® About 58 miles to the south there | the amount having been gradu
is another large sulphur mine at Big | diminishing since 1926. The first pes
ill (Gulf), which has been producing | phur mined in Texas was obtained at
since 1919, and other deposits occur at | Bryan Mound in 1913; now Texas
Hoskin Mound, Bryan Heights, and | produces 97 per cent of the output of
Longpoint. The Boling oil field pro- | the United States and 85 per cent or
duced 378,000 barrels a day in 1930, | more of the world’s output.

50 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

The geology of eastern Texas is not very impressive to the observer
traveling by train until the Colorado River is crossed and the regular
succession of Tertiary and Cretaceous strata comes to the surface.

oemer, the pioneer geologist of Texas, writing in 1846, when San

ntonio was the frontier, said, ‘‘It is only where civilization ceases
and the wilderness commences that the ooknd relations of the
country begin to be interesting.’’ Of the region around Columbus,
Gonzales and Seguin, he remarked, ‘‘ You see no solid rock in place
excepting irregular layers of a coarse calcareous ence: .
on the steep banks of some of the river; * * the sur-
face is covered with loose materials.”’ Hage, a studies have
brought to light in this region the following very interesting succession :
Formations of east-central Tevas BRI near the Southern Pacific lines

fikret af th rg ree S 7
PP ¥ duilea Craraner)

Age Group Formation Principal materials
Quaternary. Alluvium and terrace deposits. | Gravel, sand, and loam. Nonmarine.
she paisa a Lissie and Reynosa formations. | Gravel, sand, and clay. Nonmarine.

sagem ant tain gray, and dg clays
stained purple and red toward the to
Pliocene. Lagarto clay. with abundant calcareous nodules and
a few thin sandstones. Nonmarine.

Massive, in part cross-bedded yellowish
Oakville sandstone. or coavih indurated sandstones and
brown calcareous clays. Nonmarine.

Light-colored sands and loosely indurated
Catahoula sandstone. sandstones and clays, many of them
ashy. Mostly nonmarine.

[eneiniagn . wil Weemaeestibed | deol

ne wit Tai -

Juin: | Payette selene. bearing clays and thin beds of
olecanic ash. Mostly nonmarine.

Miocene.

Dark-brownish, gray, and greenish-
Yegua (“‘Cockfield”) formation.| clays and clayey sands, many of the
carbonaceous. Mostly nonmarine.

———— ee te sands es

Fs clays. The

Cook Mountain formation. basal member (Sparta sand) a loose
or loosely indurated nonmarine sand.

_ | Glauconitie and oolitie sandstones in-

shown atta = — an iron cutneint; glau-
conitic clays; marine and sparse!

Claiborne. ber. fossiliferous. eons

a Mount Selman . Rather fine light-gray or iron-stained
Eocene. formation. — City | "sands w Riry thin interst interstratified light-
‘ gray ©.

clays, in Sooo ap sew ne and in-

Reklaw mem- Glauconiti ic sands and
ber. durated with iron oxide.

Very coarse and pure quartz sand, loose
Carrizo sand. or oe with little or no cementing
: terial. Nonmarine,

Bedded yellowish-brown and red sands
dstones
ane eobvatog a few marine fossils.

Midway formation. a rarely a thin festierous
sandstone near the top.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 51

The formations below the Lissie occur in widely extended sheets
which dip at a low angle to the southeast. As the rate of dip is greater
than the rise of the land, their outcropping edges come to the surface
in regular succession to the west. This relation is shown in the cross
section on sheet 8. They are conformable in attitude, but some of
them are separated by unconformities.

Near Tavener a group of derricks off to the north marks the Orchard
oil field, which has had a small production from a salt dome that was
discovered by geophysical tests on the surface.

Just east of East Bernard the San Bernard River * is crossed in a
valley about 30 feet deep, containing cypress, oak, and other trees of
the lowland flora. Not far beyond the bridge the
railroad deflects to the northwest across a broad
plain that extends beyond Eagle Lake and is in large
part occupied by rice fields.

Eagle Lake is a shallow body of water lying in a depression due to
an old bend of the former course of the Colorado River. It contains

considerable water, especially after rains, and is used

East Bernard.

Elevation 125 fee
New Orleans 416 ta

Eagle Lake. as a reservoir for water pumped from the river and
rat he oe then into a canal for irrigating rice fields to the east.
New Orleans 432 miles, On the east slope of the depression, a mile or more

south of Eagle Lake town, are banks 10 to 20 feet
high showing gravelly cross-bedded compact sand, regarded as Lissie.
There are also cuts in this material near the railroad just west of
the town.

At Eagle Lake the railroad deflects to a course nearly northwest
and, passing over a low ridge at Ramsey siding (elevation 222 feet),
descends into the broad terraced valley of the Colorado River. The
formation covering this region in a widespread mantle is the Lissie
gravel; distinctive outcrops are rare, and few are visible from the
train. Three miles southwest of Eagle Lake is an artesian well 1,506
feet deep, which has an excellent flow of tepid sulphur water. Four
miles northwest of Eagle Lake the Lissie gravel is exposed lying on
clay and sand with gravel (mostly chert) which may represent a
separate formation. In the banks of the Colorado River 5 miles
southwest of Ramsey siding and again on the slope 4 miles northwest
of that place the formation known as the Lagarto clay is revealed.
It consists of sandstone, in part conglomeratic, with interbedded clay,
and is part of the great eastward-dipping succession of formations of
Tertiary and Cretaceous age which come to the surface in 1¢egular
order as given in the table on page 50 and as shown in section on
sheet 8.

33 The banks on the east side of this | underlain by Lissie sand and gravel
valley expose gray sandy clays, re- | (not exposed here). At the top is red-
garded (by Deussen) as the basal mem- | dish sandy clay, probably alluvium.
ber of the Beaumont clay, which are i

52 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

In the region west of Eagle Lake much of the land is prairie with
scattered clumps of timber, especially along the streams. Post oaks
(Quercus stellata) are the most abundant trees and some of them reach
a diameter of 2 feet and a height of 30 feet. Small hickories and live
oaks (Quercus virginiana) are fairly common, and the yaupon or
scrubby southern holly (lex vomitoria), hawthorn, buckthorn, and other
small trees are widespread. Spanish moss festoons many of the trees
in the lower lands, where also there are afew palmettos. Large ‘‘syca-
mores,” or buttonwoods (Platanus occidentalis), live oaks, white oaks,
pecans, black walnuts, cedars, and soapberry trees are widely scat-
tered. A few shortleaf pines occur, notably in a small clump 3%
miles north of Alleyton. In the vicinity of Alleyton and Columbus
cottonwood trees (Populus Meee appest along the larger water-

courses, a feature which is characteristic in central and western
Texas. There are also many ilies in the lowlands, but cypress
disappears. Yuccas begin, but they are not abundant.

Near Alleyton there are deep gravel pits from which a large amount
of material has been excavated for railroad ballast and road metal

rom an alluvial deposit of a terrace built by the Colo-
Alleyton. rado River at a time geologically not very remote.
— feet. The gravel pits are marked by great mounds of
New Orleans 445 miles. refuse stripping.

About 3 miles west of Alleyton the Colorado River
is crossed; Columbus lies on its west bank. Nearby at Beason’s ford
the Texans under General Houston camped for a while prior to their
victorious battle at San Jacinto. The Colorado River rises in the
central part of the State and empties into Matagorda Bay with a
total length of about 715 miles: The name Colorado (Spanish, red) is
appropriate, for when the river is in freshet the red beds which are
traversed by its upper waters give it a large amount of red mud.
About 75 miles above Columbus on this stream is Austin, the capital
of Texas, founded in 1839 on 7,735 acres of land bought for this
purpose by the Republic at a cost of $21,000.

Columbus is a local business center for diversified farming interests,
rice here giving place to a variety of crops and more extensive cattle

igs raising and dairying. On the edge of the town is a
Columbus. flowing well of excellent water in small volume said
onset aaeep a feet. to come from a depth of 1,400 feet. In the west bank
New eae, miles. Of the river half a mile below the railroad bridge are

conspicuous ledges of moderately compact gray sand-
stone overlain by softer gray sandstone, all of the Lagarto formation,

* The Lagarto formation is largely | fied, plastic, and usually jointed, and
@ calcareous clay with a few soft, thin, | their cleav vage with
irregularly bedded light-colored sand- | They are common-
stones loosely held together by a ealea- -ly mottled in pastel tints of green, gray,
cc. Teous cement. The clays are unstrati- | and brown and near the top, where

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 53

capped by a sheet of alluvium which constitutes the terrace on which
Columbus is built. This terrace extends west a short distance and
abuts against or gives place to an upland of eastward-dipping reddish
beds that contain much gravel and are regarded as the Lissie forma-
tion. These beds are well exposed in the railroad cut through the
divide 2 miles west of Glidden. The Lagarto-Lissie contact makes
a strong reentrant down the Colorado River Valley, and the railroad
skirts this contact to a point about 4 miles west of Glidden before
finally entering the Lagarto, which it crosses at an angle of about 120°

to the strike. (See fig. 4.) From Glidden a branch railroad extends
to Lagrange, on the Colorado River.
WwW 5 ¢ Ee.
2 = 2
- Sa % q S
°: ik ere and een oS 3 - t
“2.0% Terrace St Ri
ous sandstone (Lagarto) sesncn ae >" {deposits

Horizontal scale i
° ' 2 Miles
t :

i i 1
Vertical scale
300 600 Feet
a ok

Freure 4.—Section along the Southern Pacific Railroad through Columbus and Glidden, Tex.

The clays and soft sandstone of the Lagarto formation extend west
to and beyond Schulenburg. The outcrop zone of the Lagarto strata
is mostly a rolling, treeless prairie of black calcareous clay, very heavy
when wet, or, in the area of outcrop of the less argillaceous beds, a
sandy loamy soil. Near the eastern contact post oaks and live oaks
indicate that the higher elevations are capped with Lissie gravel.
(Turn to sheet 8.)

In the vicinity of Weimar, about 2 miles east of the Fayette County
line, the railroad attains the summit of one of the higher ridges in
Colorado County constituting the divide between the Colorado and
Navidad Rivers. Southeastern Fayette County, however, has been
eroded by the two forks of the Navidad to an area of low relief.

are possibly stained by the iron

the: sils, locally abundant, have been found
oxide lesiched from the Lissie, in pastel i

glomerate and limestone. near the top
may represent the overlying Reynosa
formation. A few vertebrate remains,
mostly of horses, and chara stems, to-
gether with reworked Cretaceous fos-

mi
fauna indicating a shore line slightly
inland from the present coast. The
formation is about 1,200 feet thick,
and it dips to the southeast about

| feet to the mile.

54 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Through Weimar and Schulenburg and halfway to Engle siding
the rolling surface of the Lagarto clay is traversed, but about Weimar
there is an extensive flat or terrace. Good outcrops
are rare, especially near the railroad, but there are
shallow cuts in the western part of Weimar and there
are exposures at intervals along the streams, espe-
cially in some of the bends of the Colorado River. A large part of
the area is covered by soil and part is woodland. Remains of
the 3-toed horse, Protohippus perditus, and other bones were
found in the Lagarto formation at Dripping Springs, 114 miles north-
east of Borden siding. Shells derived from underlying Cretaceous
formations and minute Foraminifera have been noted.

At Shatto siding the railroad crosses the east branch of the Navidad
River, which heads in the low ridges north of Schulenburg but de-
velops into a drainageway of considerable size in the region farther
south.

Schulenburg is a rural center for a prosperous agricultural district.

airying is a thriving industry, and some of its products are utilized

at a large plant making evaporated milk, on the west-

Weimar.
Elevation 410 feet.
Population 1,256.

ew Orleans 463 miles.

Schulenburg. = ern edge of the town. Near by is a mill which pro-
Elevation 345 feet. duces a nonstarchy flour from cottonseed. Just west
Population 1, =

Sia @ricans ne mils. Of Schulenburg are cuts in light-colored sandstone,

and near by are ledges of this rock. These beds dip
east and are in the lower part of the Lagarto clay. The general dip
of the strata in this region is considerably less than 1°, which is near! y
90 feet to the mile.

Two miles west of Schulenburg the west branch of the Navidad
River is crossed, and thence there is a long gentle upgrade that extends
nearly to Flatonia. In this interval the Oakville and Catahoula
sandstones appear, rising on a dip which is low in angle but steeper
than the rise of the land. Both of these sandstones present low ridges
and knobs, so that the country has a diversified topography, and as
the soil is not very fertile much of the land remains wooded.

The contact between the Lagarto clay and the Oakville sandstone *®
_ is passed just beyond the west branch of the N avidad, whence the

railroad follows the low divide between Rock Creek and Mulberry

Creek.

% The Oakville sandstone is charac-
teristically a massive light-gray or

yellow rock, in ross-bedded, in

all about 300 feet thick and dipping to

the southeast at the rate of about 40

feet to the mile. It is held together

loosely by a caleareous cement, com-

monly crystalline, or, more rarely, it
er

angular. Light-colored greenish or
yellowish limy clays make up an
appreciable part of the upper Oakville
section, closely resembling in appear-
ance some of the Lagarto clays. For
this reason, the Oakville-Lagarto con-
tact is less obvious than might be

from the characteristic ma-

expected
| terials of the two formations. How-

ever, volcanic ash, both in its original

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 7

6

'
Scale 500,000
tinch-8 miles (approximately)
5 10 15 20
20 KILOMETERS

eigen at Seniesa
Contour interval 50 feet

The distances from New Orlea are shown every
10 miles, and the even re . ae 7 mile apart

pipvisg UPS

>
0

C.
Hungerford

MILES

96 Texas
Co
a \
oy
_
/[Fayettevilla /, \ £
mA ' \ iy
S try
A 4 i
ee ) ct ~~ Cat Spring
eEllinger ) (\ 4
C
a Like <t,
a Ce Nf » 6} =< > . \
ie e ~j ealy Brookshire Katy
KG Lorine“ “)
250 = + .
o pres 2? A San Felip
— 6 bal 15° > ~ 150
h% p ee S a
° ELS
,: € = = Ishear
a a / . H npeshoe 4 SN. rang Nin AL
o aa ae si ash = [440 % eo 5 monton
~ 2 ° SaRamsey G gS
3 25 56 L 222 -
io —4
sh Bg, Oo O rs} \ Oc Ss oster
‘
* ite)
Cc O S \ hesterville sigue Sechard 2, $
Y A F ro ie: e ao
& a ’ agle Lake & rey
% 5 il 43. / Q
me — X! 7 ~ ie
A SL eLi5 =z ~ Nottawa
g A ock Isla ee ot - ] 2
+ $s C Mathews Ss.
> J ais
ham \/ / sass
Cone, Garwood

Topography mostly from U.S.Army maps

WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO., WASH. DC.

55

The landscape of the Oakville outcrop zone along the Southern
Pacific Railroad is more subdued than it is from Lagrange north-
ward or to the south. There are several excellent outcrops of this
sandstone along the road leading north from Engle to Lagrange.
Wild flowers, such as the bluebonnets (Texas State flower) and the
mallows, which are the glory of the spring in Texas, are particularly
luxuriant upon the sands derived from the Oakville ledges. The
Catahoula-Oakville contact is about 3 miles east of Flatonia but is

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

not visible in the lowland of the badly drained area at the h

waters of Mulberry Creek.

head-

Two miles west of Engle siding a summit is attained, beyond

which is a long, rolling slope to Flatonia, a thriving tow
munity part German and part Bohemian, situated
on the outcrop of the lower beds of the Catahoula
Flatonia was named from
who kept a store at the original site of the town,
2 miles south of the present one.

Flatonia.
Elevation 457 feet.
Population 966

; sandstone.*®
New Orleans 484 miles.

1 in a com-

J. Flato,

It has an interesting position

form and altered to bentonite, is ap-
parently restricted to the Oakville
sandstone, and the dendrites (plant

Oakville clays. Reworked Cretaceous
fossils occur as pebbles in both forma-
tions. The Oakville contains few
marine fossils many
remains of have been
found in it, including primitive horses
of several kinds, rhinoceroses, croco-
diles, and tortoises, and it is classed
as rap middle, and early upper Mio-
in age. It is underlain uncon-
Piety y the Catahoula sandstone,
although the rate of dip of both forma-
tions is about the same.
% The Catahoula consists of soft
bluish massive sandstone and inter-

us
matrix, but elsewhere a bide opalescent |

quartzite matrix is not uncommon.
The clays are greenish gray or yellow,
are mostly sandy, and carry limy clay

balls an inch or more in diameter
similar to those now forming at the
salt-water mouths of some large
streams. The sands are relatively

the Sabine River, where on the out-
crop area there are long stretches of
pine woods. Opalized wood and clear
impressions of tropical palms are
locally abundant. According to E. W.
Berry (U.S. Geological Survey Prof.
Paper 98, p. 229, 1917), this flora
contains no upland or i types
and may be regarded as a strictly
coastal assemblage made up of groups

deposition was not, however, restricted
to southwest Texas, for most of the

Jatahoula.

ne. ys m
black soil and are very heavy when wet. —

56 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES
topographically, for it is on the notably flat divide between the
Colorado River, which heads far west in the outcrop area of the
Permian ‘‘Red Beds,” and the Guadalupe River, which heads on
the Edwards Plateau. The town site is just beyond the heads of the
fingering tributaries of the intermediate coastal streams, such as the
Navidad River. Obar Hill, less than a mile south of Flatents and
rising more than 100 feet. aleve the village, is capped by heavy beds
of white sandstone, probably an Oakville inlier. The well at Flatonia,
3,000 feet deep, is supposed to obtain its excellent water supply from
the Carrizo sand.

The Fayette-Catahoula contact is about 1 mile west of the crossing
of the old San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railway (now Texas & New
Orleans) in Flatonia, where the fine-bedded sands of the upper Fayette
lie below the greenish-gray compact clays of the basal Catahoula.*’
The varied lithology of the Fayette sandstone is expressed in the diver-
sity of the landscape and the vegetation. The soil is more highly
colored, as a rule, than that of the Catahoula, and the contrast
between the black clay roads and post oak of the lower Catahoula and
the red sandy roads and junipers of the upper Fayette is very striking.
The configuration of the Fayette outcrop is noticeably different from
that of the outcrop of the underlying Yegua formation, though it
is not so rugged as that of the Catahoula and Oakville sandstones.

A little more than a mile beyond Janice siding the railroad passes
from the dominantly sandy Fayette strata to the Yegua beds,
which are gray, green, and brown lignitic clays and sandy clays with
thin sand deposits. They are highly gypsiferous and, for the most
age nonmarine. They are about 500 feet thick, and all the beds dip

to the east at a low rate. The outcrop zone is a region of low hills
withgentleslopes. Generally the soil is dark and loamy with scattered
mesquite (Prosopis julifiora) and prickly pear (mostly Opuntia engel-
manni); more rarely itis a fine sandy loam with a few post oaks. The
mesquites growing on Yegua soil in this region are larger than those
in the region to the south, probably because of a greater supply of
moisture. However, this plant withstands dry weather by sending
its taproot as deep as 50 feet to obtain moisture. The mesquite,
which begins to be conspicuous in this general region, is a dominant

37 There are fine exposures of the for-
mations in road and stream cuts both
north of the railroad, toward Muldoon,
and to the south, especially in the
vicinity of Nickel, where 75 feet or
more of kaolinitie shales and econcre-
_ tionary sands and mes at the
_ top of the Fayette are vada by the

_ sandy clays filled with clay balls that

characterize the | Catahoula, The

Fayette formation consists of light-gray

i ed sands, dark-gray and choc-
olate-brown clays and lignites, and, in
its upper part, thin beds of volcanic
. The thickness is about 65 feet.
The basal Fayette in this general section
commonly carries cylindrieal concre-
tions of iron oxide an inch or so in diam-

eter oriented at a high angle to the
bedding planes,

e

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 57

plant in many parts of the region to the west across Texas, New Mex-
ico, Arizona, and southern California. Its beans are an important
source of food for grazing animals and they are used for flour by the
Indians and Mexicans. The wood is a most useful fuel, and the plant
yields a valuable gum; a decoction of the bark is esteemed by the
Mexicans as a laxative.

The high percentage of gypsum in the Yegua strata makes the
soil unfavorable for many crops and the water unsuitable for stock, so
that the outcrop area of the formation is rather thinly settled. About
2} miles east of Waelder the railroad deflects to the north and follows
the divide between Sandy and Copperas Creeks, crossing the rather
ill-defined contact between Yegua and Cook Mountain strata
about 1 mile east of Waelder.

Sandstone of the Cook Mountain formation makes a ridge of moder-
ate prominence that extends far to the north and south of the railroad.

he formation includes sands and glauconitic marls

Waelder, and clays,** some of them lignitic but for the most
xe. Bae feel part of marine origin. The higher beds are locally
opulation 1,048. fe .

ew Orleans 495miles. fossiliferous, and many of the species were early

correlated with those of the sands of the Claiborne
of Alabama. The glauconitic beds of the Cook Mountain formation
are highly colored by the oxidation of the iron, and in many places the
formation carries an appreciable content of phosphate, which serves
as a fertilizer. The Cook Mountain greensand soil is highly produc-
tive, and cotton, corn, and garden truck are successfully grown along
its outcrop. The basal member of the Cook Mountain is the Sparta
sand, probably nonmarine, carrying less iron than the higher beds.
Its outcrop zone, from 1 to 2 miles wide, is crossed by the railroad on
the down grade to the valley of Bee Branch, 4 miles west of Waelder.
The vegetation varies with the formation; the mesquite here is not so
large nor so numerous as in the Yegua area, but the oaks are very
much more in evidence, especially on the lower, more sandy beds.
On leaving the outcrop zone of the Sparta sand member of the
Cook Mountain formation the railroad bends considerably to the
south, and for the next 5 miles, or nearly to Harwood, it crosses the
Mount Selman outcrop diagonally. The strata dip to the west-
northwest at a low angle. In a general way the Mount Selman beds
resemble the Cook Mountain formation, consisting of glauconitic
sands, marls, and clays, but they contain a greater number of indu-
rated, irony beds, so that the hills and ridges are higher and the soil
amore intensered. The soil is productive and well adapted to truck
farming, and a large part of the 25,000 acres planted in tomatoes in
%8 The mineral glauconite, also called | alumina deposited in the sea through
d, is a silicate of iron sil Goguane vee cuamaus wpkama: :
152109°—33——5

~

58 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Texas in 1930 was upon an outcrop of the upper member of the Mount
Selman. The medial sand member, known as the Queen City sand in
northeastern Texas, contains clay deposits, some of which carry fossil
leaves, and the series is, for the most part, nonmarine. This sand
member is uniform in character, and in the Winter Garden region in
southern Texas it is sufficiently thick and pure to carry water of a
quantity and quality second only to that in the Carrizo sand. Post
oak and blackjack oak are the characteristic trees growing on the
heavier sands, but where a little clay is mixed with the sand the
forest growth is varied, and in well-watered areas the underbrush is
heavy.

The lowest member of the Mount Selman formation along the
Southern Pacific Railroad has been separated as the Reklaw. It con-

sists of ferruginous sands and brownish and grayish
Harwood. glauconitic micaceous clays of marine origin, possibly
Elevation ges less than 100 feet thick. The railroad crosses the out-
ew Orleans 08 miles, CTOp zone, about 1 mile wide, at the small village of
Harwood. The soil and landscape sharply reflect the
lithology of this member, the clay outcrop forming a low flat belt and
a heavy soil which in wet weather makes very difficult roads, whereas
the ferruginous, concretionary beds at the base give much more relief
and better-drained though muchrougherroads. Thehilly character of
this region is due to the capping of these resistant basal beds of the
Reklaw upon the soft, readily eroded Carrizo sand. Both the basal
ferruginous layers and the clays above carry fossils. The ferruginous
beds contain impressions of Venericardia and Corbula, which in places
are fairly common; the glauconitic clays carry locally, notably on the
Colorado River near Bastrop, a well-preserved and varied coral and
molluscan fauna.

On the western edge of Harwood the shale at the base of the Mount
Selman formation gives place abruptly to the Carrizo sand, one of the
most characteristic of the Texas Tertiary formations. The airplane
maps show this formation as a solid pale-gray ribbon picoted along
the margins by the darker pattern of the Reklaw above and the Indio
beneath. The sand is coarse and almost pure white, and consists of
nearly pure quartz grains, loosely packed and readily weathered, blow-
ing about the fields and resisting cultivation. The bright-colored
indurated layers occurring at intervals in the sand and the local
capping of the Reklaw ferruginous strata along the eastern edge of the
outcrop break down into rugged, castellated shapes, contrasting
_ sharply in color and relief with the soft, dazzling white sand. Rather
scrubby oaks are the most conspicuous trees, and the few and difficult
roads wind through long uninhabited stretches broken only here and
there by a lumber or goat camp. In certain Carrizo areas where the

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 59

sand is coarser and less pure it is adapted to the growth of some kinds
of garden truck. The Carrizo sand is the underground reservoir that
furnishes the water to irrigate many fields and gardens, notably in
the Winter Garden area of western Dimmit and Zavala Counties and
in the extensive trucking district south of San Antonio, particularly
the strawberry farms near Poteet, in northern Atascosa County. In
the Winter Garden area, where the annual rainfall is less than 25
inches and the native vegetation was mostly mesquite and nopal,
irrigation by water from the Carrizo sand has made a garden spot
that abundantly justifies the name.

Along the Southern Pacific Railroad the Carrizo outcrop is a
rather monotonous belt of sand and scrubby oak extending from a
point just west of Harwood to and beyond Ivy siding. Iron Moun-
tain, one of the higher hills, consisting largely of hard brown sand-
stone, causes a deflection of the railroad to the north for some distance
east of Ivy siding, beyond which it passes onto the outcrop zone of
the Indio lecsinaction! There are fine exposures of the basal sandstone
of the Carrizo in the cut through the divide a mile west of Ivy, which
reveals about 30 feet of coarse, mostly soft massive sandstone con-

taining considerable ironstone and notably cross-bedded.

These beds are underlain by a thick body of softer sandstones and
clays of the Indio formation. This constitutes the surface of a wide

area about Luling, where, however, the strata are
Luling. mostly covered by alluvium, especially in the flat
oe that extends west to the San Marcos River.
New Orleans 517 miles. ‘The outcrop of the Indio formation is wider along

the Southern Pacific Railroad than that of any other
of the Tertiary formations, largely because the railroad crosses it
diagonally in the northerly bend near Luling and also in the south-
ward deflection of the tracks west of that place. Most of this out-
crop zone is gently rolling and rather featureless, though it presents
the threefold division of a lower and an upper clay and shale series,
locally of marine origin and fossiliferous, separated by nonmarine
sands and sandy shales. ths soils of the Patio formation vary with
the lithology. Some of the Imost as sandy, th
as the Carrizo sand; bars are almost as. heavy and black as the
Midway soils; but most of them respond to cultivation. Blackjack
oak and post oak are the common trees on the more sandy soils, and
mesquite predominates on the clay soils.

The large “tank farm” of the Magnolia Petroleum Co., a mile east
of Luling, indicates the proximity of the Luling oil fields. Before the
discovery of petroleum here in August, 1922, Luling was a small, easy-
going German community, concerned chiefly with the price of cotton,
on which the material welfare of the inhabitants depended. The

60 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

discovery of oil at a horizon lower than that of any other source then
producing in the Texas fields not only changed over night the re-
sources and status of the community and of its individual members,
_ but opened new possibilities of finding deep productive sands through-
out the State. The Luling field was discovered by Edgar B. Davis,
a shoe manufacturer of Brockton, Mass., who drilled to the Edwards
limestone, against the counsel of other oil operators, at a cost of
$200,000. The large fortune which he gained from his success was
shared with the rapidly growing community; streets were paved,
clubs and orphan homes were developed, and the Foundation farm of
1,200 acres was established near by with a trust fund of $1,000,000
for experimental farming for the benefit of the people of the region.

a

|260']

4,000°

|G

Jase

Ficure 5.—Section across Salt Flat oil field, Caldwell County, Tex. Tertiary:
Ti, Indio formation; Tm, Midway formation. Cretaceous: Knt, Navarro and
Taylor clays; Ka, Austin chalk; Kw, Georgetown limestone overlain by Del Rio
clay and Buda limestone; Ke, Edwards limestone

There are three productive oil fields near Luling—the Salt Flat
field, to the northeast of the town; the Darst Creek field, to the
southwest; and the Luling field, to the northwest. There are also
some smaller pools. All have the same geologic relations.

The many derricks of the Salt Flat oil field are conspicuous north
of the tracks a few miles east of Luling. In 1930 this field produced
from 15,000 to 27,200 barrels a day, with a total of 7,305,000 barrels
for the year, from about 330 borings. Their average depth is 2,700
feet, and most of the oil comes from the Edwards limestone, which
has been lifted by a fault with upthrow of about 375 feet. The field
was discovered in 1928 and up to the end of 1930 had produced
21,116,554 barrels of oil.*® The field is about 2 ,000 feet wide at most
ot 6 miles long, extending along the main finde: which trends north-
east. The surface beds are sands and shale of the Indio formation,

_ ® Southwest Texas Oil Seouts Assoc.,Bull. 1, 1930.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 61
which is 700 feet thick in this vicinity. The relations are shown in
Figure 5.

A few miles southwest of Luling is the Darst Creek oil field, dis-
covered in 1929 and also drawing from the Edwards lintiekouc. the
depth of which in the first well was 2,605 feet. The oil here, as in
the other fields near by, is believed to have migrated up the dip and
become trapped in the upper porous member of the Edwards lime-
stone, here sealed off by a fault that has brought it up against imper-
vious strata. This fault is estimated to have a displacement of about
525 feet. It trends northeast, parallel to the Luling and other faults.
(Brucks.) The production in 1930 ranged from about 15,000 to
36,452 barrels a day and amounted to 11,424,000 barrels for the
year from about 253 wells. The productive area is about 4% miles
long and in places 3,500 feet wide, covering about 1,500 acres.

In the Luling field, which is Honaky 8 miles long aba half a mile wide,
the oil occurs in the upper part of the Edwards limestone, at an aver-
age depth of about 2,100 feet. This field reached a Beak production
of about 11,134,000 barrels4 in 1924, with 567 wells, but in 1928 it had
diminished to half that amount, aiid in 1930 it yielded 3,692,000
barrels, or about 10,000 barrels a day. The total production to the

end of 1930 was about 50,000,000 barrels. The oil has a gravity of

26° to 29° Baumé.*!

Some interesting data have been obtained from borings in the
Luling field as to underground temperatures. In general the temper-

© Below the Indio are 280 feet or
more of tough clays and glauconitic
sands of the Midway group (basal
Tertiary), which lie unconformably on
Navarro clay, here about 500 feet
thick and containing some thin beds of
sandstone. Next below are about 500
feet of Taylor clays and chalky clays,
which extend to the Austin chalk, 228
feet thick, underlain by the Eagle Ford
shale, 30 feet; B i

limestone, 60 to 110 feet, lying on the
Edwards limestone. (MeCullum and
Cunningham.) See also table, p. 65.

*' According to Brucks the structure,
which is similar to that in the Salt Flat
and Darst Creek fields, shows a faulted
monoclinal block with northeast trend.
The upthrow is about 450 feet on the
southeast side, and at the surface the
basal clays of the Indio formation are
brought up into contact with a medial

sandy member. The fault is well
exposed where it crosses the San
Marcos River about 6 miles northwest
of Luling.

In this field the Eagle Ford shale is
35 feet thick; the Buda limestone, 40
feet; and the Georgetown, a com
limestone, 50 feet. The normal dip of
the strata in this region is only 1°-2°

that the Edwards limestone, of which
the upper part is porous, is about 730
feet thick. It is underlain by 1,450
feet of Glen Rose limestones and clays
(Brucks) and Trinity sands, the Trinity
lying on pre-Cambrian

depth of about 4,790 feet.
p. 65.) Into this schist
continued nearly to 8,000 feet without
the slightest prospect of reaching its
base or of finding petroleum,

62 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

ature in mines and borings is found to increase with depth at an aver-
age rate of about 1° for every 60 feet, below the first few feet. In
two 2,250-foot holes near Luling the temperature was found to be
120°, which indicates a rate of increase of 1° in slightly less than 45
feet. At Pierce Junction, near Houston, the temperature in a 3,300-
foot hole was 130° and in a 4,303-foot ai 146°.?

The San Marcos River, which is crossed 3 miles west of Luling, has
its principal source in the great springs at San Marcos, 30 miles
northwest, at the foot of the Edwards Plateau. (Turn to honed 9.)

West of the San Marcos River the railroad passes over a wide
lowland of the Indio formation to a point beyond Sullivan siding,

where it ascends about 100 feet onto a high terrace.

Kingsbury. This terrace is underlain by the Indio formation but
Popaietear wer? covered and preserved by a compact deposit of gravel

New Orleans 528 miles. aNd sand carrying much chert evidently derived from

the Edwards Plateau. This deposit extends north
of the railroad for some distance as a cap on the Mill Creek Hills and
undoubtedly was originally deposited by an earlier San Marcos River
in late Tertiary time.“ In the descent off this terrace west of Kings-
bury there are exposures of the Indio formation, mostly soft sandstone
and a few hard layers. Beyond this down grade is a wide lowland
extending to Seguin (say-gheen’).

Seguin is on the alluvial plain of the Guadalupe River, here under-
lain by lower shaly beds of the Indio formation. It is a prosperous
town, with cotton mill, sugar refinery, and various
other industries. Water power is generated from the
Guadalupe River a short distance north of the town.
Wee Ovlaus tie sees Seguin was founded while Texas was a republic and

was named from two Spanish settlers who lived in the
vicinity during the stirring days of the Texas revolution. One was
Don Erasmo Seguin, of San Antonio de Bexar (bay’har), who had a
share in creating the constitution of Texas, and the other Juan Seguin,
who commanded a small body of Mexicans who fought effectively
under General Houston in the battle of San Jacinto.

A gravel pit about 2 miles west of Seguin, south of the railroad,
shows about 10 feet of gravel grading up into sand, the upper part of

Seguin.
Elevation st feet.

® Hawtof, E. M., Am. Petroleum
Inst. Bull. 205, Pr. 62-108, 1930

® Most of aetna hey divides
on the = Thetis portion of the Coastal
Plain are capped by gravel deposits
of this character. are remnants
of an old surface, called the Uvalde
plain because it is very extensive i in the
Uvalde region. has been

Mrgety soeored bY streams, which in

deep, many il them along courses
differing materially from the drainage
ways that crossed the old Uvalde sur-
face. Notable remnants of this plain

remain Antonio and south
poe tere New Braunfels, San Marcos,
and A

Banquajnyss

Japjse

Vertical exaggeration about |Otol

SECTION FROM WEIMAR THROUGH LULING

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 8

Sheet 7

97 30 97 Texas
‘Austin EXPLANATION z
=
Sand, gravel, _ cop pers mes 0-50’ a
(only the larger are. wn) &
U stele 2a me
(Older terrace deposits, Reynosa, ete., not shown) =
Unconformity
B Clay, pink and green mottled Lagarto 400-600’ 2
U nformity =
C Sandstone Oakville 300-600’ j&
Unconformity 8
Sandsto Catahoula 300’+ | §
(undera by val clay to south) =
mitre =
E eee Fayette 500-800’ =
F Clay with few sandy beds ‘Yaeue 400-500’ =
G Sandstones and clays, : Cook Mountain 400-700’ es
meh ‘el ile Hache cog B
H Sandstone and shale (iron ore) Maat Selman* 400-600’ |_
2° 2
30 I Trony sands va dark clay 80’ g
Unconform yg
J Sand and dak Carrizo 250’
K Sandstone, shale, and sandy Indio 1,200’
limestone
L Shale; some sandstone Midway 300’ nge
=< Fault
* ¢ City P i . *
is Fp ockhart Queen City sand member in middle Gaolcamy by duller Gactier oes S30,
L / / 00 360
4 ‘ Ne fe] FS y 5° '
ce M hex O° 0 2) g o> oe 3
& 8 Sin \ D 0° 350 X
eS 2 aos ‘ "= y
3 s » 8) e > rs
(A) 9 vi) 400 ° 50
°s y 0 | 0° E
es
‘ ay * ¢ Pe yi d ° Da . \4 SS
. 78 si 2s a ° 0 . 9 /
ro > 45 os a
: . Q 5 r/
errai I RY * if
ro g v 0 ‘ Y iy oI pai pos
~ ; 0 350 sso 2
8 00 * ni
a O | 5 40 4
wo 2 A
’ i (a) le
lv { . p ir on e.
o Ae Ty ty 9 f)
L Ng L a — Aarons, "Oe ~
9 f F
aK: % ( . 4 Q oN @) a F E 0,
\ jot 2 < \ f ° Oak!
BRO = 2 is \ Fee,
°. o %
° : ax oa Nass, “
Alig i ( . Wij I 1 \ a we ~) a } ‘ P90 3 Cr? 2
2 SSS a) t 8 55 re) [
, 3 SS a = ob 3 0? ) WJ 50
> UL Ma Ne (5% ‘y 4
A é
fom fo ie) > fa.
, Gonzales
Scale 500,
linch-8 miles (approximately) ons distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every
0 5 10 15 20 MILES miles, and the sesitiaa w are spre 1 mile apart
ILOMETERS Each ee shown on the ma, h a name in parentheses
g :. 2 ee in the — so corner is mapped in ane on the U. 8. G. 8.
ntour interval 50 feet that n
Beton smear see love! $ me of “

WILLIAMS & HEINT2 CO. WASH Be

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 63
which consists of caliche. This material occurs in most parts of the
West and is frequently mistaken for stratified limestone. Much of it
is hard and white or nearly white, and it consists largely of calcium
carbonate with a greater or less admixture of sand. It owes its origin
to water rising through the porous materials by capillary attraction
and depositing calcium carbonate on evaporation at and near the
surface. Doubtless the rate of accumulation is very slow, and ordi-
narily the caliche or at least the thicker bodies of it are found only on
old plains or terraces in regions of low precipitation. The thickness
ranges from a few inches to 10 feet or more. The pit west of Seguin
gives a fine exhibit of this material and its relations to the gravel and
sand

Just west of Seguin the Midway group,“ or base of the Tertiary
system, is brought to the surface from under the Indio formation by
the regular rise of the strata to the west. It consists of shale with thin
layers of sandstone and clay and is sufficiently hard to constitute
ridges in places along its outcrop zone. Such ridges attain consider-
able prominence in the Mill Creek Hills, west of Seguin, which, how-
ever, are gravel-capped, and in the hills that extend southwestward

to San Anto

The contact between the Indio and Midway formations on the
northwestern margin of Seguin and that between the Midway forma-
tion and the Grolaseee strata, 3 to 4 miles to the west, are covered
by alluvium in the lowlands along the Guadalupe River. There is,
however, a good outcrop of a fossiliferous and ferruginous sandstone
of a horizon high in the Midway near the old ferry 214 miles above
the Seguin power house.

The Guadalupe River, which is crossed just east of Hilda station
(McQueeney village), is a large and beautiful stream that drains a
broad area of the Edwards Plateau (p. 74) and south-central Texas and

“* The Midway consists, for the most
part, of dark-gray joint clays with asso-
urtle-back, or

Midway clays of this area.
ness is between 250 and 300 feet. In
Guadalupe County the lower Midway
strata crop out characteristically only
along a slender faulted tongue south-
west of Staples, on the San Marcos
River. Most of the Midway surface
material is a very heavy dark-gray clay
which weathers into a soil indistin-
guishable from the river silts, and the

usual vegetation is stunted mesquite.

ar Counties must
have formed a synclinal basin during
the early Eocene, for marine conditions
Ppp
tently,
waters were for the most part shallow,
for Ostrea and Cerithium are the most
common species at the lower Indio out-
crops. ven these, however, record
the continuance of the general marine
conditions of Midway time and indi-
cate that there was a near-by retreat
for the very considerable number of
Midway species that persisted into
Wilcox time.

64 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

empties into the Gulf of Mexico at the head of San Antonio Bay.
Although there is a wide alluvial plain adjoining the river, formations
of Upper Cretaceous age are extensively exposed at intervals in its
banks and adjoining slopes. The uppermost of these is the Navarro,
which consists almost entirely of dark clay from 400 to 500 feet thick,
with some beds of sand and layers of calcareous concretionary sand-
stone and impure limestone. In this general region the Navarro
formation dips somewhat less than 1° E. The clay is quarried exten-
sively in pits near the river bank about a mile south of the bridge
across the Guadalupe River at the village of McQueeney and is made
into brick and tile used in San Antonio and other places. Ordinarily
in the manufacture of such products a pure clay, which melts at a
moderate temperature, has to be tempered by mixing with sand, but
at this place there is sufficient sand or sand admixture to afford suit-
able composition to withstand the requisite heating in the The
exposure comprises a bank about 100 feet high and a pit 50 feot deep.
Fossils “ are abundant in the lower part of the pit.
From the Guadalupe River to San Antonio the railroad traverses
a region of slightly rolling plains of low relief developed in the soft
clays of the Navarro and Taylor formations, here
Marion. about 1,300 feet thick and dipping gently to the south-
Population 0 east. Outcrops are few and small, for soil and super-
ew Orleans 548 miles. ficial materials cover most of the surface, and much of
the land is under cultivation. The mesquite is very
prominent in the untilled fields. Southeast of Schertz a large gravel
pit in the alluvial deposits on the Cibolo River is visible from the
railroad. To the west is a hilly country of Austin chalk, and beyond
is the highland known as the Balcones scarp (bal-co’nace), formed of
the hard limestones of the Lower Cretaceous (Comanche series), which
there rise to the surface on the general southeast dip of all the strata
of the Coastal Plain region, the uplift increased in places by faulting.
The Upper Cretaceous strata (Gulf series) crop out in a wide zone
along the inner margin of the Coastal Plain, which extends through
Fort Worth, Dallas, Waco, Austin, and San Antonio. They are
underlain by the formations of the Comanche series, which constitute
the high uplands to the west and north. The table on page 65 shows
the general succession and principal features.

* A few of the better-known fossils | Pulvinites argentea, Crenella_ serica,
that occur in the Navarro formation in | Liopistha protexta, Veniella conradi,
this area are Leda longifrons, Gryphaea | Cyprimeria alta, Legumen ellipticum,
mutabilis, Exogyra costata (variety with | Gyrodes petrosus, and Sphenodiscus (two
narrow costae), Gryphaeostrea vomer, | or more species). (L. W. Stephenson.)

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

Cretaceous formations of the Coastal Plain in central Texas

65

Age Group Formation Character aa
Navairo...cec Shale and marl; some sandy layers_-_| 400-500
a Eig Tayier Se Sihlecs ot es ee 475+
( Anstin | jG oeons! Chalk and chalky limestone__.__.__- 300
Eagle Ford_._-..- Shale and slabby limestone_____-___- 25
Unconformity
BUGS... sata seen Limestone, massive
Washita. Del Hiss cscocccd ped buff_ 50-70
Cectgutiad se one estone, massive 75+
vo Pope rece Recek aoe Limestone, massive; some chert_____ 400-500
( “ © | Fredericksburg. Comanch Peak__| Limestone, slabby 50+
a SCN SWealnut...._....- Clay and shaly limestone_____--___- 50-70
+t Glen Rose__...-.- ears vin and shale 700+
Trinity. Travis Peak_____- Sandston

The Cibolo River (Spanish, buffalo), a small stream crossed at
Schertz, drains a portion of the Edwards Plateau west of San Antonio.
On the plain to the west, south of the railroad, is the
great aviation establishment of the United States

Cibolo.
, a 8 ea Army, known as Randolph Field. It was completed
opulation 262. ne ot 1931, with an area of 2,320 acres. Its capacity is
New, Deane §4 lets. 4-000 manh-* "Phe high tower of its central administra-
Heberts. tion building is conspicuous from afar, as are also the
great with checkerboard roofs. This estab-
Population 315. lishment cost $25,000,000; the site was presented to
New Orleans 557 miles.

the Federal Government by the city of San Antonio.
The smooth, broad plain at this place has been de-
veloped on the soft clay of the Taylor formation.

Not far beyond the small village of Converse some of the high
buildings of San Antonio are visible in the distance, and beyond
Kirby siding part of Fort Sam Houston is in sight on a high terrace
north of the railroad.

Antonio is a metropolitan center for a wide area in south-
central Texas and until a few years ago was the largest city in the
State. Its growth in population from 1920 to 1930

San Antonio. = was 43.5 per cent. It has numerous manufactures,
Pcaiciun Moe large educational institutions, and a variety of busi-

573 miles. NESS interests. It is an old settlement dating back to

anish mission days and, as San Antonio de Bexar,

was long the capital of Tejas in New Spain under Spanish and
Mexican rule, with a tutory marked by many sanguinary episodes.

66 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

It is a city of much charm, combining the old with the new in a
setting of natural beauty. The San Antonio River “ winds through
the city with many curves and is crossed by bridges that afford
pleasing glimpses of its greenswarded banks, even in the heart of the
business district. There are many large edifices of architectural
merit, and a fine municipal auditorium that seats 6,500 and cost
$1,500,000. The mild winter climate is an attractive feature. Excel-
lent water for domestic use and for many manufacturing establish-
ments is supplied by artesian wells 900 to 1,200 feet deep from strata
in the Coastal Plain sediments. According’to the local chamber of
commerce, the output of its 1,175 factories had a value of $85,000,000
in 1930. They have the advantage of cheap natural gas, oil, and
lignite for fuel. San Antonio has many churches and clubs, several
libraries and theaters, and many educational institutions. A women’s
college, Our Lady of the Lake, on the western edge of the city, is
visible from the railroad a few minutes after leaving the depot.

On the outskirts of the city to the north is Fort Sam Houston, an
Army post of 4,378 men and 211 officers, and to the south are extensive
Army flying fields and schools. In Brackenridge Park, in the valley
of the San Antonio River, are numerous features of interest, including
a large zoological collection.

Although San Antonio has a large proportion of sunshiny days, its
precipitation averages about 27 inches a year, or about the same as in
much of the west-central United States. This is usually sufficient to
produce fair crops and excellent forage, but there is considerable irri-
gation from ditches and from artesian and pumped wells. From 45
years of observation by the United States Weather Bureau it has
been found that the mean annual temperature is 69°, the winters
averaging about 60° and the summers 80°, and the average humidit
is 68 per cent. The springs and autumns are long, but the summer
heat at most times is tempered by breezes and low humidity.

San Antonio probably owes its origin to two great springs, with a
total average volume of about 58,000,000 gallons a day,” that supply
the flow in the San Antonio and San Pedro Rivers. It is believed that
the water is derived from the Edwards limestone along a fault.

Probably the first Spanish visitor was Cabeza de Vaca, who crossed
central Texas about 1535. In 1718 a garrison was stationed here, and

This river, the outlet for the drain- | large amount of rain falls in a very short
age of an extensive hilly area northwest | time. There is a record of a succession
of the city, sometimes has freshets | of these at Taylor, ig on Sept. 9-10,
which on some occasions have done | 1921, in which 23.11 inches of rain fell.

considerable To prevent al ‘iis Meinzer, E., Large springs
these floods the great Olmos Dam has the U S$ : U. 8. Geol. Sur-

_ been built across the valley. Occasion- | vey Water-Supply Pancé 557, pp. 37-38,
ion | 1927.

and other parts of the West in which a

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 67

a mission was moved from the Rio Grande and renamed San Antonio
de Valero in honor of the Viceroy of New Spain. In 1730 a presidio
was erected here, and early in 1731 a colony of 16 Spanish families
from the Canary Islands sent out by the King of Spain came through
Mexico and established themselves with a few local people at the
springs of the San Antonio River under the name San Fernando.
This was finally merged into the presidio of San Antonio de Bexar
and for many years called simply Bexar. Three years later this settle-
ment was made the seat of government for the general region. In
1821 it passed into the possession of Mexico when she became an
independent nation. In 1835-36, in the revolt against Mexico, San
Antonio was a center of strife, culminating in the siege of the Alamo in
February of that year. Many of the old-time buildings remain, includ-
ing the Alamo, the 200-year-old palace of the Spanish governor on the
west side of Military Plaza (pl. 7, B), San Fernando Cathedral, and
several old missions. There is a large Mexican population, part of
it in an extensive Mexican quarter south and west of the old plaza.

San Antonio was an important station on the old Camino Real from
Monclova, Mexico, which crossed the Rio Grande below Eagle Pass.
The mission San Francisco de la Espada, just south of the town, was
built on this road. From San Antonio it led north and east to the
vicinity of Natchitoches and thence to New Orleans.

The most notable feature in San Antonio is the famous Alamo
(pl. 7, A), where 182 heroes, nearly all of them volunteers from differ-
ent parts of the United States, chose to die rather than to surrender
to twenty times their number of Mexican soldiers under General Santa
Ana. At that time San Antonio was on the southeastern bank of the
San Antonio River and consisted of well-fortified houses in a rectangle;
on the opposite bank was the walled inclosure of the Alamo. The
assaults lasted from February 23 to March 6, 1836, when the Mexicans
overwhelmed the defenders, all of whom were killed. Now the Alamo
is a museum exhibiting many relics of the glorious past of Texas and
bearing this stirring inscription: ‘Thermopylae had its messenger of
defeat—the Alamo had none.” It was the war ery ‘‘Remember the
Alamo” that spurred the Texans to victory at San Jacinto afew weeks
later. (See p. 44.) Tablets near by mark the sites of the funeral
pyres of the Alamo heroes. Though later used as a military post, the
Alamo* was apparently first a chapel (established on a new site in
1744) of the mission of San Antonio de Valero (17 18), the first of sev-
eral missions established by Franciscan friars in the general vicinity.

Mission San José de Aguayo, founded in 1720 by Padre Antonio
Margil and named in honor of the Marquis Miguel de Aguayo,

6 The word dlamo is Spanish for cot- | after its occupation by a company of
tonwood tree, but it is considered likely | Mexican troops known as the ‘Alamo
that the name was applied to the chapel | de Parras,”’ :

68 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

governor of Tejas, is 6 miles south of the center of San Antonio. Its
south window, a fine example of stone carving, was exhibited at the
World’s Fair in St. Louis in 1904. Its beautiful old altar, ornamented
by a noted Spanish sculptor, is now in the Cathedral of San Fernando,
on the east side of the Military Plaza. This cathedral was begun in
1734, completed by a grant from King Ferdinand of Spain in 1744,
and reconstructed in 1868. The mission La Purisima Concepcién de
Acufia, 2 miles south of the center of the city, originally established
in eastern Texas, was moved to San Antonio in 1731 and is still in use.
Near it in 1835 James Bowie and a party of 92 Texans won a fight
against five times their number of Mexicans. Bowie died in 1836 in
the defense of the Alamo. The mission San Juan de Capistrano,
which was established in 1731 near the San Juan ford of the San
Antonio River, was also formerly near Nacogdoches. The mission
San Francisco de la Espada was originally in eastern Texas, having
been the first mission established there. Founded in 1690 under the
name San Francisco de los Tejas, it was abandoned three years later,
reestablished in 1716 under the name San Francisco de los Neches,
and transferred in 1731 to the west bank of the San Antonio River,
9 miles south of the center of the city. Aqueducts built by monks
and Indians two centuries ago still irrigate the gardens at this place.

The older part of San Antonio is built on a plain of alluvial depos-
its, but the northern, western, and eastern parts extend onto rolling
hills of Upper Cretaceous rocks. A fault with downthrow on the
east side passes through the northwestern part of the city. On its
west side are hills of Austin chalk, consisting largely of a soft chalky
limestone * which has been quarried extensively for use in building,
especially for houses in the older part of the city. Exposures of this
material extend through part of Brackenridge Park, notably near the
Sunken Gardens and Monkey Island, and in the rolling hills to the
northwest, but much of the rock weathers into soil on the sloping sur-
faces. To the west this formation dips beneath the clays of the
Taylor formation,” on which the western part of the city is built.

In the slopes of the gravel-capped ridges extending south from Fort
Sam Houston there are exposures of clay of the Navarro formation,
which extends southward to an overlap of clay and sand of the Mid-
way formation of Tertiary age.

* This chalky material contains many
shells of Foraminifera, minute organ-
isms that lived in the sea water that
covered this area during most of Cre-

aucella,
texanum, Inoceramus undula-

leglieats, (upper
beds), and other marine species, A

1-foot layer composed of the shells of
Gryphaea
along the
Park. (See pl. 8, A.)

°° This formation, which is about 475

feet thick, contains many fossils includ-
ine: various oysters such as Ezxogyra
1, E. laeviuscula, and Ostrea aff.

na.

U. 8S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 9

96.30! os Texas
EXPLANATION
A Sand, gravel, and clay (alluvi dt deposits) 0-210’ Quaternary
(only the larger areas shown) : ell
B_ Sandstone Carrizo 80-400’ as roel
C Sandstone, shale, some sandy is. Indio 600-800’ f (Pocens) LES
D Shale, with thin sandstone Midway 0- 300’ J (/
E Shale, mostly dar' Navarro + ea
F Shale, mostly dark Taylor 400-500’ | Upper Cretaceous O
G Chalk Austin 300-400’ | (Gulf series) @
H_ Limestone Eagle Ford 10-30’ a
| { Hiner, hard, massive Buda 55-65’ | (|
Clay, yellow Del Rio Washita group 50-70 \. \\
J Limestone, massive Georgetown +: | Lower Cretaceous va a
< meen monty elie: Camanche ra Predeickburg, 400-600" [ (Comanche serie
Cla Walnut group
L. Limestone, impure, yellowish Glen Rose} Trinity group 800'* |
~ Fault Geology by L. W. Stephenson, Julia Gardner, E. H. Sellards,
Consaled tasks R. L. Cannon, N. H. Darton, and others
> Y)(ODs WO,)) £¢
ae SL
aeu ve Les a, | ee

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ss —(e] fe) tae LS 7 KS
Son C0 ed 4) YG Ke

ee

AV CaP VES |

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£
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‘\
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PRON

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Sot:
( 4

‘Earle

!

Se ‘00,
linch=8 miles (approximately)
5 10 15 20 MILES

0 5 i?) iS 20 KILOMETERS
SSS _ Yacon romaine
Contour interval 50 feet

The-distances from New Orieans, la, are shown every
10 miles, and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart
‘ t

in the lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U.S. @. 8.
topographic map of that name

30° oe
Topogr ‘aphy in part from maps by U. S. Army Corps of Engineers | _ WILLIAMS & MEINTZ CO., WASH. D.C
and by U. S. Geological Survey, and in part by N. H. Darton

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 69

The most notable physiographic features in the San Antonio region
are the wide plains and terraces which have been developed by ero-
sion and deposition by streams on the surface of the soft clays of the
Tertiary and Cretaceous formations. The largest plain, which lies a
short distance above the narrow alluvial strips bordering the streams,
extends from the San Antonio River to Leon Creek and is occupied
by Kelly Field and other aviation stations. It is covered in greater
part by a sheet of gravel and loam, mostly from 10 to 20 feet thick,
and has an elevation of 600 to 700 feet, with gentle slope to the
south. A smaller but similar plain lies between Salado (sa-lah’do)
and Rosillo (ro-see’yo) Creeks, east of the city. The highest plain,
which occupies the ridge between the valleys of Salado Creek and the
San Antonio River and is about 100 feet higher than the adjoining
area, represents the Uvalde Plain referred to on page 62 (footnote).
It is capped by a sheet of gravel and loam which is well exposed in
the long cut of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad in the southeast-
ern part of the city, as shown in Plate 8, B, and Fort Sam Houston is
also built on its smooth surface. There are many outliers of this plain
farther north and west.

Not far north of San Antonio there are excellent exposures of
slabby Eagle Ford limestone, Buda limestone, and Del Rio yellow
clays with abundant Exogyra arietina, and in the hills of the Edwards
Plateau, of Georgetown, Edwards, and Glen Rose limestones, which
carry many distinctive fossils.

Westward from San Antonio the railroad goes south for 1% miles
and then, turning abruptly west, crosses the San Antonio River and
the wide alluvial plain and skirts the east side of Kelly Field. This
plain is wide and level because it is developed on the soft clays of
the Upper Cretaceous. It is capped by a sheet of alluvial loam de-
posited by Leon Creek and other streams in relatively recent geologic
time. Leon Creek is crossed just beyond Leon siding, and the low
rolling hills of the Midway formation capped by gravel of the higher
terrace level are traversed between Leon Creek and Medio Creek.

A mile west of Leon Creek the railroad bends around the south
end of a ridge, showing ledges of buff sandstone of the Midway for-

mation, which with low dip to the west passes under
Macdona. the Indio formation at Medio Creek. All the lower
ae ape lands from this point westward past Macdona and

New Orleans 590 miles. Lacoste (turn to sheet 10) are underlain by alluvial

sand and gravel deposited by the Medina River,
which is crossed a mile east of Macdona. This stream rises in the

51 In the bank of Leon Creek about | clay or Escondido (p. 71), a relation
a mile north of the railroad is an excel- | which is revealed at intervals up the
lent exposure of the unconformable con- | creek to the fault that crosses the
tact of the Midway on Navarro sandy | st 4 miles above the railroad

70 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES
Edwards Plateau, and at the head of a deep canyon about 25 miles
west-northwest of San Antonio it is dammed to make
Lake Medina, a large storage reservoir and an attrac-
Sabie sae alge tive resort. The dam is 164 feet high and 1,580 feet
New Orleans 597 miles. long. The water diverted into a canal some distance
below the dam is carried along the ridge west of Cas-
troville to be used for irrigation in the region south. This canal is
crossed by the railroad at Pearson siding, 4 miles west of Lacoste.
The Medina River along the railroad carries but little water because
of the dam 15 miles above that diverts most of the flow into the irriga-
tion canal. In an exposure of the Escondido formation in a cut
about 5 miles west of Macdona there is yellow limestone at the top,
2 feet, with a thin fossiliferous layer; yellow shale, 5 feet; yellow im-
pure sandstone, 4 inches; and yellow-brown shale, 3 feet to the base.
The beds dip about 1° SW. The railroad is deflected to the south to
carry it around the south end of a high ridge of Escondido shale
which extends along the west side of the Medina River Valley in the
Castroville region,® north of the railroad. The higher part of this
ridge is capped by gravel of a high-level terrace, the Uvalde Plain,
of which there are many remnants in the region west of San Antonio.
From Pearson siding northwestward for 10 miles the railroad is
mostly in a valley in clays with limy layers, of the basal group (Mid-
way) of Tertiary age. The continuity of the strata is broken by
several faults, mostly trending east-northeast, which bring up the
underlying Escondido formation obscurely exposed at intervals.
Just beyond Dunlay the railroad crosses a low ridge consisting of
shales with hard sandstone layers of the Escondido formation. On
both sides of the pass through which the railroad goes
Dunlay. are plateau remnants of moderate height in which the
ioe Escondido beds are overlain by the Midway group,
New Orleans 611 miles. Which is capped by old terrace gravel deposited when
the drainage system of the region was about 200 feet
less deep than it is at present, a feature referred to on previous pages.

Lacoste.
Elevation 718 feet.

® Castroville was founded by and
‘named for Count Henri de Castro, who
in 1844 brought there a colony of French
and Alsatians. The architecture is
largely of French rural type, with slop-
ing roofs, small windo
blinds.

83 In the region between San
and Del Rio, baer aeson
Upper Cretaceous formations continue

most notable features is the devel-
opment of the Anacacho limestone, 300
feet or more thick, replacing the Taylor

shale, and merging westward into the
Upson clay and the San Miguel forma-
tion. The Navarro shale also merges
laterally to the west into the Escondido
formation, which may be 700 feet thick
in the Uvalde region.
are represented diagrammatically in
Figure 6, which, however, necessarily
has a greatly exaggerated vertical scale.
The Midway, the lowest formation of
the Tertiary system in this region, lies
SPSUDIGBARNY. on the Escondido for-
mation ( extension of the Na-
varro shale) with but little discordance
of dip.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 71

The gravel and sand cap of the plateau, in large part filled with
caliche, is well exposed on State high-

way 3 a short distance south of the Hee!
railway. West of the divide the rail- Hiss

cin

i

mestone

of which rise several low ridges of
Escondido clay and sandstone. There

' a

road descends into a wide alluvial plain al iH ! Has LH E
comprising the valleys of Quihi, Hon- i ah ae (3 =
do, Seco, and other creeks and mostly ral | hl i. 4 3 =
floored with gravel and sand which Bu it x of oh ie
hide the underlying clay of the Escon- sl zl Hele ch $ a
dido formation. This formation, how- eye ll Wats E
ever, appears in a few hills that rise Sh ie ie esl 8
out of the plain and extend along part a HA \° ; el S| Sa S
of its southern margin. A few miles s ls niet : g
north of the railroad the underlying od lea i N 3
formations appear in succession, for ey Healt N Pi
there is a general rise of the strata to 7 iL Stahl i SS) 3
the north and considerable faulting, in iif inl } :
part with uplift on the north side. In i ls i . SH i, 2
about 15 miles the Georgetown and Mi Shit : \} ee
Edwards limestones come to the sur- l ly lia iy it R st 5 i
face, constituting the Edwards Plateau, att vil SE
which is in view far to the north as Fe ie HH : N || > 8
the railroad crosses the divide north- ill Ee N 1} 8 Mi
west of Dunlay. A cross section of this | | ist Nii | 8
region is shown on sheet 10, opposite | El :| a AW] s 2
page 69. iH if Wh s | 3 3
At Hondo (own’do; Spanish, deep) H| | TEE S| 3
the railroad is on an alluvial plain out te [pits = Sih | 7 :
=

‘ =e alm IT ———
SS LE

Hondo.

WL eg ALL

:
Elevation 889 feet. formations in the shal- ; | c | : N
tion 2500.* A S| | out

New Orleans 622 miles. low valleys of Hondo S| | ‘ip k N
Fen and Verde Creeks. f ile)! Le BN ;
old Comanche Indian village was}! ise i! ii: it N ¢
situated near Hondo, and the flint for _[.' | = Sean
arrowheads was obtained from pebbles, [3 5 1 [eter i NS | ae
which are abundant in the neighbor- 2:1) .2 H ‘| SHE i NS fg
hood, brought by streams from the _ |l/)'|!../ | Was NN F
lateau of Edwards limestone to the [f,/'[):: | Jed: fiill NSE:
plateau one to =| | ee SSE :
north. | IHNEN a
In the Hondo region and westward | iyi he Elie bie NSIS &

to Uvalde most of the land is under
5 On Verde Creek, 4 miles northeast | base of the Tertiary are exposed, with
of Hondo, ledges of limestone at the | characteristic fossils, on a block dropped

72 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES
cultivation with varied crops, including considerable corn and cotton,
and there are many cattle, sheep, and goats. Poultry raising and

are important industries.
D’Hanis (named after an old French settler but settled by south
Germans) is on the alluvial plain, but hills of the older formations rise
to the south and north. To the west and south

D’Hanis. are high banks of clay of the Escondido formation,
Population 2 ong which is worked for brick and tile. Two principal

New Orleans 630 miles, terrace levels will be noted in this region, a lower one

of alluvium and an upper one capped by sand and
gravel (late Tertiary?). Old D’Hanis, a mile east of the station,
south of the tracks, was on the early stage route from San Antonio to
El Paso. Near by is a large gravel pit showing the thickness of the
alluvial filling. To the south is a high hill with a cross on top, which

was placed there originally as a landmark and is at present a shrine

for the Mexican people of the region.

A mile west of D’Hanis the railroad crosses Seco Creek (say’co)
which drains a part of the Edwards Plateau. On its banks 2 miles
to the north are the ruins of Fort Lincoln, 1849-1852, once garrisoned
with 141 men to keep the Comanche Indians and outlaws in check.

Beyond Seco Creek there is a long ascent on a slope of clay (Escon-
dido) to the summit of the wide, high plateau which separates the
valleys of Seco Creek and the Sabinal River (sah-bee-nahl’). This
plateau, nearly 200 feet high, is heavily capped by sand with coarse
gravel and boulders, in large part cemented by caliche. There are
many small exposures of this capping, notably one in a gravel pit
ath of the tracks just east of Seco siding. It extends north to the
foot of the rise to the Edwards Plateau, about 5 miles north, and to
the west it slopes down somewhat and terminates at the edge of a
steep down slope 111; miles west of D’Hanis.
by @ fault that crosses the region

northeast to southwest a short

Austin chalk, Eagle Ford limestone, and
Del Rio clay crop out. The Del 1 Rio in

:
8,
a
E
3
@

(See table on p. 75.)
Another outcrop of Midway limestone,
similarly down-faulted, i

limestone and overlying shale, as shown
in Plate 11, A, and farther up the ereek

es and _ Ford beds is
shown in Plate 9, B

co Creek, nied 3 miles north of
pia has moderately high banks of
Anacacho limestone, and a short dis-
tance farther north the Austin chalk is
well The beds are consider-
ably fentind Farther north are foot-
hills of Austin chalk, a zone of Buda
and Del Rio outcrop, and long slopes of
Georgetown limestone.

Thy

“3

bee

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 7

THE ALAMO, SAN ANTONIO, TEX

Here in 1836 a band of 182 Texans were besieged by the Mexican Army.

B. PALACE OF SPANISH GOVERNOR, MILITARY PLAZA, SAN ANTONIO, TEX.

Recently restored.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 8

A. AUSTIN CHALK IN SAN PEDRO PARK, SAN ANTONIO, TEX

The thick hard layer in the — consists largely of Gry phaea aucella, an oyster reef of Comanche
time (Lower Cretaceous). (Stephenson.)

ERN PART ¢ OF S SAN pei tate
White caliche, 10 feet 1, 10 feet, and Midway shaly

clay, rs ‘og "(Stephenson.)

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 9

B. FAULT IN BUDA LIMESTONE ON HONDO CREEK, 7 MILES NORTH-NORTH-
WEST OF HONDO, TEX.

Eagle Ford beds which abutted against the fault are soft and therefore have been removed by
erosion. (Stephenson.)

;

NIE
(Stephenson.)

C. COLUMNAR STRUCTURE IN BASALT IN CHATFIELD HILL, WEST OF
KNIPPA, TEX.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 10

A, QUARRY IN POROUS se ACACHO LIMESTONE mpc ac ATED WITH ASPHALT,
OUTHEAST OF CLINE,

. EAGLE FORD SLABBY LIMESTONE LYING UNCON-
FORMABLY ON MASSIVE BUDA LIMESTONE ON BANK
OF NUECES RIVER, 4 MILES NORTHWEST OF HACIENDA
SIDING, TEX.

(Stephenson.)

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE il

A. ANACACHO LIMESTONE AT ee. WATER HOLE, 3 MILES NORTH OF
HONDO, TEX.

Capped by 10 feet of gravel. (Stephenson.)

B. DEL RIO CLAY CAPPED cay BUDA LIMESTONE (b) IN RAILROAD CUT HALF
A MILE WEST OF COMSTOCK, TEX

Looking north.

aie

C RECESSES AND pp btibieiginr: IN GEORGETOWN N LIMESTONE, CASTLE CANYON,
VILS RIVER WEST OF DEL RIO, TEX.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 12

A. RAILROAD BRIDGE OVER C in N OF PECOS RIVER, 12 MILES WEST OF
“OMSTOCK, TEX.

The walls are Georgetown limestone lying nearly horizontal

B. BRAHMA CATTLE

Bred and crossbred extensively in southern Tex s because of their ability to withstand scarcity
of water at pasture

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 73

Sabinal (sah-bee-nahl’) is on a sand and gravel plain that borders

and extends west from the Sabinal River, which is crossed by the rail-

road a mile west of the station. On this stream there

Sabinal. is an almost continuous succession of exposures of the

Reutie ole whup strata of Upper Cretaceous age, beginning with low

New Orleans 643 miles. Cliffs of Anacacho limestone south of the railroad.®

The name of the place is derived from the word

“sabina (sa-bee’na),” the Spanish name for juniper, misapplied by the

Mexicans to the cypress tree, of which there is a small group on the
Sabinal River a mile west of the station.

The Blanco River, which is crossed 4 miles beyond the Sabinal
River, carries but little water except in times of freshet. Just west
of it are exposures of alluvial sand and gravel containing much caliche,
and the ridge near Yucca is one of the numerous remnants of an old
gravel-capped high terrace in this general region.

A mile southwest of Knippa is a prominent knoll known as Chat-
field Hill, caused by a mass of hard diabase which has been intruded

in the Cretaceous strata. It is similar to many other

Knippa. igneous masses that are more or less prominent topo-
ee graphic features in the surrounding region and for a
New Orleans 654 miles. long distance west. These igneous rocks have come
in a molten condition through cracks from a deep-

seated source and either formed irregular conical masses or spread
out in “sills” or layers between the sedimentary strata. They lift
the overlying beds and in many places flex or break them irregularly.
The mass near Knippa is extensively quarried for road metal just
south of the railroad. A notable feature seen especially in the upper
part of the quarries is the columnar structure of the rock, such as is
developed in many intruded igneous masses (notably in the Palisades
of the Hudson opposite New York City). This structure is developed
y shrinkage in cooling, both in intrusive masses and in many lava
flows. <A portion of oneof the quarries is shownin Plate 9,C. Just
north of Chatfield Hill the railroad crosses two main branches of the
Frio River (free’o), which comes from the Edwards Plateau. The
size of the bridges at this place indicates that provision is made for
the passage of a great body of water in time of freshet. A short
distance farther west are conspicuous limestone hills a mile or so
north of the railroad which consist of an upfaulted block of George-
town limestone. In the adjoining foothills are extensive outcrops of

** The Anacacho limestone crops out | adjoining slopes 4 miles north of Sa-
at intervals to the north for 4 miles, | bi
with a short interruption caused by a
low arch and fault that reveal the
underlying Austin chalk. This chalk

pears in the river banks and on
152109°—33——_6

‘

74 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Eagle Ford and Buda limestones and Del Rio clay, the Eagle Ford
beds being exposed for some distance along the railroad near Ange
siding. Big Mountain, a mile northwest of Ange, is made up of
Georgetown limestone. The Cretaceous strata in this vicinity are
penetrated by igneous masses, some of which, on account of their

hardness, crop out prominently. (Turn to sheet 11.)
The train passes about 2 miles north of Uvalde, with which the
station is connected by a paved boulevard. Uvalde is the name of a
Spanish officer who with 20 soldiers defeated many

Uvalde. times that number of Comanches. The region is
petinrgectcatoaag mostly a smooth alluvial plain in which rise many
rieans 664 miles. Small ridges and knobs of Cretaceous strata or the

igneous masses that penetrate them. There are also
higher terraces of considerable extent capped by gravel, which mark
an earlier stage of the topographic development of the region. Not
far north is the edge of the Edwards Plateau,” a highland consisting
of a wide area of the hard Georgetown and Edwards limestones lying
nearly horizontal and deeply trenched by many rivers and creeks.
Not far north of Uvalde and at intervals to the east and south-
east are exposures of Eagle Ford limestone, Buda limestone, and the
yellow Del Rio clay. Along or not far from the railroad to the south
are small outcrops of Austin chalk, and from 10 to 20 miles southwest
and south are exposures of sandstone and clay of the Indio forma-
tion (Tertiary), in places underlain by Midway formation. Some
of the general relations are shown in the cross section on sheet 11.
The stratigraphic succession is given in the following table:

The Edwards Plateau constitutes | areas from which the younger lime-
a large part of central Texas and near | stone has been removed.
Big Spring is overlapped by the High e sharp rise at the eastern and
Plains without much topographic break. | southern edge of the Edwards Plateau,
The late Tertiary deposits of the High usually referred to as the Balcones
ins were on a plain of the | escarpment, owes its prominence to th
limestones of the Edwards Plateau but presence of the hard limestone, in
did not cover the portion south of places uplifted by faults but generally
latitude 31°. The Edwards Plateau rising rapidly on the dip. Parts of
extends west to the Marathon uplift | the plateau are so deeply trenched as
and east to the vicinity of San Antonio | to present many isolated mesas and
and Austin. In larger part it is capped | buttes. (Mesa (may’sah), a Spanish
by 100 feet or more of Georgetown | word meaning table, is applied to a flat-
limestone (Washita group), the Ed- topped butte or hill; one that has a
wards limestone appearing in the sloping tabular surface is called a
slopes of the valleys and on some of the cuesta (kways’tah),)

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 10

ies
Bee oa = : Pexy:
— = oa
Go form:— om
Se oe

——

—
——

J Iidio for

—
7
1s

2S"

ae a ee ee
SS eS == Escongid
yaaa
le Ford y= ACS cache
* (SAYRE)

oo

= =I

alk,

oe Es ae
=
I — =
acho ls.
ag!

ar
acae
577 Sapper 9
stin Ch
— — :

: EScondido form.

I~AG
5 Miles

. ay

is ok.

pare 0s

DIAGRAMMATIC SECTION AGROSS MEDINA COUNTY NEAR LONGITUDE 99

_e«Midway formation
Quaternary gravels and sands not shown

A ae a ey

a
Lf SSsaecee

I

om eas SR ae Hg
TAnacacho
A

= Escondido form.
Washita group
San gy sa es pa Saas
= Edwards

a

Midway formation

_¢ Washita group

Texas

9

0

> _—
——

Y)
or

1
500,000
(approximately)
lo 15

The distances from New Orleans.

20 KILOMETERS

terval 100 feet

a., are shown every

10 miles, and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart

The quadrangle shown on the map wit
in the lower left corner is m
topographic map of that nam

a name in parentheses
‘pped in detail on the U. 8. G. 8.
e€

ae ae

20 MILES

sg ee &
Sheet 9

Gravel and sand (alluvium and terrace deposits)
Sandstone
Bandas } q Tertiary
cae , 2 (Eocene)
Limestone and shale 3
;° Shale and sandstone into Navarro to east)
¥ Limestone; some marl and clay into Taylor to east) | Upper Cretaceous be
(Gulf series) fan]
Chalk
Limestone, slabby
I Limestone, compact
de . Washita group Lower Cretaceous
Limestone . (Comanche series)
Limestone, massive } Fredericksburg group
Igneous rocks, intruded in various Post-Cretaceous
: - ’ Geology: West ide 99° 30° from Uvalde
~~ Fault folio by T. W. Vaughan; Medina regen data by
; Consiaied thiah L. W. Stephenson, R. A. Liddell, A. N. Sayre,
ene R. L. Cannon, Julia Gardner, and N. H. ‘on
WILLIAMS @ HEINTZ CO. WASH. DC

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 75

Formations of central Texas

[Vaughan and others]
‘ * a Thick-
Formation Character and notable fossils ness (fect)
Pliocene and | Alluvium.__-____- Sand and gravel; terraces along streams 0-70
Pleistocene. ‘High tern eke Gravel with much chert; caps hills and old terraces________ 0-80
—_— Unconformity |_——_-——~
ndio. edded and cross-bedded sands and sandstones and dark- |800-850
genet clays, for the mos 908 mab nonmarine and in places
ma ; Ostrea Of Wilcox age.
Eocene (early | Midway Concretionary gray fastens and sandy clay with no observed | 10-120
Tertiary). fossils, in ag wae 10 to 20 feet, followed below by glauco-
nitie sands, in places loosely indurated, with a calcareous

eat ste tis yellow calcareous pack sand containing
Cucullaea, Venericardia, Turritella, and Enclimatoceras.

————|-Unconformity.
Escondido--__--_-__. Shale and calcareous sandstones, coarse and fine; Ostrea 700
cortex, Sphenodiscus pleurisepta,

Guifaertes Anacacho_.--.-.__ Impure limestone and marl; Echinocorys terana, Exogyra | 0-350
(Upper Cre- pon etaebntey Eyed-eoncpi shalt Baculites asper, Scaphites hip- 5
pocrepis, ces,
taceous). | austin ._____. Chalk, white and yellow; Gryphaea aucella, Inoceramus |350-400
undulato-plicatus, lietentaes teranum
Eagle Ford_..:.... ares and flaggy limestone, mostly impure, Inoceramus 150(?)
atus.
Mv aua oreng IU
INES 2 CSS ee Pimpstonet 25 ii tec -| 60-75
Del Rio ie eee ane Yellow ra ; Exogyra arietina 30
Comanche se-| Georgetown_-_-____ Lim imastotion Ki Wgene ACOs oe ae a 50-150
ries (Lower | Edwards__-_....__ Limestone, mostly hard, massive, cavernous; much flint in 500+-
Cretaceous). copy:
Comanche Peak...| L estone, yellow, impure; many Erogyra terana..__._.... 60

There is considerable agriculture about Uvalde, but the climate
approaches the semiarid, with an annual rainfall of approximately
inches. Although Sogn i is usually a short rainy season in the spring
or ants summer and another in the autumn, most of the streams are
dry for the greater part of the year. Watacve pastures sustain many
cattle, sheep, and goats. In places there is an extensive growth of
‘‘prickly pear,” or me (no-pahl’), which is used rather extensively
for forage after the thorns are singed off. A large amount of honey
is produced in this region, aided greatly by the presence of various
plants such as mesquite and huajillo (wah-hee’yo), which yield much
nectar for the bees. There is a notable spring on the Leona River
a mile below Uvalde, which is locally estimated to furnish about
7,000,000 gallons a day, but the volume varies somewhat with the
seasons. The water is used for irrigation.

In the region between Uvalde and Del Rio portions of the Rio
Grande Plain, which is a western extension of the Gulf Coastal Plain,
reach the Southern Pacific line in places notably about Spofford
and westward. The lower lands are mostly level and the valleys are
shallow. Smooth surfaces prevail about Spofford and westward to
Del Rio. The Edwards Plateau lies some distance north, beyond

limestones, and many buttes or knobs of hard, igneous rocks peeves
prominently above the general surface.

76

GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

From Uvalde Station past Hacienda siding (ah-see-ane’da) , nearly to

2)

Anacacho Mtn.

id te

Alluvium

“8

Fiaure 7.—Sketch section —e Mountain south through Anacacho Mountain, Tex.

the Nueces River, the railroad is on asmooth plain of
alluvium. There i is a notable exposure of the uncon-
formable contact of the Eagle Ford slabby limestone
on the massive Buda limestone on the bank of the
Nueces River 4 miles northwest of Hacienda siding,
as shown in Plate 10, B. The Nueces River is in a
shallow valley also floored by alluvium, with rocky
banks at intervals. In dry weather it carries little
water, but farther south it is a large watercourse,
entering the Gulf of Mexico at Corpus Christi.
In the days when Texas was a part of the Republic
of Mexico, as a department of Coahuila, the Nueces
River was its southern boundary, between it and
Tamaulipas and Coahuila, both of which straddled .
the Rio Grande; on the west Texas adjoined the
States of Chihuahua (che-wah’wa) and Nuevo Méjico
as far as the Red River. The available geographic
data of those times were so few, however, that the
contemporary maps were greatly distorted as to
locations and distances. Under the Republic the
wide area between the Nueces and the Rio Grande,
long in dispute between Texas and Mexico, was a
no man’s land, roamed over by Comanche and
other Indians and by many outlaws.

West of the Nueces River the railroad ascends
into a region of low buttes and ridges of Austin
chalk with scattered small outcrops. Trees are rare.

: Lewis Hill to the north and Obi
Cline. Hill to the south are igneous, intru-
cso gad feet. _ sive masses (basalt), and larger bod-
pvt ee ies of these rocks constitute buttes

farther south. The chalk is covered
by loam and sand (alluvium) near Cline and for
some distance west, but it is visible in adjacent
slopes. Eight miles southeast of Cline are exten-
sive quarries in the Anacacho limestone, which there
carries a ere ees of asphalt. (See pl. 10,

EY odie south, as shown in Figure 7

cae its iecteen part here, as in the region farther east, the pee

2

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES = of §

limestone lies on Austin chalk, but in its western part a sheet of
Upson clay intervenes between them. North of the mountain are
long slopes of Austin chalk succeeded by slabby buff Eagle Ford
limestone, which thickens considerably to the west. About 12
miles north of Odlaw siding is Turkey Mountain, a plug of intrusive
igneous rock in part capping a mound of Eagle Ford, Buda, and Del
Rio beds. The railroad is on Austin chalk from Odlaw west for sey-
eral miles. At Chacon Creek (cha-cone’), southwest of Anacacho
siding, Anacacho Mountain ends through a rapid thinning of the lime-
stone or through change of its upper member into softer rocks of the
San Miguel formation and also of its lower member into Upson clay.
From Spofford a branch of the Southern Pacific runs to Eagle
Pass (old Fort Duncan), an important town on the Rio Grande, 34
miles south. The railroad here is on the broad Rio
Spofford. Grande Plain, developed on the upper part of the
Elevation 1,009 feet. Austin chalk, overlain by a thick deposit of sand and
aerating miles, gravel with much caliche, a covering that extends to
and beyond Amanda siding. The chalk is revealed
on Pinto Creek near Pinto siding, in a quarry 3 miles beyond Pinto,
and also in the arroyos to the south, which cut deeply to reach the
Rio Grande. Ten miles north of Spofford, just south of Brackett-
ville, on State highway 3, is Fort Clark, which was established in
1852 to protect travelers on the old trail. The fort was named from
Maj. John B. Clark, United States Army. In it have been stationed
General Gorgas when he was a second lieutenant, General Bulks,
General Shafter, and General Pershing. In 1931 there were 386
soldiers and 44 officers there. The fort is near the Las Moras Springs
(Spanish, moras, blackberries), which ordinarily have an average
flow of about 22,000,000 gallons a day. (Meinzer.) Still farther
north is Las Moras Mountain, due to an intrusion of igneous rock
which has been forced up in molten condition through the Cretaceous
strata. Other conspicuous igneous masses near by are Elm Moun-
tain, 10 miles northwest of Pavo siding, and Pinto Mountain, 10 miles
northwest of Brackettville.
In the region between Spofford and Del Ric the formations trav-
ersed are as follows:

s Thick
Formation Character ness
(feet)

Aust Chalk and soft massive limestone
Bal Ford Shale and slab lim limestone, buff ye
60

Del Rio Bat, fin hard la:

Georgetown Massive finest ayers, with many Ezogyra arietina__._....-_--.- 60

Although the general regional dip of the strata is to the east and
southeast, they are flexed by an anticline with about 150 feet of uplift

78 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

the axis of which trends west by north. It extends from Sycamore
Creek, 2 miles south of Amanda siding, to the San Felipe Valley, a
few miles north of Del Rio, the axis passing about half a mile south of
Johnstone siding.®

Mud Creek, crossed between Standart and Amanda sidings, is
mentioned in many narratives of travel on the old trail from San
Antonio west, which was near the present railroad line in this vicinity.
A mile west of Amanda, on the descent to Sycamore Creek, there is
a 10-foot cut in gravel and sand, which reveals the character of the
deposit that covers the wide plains extending to Spofford and far to
the north and south. The underlying Eagle Ford beds are exposed in
a small cut 14 miles west of Amanda. As indicated by the extensive
bridge by which it is spanned, Sycamore Creek is a mighty stream in
time of freshet. (Turn to sheet 12.) The cap of sand, gravel, and
caliche begins again west of this creek and covers the plateau to a
point within 3 miles of Del Rio. It lies on Buda limestone, which is
exposed in several shallow valleys. On its western edge, a few miles
east of Del Rio, is a large “tank farm” of the Mid-Kansas Oil Co.,
with a capacity of 80,000 barrels supplied from oil fields far to the north
by pipe line. Just beyond this place there is a steep down grade on
buff clays of the Del Rio formation capped by the Buda limestone.
These strata constitute bluffs 50 to 100 feet high extending far to the
north and south from the railroad grade and forming the east slope
of the Rio Grande Valley; it is from the exposures in these bluffs that
the Del Rio clay was named. In the bottom lands not far west of
the Buda-Del Rio bluff is San Felipe Creek, which has cut a shallow
trench in the underlying massive limestone (uppermost Georgetown).
‘This limestone is overlain widely by gravel, sand, and caliche of the
alluvial plain on which Del Rio is built, which extends to the Rio
Grande 2 to 3 miles distant.

Del Rio is on the frontier, for there are no other large towns to the
west until El Paso is reached. It is a commercial center for a wide
i district of stock, sheep, and goat raising, wool, mohair,
Del Rio. and agricultural interests, and a port of entry from
ee *~ sig Mexico by way of Villa Acufia (vee’ya a-coon’ya) on
dt ae 742 miles. the Coahuila side of the Rio Grande, with which it is

connected by a long bridge. On the alluvial "plain
about Del Rio there is considerable agriculture sustained b y irrigation,

* A 2,800-foot boring 3 miles east of | Pennsylvanian age below 2,175 feet.
Amanda idi is thought to have | This indicat thick f about 2,235
reached the base of the Edwards lime- | feet for the Comanche series, which

_ Stone at a depth of about 2,000 feet. | thickens to the west from the Uvalde-

A boring 6 miles north of Del Rio | Brackettville regi Ww bearin
_ A boring nies worth. of Del Rio | ion. ater- =
a started in Del Rio clay and penetrated | beds were found in both holes (Stephen-

ee

{|
|
l
|

a.

Hh

ards |;

Austin chal
~ — QO a

Ba

k--

Glen Rose fs.

5 Miles

AGROSS UVALDE COUNTY ABOUT S MLLES WEST OF UVALDE (SAYRE)

N

DIAGRAMMATIC SECTIO

Quaternary gravels and sands not shown

. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 11

Ss ,
100 30 100
Texas
EXPLANATION
A Gravel and sand (alluvium and high terrace deposits) 90’+ Quaternary
Sandstone; lay, Indio 140’+ Eien
coal, and limestone (underlain to SE. by Midway in places)
C Sandstone and clay Escondido. 100-200’
Upper part grading into
Limestone aseugie: ee Miguel to SW.
D 00-400’ | Upper Cretaceous
Shale (west of longitude 100° 15’) = Upson (Gulf series)
r\3/ E Chalk ustin 350-400’
ie : 0? nume ik 2 F Limestone, slabby Eagle Ford 75-140’
5 ad \ { | 7 },0 fai Unconformity
j. L 1] Batt {Limestone Buda 60-75’
° : : ~~ "4 ae ep ’
= te H esi 3 vad awe G {Clay Del Rio Washita group 50-60 tie Cretaceous 29
F ! BS H_ Limestone, massive, blue Georgetown 150’+ { (Comanche series) 30°
y | x > PES 1 Limestone, massive, partly cherty Edwards Fredericksburg group 500’+
j o G J Igneous rocks (intrusive) i ! :
& : (mostly diabase) Geology: East of longitude 100° 30° by T. W. Vaughan, 1896-1899
recesempsemicn) ST) Z
Oo +
j20
=
|
7. ‘Ss. | <n 4 °
a an °
a .
| = St 76 a
s ake a os
aay OBS S ..
3 into 4
= A
= into
£14 1060 \

id\

EL IOMSa

Moras

@)
of y
25 \ 2g
u
Scale 500,000
linch-8 milés (approximately)
1@) & IO 15 20 MILES
, ee Pa, a MILOMETERS
ntour interval 100 feet
Datum 1s mean see feve/
The distances from New Orleans, L re shown every
10 miles, and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart
Each quadrangle shown on the map with a name in parentheses
in the lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. §
topographic map of that name
30 100°

Topography: U. S. Geological Survey quadran,
and Del Rio sheet 423, Engineer Corps, U.

ace a erent
WILLIAMS @ HEINTZ CO. WASH.D.C.

le maps
S. Army

79

for the climate is too arid for dry farming. Some of the water is ob-
tained from San Felipe Spring, in the eastern part of the city, which
has a flow of 50,000 gallons a minute (Meinzer). It issues from the
top of the Georgetown limestone, probably rising through crevices
from sandy beds at the base of the limestone or from sandstone of the
underlying Trinity group. The original settlement here, owing its loca-
tion to the great spring, was called San Felipe. Here an old Mexican
trail joined the trail connecting El Paso with San Antonio and New
Orleans. Turning eastward it crossed Mud Creek, 16 miles east of
Del Rio, and went on through Fort Clark, Uvalde, Castroville, and
San Antonio. To the west it reached the valley of the Devils River
at Fort Hudson, considerably above its mouth, thus avoiding the
deep canyons of the Devils River and Pecos River northwest of Del
Rio. (See p. 80.)
Not far west of Del Rio the Coastal Plain gives place to the ra
province as the hard limestones of the Comanche series rise to
surface. For the first few miles the railroad crosses

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

Devils River. the alluvial river flat, reaching the bank of the Rio
Elevation 955 feet. Grande at McKees siding. Here the valley develops
oe vat OES into a shallow canyon which deepens toward the west

as the massive Georgetown limestone gradually rises
and presents cliffs along the river bank. The railroad follows the
river to a point about 15 miles above Del Rio, where Castle Canyon,
the mouth of the Devils River Canyon, affords a natural gateway to
the mouth of California Creek, which breaks the west wall of the
Devils River Canyon near milepost 395. The canyon scenery in this
vicinity is striking, the high walls of massive Georgetown limestone *
presenting a variety of picturesque erosional forms, some of which are
shown in Plate 11, C. The fluted columns and recesses in the lime-
stone are especially impressive, and there are many caves which
afforded shelter and hiding places for the Indians who formerly in-
habited the region and left hieroglyphs on the cliffs and cavern walls.
These caves are now the resort of bats; in some of the smaller ones
bees store large supplies of honey. Washita fossils have been collected
nearly to the bottom of the canyon of Devils River, where the top of
the Edwards limestone is e A conspicuous feature at Devils
River station is the power plant that generates power for Del Rio and

59 According to Dumblethereis at the
base of the Devils River section a sandy
water-bearing limestone which is tapped
by wells on surrounding plateaus. The

Roemer (at base), Pervinquieria leon-

ensis Conrad (70 feet higher), Kingeana
wacoensis Roemer, and at the top a bed
with many large Caprinula? crassifibra
Roemer, overlain by marly beds with
other Washita fossils and a more mas-
sive bed which extends to the base of
the Del Rio clay farther east.

80 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES
many other places. The workers of the power plant are housed in a
very attractive cottage village on top of the c

The Devils River is a remarkably clear and eanphert stream which
flows for many miles in a deep limestone canyon. It has its origin in
great springs not far north of the railroad; the clear sparkling water
flows down the Rio Grande in a stream which for many miles keeps
separate from the muddy water of the main river.

In the valley of the Devils River about 8 miles above its mouth was
old Fort Hudson, an important military post in the early days, on the
trail from San Antonio and San Felipe. North from Fort Hudson one
trail followed the valley of the Devils River to Beaver Lake, thence
crossed the ridge to Howard’s Well, on Howard Creek, and went over
the divide to Camp Lancaster, on the Pecos River, beyond which it
joined the Emigrant or Butterfield stage route from San Angelo to
Fort Stockton. A trail westward from Fort Hudson followed more
nearly the present line of the railroad through Camp Bullis, Meyer’s
Spring, and Langtry to Pefia Colorada, near Marathon.

On leaving Devils River the railroad ascends the valley of California
Creek on a moderately steep grade and thence, turning westward,
climbs nearly 700 feet in a distance of about 25 miles, to a divide at
Rona siding.”

In this region there is considerable change in vegetation, and the
country looks more ‘‘western.” The climate is more arid than in
the region east of Uvalde; hin cease on the upland, and the bushes
are smaller and more widely spaced. The principal plants that con-
tinue are mesquite, huisache, and yucca. Sage, palofierro, Spanish
bayonet, lechuguilla, covillea, beargrass (Nolina), sotol, ocotillo, and
maguey begin to be noticeable.* There are also many annuals, most
of which flower conspicuously when there is rain. Large numbers of
sheep, goats, and cattle are raised.

® Tn this ascent the top of the George-
town limestone is reached near Feely
siding, and the slopes on each side of
the valley afford many outcrops of the
overlying Del Rio clay, about 75 feet
thick, capped by Buda _ limestone,
which makes a cliff. Just southwest
of Feely siding is a fine exposure of the

‘there is no noticeable difference in the

attitude of the beds, there having been
uplift without flexing. Beyond Cabra
siding a small doming of the strata
brings the Del Rio clay and Buda lime-
stone prominently into view, and these

are also exposed in many cuts to
and beyond Comstock (nearly to mile-
post 416). The exposures near this
town present another low dome which
has the massive limestone at the top of

by W. L.
—— (Vegetation of the Sotol country
in Texas; Texas Univ, Bull. 60, 1905).

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 81

re is a striking exposure on the north side of the track just

beyond Comstock in which Del Rio yellow clays are capped by Buda

limestone, as shown in Plate 11, B. The Del Rio

Comstock. clay at all places contains thin layers of hard, dark

Elevation 1,546 feet. limestone carrying an abundance of Exogyra arietina,
aaa en ee mites, the characteristic fossil.

A short distance beyond milepost 416 (3 miles
beyond Comstock) the outcrop of Eagle Ford limestone begins, and
this formation caps the rolling country about Rona and Viaduct.
From the highlands in this vicinity there are excellent views of the
Burro Mountains, in Mexico (State of Coahuila), 15 miles or more to
the south. The Eagle Ford beds in this region are impure slabby
limestones of pale-reddish tint, highly characteristic in aspect. They
are beautifully layered and in places show crumples and faults. From
Viaduct siding the railroad descends across the Eagle Ford beds and
Buda limestone and reaches the platform of massive Georgetown
limestone, in which the canyon of the Pecos River is cut. Underlying
the Georgetown is the Edwards limestone. (See pl. 12, A.) The
railroad crosses this impressive canyon on a bridge 2,184 feet long
(middle span 185 feet), built in 1890, noted for its idiaht (321 feet)
and the view that it affords. The uéjleanal when first constructed,
went west from a point near Comstock and, deflecting to the left,
passed into the canyon of the Rio Grande to cross the Pecos River
at its mouth; thence it climbed from a side canyon of the Rio Grande
to the present site of Shumla. It was on this part of the line that
construction from the east and from the west made their junction on
January 12, 1883, at a point 24 miles west of the Pecos Bridge, or 8
miles east of Shumla.

The Pecos River rises in the high ridges of the Sangre de Cristo
Mountains, a part of the Rocky Mountain system, in north-central
New Mexico, and empties into the Rio Grande about 4 miles below
the railroad bridge, a short distance below the Pecos Bridge on High-
way 3. Its length is about 600 miles. The portion of the State
lying west of the stream is called trans-Pecos Texas. Apparently the
first white man to visit this section was Cabeza de Vaca, in his
wanderings across Texas in 1528 to 1536. In 1541 the Pecos was
crossed far above this point by Coronado on his expedition in search
of the city of Quivira. He noted in the region many buffalo but
only a few roving Indians. Later the Pecos was crossed by Espejo
on his return trip into part of the region discovered by Coronado, and
he called it Rio Vaca (Cow River). In 1590 Castafio de Sosa chris-
tened it the Rio Salado because he found it salty in places. West
Texas was the home of the Apache Indians and later of their bitter
enemies, the Comanches, who came down from Wyoming about 1700.
The Indians obtained food and clothing from the buffalo, great herds of
‘ which roamed the plains, blocking caravans and even railroad trains.

82 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

With the coming of the white man, buffalo killing became an organ-
ized business. A man was paid 25 cents for skinning an animal, and
could handle 25 to 40 hides a day. In 1877-78 more than 100,000
animals are said to have been slaughtered for hide or for meat.
Buffalo hides, which at first brought several dollars each, finally
became so cheap as to be hardly worth taking. Many bulls were
killed only for their tongues, which were a great delicacy. The
ruthless slaughter finally resulted in the extinction of the herds,
which formerly were so vast that they stopped immigrant trains.
Then the gathering of the bleached bones that covered the prairies
became an industry. From $6 to $12 a ton was paid for them, and
more than 500,000 tons were handled by the two railroads. Great
piles of bones stacked awaiting shipment became a frequent sight.

West of the Pecos Canyon is a rocky plateau of Georgetown lime-
stone which in places to the west is capped by Buda and Eagle Ford
limestones. The relations of these three formations are well shown
in the railroad cut a mile east of Shumla siding. The Del Rio clay is
generally absent in this vicinity and for 40 miles west; the last expo-
sure (in which it is only 3 to 6 feet thick) is near the highway south
of the Pecos bridge. The Buda limestone, 15 to 20 feet thick, a
white massive rock breaking into irregular fragments, is exposed at
many places. Near Dorso siding the overlying Eagle Ford limestones
appear again, and there are several cuts in which they are well dis-
played. Their slabby bedding and pale-reddish tint are very char-
acteristic. West of Dorso they occupy a shallow basin in which a
thickness of about 200 feet remains, the higher beds making prominent
buttes and ridges. In approaching Langtry a downgrade brings the
railroad onto Buda limestone, which walls several small canyons,
and finally the massive underlying Georgetown limestone is revealed
in several small but steep-walled canyons crossed by the railroad.
This formation makes 50-foot bluffs on the banks of the Rio Grande
at Langtry and extending up and down the valley for some distance.
The Eagle Ford beds are well exposed in the higher lands adjoining
the railroad in this vicinity, and they also constitute high hills in
Mexico. At many places in this general area the Buda limestone is
exposed in railroad and stream cuts, lying directly on the smeoth
surface of the massive upper member of the Georgetown limestone.
Its chalky-white appearance is characteristic.

Langtry is a small trading and shipping station built on a rocky
shelf of Georgetown limestone on the north bank of the Rio Grande.
Langtry. In the slopes above and along the railroad are excellent
Widvation 1300 tee ei of Buda limestone capped by Eagle Ford
Population 165.* short distance west are large spri from
ST ree iahidlk: the: water is pumped for ined .
Langtry is famous in Texas history as the headquarters of
__ the famous “Judge” Roy Bean during the days when no legitimate

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 12
101°30° . 101°

Texas

1
Scale 500,000
linch=8 miles (approximately)
5 10 15

20 MILES 3d

@
O,

fe} 5 10 i5 20 KILOMETERS
Contour interval 100 feet

* pian

~ ‘Ce The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every
3 ee % 10 miles, and the crossties are drawn J mile apart
na

——
SE
ge)
> 9

} iP}
pet G ga)

4A
H Eee 3
fl \\ PAZ
4 )

eV

aos

ey
PES
\

Vl SM n
a’ CAI
al ar 4 i Ge
Ly UG Ae % G
eA A AG nx 41
a; gy 4 Wy, Wes a
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if Gis en wi Ng fas 2

IS ames

°
BLU. UM VF a gape Ze
~ Po Sy AAD
EL 955 ff Z
= e Ay Lp
y nG

EXPLANATION O
A Gravel and sand (alluvium and high terrace deposits) Quaternary
B Limestone, chalky Austin chalk Upper Cretaceous
Limestone, impure, slabby Eagle Ford (Gulf series)
Limestone, massive Buda t \* ¢
Clay, yellow (absent west Del Rio ‘ s ay (74
of longitude 101° 22’) Washita group |; ower Cretaceous Vite heake 1 eA
. p ‘ (Comanche series) ) WARE
D Limestone, massive Georgetown : ;
i ¥
E Limestone Fredericksburg group j N
Geology by N. H. Darton y)
A

WILLIAMS @ HEINTZ CO. WASH. 9. C.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 83

law courts existed in the region. A Kentuckian and a member of
the Doniphan expedition of 1846 into Mexico, “Judge” Bean dis-
pensed liquor and supplies and acted as the embodiment of “the law
west of the Pecos” for many years in a shack which was falling to
ruins in 1932. He changed the name from Vinegarone to Langtry in
honor of the English actress Lily Langtry and had high expectations
that she would visit the place. Some years later, on her way east,
she stopped over a few hours to inspect her namesake, but meanwhile
the autocratic old judge had died. The town saw considerable activ-
ity a few years ago when it was headquarters for the rebuilding of the
railroad for several miles west and east to eliminate some curves
and heavy grades. These changes shortened the line considerably,
and the next milepost beyond 451 is 456 (from Harrisburg, Tex., an
official terminus of one of the Texas railroad corporations now included
in the Southern Pacific system). The resulting cuts, especially those
west of Langtry, some of which are 40 feet deep, give very fine eo
sures of the Eagle Ford
buff slabby limestone at
frequent intervals nearly
to Pumpville. Near that
place the route traverses
higher beds of chalky lime- Fievre 8.—Section at Langtry, Tex. Kef, Eagle Ford limestone;
stone (basal Austin) con- © Buds limestone; Ke,G 2 sis fuses awa
stituting a rolling plain of considerable extent. (Turn to sheet 13.)
Pumpville siding, a section house and pump station, is on the sum-
mit of the divide east of Lozier Creek. Wells here supply excellent
water for locomotives; this water is also used for

=

Pumpville. irrigation about the station with conspicuous results.
Population 0 The rapid descent west from Pumpville reveals

w Orleans §22 miles. Kagle Ford buff slabby limestones and ao the Buda
limestone, all lying nearly horizontal. Lozier Canyon,

reached just beyond Lecier siding, is a large arroyo, usually dry but
in times of freshet carrying a large stream. In the canyon slopes near
Lozier and past Malvado siding are many fine exposures of the Eagle
Ford-Buda contact, showing conformity of attitude, with low dips
to the south and east. Below the Buda, which is conspicuous as a
light-colored massive limestone, are low cliffs of the massive dark-gray
top member of the Georgetown limestone. The Buda limestone is in
two members of slightly different aspect and texture, and the yellow
Del Rio clay that underlies it to the east is entirely absent, although
near the large iron bridge over Meyers Canyon 2 feet of the basal
limestone of the Buda carries Exogyra arietina, a fossil characteristic
of the Del Rio clay. The Georgetown limestone is exposed in the
bed of the wash from Meyers Canyon to a point below Lozier. As
the railroad ascends the valley of Lozier Creek past Malvado, Watkins,

84 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

and Thurston sidings the chalky-white massive lower member of the
Buda limestone is conspicuous in places overlain by Eagle Ford beds,
On the low plateau to the north is a mantle of gravel and sand which
was deposited by an earlier Lozier Creek at a higher level, a stream
which had its source in the highlands far to the west. Remnants of
this deposit occur south of Dryden, about Mofeta, and in the region
south of Maxon Creek, 20 miles southwest of Sanderson. It con-
tains chert, sandstone with Pennsylvanian fossils, and novaculite,
from the Marathon uplift, and lavas from the Davis Mounteins.
About 5 miles west of Thurston siding an increase in dip brings up
the basal member of the Buda limestone and reveals the underlying
Del Rio rusty buff clay, which has come in again underground and
extends to and beyond Dryden.
At Dryden State Highway 3, which crosses the highlands to the
south, comes to the railroad and continues westward for some distance
along its south side. Dryden is in a broad, shallow
Dryden. valley bordered by low ridges of Buda limestone
Elevation 2,108 feet. underlain by Del Rio clay of rusty buff color. The
tion 60.* A ° .
New Orleans 854 miles. Buda consists of two massive limestone members sep-
arated by softer yellowish marly beds which contain
distinctive fossils. A mile or so west of Dryden these strata are
covered by the old river deposit above referred to, which constitutes
a wide, level plain. On the west side of this plain, about 2 miles
west of Mofeta siding, the Georgetown limestone comes to the surface.
To the south are high mountains in Mexico, which appear to be not
very distant. A short distance beyond Mofeta the railroad descends
into the canyon of Sanderson Creek, which it then ascends to its
head, 40 miles to the west. The picturesque canyon walls are about
200 feet high and consist of Edwards and Comanche Peak limestones
at the base and Georgetown beds above, the latter mostly massive lime-
stone but in places including some thin members of a more marly
nature in which Washita fossils are found. In this area the beds rise
to the west on the beginning of a large dome-shaped uplift which cul-
minates in the Marathon Basin and Glass Mountains. Some years ago
a deep boring for oil was made on the east slope of this dome at a point
about 12 miles southeast of Sanderson. It penetrated all the Lower
Cretaceous strata, 840 feet thick, and more than 1,000 feet of the un-
derlying black shales of Pennsylvanian age, but obtained no petroleum.
Another deep hole near Emerson, 10 miles west, had a similar result.
is the first town of any size west of Del Rio and is a
local center of trade and a shipping point for stock. It lies on the

: massi

Population 1,24. Edwards limestone lying on slabby beds of Comanche
Serene Peak limestone and overlain by a succession of massive
_ and softer beds representing the Georgetown limestone, about 200

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 85

feet in all. West of Sanderson the canyon is ascended on a moder-
ate grade, and as the slope of the valley and the easterly dip of the
beds are about the same in rate and direction the succession of
strata is uniform for several miles past Gavilan and Emerson sid-
ings. The adjoining highlands, capped by Georgetown limestone, are
so deeply incised by side draws and canyons that but little of the
original plateau surface remains. The rocky slopes support a scanty
growth of desert plants, and there is more or less mesquite growing in
the gravelly soil of the valley floor. Just west of Emerson siding is
the deep boring referred to on page 84. In places west of Emerson a
diminution of dip causes some of the lower beds of the limestone suc-
cession to pass beneath the bottom of the valley, and the limestone
walls become less high and precipitous.

In the region southwest of Sanderson and south of Alpine the Rio
Grande makes a great deflection to the south, and the country here
embraced by the river is known as the Big Bend. It is a very thinly
populated region of high mountains and many deep canyons, salable
those which the river has cut through some of the plateaus and
ridges. One of the most notable of these is the Santa Helena Canyon,
near Terlingua, which has very high, precipitous walls of limestone of
the Comanche series. In the earlier days the Big Bend country
harbored many outlaws, and large numbers of cattle were smuggled
across the Rio Grande at fords and other crossings. It was also a
favorite region for the Indians, mainly the Apache Lipans. These
people utilized the abundant maguey and sotol plants, baking the
buds of the flower stalk in ovens of heated rocks and fermenting the
juice into an alcoholic beverage of considerable potency. Long prior
to these Indians there was an earlier race which left traces of their
homes and numerous pictures on cliffs.

There are many remarkable plants in the Big Bend country and
other parts of western Texas. Resurrection plants, or “flor de pefia”
(Selaginella lepidophylla), occur in large numbers on some of the rocky
surfaces; many of them are sold as curiosities. When dry they roll
into a nestlike ball, but when wet they unfold into a mass of fernlike
fronds of a rich green color. The Mexicans use a decoction of this
plant as a cure for colic and indigestion. One of the common weeds
of the region, called trompillo (trome-pee’yo; Solanum elaeagnifolium),
with violet flowers and a berry like a small black marble, is much
used by the Mexicans for curdling milk in making cheese. Another
rather notable plant is a small, low cactus, Lophophora williamsi, of
radish shape, called peyote by the Mexicans and Indians. It bears 2
pale-pink flower in the early summer which develops into a greénish
berry i in a woolly sack, formerly much chewed by Indians, especially
in ceremonial prayers for the sick; some alkaloid content has a mildly
intoxicating effect, so that it has been called “white whisky.” Many

*

86 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

rocky slopes are dotted with a cactus resembling a huge pincushion
(Echinocereus stramineus), which bears a delicious fruit, locally called
pitahaya.

The plateau region extending west from Dryden to Longfellow and
beyond appears rocky and barren, but it affords fairly good pasturage
and sustains many cattle; sheep and goats are also raised with a large
yield of wool and mohair. The old Texas longhorn cattle have been
displaced, mostly by white-faced Herefords, which make more beef,
are hardier, and withstand the arid climate. There are also many
Brahmas, characterized by a hump and short straight horns; this
stock was introduced from India and has proved to be well adapted

to the dry climate. (See pl.

roo’ 12, B.) The great ‘open
range,” however, is mostly

's0° afeature of the past, and
; now, although there are
Rocks =i b100% some very large pastures,

<3 all are inclosed by barbed-

a _ wire fences. The old

Ps oi os a ah aT -_
a round-up” is no longer
— ee the great event in ranch
rr life, and most of the brand-
ing is done at the home
FIGURE 9.—Section near Maxon, Tex. Crpscrans: Kg, corral. (Turn to sheet 14.)
fasten tedcoaine ean caudate: wastidia: A few miles beyond
Be en heme Semation. . Peaneviyanien: Of, Tens Longfellow the tracks de-
flect to the south. High-
way 3 continues west up the Dry Creek Valley to a divide some-
what higher than the one utilized by the railroad.
Longfellow. The railroad follows a wide valley, which is drained
toemeaee in part by Sanderson Creek and beyond Rosenfeld
New Orleans 891 miles. Siding by Maxon Creek. The walls of the valley
consist of the Edwards and Georgetown limestones,

which crop out in massive gray ledges.

Near Maxon siding a prominent ledge of brown sandstone 100 feet
thick appears beneath the Edwards limestone in the canyon walls and
is in turn underlain by impure limestones and shales of the Glen Rose
formation of the Trinity group, which crop out in a succession’ of
benches and slopes, as shown in Figure 9. The walls are 300 to 500
feet high near Maxon, but they are mostly broken into ridges and
buttes. Maxon is near Maxon Springs, named for Lieutenant Maxon,
of the United States Army, who first described it.

_ Three miles beyond Maxon the railroad swings to the west and,

: leaving the limestone canyon, enters a broad plain out of which rise

many ridges of moderate height. This is the eastern edge of the

Basin. A short distance east of Tesnus siding the railroad

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 13

Lip
ODE

zy }
SF LAM WP EE IG.
SS a ae
—~ ¢: : N\

MBOOL PAYS is
yeh cteng gy 5 AF

S Ac

SY ¢ RSS
RS,”
IWS

S es
EL Bess

= bd
th SASS ,

Se a
a

Sey ae
Pate

‘SS

Oe
man ge S&S

EXPLANATION

us

(hee

nasa I
QD A p
PS

S

SINS yee »
OIL Gg OLD: er
SONF0, 0 5 GFA

eo cS aS
aah. \

Z| Mofeta

> Fs 2 ae ———|
=

eet 27 ‘OS
5 a.

102°30° 102° Texas
I
le 500,000
linch=8 miles (approximately)
5 10 15 ___20 MILES
: slp fe} 5 10 15 20 KILOMETERS
ey, lath tte, PeLLIOLK
Os fein ‘ ELLL DY 4 Contour interval 200 feet
eg aN Oriea
OZ4 J ; p ur | Ny w4ne The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every
BAS “fe 10 miles, and the ti drawn 1 mile apart

Q72I

Sheet 12

A Sand and gravel 0-80’ nary
B Limestone and clay Eagle Ford > Upper Cretaceous
(overlain by Austin chalk) (Gulf series)

Limestone uda
Cc 4Clay, yellow Del Rio Washita group 200’ | Lower Cretaceous

Limestone Georgetown (Comanche series)
D Limestone Fredericksburg group 700’

Geology by N. H. Darton, 1927
102.30° 102°

"Topography in part from maps by U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
and by U. S. Geological Survey, and in part by N. H. Darton

WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO. WASH..D.C

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 87

passes onto strata of Paleozoic age, which underlie the limestones and

shales of the Trinity group. The Paleozoic rocks exposed near

eae siding are sandstones and shales of the Tesnus fottiatSon) of

nnsylvanian age, of which this is the type locality. It gives rise

a rounded hills, on which are many russet-brown outcrops of the
sandstones.

The Marathon Basin, which is entered near Tesnus, is an area of

plains and low ridges about 40 miles wide, in which rocks of Paleozoic

age are extensively exposed.” It is surrounded on all

Tena sides by escarpments of the limestones of Cretaceous

ve age which formerly extended entirely across the region

ut have been removed by erosion from the area of

the Marathon Basin. The basin occupies the truncated crest of the

® The following table and description of the Paleozoic formations exposed in
the Marathon Basin are furnished by P. B. King:

Age Formation bert Character

4 cae Limestone, panterbedded with Le fees gei ga
aptank formation. . Marathon 9 on n Side 0
Marathon Basin, w! a overlain by the

Thin-bedded sandstone and shale, with thick beds
Haymond formation. 2, 500 a boulder —— upper part
Pennsylvanian Haymond siding.
series.

Dimple limestone. 400-1, 000 oer pacar gear shale, cropping out in
Thick-bedded brown sandstone, with some inter-
Tesnus formation. 7, 500 bedded shale, with a rg of ge shale at the
base several thousand feet

200-600 N dg and chert, which crop out in prominent

Devonian (?)

system. Caballos novaculite.

Maravillas chert. 100-400 | Black chert and limestone.
Drab shale, with ee flaggy brown sand-
Woods Hollow shale. 500 stone and limestone
eres Massive limestone, bedded reddish chert, and some
Ordovician sys- | Fort Pefia formation. 150 conglomerate.
Alsate shale. 50 | Shale and thin limestone beds.

gray limestone, with a thin medial member
Marathon limestone. 500-800 woh chery Raccuciee, much shale and some con-

Cambrian sys- ; Shale with thin brown limestone and sandst
tem. Dagger Flat sandstone. 300+| “beds, passing down into massive Pare at

The Cambrian and Ordovician rocks | fossils are also different. The Ordo-
differ considerably from those in the | vician rocks at Marathon contain
region of Van Horn and El Paso, only a | chiefly graptolites and linguloid brachi-
few hundred miles away, where the | opods, animals which lived in an en-

rian cephalo , gastro
is much sandstone, shale, and conglom- | sponges, which lived in a clear sea
erate in addition to limestone. The | where limy sediments were being

88 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES
Marathon uplift, a great dome in the earth’s crust, by which all the
strata have been uplifted 4,500 feet or more in an area about 100 miles
in diameter. The east side of this dome is crossed between Longfellow
and Tesnus, where the canyon walls expose successively lower parts
of the Comanche series and finally the underlying rocks of Paleozoic
age. This is caused by the westward rise of the strata toward the
crest of the Marathon dome.

Near Tesnus the strata of the Comanche series are cut off by
erosion and present high, westward-facing escarpments which rise

far above and afford fine views of the Marathon Basin lying below”

them to the west. In places, also, they constitute more or less isolated
outlying buttes and mesas, west of the main escarpment. The most
prominent part of the escarpment near the railroad is House Mountain,
which lies north of the tracks a few miles west of Tesnus. This
broad cuesta (elevation 5,460 feet) has a steep face on the west and

rises 1,500 feet above the plains at its base. ®

deposited. These differences are due
to differences in local conditions, and
it is probable that the sediments in the
Marathon region were deposited closer
to an old shore line than those in the El
Paso and Van Horn regions

The Pennsylvanian rocks also give
evidence of a shore line near the Mara-
thon region in Paleozoic time. They
thick and consist almost

the highest formation, and the lower
formations are characterized chiefly by
the remains of land plants. It is
probable that the sand and clay of the
Pennsylvanian were washed down from
high lands to the southeast and were
deposited in a series of deltas along the
shore line. e three older Pennsyl-
vanian formations are regarded as of
Pottsville age, and the fossil shells in
the upper formation are like those of
the well-known upper Pennsylvanian
(post-Pottsville) strata of Kansas and
central Texas.

® The upper part of House Mountain
consists of Comanche limestone dipping
gently to the east, and the lower slopes
consist of russet-brown sandstone and
shale of the Tesnus formation eee
syivanien), which. h dips about ° SE

a great angular unconformity, which is
clearly revealed on the escarpment as
shown in Plate 13, A. Some of the

relations here and farther west are
shown in Figure 10. The mass of older ~~

rocks is beveled to a nearly perfect plain

on which the Comanche strata lie.
The Paleozoic rocks in the vicinity

of House Mountain acquired their

steep inclination as a result of folding ~

during the later part of the Paleozoit
era, which involved the entire area of
Paleozoic rocks in the Marathon Basin
and probably far beyond. The folds
have a northeastward trend. At the
time of the folding there was faulting
Some of the faults dip at low
angles to the southeast and are planes
along which blocks of the Paleozoic

these Paleozoic rocks are like those in
the Ouachita and Appalachian Moun-
tains and were formed at about the
same time. After Paleozoic time the
folded rocks of the Marathon Basin

and in later Mesozoic time the Lower
Cretaceous sediments were deposited
on their upturned saaes. The
tion of the us codtemutis and

the development of the Marathon up-

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 13

ms sacra OF OVERLAP OF COMANCHE LIMESTONE ON TIL TED STRATA
' PENNSYLVANIAN AGE NORTHWEST OF TESNUS, TEX.
(P. B. King.)

B. SINUOUS RIDGES OF HARD BEDS IN MARATHON BASIN
(P. B. King.)

C. MITRE PEAK, 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF AL penis TEX.

A mass of igneous rock, probably an outlet for lavas in th g

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 14

e a a

pe ee

4. LAVA AND TUFF OF DAVIS MOUNTAINS, WEST OF ALPINE, TEX.

Typical herd of Hereford cattle in foreground.

B. APPROACHING PAISANO PASS THROUGH DAVIS MOUNTAINS, BETWEEN
ALPINE AND MARFA, TEX,

Looking east.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 89

Another outstanding promontory lies south of Tesnus and comes
into view a short distance beyond Maxon. Merging into the plateau
near Maxon at an elevation of 3,700 feet, in 6 miles it rises considerably
higher to its western termination, where it breaks into three peaks
known as Tres Hermanas, each capped by a small mass of Edwards
limestone. The ridge stands 1,300 feet above the plains to the north,
but its steep southern front rises 2,000 feet above the valley of San
Francisco Creek.

The sharp ridges of the basin, underlain by hard rocks, extend
across it in a northeastward direction. Some of them run nearly
straight for many miles; others have a winding course, as shown in
Plate 13, B, expressing the complex deformation of the strata. On
many of the ridges are ledges of white siliceous rock called novaculite.
Between the ridges are wide valleys covered by soil and gravel, but
along the larger drainage ways the land is cut by many arroyos into
a maze of terraces and shallow, steep-walled valleys. Much of the

Basal shale member of Tesnus
ue

Om SEnYs(ssr:7 Dp
Devonian (?) nevaculite
4 Miles

FIGURE 10.—Section through House Mountain, about 1 mile north of the railroad northwest of
‘Tesnus, Tex.

terrace gravel consists of white novaculite and has the appearance
of drifted snow.

West of Tesnus Horse Mountain is prominently in view 10 miles to
the southwest. This is the highest peak in the Marathon Basin
(elevation 5,010 feet) and is a dome-shaped mass of novaculite of
anticlinal structure. The railroad crosses a level plain for several
miles west of Tesnus and then descends into a region of hills and
valleys, drained by San Francisco Creek.*

Within the Marathon Basi the| ‘A few miles beyond Tesnus the
Paleozoic rocks constitute low, sharp | railroad crosses a fault, not visible from
ridges far inferior in magnitude to the | the tracks but well exposed some miles
mountains that must have existed when | to the north and south, which brings
the folding of later Paleozoic time took | the Tesnus strata the
place. The et low ridges were part of the Haymond formation occu-
produced by beige n post-Cretaceous | pying a syncline. The highest exposed
time, after o Mantle dome was | member of this Pink e. also con-
uplifted and ae Cretaceous rocks wi cealed by gravel near the railroad but
eroded from the area of the iMawicg well exposed in slopes not far away, is
Basin. a remarkable conglomerate con ntaining

152109°—33——7

90 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Beyond the edge of the gravel plain 5 miles west of Tesnus thin-
bedded sandstone and shale of the Haymond formation are exposed
in some of the railroad cuts, and the massive arkose, which directly
underlies the boulder bed, crops out in conspicuous ledges along the
edge of the valley not far to the south. After crossing the Haymond
beds the railroad follows the gap cut by San Francisco Creek across
the sharp, narrow ridge of steeply tilted Dimple limestone, a ridge
typical of the outcrops of this formation throughout the Marathon
Basin, and continues down the valley past Haymond, which is on
an anticlinal area of Tesnus sandstone, some ledges of which are well
exposed along the railroad and creek.

Haymond siding, which lies in the valley of San Francisco Creek,
is now a very small place but was at one time a town of considerable

size. It was the railroad station for Fort Stockton,
epee rs: 60 miles to the north, when that was an important
een oe oi: Sreuaer fort The rocky hills near Haymond are

underlain by various formations of Pennsylvanian
age. To the east and west of it are low ridges of the Dimple limestone,
between which are lower lands underlain by sandstones and shales of
the Tesnus and Haymond formations. These rocks are folded into
several sharp anticlines and synclines.

Northwest of the ridges of Dimple limestone the railroad again
enters a much gullied plain of terrace gravel, underlain by sandstones
and shales of the Tesnus formation. The Caballos novaculite (Devo-
nian?), which lies beneath the Tesnus, crops out to the northwest,
about 3 miles beyond Haymond, in low ledges and ridges. This
novaculite is a white siliceous rock, probably a variety of chert, in
more or less massive-bedded layers. The name was applied to closely
similar “‘whetstone rock” in Arkansas by Schoolcraft in 1819. Novac-

ulite is of rare occurrence in this count
sedimentary rocks as sandstone, shale, and limestone.

,in comparison to such other
The novacu-

rounded and angular masses of rocks
of many kinds, most of which do not

crop out in the Marathon area. The-

fragments are rather widely set in a
a of arkosic mud and consist of

Camhri

, gran ite,

schist, aplite, and pegmatite.

, an
ceous breccia, probably a fault breccia.
Blocks 5 to 15 feet across are common,
and one block of Dimple limestone
south of the railroad is over 100 feet
long. The large masses, however, are

most abundant a mile or more north of
the railroad.

The various pre-Cambrian to Car-
boniferous ingredients in this conglom-
erate indicate that there was a near-by
area of upturned older strata in upper
Haymond time. Probably it was situ-
ated south of the present uplift and is
now deeply buried beneath younger
strata. It is difficult to understand
how the coarse materials were trans-
ported to their present position, for the
larger masses could not have been car-
ried by streams; they may
have been overthrust—a condition that
might account for the presence of the
blocks of fault breccia.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 9]

lite that crops out in ridges northwest of Haymond, here about 300
feet thick, lies on the northeast end of a great anticlinorium (an anti-
clinal arch with subordinate flexures) which brings pre-Pennsylvanian
rocks to the surface over a wide area in the central part of the Mara-
thon Basin. The strata of the anticlinorium are folded into several
sharp anticlines and synclines and are broken by overthrust faults.
Owing to its great hardness the novaculite is a ridge maker, and its
white outcrops are very conspicuous.

Between the north end of these novaculite hills and Marathon the

ilroad crosses a flat gravel-covered plain. To the south are low
hills of the novaculite, and to the north less conspicuous hills of
Dimple limestone.

Marathon is a village of considerable importance, named for a
general of the United States Army who established a road from Fort

Stockton to Presidio in 1854. It is a local center for
Marathon, large cattle interests and is the shipping point for the
eget feet. quicksilver produced at the mines of Terlingua, 70
New Orleans 9851miles. Miles to the southwest. These mines have been an

important source of mercury since 1894 and produce
2,500 to 3,000 flasks (of 76 pounds) a year (Bureau of Mines). At
one time a rubber factory was operated successfully at Marathon,
making use of the guayule plant (Parthenium argentatum) as long as
the local supply was available. Resin from the candillia plant has
also been shipped from Marathon for use in making phonograph disks.

The village of Marathon is built on ledges of flaggy limestone and
massive conglomerate of the Marathon limestone (Ordovician).
This is the.only pre-Devonian formation well exposed near the rail-
road, but in low hills not far south of Marathon there are extensive
outcrops of strata from Cambrian to Devonian in age. West of
Marathon low rugged ridges of Caballos novaculite may be seen to
the south and behind them a high conical mountain of intrusive
syenite, Santiago Peak, 25 miles distant (elevation 6,521 feet). To
the west are the eastward-facing escarpments of the Del Norte
Mountains, made up of limestones of the Comanche series, which
form the western rim of the Marathon Basin.

Near Marathon and to the west the Glass Mountains are conspic-
uous to the north. The name is a translation of the Spanish Sierra
del Vidrio, said to have been given because of the glassy appearance
of the limestone cliffs when seen from a distance. According to
Hill,” however, the name Glass Mountains was first used for the
novaculite ridges of the Marathon Basin and was later transferred

® R. T. Hill, a pioneer in the geologic | ography of Texas gave the first clear
exploration of Texas, established the conception of the relations of the
classification of the Cretaceous rocks | Edwards Plateau and of many other
in that State and mapped them over a | important topographic features of the
wide area. His work on the physi- | State.

92 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

through error to the mountains to the north, which had before been
known as the Sierra Comanche. The Glass Mountains form the
northern and northwestern rim of the Marathon Basin and have the
form of a cuesta or sloping mesa which trends northeast. The
southward-facing escarpments of these mountains rise 1,000 to 2,500
feet above the general level of the Marathon Basin and in the western
part present a high broken crest of bold cliffs of dolomite, which
attain an elevation of 6,500 feet.

The Glass Mountains are carved from Permian dolomites, lime-
stones, and shales, tilted northwest. These beds are overlain uncon-
formably by the Lower Cretaneous strata and lie unconformably on
the Pennsylvanian strata.

Six miles southwest of Marathon is old Fort Pefia Colorada, which
was located near a gap in a novaculite ridge, where there is a spring
and one of the few streams of running water in the region. This was
a station on both the military road east and west and the Comanche
trail that led southward from Fort Stockton to the Rio Grande. At
one time it was garrisoned with soldiers to protect travelers from
Indians and outlaws.

8 The ect table, by P. B. King, shows the Permian formations of the
Glass Mountain

Thick-
Formation ness Character
(feet)
B praca bh. 700 fos momen of limestone fragments, with some red beds and lime-
és <a ppowrth: ward In part Losigcema probably of reef origin, bene heres
apitan limestone. 2 part into thin-bedded limestone and westward in
into sandy limestone.
Sandstone and siliceous acess a Aca igi cus beds of limestone. Changes
Word formation. 1, 200 | “eastward into cherty limes
Leonard and Hess for- 2, 000 Sandstone and siliceous shale (Leonard), which change eastward
mations. into thin-bedded limestone (Hess). Basal conglomerate.
: Shale and limestone; rests on strata. of Pennsylvanian age, locally
Wolfcamp formation. 700 | * with great unconformity. v Age

These formations show complex ing foraminifers, s sponges, corals, cri-
ch

the strike of the mountains. In the | pods, od bei a great number
eastern half of the range nearly all the | of brachiopods in which the Productus
strata are limestone; in the ™m | group greatly predominate. The brach-

. ‘ ypes.
stone and shale. These changes in | such as Leptodus and Richthofenia. A
shown in Figure 11. feature of the fossils in the Glass Moun-

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 93

About midway along the south edge of the Glass Mountains is the
bald reddish knob of Iron Mountain, a stock of intrusive syenite which
cuts across the Permian strata.

Four miles west of Marathon the railroad crosses low ledges of the
Gaptank formation, which contains marine fossils of upper Penn-
sylvanian age. Several railroad cuts expose steeply dipping shale,
sandstone, and conglomeratic limestone. About a mile to the south
of the tracks are several low hills of novaculite and chert. In other
novaculite hills, visible farther southwest, the novaculite has been
overthrust onto the Gaptank formation by a fault, with the older
strata in nearly flat contact. This displacement, called the Dugout
Creek overthrust, had a horizontal movement of nearly 6 miles in a
northwestward direction. Some of its relations are shown in Figure
12. North of the novaculite hills above mentioned and west of Lenox
siding, the basal Permian beds are exposed in Dugout Mountain,
resting on the steeply inclined and contorted Pennsylvanian rocks;
as the Permian beds contain coarse conglomerates derived from the
erosion of older rocks, the Dugout Creek overthrust is pre-Permian
and probably later Pennsylvanian

Near Lenox siding the railroad Hasies between low hills of the lower
Permian rocks, of which Dugout Mountain is one, and leaves the
Marathon Basin. The high escarpment of the Glass Mountains
comes into view to the northeast, behind lower foothills. The slopes
of the escarpment are shale and sandstone of the Word formation,
which are surmounted by cliffs of Capitan limestone. The most
imposing exposure is on Cathedral Mountain, several miles northeast
of the railroad. The limestone of the cliffs was probably built up in
reefs on the Permian sea floor by calcareous algae and other organisms.
These beds thin to the west, and on the scarp near the railroad near
Altuda they are of negligible thickness.

Altuda siding is in the pass or low, wide gap between the north end of
the Del Norte Mountains and the southwestern extension of the
Glass Mountains. For several miles in this vicinity

ae there are excellent views of both ranges, which are
Elevation 4,642 feet. ‘
ean bet nies, VeLY rugged and bare. Altuda Mountain, to the west,

and Mount Ord (named for General Ord, one time
commandant of the military forces in Texas), to the south, are

spines and minute internal structures

are of the type known as the Gua-
are preserved. h America i

dalupian, which in North

lent condition. Eroded surfaces of | is found in the typical Permian area.
these limestones are usually a tangled | In the higher parts of the Glass Moun-
tains section most of the limestones

silicified mat of shells which accumu-

se

appear to have been built up of reef-
making

94 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

especially conspicuous.

Altuda Mountain is capped by Capitan

limestone, which forms a prominent cliff on its upper slope. At one

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FiGuRE 11.—Diagrammatic section showing livnologic variations in the Permian in the Glass Mountains, Tex. By P. B. King

point, as shown in Figure 13,
there is an outlying mass of
Comanche limestone. South
of Altuda Mountain the Word
and Leonard formations are
tilted steeply northward away
rom an intrusive mass of
syenite, which forms a dark-
colored knob west of Altuda
siding. On the northwestern
or back slope of the Glass
Mountains, in view north of
Altuda, remnants of Comanche
limestone may be seen, resting
on the Capitan limestone.

At Altuda the railroad runs
nearly north to pass around the
north end of the Del Norte
Mountains and in the main is
in a wide valley floored with
alluvial wash from the ad-
joining mountain slopes.
From this plain rise several
knolls of the underlying rocks,
which indicate faulted struc-
ture, though the details are
hidden by sand and gravel.
Near Strobel siding the north
end of the Del Norte Moun-
tains is passed and the struc-
tural relations are well exposed.
Here heavy ledges of Edwards
and Georgetown limestones,
dipping west and cut by two
faults, pass beneath Upper Cre-
taceous rocks, and these in turn
under the great voleanic suc-
cession (Tertiary) which ex-
tends far west in the Davis
Mountain region. In the val-
ley just south of Strobel are

railroad ascends and passes around the curve, there are very fine

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 95

views of the rugged peaks of the volcanic region, notably of Mitre
Peak, (see pl. 13, C), which lies several miles northwest. There is
a downgrade into Alpine over volcanic rocks of various kinds.”
Alpine is in the broad valley or amphitheater of Alpine and Leoncito
Creeks, about 4 miles wide, with alluvial floor, flanked on all sides by
cliffs and peaks of voleanic rocks of the Tertiary suc-
Alpine. cession. It is an exceptionally beautiful location,
isd arr 306 and the views in all directions are very attractive.
New Orleans 966 eee called Murphysville, Alpine came into ex-
tence with the railroad, Texas rangers being estab-
lished there to io the builders from the Indians, who hotly re-

© x o 2
S 1 S 23
ee | Pe ns ee
SE 8" Leg EAU ED: etal eG
3 t gee CAs Pp ¥e OS eRe se NW.

-
peas =

,
’
Y ges

ae Creek i
overthrust 3 V2 fo) 1 MILE
L

= name: = 2 KILOMETERS.

FIGURE 12.—Section pre of ode ae Pang stead —— of the ieee 2
Creek overthrust, B. King. €, Cambrian; O, Ordovician; D, Devonian; TS
ipuitesticasieiecd eaeetic na formation; pee Gaptank

sented their presence. It is now an important commercial center for
the Big Bend and a wide area of stock country to the north and west.
Aktuda Mtn. co §

° t - Miles

eahignd a Bie pone of Altuda abaya northwest of Altuda siding, Tex. By P.B. King. a, Altuda
e; d, massive dolomite (Capitan); K, limestone of Comanche age; 1, Leonard formation; w,

ae nla ig, intrusive dikes; s, syenite mass
The Sul Ross Teachers Colteee’ established in 1920, is built on the side
of a hill east of the town. This hill is composed of lava (trachyte) of
In western Texas the later for- { rine conditions Lente a= long into the
but western Texas

mations of the Upper Cretaceous are | Tertiary period,
largely sandstones which carry local coal | from late Cretaceous time was an up-
i ins of ition

interbedded in places. These | fragmental material. Prior to these
strata are overlain by a great succession | eruptions the Cretaceous strata were
of lava flows, tuff, and agglomerate of | flexed and faulted, and in areas of most
voleanic origin, most of which is re- | pronounced uplift there was consider-
garded as of Tertiary age. Sedimen- | able erosion, for locally the volcanic
tary beds in this succession contain | rocks lie on deeply eroded surfaces of
leaves of Eocene age (Berry), and bones the deformed strata. These volcanic
of Miocene animals occur in higher | rocks present the record of various
beds (Baker). In eastern axial ma- | episodes of igneous activity continuing

96 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES
Tertiary age, but on its west slope 1% miles northeast of the station
there is a small exposure of limestone of Comanche age dipping west,
with relations shown in Figure 14. Near by, at the foot of the hill, is
Kokernot Spring, or Charco de Alsate, on the Chihuahua trail from
Fort Stockton to Presidio and the military road from Pefia Colorada
to Fort Davis. It was at this spring in the early days that a caravan
of 40 freight wagons was surrounded by Apache Indians with the ex-
pectation that it would be easy prey. Fortunately one man was able
to slip away and reach the United States Army post at Presidio,
100 miles distant, whence forces were sent to the rescue.

A water hole which the railroad crosses on a bridge just west of
Alpine is thought to be the place where Juan de Mendoza camped on

2 Miles

FIGURE 14.—Secti he Alpine Basin just Alpine, Te
agglomerate; Kc, limestone (Comanche) ,

1, Lava (Tertiary); ag,

January 4, 1684, on his notable exploration from the vicinity of El
Paso across western Texas to Rio Concho. He was sent by Governor

well into Tertiary time.
from far below thi
cracks and

They came The lavas in this region are mostly
of the varieties known as rhyolite and

trachyte, with a small amount of basalt,

fragmental material

also cow out of the numerous vents.
This consists of agglomerate or breccia
(made up mostly of coarse fragments
of lava) and tuff (finer-grained ash and
cinders), and there was also some fine-

voleanic ash. Most of this
ejected matter piled up in sheets as it
fell, but in some water had a

part in its distribution, ea from some

of the vents there

tal material and were in places
buried beneath later eruptions of bree-
cia, tuff, and ash

par- | vidual flows.

canic activity the configuration of the
region was probably much smoother
than it is now, for the old surface on
which the volcanic deposits lie appears
to be smooth at most localities. Sev-
eral ridges of older rocks protruded,
however, some of which were not
covered by volcanic materials.

y w.
uplift, the vol-
canic rocks have been recut laying
bare the underlying older rocks.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 14

103 30 103 Texas
Scale 500,000
linch-8 miles (approximately)
QO 5 10 15 20 MILES
fe) 5 10 15 20 KILOMETERS
Contour interval 200 feet
ee emma from New Orleans, La., are shown every
z and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart
wv Each Pie sh n the map with a name in parentheses =
3 “Ly neo ght Cc in the lower jefe on corner is a in detail ¢ on the U.S. G. 8. 30
topographic map of that 30
- ° Ly fy
EON gh
5 Y
: 4 °0 a0 RS
25 RY D
7 5 ‘ \" #230 ae
Fe oe Flat KS é
<a W B Flat\ §
4600 jee te’
nar i
K nd
§ i
@ Ex ba <<
ve hs BA Z
oie t :
A { | ™SG 0
te)
7 AIGHWAY. os b “%
Ee irietatatey 5 2 os ~
Warwic Sata
(Ge SS?
a Se: m
S oO gas
e -_
4 RES
e\io ~~ "4000 =
w “a ro “ages 6
A Sand and gravel 0-300’ ed EY, y} A &
B Lava, tuff, and other voleanie rocks 3,000’ Tertiary we ee r K : Q °
— oO
C_ Shale, chalk, sandstone, ete, 23 Eagle Ford, 400’ | Upper Cretace : ue (We Oa,
SOS Austin, ete. (Gulf beet ce ae : ste
D Limestone Washita 250’ | ‘cues Ditka ( “7 D ae s _
E Limestone and basal sandstone Fredericksburg 300’ , : f B SEP of ze" l9 LCS
Se rinity 100’ | (Comanche series) Bo Z y) ARS &
Red sandstone Bissett 700’
F Limestone (dolomite) Capita 1,400’ mM Sri a S\ See == :
©
° Rot i aa my 7 40
x WSs Word 1,500’ ; 2 4 ‘dl 2
307 G limestone Permian 5 5cO 30
= 9°;
Shale, sandstone, limestones, Leonard = \ 200 =
H and cogionans te Hess } 2,800’ 5 DS S ESS 5
Wolfeamp $ — aaa Se
I mestones, shale, sandstone, and conglomerates Tapmont 4,300’ 2 on ‘
Conan. arkose, sandstone, ete. 3 5 y
J Limestone — 400-900’ + Pennsylvanian
K_ Sandstone and shale Tesnus 7,000’
L Novaeulite Caballos 200-600’ Devonian?
Maravillas chert, Woods Hollow shale,Fort Pena
M__ Limestone and shale are. preste shale,and peso rage 1,600’ Ordovician
N_ Sandstone Dagge' 300+ Upper Cambrian
P Porphyry and other intrusive rocks Post-Cretaceous
—— Fault --- Concealed fault

103°30

sauna ne neeeteeeeeeienemmemneEnEEEEEEEEEmeen
i from U. S. Geological Survey Suatranats maps;

bie ongude 108" N H. Darton

WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO. WASH., 0 c.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 97

Cruzate, of the province of Nuevo Méjico, to explore the kingdom of
the Tejas Indians. According to his very clear journal, he came there
from Antelope Spring, south of Marfa, and on leaving it followed
Leoncito Draw to Comanche Spring (now Fort Stockton) and the
Concho River at the present San Angelo. (Turn to sheet 15.)

The famous short-cut “‘smugglers’ trail,’’ which came from the Rio
Grande, passed around the foot of Mount Ranger (now called Twin
Peak), just west of Alpine and down Alpine Creek. The Davis
Mountains, west and north of Alpine, were a great resort for the
Indians, so that in 1854 Fort Davis (named for Jefferson Davis)
was established at a point 20 miles northwest of Alpine. At this
post food supplies and forage for horses were obtained with difficulty,
so Mexican cattle were smuggled in from the great haciendas in Mexico
to supply the troops at Fort Davis and Fort Stockton. In 1855
Secretary of War Jefferson Davis had camels introduced into this
region as a means of transportation, but as they did not prove satis-
factory to frontiersmen accustomed to horses and mules, they were
turned loose and finally died in the Big Bend country. In 1854 the
Government let a contract for monthly mail service between San
Antonio and Santa Fe by way of El Paso in two-horse coaches, through
in 25 days. The compensation was set at $16,750, but Indian depre-
dations led Congress to increase this to $33,500. In 1857 another
contract was signed for fortnightly mail between San Antonio and
San Diego for $149,800. Two years later this line was costing the
Government nearly $200,000 a year, with receipts of $601. The trip
was about 1,500 miles long, consumed 22 to 26 days, and cost the trav-
eler $200 with meals. Indians constantly attacked mail carriers and
emigrants, the trail from San Antonio to El Paso being described as
one long battleground. When the Civil War broke out Fort Davis
was occupied by Confederates, but soon it was deserted and the entire
Big Bend country was left to the Indians. After the Civil War
Fort Davis was enlarged and reoccupied as an Army post until 1891.
The region is now famous for its cool summer climate, fine fruit, and
thoroughbred Hereford cattle.

It was intended to build the Southern Pacific Railroad through
Fort Davis, but difficulty in obtaining a right of way led to its location
farther south, through Paisano Gap.

Three miles west of Alpine the railroad enters a gorge in the voleanic
rocks that constitute the Davis Mountains. These rocks are in a
succession of thick sheets lying nearly horizontal or dipping at low
angles (as shown in fig. 14 and pl. 14, A.) At the base, in this part of
the area, is a massive bed of agglomerate, probably the result of a
great mud flow during an eruption. It consists of huge fragments
of lava, mostly angular, mixed with finer volcanic material. There

are many irregular erosion forms, notably Mitre Peak, shown in

98 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Plate 13, C. A large quarry for road ballast at Toronto siding shows
a contact of two volcanic flows. South of the track, beyond Toronto,
is the very high conical mass of Paisano Peak. It has a crater-form
bowl in the top strongly suggestive of the remains of an old crater,
and doubtless it was the vent of one or more of the great outbursts of
lava that covered all the surrounding country. Several dikes of
dark-colored igneous rock crossed by the railroad west of this peak
represent cracks up which lava welled to feed some of the later out-
flows. In this region numerous live oaks and a few junipers give a
very pleasing effect to the landscape, and there is considerable grass,
which sustains many cattle. A typical view on one of the large
pastures in the mountains is given in Plate 14, A. The approach to
Paisano Pass is shown in Plate 14, B.

In a pretty grove of live oaks a few miles beyond Toronto siding
on the south side of the track is a Baptist camp-meeting ground, where
each year large numbers gather from all quarters for a week of instruc-
tion and recreation. Another great camp-meeti und, nonde-
nominational and operated without charge to those attending, is at
Skillman’s grove, a few miles west of Fort Davis or north of Marfa,
in a park among the volcanic peaks of the central part of the Davis
Mountains. This grove was named for the man who first carried the
monthly mail from San Antonio to El Paso and return.

At Paisano siding,” in the divide on the Davis Mountains, the rail-
road reaches its highest elevation, near the western margin of the
older volcanic lavas, which in this vicinity are mostly

a trachyte, as in the region about Alpine. Just west
Fevation 6,073 feet. of the siding the railroad d ds i ide vall
Heir Ortaans Vian” siding the r escends into a wide valley

occupied by alluvium, doubtless underlain by volcanic
rocks. A few rods beyond Paisano a line of the Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe Railway system, which uses the Southern Pacific tracks
from Alpine, here diverges to the south on the way to Presidio, on

6%’ These rocks are all in extensive

hornblende, and quartz, with a tend-

sheets which have been tilted, flexed,
and faulted to some extent and con-

materials are
yte, in places under-
lain by soda rhyolite and agglomerate.
Soda rhyolite, conspicuous on Sunny
Brook and at the foot of Twin Moun-

albite and quartz, as determined by
C. S. Ross, of the United States Geo-
® A dike near Paisano consists of a

been named “paisanite” by Osann.
Its components are mainly feldspar,

ency to granophyric structure. Ap-
parently it was an outlet or feeder for
one of the volcanic flows in the vicinity.
Some distance south of Paisano is
Cienega Mountain, which contains a
mass of marble of good quality that
has been quarried to some extent. It

trusive mass, which constitutes most of
the mountain. This mass is a
trachyte composed of sodic plagioclase
and iron oxides similar to some of the
great lava flows in the region about
Alpine,

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 99

the Rio Grande, where it connects with a railroad to Chihuahua,
Mexico. Tall yuccas, which become abundant in this area, extend
far on the plains to the west. Near Marfa and westward nearly to
_ Aragon siding lavas and tuffs are exposed along or near the railroad.
Marfa is a small city of about the same size and character as Alpine,
a local center for stock and other interests and the county seat of
Presidio County since 1885. On the southern edge of
Marfa. the city is Fort D. A. Russell, where a regiment of
amt ioe eg 578 men and 37 officers is garrisoned. An important
rleans 992 miles, function of this station is military training for recruits.
The Chihuahua Trail, which crossed the Rio Grande,
at Presidio, came up Alamito Creek, puseed through Antelope Spring,
south of Marfa, followed Paisano Pass to Alpine, and went north to
Fort Stockton, where it connected with other trails east. Over it ore
from the mines of western Mexico was hauled in wooden-wheeled
carts by Texas teamsters to San Antonio and thence taken to the
coast to be shipped to Europe. One trader in five years transported
in this way a million dollars’ worth of freshly minted Mexican silver.
It is still believed that silver and other valuable commodities were
buried along this route to conceal them from outlaws or Indians.

West from Marfa the railroad follows a west-northwest course over
a rolling country of lavas (basalt) and waterlaid tuffs. Low mesas to
the south are capped by lava (basalt). Near Aragon siding the railroad
passes over a low, wide divide leading into Ryan Flat, at the head of
the broad valley of Chispa Creek. Far to the south may be seen the
high Chinati Peak (che-nah’tee), which is due to an isolated intrusive
mass. To the north are the Davis Mountains, consisting of high
ridges and peaks of igneous rocks of the Tertiary volcanic succession.
At Conejo siding (co-nay’ho) the railroad deflects somewhat into a
40-mile tangent extending nearly due northwest down the broad
alluvial valley of Chispa Creek. The region has but little vegetation
other than grass and is a prosperous stock country, mostly divided
into ranches of large area.

Valentine is a small village sustained mostly by stock raising on the
large ranches in the surrounding district. There is no agriculture in
tetas the region, for the annual rainfall averages only about
SEE? | inches. The village is on the wide alluvial plain of
Population 314. Chispa Creek, which flows northwest into Salt Basin.
New Orleans 1,027 Bont 12 miles to the east are the Davis Mountains,

d to the west is the high wall of the Tierra Vieja
Range con which consists of a succession of lava flows. Lavas
also constitute outlying ridges in the valley beyond Valentine, as well
as to the southwest of that place. Twenty miles to the south is the .
prominent Capote Peak, due to a thick cap of lava on tuffs dipping
steeply eastward. Just west of this feature is a break in the range, -

100 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

through which passes the road to Candelaria and other points on the
Rio Grande far south of the railroad at Valentine. Near the gap is the
famous Brite ranch, established in 1885. It comprises about 225,000
acres with 65 miles of pipe lines for water supply and has a large beri
of thoroughbred Hereford cattle. It was raided by Mexican out-
laws in 1917, so that a fort with a powerful search light has been built,
a novel feature in present ranch life. In this vicinity some rock
ledges bear Indian inscriptions and pictographs of animals and people
which are so deeply weathered that there can be no question as to
their antiquity.

In 1931 Valentine experienced a severe earthquake, which demol-
ished or damaged many buildings and twisted chimneys and grave-
stones. Apparently the settlement was near the center of the dis-
turbance, which may have been caused by renewed movement on
some of the faults that traverse the region to the south and north.
The direction of the principal line of disturbance was nearly due south.

North of Wendell siding are ridges presenting a variety of rocks,
mostly lavas, but also exposures of limestones and sandstones of the
Trinity group (Lower Cretaceous) and a small outcrop of limestone
of Permian age, which was quarried to a small extent as marble.”
The alteration from limestone to marble has been caused by the intru-
sion of an igneous mass.

7” In the region pe of Valentine strata of Cretaceous age appear in many
ridges and mesas, as described by Taff, Richardson, Stanton, and Baker. They
are listed in the following table:

Lower Cretaceous (Comanche) formations in western Texas

Group Formation Character ——

Buda limestone-_...__..__- estone, massive, light colored_____________ 30

Washita. Der Hie olay sec i532 bcp Butt chy, sandstone layers__ 100-300

Georgetown limestone... __ Massive limestone, marl at base locally________ 100-550

Edwards limsetone_________ OESOMNG NASSI YR. Se 50-600

Fredericksburg. | Comanche Peak limestone pmo abby eae ieee SRR Se Oe 80+

Wainut clay... Clay , sandstone, and impure limestone________ 30+-

Finlay limestone_....______ Limestone, mostly massive___............____ 409

: Cox sandstone... __._____._ Sandstone, brown, a "shale and limestone | 500-2, 000
Trinity. : and local conglomerate

Campagrande formation. __| Sandstone and ccanhimetiie Sea acess eee 250-800

coarse sandstones and conglom- | tains, about 2,000 feet thick in the

base of the Trinity lie unconformably | tains, and about 1,000 feet thick in the
on the Malone formation (Upper Juras- | northern part of the Eagle Mountains.
a at least 250 feet thick on | It consists largely of brown sandstone

flank of the Quitman | but includes beds of limest d shal
Meiintenes. The Cox sandstone, which | and local members of conglomerate.
ease up many of the high ridges near | The overlying Finlay limestone is con-
is 1,500 feet thick in the spicuous about the Sierra Blanca and
caster part of the Van Horn Moun- makes up the plateau extending north-

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

101

Near Quebec siding there are fine views of high ranges from 10 to
20 miles away. Those to the west are the Tierra Vieja Mountains,”!

and those to the north and east the higher
The highest point of the Davis Mountains is Livermore Peak,

tains.

its of the Davis Moun-

named from a major in the United States Army, who first measured
its height in 1880, when he was returning from a raid on the Apache
marauders. This peak is 8,382 feet above sea level and is a part of
a central intrusive mass that extends northwest to Sawtooth Peak.
The succession of voleanic rocks in this region has not yet been de-
termined, but it has a thickness of several thousand feet and presents
a variety of lavas, agglomerates, and tuffs, and numerous feeder dikes
and stocks by which the volcanic materials reached the surface.

west from the Finlay Mountains, the
front of which is conspicuous north of
Fort Hancock. It is regarded as a for-
mation of the Trinity group on the
evidence of the fossils Exogyra quit-
manensts and Orbitulina terana. The
Edwards limestone is only 25 feet thick
in the Van Horn Mountains and about
Sierra Blanca feb hogar greatly to-

alone the
§ the

Rio Grande. The ‘overlying George-
town limestone also thickens to the
southeast and is generally overlain by
Del Rio clay and Buda limestone. The
Upper Cretaceous begins with a basal
sandstone at most places and has a thick
succession of shales with slabby lime-

southern and western parts of the Van
Horn Mountains, at the southeast end
of the Quitman Mountains, and north-
west of the Eagle Mountains. Repre-
sentatives of the overlying Austin and

resented by
sandstones and shales with interbedded
voleanic tuffs and flows, the beginning
of the great volcanic succession.

The Tierra Vieja Mountains con-

age. The lavas range from obsidian to
a rock of porphyritic character. One

flow about 300 feet thick of the very

crest of the mountains, which presents
a steep front to the west.
and lava sheets dip to the southeast at
a low angle, mostly about 4°

The succession of rocks in the peak
at the north end of the mountains is
given by Vaughan as follows (it begins
a short distance below the great sheet

of quartz pantellerite) : Feet
Rhyolite__ 7 ae
Clay or red sandstone_______ 100
RhyoliteT_ oo. a 20+
Conglomerate and clays_____ 80

Rhyolite breccia, light colors,

hard at baseoo So 130
Conglomeratic sandstone and
50
Rhyolite . breccia__-_..._._. 50
Basalt (black) 65
Rhyolite and basalt breccia__ 6
Fine-grained semirgre (tuff?)_ 60
oe 2 sugserr at 80
te, EEO eerie
Ri-paltte, massive, edit tha. 20
Sands and clays, some con-
Someries. goci2 2) 4 Br 60
Sandstone and clays (at base). 40+

The sandstones and tuffs at the north
end and extending along the abrupt
west front of the Tierra Vieja Moun-
tains are

indicate Taylor age,

102 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

The trail from San Antonio to El Paso on leaving Fort Davis swung
around the foot of Livermore Peak north of Valentine and crossed
Lobo Flat to the Van Horn wells, which were near the present Lobo
siding. (Turn to sheet 16.)

From Chispa siding there formerly was a branch railroad (of which
the grade is still visible) that passed through a gap (Chispa Summit)
between the north end of the Tierra Vieja Mountains
and the south end of the Van Horn Mountains and
thence turned southward to the San Carlos coal mine.
This mine yielded considerable coal, but apparently
the enterprise could not compete with the producers
of petroleum fuel. In the gap through which this branch railroad

Chispa,

Population 18,*

New Orleans 1,043
miles.

Tierra Vieya Mts

Chispa Summit
t tie (gap)

ee)

Nerreadts! scale :
° 2 Miles
SS |

Vartical scale
° 1.000 2,000 Feet
Bacal A i 5. i. =

Ficure 15.—Profile of the northern part of the fest Vieja ete south of Chispa siding, Tex.
Tertiary lava; Tt, Tertiary tuff; Ks, Upper Cretaceous shale; Kef, Eagle Ford formation
(Upper Cretaceous); Kg, Georgetown jirisetone penis er Cretaceous)
passed there is an interesting thumb-shaped plug of volcanic rock,
plainly visible from Chispa siding and points beyond, which is the
remains of a volcanic vent, probably of Tertiary age. The general
relations in the mountain as viewed from Chispa are shown in Fig-
ure 15. The hard beds give rise to tables and cliffs and the softer
strata to the intervening slopes. North of Chispais Chispa Mountain,
a sharp peak of volcanic rocks.
The Van Horn Mountains,” which lie north of the gap west of
Chispa siding, cause a long northward deflection of the railroad.

2 The Van Horn Mountains present

gap west of Chispa, there is a strong
a wide area of strata of Lower Creta- | downward pitch and downfaulting of a
ceous (Comanche) age, overlain in the | block consisting of a thick succession
high central part and the northeast end | of the Upper Cretaceous rocks that
make up the north end of the Tierra

thick, with a coarser conglomerate at
the base, a thick mass of Cox sandstone
above, and then representatives of the
Finlay li ( imestones of the
Fredericksburg group. In ths eastern
part of the range the strata lie nearly
horizontal, with a maple outcrop of
the harder beds. At its —— end
limestones of Permian age the
surface in the high uplift Sse
Horn region. To the south, near the

| Vieja Mountains

The main rides of the Van Horn
Mountains is an anticline of consider-
Crossed by a fault
with drop on the north
side, 8 ae aairtdxwent ‘ok Chispa, the
anticline rises to the north so that the
limestone of Permian age finally ap-
, overlapped by Trinity beds in

= north end of the range. The Fin-
i in this range consists of
shaset 400 feet of gray earthy limestone

. E

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 15

1
Scale 500,000
linch=8 miles (approximately)
s 10 iS

19) 20 MILES
i] 10. 15 20 KILOMETERS
Contour interval 200 feet
Datum 1s mean sea /eve/

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every
10 miles, and the crossties are drawn 7 mile apart

dt r?

Each q g on the map with a name in parentheses
in the lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. 8. G. 8.
topographic map of that name

*)
°
~ 3 Fi 104 30 104 Texas

- IF , F J, {s
oS 5 K LA, 6 £9 EXPLANATION
= ONE YEDDA
te SS PROS - A Sand 1, ete. (valley fill 0-500’

</o os “2%, & BA - : , gravel, ete. (valley fill) Quaternary

Chyspa ~~ — & 2 be 400 Lavas and other rocks of 100-1,200’ = Terti
) CRIB De <4 Lf, / a A. voleanic origin poh

AA La Z erage volcanic tuffs,
WW Chispa >: ee: (Gu serve) a
ve Shale
MOA Sandst limest Trinity group 180’+ oo S “4

Ble Mtn
VV

(Comanche series)
300’+ Permian

Geology: reconnaissance by N. H. Darton

of “8

“oy

10430

Topography: U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps

WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO.. WASH..0.C

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

103

For several miles near Danube siding the railroad is margined by a

dike or levee of earth to protect the tracks from washouts.

The

erosion and flood-water conditions in the valleys of the arid regions

are somewhat peculiar.

Most of the infrequent rain falls in heavy

Fault
| Lobo siding

Horizonte! scale

eae scale
Nee near i

FicureE 16. across the

Horn Mountains near their north end.

500 Feet

, Sandstone

—Sect Van
Cox); Cpl, Paksina limestone; sch, Carrizo Mountain schist; Qal, alluvium; oe ae rock

showers, or ‘‘cloudbursts,”

which quickly flood the drainageways
I

with a swiftly moving body of water sufficiently powerful to ro

containing, according to Baker, Enal-
laster texanus, Exogyra quitmanensis,
Gryphaea marcoui, Requienia, and Tylo-
stoma. The Edwards limestone is thin
in the Van Horn Mountains, apparently
comprising only 25 feet of beds at the
south end of the range, near Chispa
Summit. It is a massive bluish rock

grading down into some slabby beds
supposed to represent the Comanche
Pea Walnut clay. The repre-
sentative of the Georgetown in this area
consists of nodular limestone and marl
underlain by a bed of brown sandstone
and capped by a heavier-bedded lime-
stone, in all about 500 feet. In expo-
sures 9 miles southwest of Lobo siding
there have been collected from this
formation, according to Baker, Pervin-
quieria graysonensis, P. wintoni, Holas-
ter simplex, and Holectypus limitis. At
the fault 3 miles west of Chispa Sum-
mit the sandstone noted above lies on
Edwards limestone and is overlain by
nodular impure blue-gray limestone of
Georgetown age, which carries Enallas-

calvini, Holect - planatus, Kingena
is, Neithea terana, Cypri ia
terana, and Gryphaea corrugata. These
are overlain by b: nes

slab
and shales of the Eagle Ford formation,
which are highly fossiliferous at Chispa
Summit, where besides the characteris-

Hemiaster |

tie Inoceramus labiatus many fine am-
monites have been collected. These
include, according to Adkins, Mantelli-
ceras M. couloni (D’Orbigny), Ro-
maniceras cumminsit Adkins, R. loboense

Adkins, Coz

Hoplitoides? mirabilis Bése, Neocardio-

ceras septem-seriatim (Cragin), Scaphites

ff. S. africanus Pervinquiére, S. aff. S.

asia Sowerby, and Metsctgehaiiae
3 ds).

under
shales with thin limestone layers equiv-
alent to the Austin chalk, and these in

th
Es

la delawarensis, as~

and many others—a fauna which is re-
garded by Stanton as lying between the

— and the Austin limestone. A
of a tooth of ———
“mortont Agnasis waa as found,

GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

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See en |
Figure 17.—Map showing route from Lobo, Tex., to Carlsbad Caverns,
N. Mex.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 15

A. PERMIAN vest eg LYING UNCONFORMABLY ON EL PASO LIME-
STONE AT SOUTH END OF BAYLOR MOUNTAINS, 12 MILES NORTH
AN HORN, TE x

a. Contact of Van Horn sandstone.

B. GUADALUPE POINT, TEX.

The south end of a great promontory of Capitan limestone on Delaware Mountain beds.
El pring the highest peak in Texas, at the right.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 16

A. FINBACK LIZARDS OF PERMIAN TIME

Bij Sob bones of. Dimetrodon incisivus and Naosaurus found in the “Red Bec ill :
of Tex They range in length from 3 to 10 feet and are among ais earliest forms of sauriar
life.

B. CARLSBAD CAVERNS, 20 MILES SOUTH OF CARLSBAD, N. MEX.
Deposits of calcium carbonate. (National Park Service.)

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 105

large boulders and to transport a vast amount of fine material far
down the side slopes. These floods often cut deeply into the rail-
road embankments, so that it is necessary to provide long deflection
ditches and dikes to prevent serious washouts. This item is as
expensive as flood protection and repair in regions where there are
large rivers subject to freshets. The run-off is very rapid in the
deserts, because the rocks are bare, the soil is hard, and most of the
slopes are steep. But little water passes underground, and springs,
even in the mountains, are exceedingly rare. Much water, moreover,
is lost by evaporation.

At Lobo are wells which afford water for locomotive supply and
local use. A noticeable feature here is a large stone building erected
. by the railroad company as a hotel; it did not succeed,

obo. :
ric bak ack however, and is now used as a ranch house. The
Population 30.* prominent mountain about 7 miles east of Lobo con-
cont omgea ss 054 sists of quartz syenite of igneous origin, and there is
another large intrusion of this rock in the northeastern
part of the Van Horn Mountains just west of Lobo. It was forced in
molten condition into strata of Permian and Lower Cretaceous age,

probably in early Tertiary time.

SIDE TRIP TO CARLSBAD CAVERNS, N. MEX.

At Lobo passengers can make arrangements for motor transpor-
tation to Carlsbad Caverns by way of Van Horn, a distance of about
100 miles nearly due north. The route is shown in Figure 17. There
are regular busses and a 1-day airplane excursion from El Paso to
the caverns, a distance of 140 miles. The caverns are on the south-
east slope of the Guadalupe Mountains and extend far and deep
underground in a series of superb chambers containing a great variety
of beautiful stalactites, stalagmites, and other depositional forms of
calcium carbonate. (See pl. 16, B.) The road northward from
Van Horn skirts the outlying ridges of Beach and Baylor Mountains
and the foot of the Sierra Diablo, on the west side of Salt Basin, a
wide desert valley of which the Lobo Flats are a southern extension.
This valley is without outlet. The mountains adjoining it consist
mainly of limestones and sandstones lying nearly horizontal and
presenting a most interesting succession of 5,000 feet or more of
152109°—33-——_8

106 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Paleozoic strata, with the underlying presCamiribn sandstones,
limestones, and schists exposed to the south.”

% The principal features cf the formations in this region are given in the
following table:

Formations in the Van Horn region

Age Formation Character fee ey
Cretaceous. Sandstone and limestone. 1, 800+
Limestone, mostly massive, light to dark, many
Permian, reefs, ie anconformabty on older strata down 2, 800
to pre-Cambrian.)
Pennsylvanian. Limestone, massive, on dark shale. 800
Devonian‘. Chert and dark slabby shale. 150
Silurian. Fusselman. Dolomite, massive, light. 100-+
Montoya. pres Sg cherty, with basal brown sandstone 400
Ordovician.
El Paso. Limestone, massive, mottled, lower part sandy. 1, 000
Sandstone, red arkose conglomerate lenses and
Upper Cambrian. | Van Horn, — tae (Lies unconformably on pre-| 50-700
Limestone, omrperit — banded with chert; a
carries masses of Cryptoz
Sandstone, red, in part areTiaceciin and conglom-
Millican, eratic. 3, 000
Genthereciake including schist fragmen
Pre-Cambrian. ae sills of diabase and carries interbedded vie
ne Schist and gneiss cut hy igneous rocks and veins of
Carrizo Mountain, quartz and pegmatite,

The pre-Cambrian schist constitutes | face of the pre-Cambrian rocks. It is
the Carrizo Mountains, which lie be- | several hundred feet thick in the ridges
tween the Texas & Pacific and South- | northwest of Van Horn, but it thins
ern Pacific Railroads west of Van Horn. | out in places, together with the over-
It is also exposed in a few small areas lying old - a a te) that the lime-
in the adjacent region. The Millican | stone of Perm i
formation, which contains much red
shale and cherty limestone, resembles

Apac stone lies directly on El Paso limestone,
group of Arizona. It constitutes an | as shown in Plate 15, A. In places the
area of foothills northwest of Van Horn. | Van Horn beds, especially the lower
4 uy oubtedly it is younger ones, consist largely of coarse material

f :

Flat station on the Texas & Pacific | co ter sediments. Much of
Railway, where the limestone of Per- | the Van Horn material is of red color
mian age overlaps bo The presen The succession of El Paso to Fussel
pa fragments i ae limestone whic

of metamorphi
of the Millican beds indicate that they | hills about the
pene a than the schists, doubtless

SOUTHERN

PACIFIC LINES

107

The Sierra Diablo is an elevated plateau sloping gently westward
and presenting to the east an imposing escarpment 2,000 to 2,500 feet

high. Its highest sum-
mit, Victorio Peak, is
ve

eral thousand feet by a
long south to north
fault or zone of faults
that extends along its

Victorio Peak NE:
6432

Horizontal scale

3 Miles

ical scal
by viata e Feet
es a |

FicureE 18.—Section of east front of Sierra are Zz Victorio
Peak, 18 miles north of Van B. King

Horn, Tex.

foot. In places the downfaulted strata are exposed dipping steeply
to the east, as shown in Figure 18, and in the slopes 25 miles north
of Van Horn there are small but steep escarpments in the alluvial
fan, which probably indicate recent movements along this fault zone.

same fossils. Some of them ean also be
correlated with strata in the Marathon
uplift. These limestones yore out to
the south and west. ey appear
in the foot of the Sierra Diablo, 25
miles north of Van Horn, just west of
the road to the Carlsbad Caverns.
The Fusselman limestone contains a
characteristic Pentamerus; the Mon-
toya contains Columnaria, Halysites,

and Ra-

Piloceras, Eccyliomphalus, Hormotoma,

and Ophileta of the Lower Ordovician.
The Permian succession that consti-
tutes t mountain block of the

the
Sierra. Diablo, the Baylor and Wylie
Moun and some minor ridges con-
sists mostly of limestones of various

g
continuous subsidence and deposition
in the Fis img uninterrupted by uplift

re ve incursions of coarse sedi-
ments " Byvidently there were long
reefs which persisted during the deposi-

tion of thousands of feet of strata
The position and extent of land at that
time in the general region are not
known. These reefs had a controlling
effect on the sedimentation. In the

open sea in front of them were deposited

materials now represented by flaggy

black limestones, siliceous shales, and

fine sandstones which contain such

Guadalupian fossils as Richthofenia and
ept

ments now represented by thinly strati-
fied dolomite containing fusulinids in
extreme abundance. Farther behind,
to the west and southwest, there were
accumulations of limy sediments with
a fauna like that in the Hueco Moun-
tains, including Omphalotrochus, Belle-
rophon, uct:

very massive limestones or dolomites,
built of the remains of algae, bryozoans,
and other fossils

ieiatatns consists of es laid
down behind the reefs. In the Sierra
Diablo a thick body of n limestone
constituting the lower third of the
series is succeeded b €

out in rounded slopes, which are sur-

mounted by great cliffs of the reef
limestone. Some of the relations of

these strata are shown in Figure 18.
In places i escarpment there is an
abrupt transition from black limestone

) ne. At the north end of

the Sierra Diablo, 40 miles northwest

108 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

To the southwest the Sierra Diablo is separated from Salt Basin by
Beach Mountain and the Baylor seeeies ane blocks both, the
latter having the relations shown in Figur

About 35 miles north of Van Horn, not "e oe. the Figure Two
ranch, the road to the Carlsbad Caverns passes the north end of the
Sierra Diablo, where the northerly dip of the great limestone succes-
sion carries it rapidly below the surface. In the next few miles the
Salt Basin is crossed diagonally and the westward-fronting escarpment
of the Apache and Delaware Mountain range is gradually approached.
This range consists of limestones and sandstones of Permian age,
which also constitute various outlying buttes. Very prominent
features to the north are the high white promontory of Guadalupe
Point (see pl. 15, B), at the south end of the Guadalupe Mountains,
and El Capitan, the culminating peak of that range and the highest
summit in Texas (elevation about 8,700 feet). These mountains are
capped by a thick succession of light-colored limestone (Capitan lime-
stones) of Permian age which extends to the Carlsbad Caverns. It

w.

Baylor Mts.

Sierra Diablo
Cp

Ficure 19.—Secti t of the Si
phtenk nat om sthgers rh By P. B King. Am, M
stone; aS El Paso limestone; Om, Montoya limestone; Sf, Fusse
limestones of Permian age

Diablo and Baylor ote ai 15 miles
formation; €vh, Van Horn sand-
Iman Slade Cp,

lies on limestones and sandstones of the Delaware Mountain forma-
tion, which are well exposed in the ascent to the divide just east of
Guadalupe Point and at intervals farther north. The relations are
shown in the sections in Figure 20. It will be seen from the first of

of Van Horn, the reef limestones are
overlain by sandstones of the Delaware
Mountain ratmecige a remnant of the
thick of pre-Capitan strata
well developed in the Delaware and

region and it is through a gap along one
these breaks that the Texas &

limestone, capped in places by strata of
Comanche age, lies directly on the Van
Horn sandstone. The Comanche beds
here consist mainly of sandstone with
some conglomeratic layers and a few

trending northwest cross | removed b

: =e he southern part of the Sierra Diablo

remains
| amount of errs, strata having been
Y erosion.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 109

these sections that the caverns are in the Carlsbad limestone member,
which is a northern extension of the upper part of the Capitan lime-
stone. The strata dip to the east. The opening is on the east slope
of the mountains, some distance above the plain underlain by Castile
gypsum which here skirts the east foot of the mountains. The
opening is a wide natural arch from which a broad stairway and an
elevator descend into the cavern, which has a total depth of more than
700 feet. Some of the upper chambers of the cavern are the homes of
myriads of bats, which fly out for a nightly foray at sunset every
evening in a veritable cloud of wings that darkens the sky; they
return atdawn. Many visitors linger in the evening to see the exodus.

Last Chance
>» Canyon
°
0

i
Sere : ok Caverns ne
SSS Shoo ==. 3
= 5 ler limestone

SSS era 2 ere ee

risbad =
limestone Cerisbad = 84 E.
ember
_ <=

=.

ee
-<—.
~

nL
“<2
~ ee
=~

Delaware
sa SWOre Mc
3,000"

= Limestone
de probably —
*% Pennsylvanian

° 5 10 1s Miles

1 L L — j

FIGURE 20.—Sections across the Guadalupe Mountains at E] Capitan, Tex., and Carlsbad Caverns,
N. Mex.

LOBO TO EL PASO, TEX.

Three miles beyond Lobo State Highway 3 crosses the Southern
Pacific tracks and goes to Van Horn, a small town on the Texas &
Pacific Railway, dimly visible down the valley, about 8 miles to the
north. The old military trail from the east followed the Lobo Flats
to Van Horn Wells, thence north and west to Eagle Spring, Fort
Quitman, and San Elizario on its way to El Paso, whence a trail
continued on into Chihuahua.

East of Fay are the Wylie Mountains,” a deeply dissected elevated
plateau of limestone of Permian age cut off on its west side by a fault,
as shown in Figure 21.

Many chapters of geologic history are indicated by the rocks of
western Texas. Although some of the conditions and events are
clearly shown, some intervals of geologic time are not represented by

7 The limestone of this range is the | pink quartz-muscovite schist, quartz-
same as that which caps the Sierra | biotite ite schist, chlorite schist,
Diablo north of Van Horn. The | and amphibolite schist, with quartz
schist exposed on the west face of the | veins and lenses. The ike is nearly
Wylie Mountains is composed of light- | east and the dip 20°-30° S. (Baker)

110 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

sediments. The old basement of schist and granite of pre-Cambrian
time appears in the Van Horn and El Paso regions, where in places it
is overlain by sandstone and limestone probably of Algonkian age.
The relation of land and sea and the extent to which Algonkian de-
posits were laid down can be only vaguely pictured. Late in Cambrian
time there was extensive marine submergence, with shores on which
accumulated the sand of the Bliss and Van Horn sandstones. In the
next period (Ordovician) there were widespread marine conditions
from time to time, separated by intervals of general uplift in which
doubtless some deposits were removed by erosion. This oscillation
of submergence and emergence continued through the Paleozoic era,
but representatives of part of the Silurian, Devonian, Mississippian,
and Pennsylvanian are all indicative of widespread marine seas, most
of the shores of which can not be located. In these times the uplifts
were general and in greater part not attended by flexing until late

° 2 Miles
See Eo 8 3 j =
Vertical scale
° 1000 Feet
| ee Se See See Re

FicuRE 21.—Section across the western part of the Wylie Mountains
north of Lobo siding, Tex. Cp, Permian limestone; €vh, Van Horn
sandstone (Cambrian)

more. In places the deposition was long continued, subsidence keep-

ee algae, bryo-
Sponges, crinoids, and other fossils of reef habitat. Behind
ere wide lagoons in which thinly stratified beds were laid

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 111

down, some of them porous limestones and locally ciays, red beds, and
gypsum. (P.B.King.) A great interval of sand deposition is indicated
by the sandstone of the Delaware Mountain formation. In part of
the region extensive mud flats of red clay were built on lowlands sub-
ject to overflow, and in some of the shallow intervening basins there
was a thick accumulation of salt and gypsum. On the adjoining
lands lived many animals, largely strange reptiles, of which many
remains have been found in the Permian red beds. One of the most
peculiar of these animals, the finback lizard, is shown in Plate 16, A.

After Permian time there was widespread uplift with considerable
flexing of the strata and extensive erosion. In certain local basins
limy sediments were laid down, as shown by the thick mass of Juras-
sic limestone of the Malone Mountains, the product of a sea or marine
estuary. Through the Cretaceous period there were several marine
occupations of wide extent and long duration, in which the Comanche
strata (Lower Cretaceous) and the clays and chalks of the Upper
Cretaceous were accumulated. Late in Cretaceous time, however,
western Texas was elevated above the sea, and it has been an upland
ever since. Volcanic action began at this time, with the ejection
of tuffs and ash and thin flows of acid lava, the earliest of which were
buried by sand. Later there were tremendous eruptions of lavas
of many kinds, with the building of high volcanic cones, some of cinder
and scoria, which continued into Tertiary and later time. There
was in late Tertiary time a widespread uplift in which the lavas
were tilted, flexed, and faulted. Since then they have been widely
removed and sculptured by erosion to their present forms, and thick
mantles of alluvium have been deposited in some of the valleys.

The Lobo Flats support much tobosa grass, a plant that carries its
moisture a long time and is therefore in high favor for pasture. This
wide valley was a favorite rendezvous for Apache Indians and out-
laws, who committed many depredations. At Fay siding a 2,012-
foot boring found but little water. Beyond Fay siding the railroad
passes around the north end of the Van Horn Mountains, an outlying
knob of the Permian limestone reaching the railroad at milepost 702,
2 miles beyond the siding. At Collado siding, 2 miles farther on, the
railroad deflects around a knob of the same limestone at the south end
of the Carrizo Mountains.”

% These mountains consist mainly | basal conglomerate of schist and
of Carrizo Mountain schist (pre- | quartz. The Carrizo Mountain schist
Cambrian), with small overlapping | extends north to the gap in which the
areas of Van Horn sandstone (Upper | Texas & Pacific Railway crosses the

stone varies in thickness but in places | Bass Canyon, north of Dalberg siding,

is more than 200 feet thick, consist- | where it strikes northwest and includes

ing of red micaceous sandstone with a nen heh Ne

112 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

From Collado siding there is a branch railroad south to the Micro-
lithic quarry, 5 miles distant, where mica and feldspars of various
colors are obtained from a coarse pegmatitic rock in Carrizo
Mountain schist of tga age in the northwestern slope of the
Van Horn Mountains The occurrence of this old rock at this
place is due to a pailisherlirciaterte fault that brings up a block of
the schist, Van Horn sandstone (150 feet thick), and limestone of
Permian age on the west against limestones of Trinity age (Lower
Cretaceous) on the east. To the south from Dalberg siding and

vicinity there is a good view down the wide valley between the Van
Horn and Eagle Mountains to the Rio Grande, 40 miles distant.
Some years ago there were in this valley ata place about 8 miles
south of the railroad, some deep cracks in the ground that were
attributed to an earthquake. They trended north and south and
cut clays in the arroyo and gravel on the benches. From Collado
siding to Hot Wells and beyond there are fine views of the high,
craggy Eagle Mountain to the west, a huge pile of lavas and other
volcanic rocks of Tertiary age,® in which the highest point is 7,510

schist, with lenses and veins of quartz
&nd dikes of dark-green basic intrusive.
Some of the schists contain garnet.

The Carrizo Mountains are near the
center of a large, irre uplift in
which the strata and underlying erystal-

taceous to middle Tertiary
A fault of 300 or 400 feet dis-
t along the west side of the

7 The pegmatites at this place pre-
sent great variety in color and compo-
sition, and some of the dikes are 100
feet wide. They range from graphic
granite, an intimate intergrowth of
feldspar and quartz, to crystals of feld-
spar and mica a foot or more in size.
The feldspar varies in shade from flesh-
color to pearly white. Large tabular
masses of black tourmaline occur in
places and some crystalline hematite.
The schists are of many kinds; the
prevailing type is a finely foliated ag-
gregate of muscovite and flesh-colored
or white feldspar, but — = ete feld-
spar, biotite, and garne he aver-
age general dip of bax foliation ae
to Asa east, but it swings in various
directions. There is considerable vert
quartz, mostly milky whit

crete blocks and other Socoke cadaan
materials.
* The =P rocks of Eagle Moun-
an irregular

and

quartz and amphibole schists, quartz-

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

113

feet above sea level, or about 3,000 feet above the valley followed

by the railroad.

It was in this range that after the death of Vic-

torio at Tres Castillos, Mexico, the survivors of his band of
Apaches had their last hiding place; they were finally caught by
Captain Baylor and the Texas Rangers near Victorio Peak, 25 miles

north of Van Horn

At Hot Wells hot water obtained from borings 1,000 feet deep in
the valley fill is used for the treatment of rheumatism and other ills.

Hot Wells.
Elevation 4,285 feet.
Population 50.*

New Orleans 1,073
miles.

The water must come from a considerable depth,
probably along a fault plane under the valley fill,
which is thick in this valley.”
foot of Eagle Mountain, about 5 miles west-southwest

Eagle Spring, at the

of Hot Wells, is a noted watering place for cattle, and
in earlier days for travelers on the old trail.®

ites, and a very basic dark-green intru-
sive cut by quartz veins, one of which
contains some copper minerals. The

to the it sit southeast. A cross

north foot of the mountain are exposed
a considerable body of Trinity strata
overlain by Washita and Upper Cre-

” The ordinary rate of temperature
increase underground is 1° for every
60 feet. At most places in this region
a temperature of about 140° is to be
expected at a depth of about 4,000 feet.
The presence of volcanic rocks not yet
fully cooled, or of special conditions in
the earth's crust, eit may greatly
h is found to

this ares according to = com-

(Permian), which it penetrates, into
marble for a distance of 25 feet from
the contact.

The east slope of Eagle Mountain
south of Hot Wells presents the entire
Trinity group lying on Carrizo Moun-
tain schist. The Finlay limestone
here forms a ani platform on which is
piled the thick succession of volcanic

thickness of tuff breccias.
land tortoises oecur here in rhyolite
tuffs.

A sandy limestone weathering brown,

about 500 feet above the base of the

succession, is regarded as Finlay. It
r

there are ledges of dove-colored cherty
limestone, then a débris-covered inter-
val to 200 feet of dark-gray clays with
interbedded limy clays, extending to
nodular earthy limestones. The cap
rock of the hogback ridges north of the
main fault is heavy-bedded Finlay
limestone, and this caps nearly all the
hogback ridges extending northward to

Sierra Blanca and Etholen except the
i of

114 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Near Torbert siding the valley is very wide, extending north to and
beyond the Texas & Pacific Railway. It contains much grass and
many yuccas. Far to the north is a long line of cliffs of limestone

(Permian) forming the southern margin of the Sierra Diablo.®
Sierra Blanca is at the junction of the Southern Pacific and Texas &

Pacific lines (p.

Sierra Blanca. Texas.

293) and on State Highway 1, which crosses southwest
In the vicinity are aaiaeirs cattle ranches,

and considerable prospecting has been done on the

Elevation 4,518 feet.
tion 723.

Orleans 1,095 results.

miles

adjoining mountains, but without very encouraging
The dominant feature of the landscape is
the high conical mountain about 8

miles distant,

called Sierra Blanca through a perversion of the Mexican name

“Cerro Blanco” (white hill).

Its elevation is about 6,970 feet. It

consists of a huge body of rhyolite, a fine-grained, nearly white rock

that has welled up as
crust.

a viscous mass from a fissure in the earth’s
The rhyolite lies on a platform of limestone of Washita age,
which on the west side is penetra

ted by a large sill of a darker,

coarser intrusive rock (trachyte), probably older than the rhyolite
and similar in character to the large lens-shaped intrusive mass that

ne half a mile south of Eagle Spring,
southeast of the fault. It is 3 feet
thick, dips 80° N. 15° E., and has been
altered to a semianthracite by the heat
of a great intrusion of igneous rhyolite
which has also changed some of the
limestones into marble. A short dis-
tance up the arroyo, above the old coal
ee es
Exogyra quitmanensis and
texana. Farther up is the tuff Seen
of the great voleanic mass. A mile
to the northwest are exposures of shale,
sandstone, and Orbitulina-bearing lime-
stone, which crop out at intervals for
3 — west along the south side of the
faul

= the north end of Eagle Mountain
there are exposures of about 550 feet

sandy and limy layers, the latter con-
taining Inoceramus labiatus and other
fossils of the Eagle Ford formation.

At. Carpenter Spring, 4 miles south-

ably on the other limb of a syncline,
is several hundred feet of shale under-
lain by limestone, all believed to be
Finlay. limestone also occurs
on the northeast side of Eagle Moun-
tain, where it contains some brown
sandstone and shale and has yielded,
according to ans _ fossils Orbi-
er texanus, Pecten

8 Just mouth of these cliffs is a long
west-east fault south of which is ex-
posed a thick succession of limestones
and red shales

siding, one of the most prominent of
which is Eagle Flat Butte, just north
of the Texas & Pacific Railway. South-
ae of Bola siding are ridges of strata

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

115

uplifts limestone of Trinity age in Triple Hill. There are two other
conical masses of rhyolite a short distance north and northwest of
the large one, but they are of much less height.”

Just north of Sierra Blanca is a long ridge of limestones and sand-
stones of Trinity age penetrated by small bodies of intrusive rocks and

apparently cut off on the east side by a fault.

north to Triple Hill.

This ridge extends

South of Sierra Blanca are other high ridges of the same limestones

and sandstones.™

FIGURE 22.—Section von the southern edge of the baaers ner to Eagle Flat, east of the Sierra

eee a, Tex. ae B. King. K, Sandston

Ho oneyaay ( Cam brian);

— _ — Phe seein. Cp, bape gees
ud

(Per
ing — ye at peat (b); A

There has been Br a in obtaining an adequate water supply
for Sierra Blanca, but in 1930 a well about a mile east of the town
struck water, apparently either in a sandstone low in the Trinity

8 The rock of Sierra Blanca and the
similar smaller cones is classed
rhyolite, as it is composed mainly of
quartz, ortho sete and sodie plagio-
clase. The phenocrysts are orthoclase,
oligoclase, and small
and hornblende.
_—- is a porphyritic rock composed

y of sodie plagioclase and horn-
blenda with phenocrysts of oligoclase
and hornblende in a groundmass of

a small disk-shaped fossil ¢
of the upper part of the Trinity group.
A mile southwest of Sierra Blanca the
limestone has been metamorphosed
by intrusive sills, and secondary
minerals, such as garnet, hematite, and
specularite, have been developed. The
strata (Cox) underlying the limestones

sandstones with thin limestone

members at intervals, passing into
medium-bedded gray limestones with
interbedded sandstones, in
all 750 feet thick. In the

3 to 5 miles south of Sierra Blanca the
cap of Finlay limestone is underlain
by 1,000 feet of limestones, sandstones,
and conglomerates, some thin bedded,
of the Cox formation. At the north-
east base of the ridge just south of

Sierra Blanca are sandstones with a
few interbedded limestones, ig? Cox.
(Baker.)

The large mesa 5 miles south of
Etholen is capped by massive limestone

about 200 feet think: with a thick

quit Other fossils in this
miata necordiing to Baker, are

116 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

group or coming from a fault fissure that appears to cross the valley
in that vicinity. About 31 miles to the south, on the bank of the
Rio Grande, are the Indian Hot Springs, a noted resort which utilizes
the hot water for remedial purposes.

Near Etholen siding there are many interesting geologic features.
Not far north is the huge cone of the Sierra Blanca, rising nearly

tein. 2,200 feet above the adjoining valley. Near its south
slope passes a west-northwest fault, on the south or

Elevation 4,754 feet. : ‘ a °

Population 28.* upthrown side of which limestone of Permian age

sates Orleans 1,100 abuts against strata of the Washita group, which
: constitute the platform on which the mass of Sierra

Blanca rises. In the gap on the north side of the peak a large variety
of interesting fossils have been found in these strata.

The Quitman Mountains are very conspicuous southwest of the
railroad near Etholen. They consist of a mass of intrusive granite at
the north and south ends and a huge central intrusion of quartz
syenite. These rocks are cut by dikes of diabase and augite porphyry.
The granite and syenite intrusions have lifted and deformed the
Cretaceous strata over an area of considerable extent. A most
interesting example of the alteration of sedimentary rocks by an
igneous intrusive mass is presented on the north side of the Quitman
Mountains 5 miles south-southwest of Etholen siding. Here part of
the limestone (Finlay) has been changed to marble by the heat of
the intrusive quartz syenite, and a great zone of garnet (grossularite)
has been developed at the contact. There is also considerable vesu-
vianite and actinolite. Sandy beds are altered to hornfels, and much
silica has been deposited, together with iron, Manganese, copper,
zinc, and silver minerals. Many of these minerals are incrusted with
chalcedony. The principal materials added to the sedimentary rocks
are silica and iron oxide, much of the latter in the form of hematite.
There are many mineral deposits in the altered rocks near the Quit-
man Mountains which have been extensively prospected but have not
yet developed economic importance. Besides iron, lead, copper, and
silver, small amounts of nickel, tungsten, uranium, gold, and molyb-
denum have been reported.

In the small ridge west of Etholen are limestones and shales of

formerly productive. Nearly all the surfaces in this general region

are bare and rocky, and the vegetation has the wide spacing charac-
ristic - In the valleys and on gentler slopes, however,

there is considerable grass and other forage for stock.

_ The knobs just northwest of Etholen consist of a conglomerate
(probably the same as the Campagrande formation of Richardson, the

U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 16

10530 105° Taal
3i 7 °
30) EXPLANATION sf
A Sand and gravel (valley fill) 0-700’ Quaternary
B Lavas and other rocks 1,800’+ Tertiary
of voleanie origin
C Shale, limestone and 1.100’ Upper Cretaceous
sandstone , “i (Gulf series)
D_ Limestone Washita group I ice
E Limestone * Fredericksburg group 3,000’ esate ar pa
F Limestone, sandstone, ete. Trinity group
G Limestone 1,500’ er’
H_ Limestone Montoya on Fl Paso 1,300’ Ordovician
| Sandstone an Horn -700' Cambrian
J Sandstone, cherty lime- Millican 3,000’+ Algonkian (?)
= stone, etc., with diabase sills
K_ Schist and quartzite & Mountain 77 Algonkian (?)
L_ Intrusive rocks (not fully ag Post-Cretaceous

Sheet 17
En ros

pion fer
Scale 500,000
linch=8 miles (approximately)
5 ie} i5

12] 5

10 15
Contour interval 200 feet

le
miles, and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart

Each quadrangle shown on the map with
in the lower left corner is mapped in detail
topographic map of that name

on the U. 8S.

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every
10 e

20 KILOMETERS

ith a name in parentheses
G. 8.

20 MILES

differentiated)
—-— Fault
-~- Concealed fault
Geology by C. L. Baker, G. B
P. B. King, and N. H. Dart

f
ee

105°30

105

. Richardson,
on

Topography: U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES $17

basal formation of the Comanche series), and this rock also occurs in
near-by hills south of the railroad, in the .
small hill three-quarters of a mileeastofthe ~£Y
siding, and at some other localities in the 5" \c
same general region. It consists of coarse $
sandstone and conglomerate of brown
color and represents an old beach or river
deposit.. Underlying limestone of Permian +)
age appears on the north side of the hills
2 miles north of Etholen, but the contact
is covered by talus. (Turn to sheet 17.)
Etholen is near the divide between the
elevated basin that lies east of Sierra
Blanca and the deep valley which has %»
been excavated by the Rio Grande. To
the northwest of this divide the railroad
descends a steep grade past Lasca and
Torcer sidings. In this vicinity the rail-
road crosses the old ‘‘salt trail’? from
the Indian villages on the Rio Grande to
the great salt flats 45 miles northeast of
Sierra Blanca, which were an important
source of supply for many years and the
cause of bitter controversy and hostilities.
At Torcer the road begins a very tor-
tuous course to distribute the grade, and
there are many curves, one of which is
shaped like a huge horseshoe. These are
along the east slope of the Malone Moun-
tains, and in places the railroad touches
the hard rocks of that range, but most of
the descent is in valley fill, which is 600
feet or more thick. The descent to Small
siding is about 550 feet in a distance of 12
miles. In this descent there are good views
of the Malone Mountains, to the south-
west, and the Finlay Mountains. to the
northwest. The Finlay Mountains con-
sist of a dome-shaped uplift of the strata,
truncated at the top, so that a consider-
able area of underlying limestone and
shale of Permian age is e The
surrounding ridges consist of sandstones
and limestones of the Trinity grou
(Comanche series), of which about. 800 feet ‘
is exposed, These strata rocks at several 5

After

ee |
PK

Kdr

J

te
)
6,000 Feet

e
(Cretaceous

Sandstone
2

3,000

4.

Vertical scale

i.

1°]
i

f the Sierra Blanca, Tex., crossing the railroad just west of Etholen station.

ee

C. L. Baker. Kdr, Del Rio formation (Cretaceous)

| Mile

Conglomerate
Sandstones

Horizontal scale

Quitman Mtn.

Ficunre 23,—Section from the north end of the Quitman M

118 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

From Small siding the railroad proceeds west down a small valley
cut deeply in pink loams or sandy clays; these appear to have been
deposited in a lake that once occupied the area, probably caused by
the damming of the Rio Grande temporarily by some earth movement.
About 1% miles beyond Small and at intervals to Finlay there are fine
views of the Malone Mountains * showing sharply flexed limestones
of Jurassic age. The most noticeable feature is a syncline or trough,
which is clearly discernible from the train, as shown in Plate 17, B.

Flexing and faulting have brought Permian gypsum to the surface
along the railroad halfway between mileposts 756 and 757, where it is
extensively quarried for use as plaster of paris. The quarry is
south of the tracks. Near the quarry the gypsum is overlain by 200
feet of conglomerate and light-brown conglomers tic sandstone, which
is overlain by limestone interbedded with sandstone, the latter in part
conglomeratic. Certain fossils at this horizon are believed by Baker
to indicate Cretaceous age but earlier than any Trinity elsewhere in
Texas. The gypsum is known to be of Permian age because an over-
lying limestone, exposed half a mile east of Torcer siding, carries the
characteristic fossil Richthofenia. Next above this are Jurassic beds.

~

Horizontal scale
'

2 Miles

Vertical scale
o 4000 Feet

Fieure 24.—Section across the Malone Mountains, Tex. After C. L. Baker (per-
sonal communication). Jm, Malone limestone (Jurassic). Cp, Limestone, ete.; g,
gypsum (both Permian)
The gypsum also underlies the flat between the southeast end of
the Malone Mountains and the intrusive mass of the Quitman Moun-
tains. In the foothills of the Malone Mountains it is overlain by

* According to Baker, the dominant
structure in these mountains is

axis passes near the gypsum quarry on
the railroad. the southeast side

a

syncline overturned on its southwest-
ern flank, a feature which is conspic-
uous from afar along the summit of the

of the syncline there is an overthrust
to the northeast. There is much minor
crumpling on the southeast end of the
main northeastern ridge. The general
features are shown in Figure 24.

8 Clare i ae ra ,

; aoe, Ree
with about 20 per cent of combined
water. Plaster of paris, which is used
extensively in the arts, is made from it

of the combined water and grinding the
resulting mass to fine powder.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 119
conglomerate (basal Malone) of limestone and chert, including boul-
ders as much as 8 inches in diameter, one of which yielded remains of
Fusulina elongata, a fossil of Permian age. These boulders were of
course derived from the underlying strata. This basal conglomerate
is overlain by limestone containing conglomerate and brown sand-
stone layers, all of Jurassic age (Malone formation). On the east
side of this area the gypsum is apparently overlain by brown sand-
stone and blue limestone of the Malone formation, dipping southwest.

West of the gypsum quarry the railroad ascends a low ridge from
which there are fine views of the Finlay Mountains, to the north, and
of the Sierra del Presidio, far to the south in Mexico; the latter is more
closely approached after the descent is made into the valley of the Rio
Grande.

Finlay is a small settlement on the high alluvial plain northwest of
the Malone Mountains. Near by are several small knobs of lime-
stone, some of them Jurassic, and some Cretaceous
i cue ee (Finlay), with members of conglomeratic sandstone.
Population 60.* About 12 miles due south, near the Rio Grande, are
New Orleans 1,118 t¢he ruins of Fort Quitman, once an important army

miles,
post when the Indians were on the warpath.

West of Finlay there is another long tortuous descent of nearly
400 feet into the valley of the Rio Grande. There are many cuts in
lake beds, in most places eroded into badland forms, notably at points
2 miles beyond Finlay, at Stevenson siding, and thence to Madden
and beyond. The material is a pink sandy clay of compact texture,
with a few harder sandy beds. Badlands such as are shown in Plate
17, A, result from rapid gullying in soft beds that are sufficiently com-
pact to sustain steep slopes. In the next 5 miles the valley of the Rio
Grande is reached, and the railroad curves to a northwest course,
which continues for 60 miles to El Paso.

The uplifts that followed the time of great volcanic activity in
western Texas strongly affected the preexisting drainage, forming
basins between the mountain blocks, some of which still exist. A
wide trough excavated by the Rio Grande was dammed by the uplifts
base of the formation. The intricate
folding and complex faulting in these
mountains renders it difficult to deter-

Finlay.

% The Jurassic rocks of the Malone
Mountains (Malone formation) con-
sist of blue and gray limestones with a
few intercalated layers of conglomerate
and sandstone, having a thickness of
about 1,000 feet. At the base is a con-

the rocks

ders. Some of the strata contain mol-
luscan fossils of Jurassic age. The

fossils are most abundant, so far as
reported, in low, detached hills about 2
miles east of Torcer siding at a horizon
believed to be about 300 feet above the

found in the Malone formation are
ammonites and gastropods in pamela
able variety, but there are also many

other forms. (Deseribed by y cre) |

120 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

in the Big Bend region, causing a lake or series of lakes extending up
the valley to the mountains at El] Paso. In these waters were depos-
ited a thick mass of fine-grained sediments, in large part of flesh color,
orange-brown, and pale grayish green. Some beds are sandy, and
thin sandstone layers are included; where these deposits are near the
mountain slopes much coarse material is present. The lake beds were
capped by stream deposits, which now fill many old gaps and extend
over moderately high divides. North of Fort Bliss holes 2,300 feet
deep have failed to reach the base of the valley fill.

The lacustrine condition in the Rio Grande Basin was terminated
by the deepening of the outlet; this finally tapped off the water, and
then, as canyons were cut through the ridges, a deep valley was devel-
oped. As the process continued, the side streams and arroyos cut
deeply into the alluvial capping and the underlying lake deposits, and
in the main valley terraces and a wide alluvial flat were developed.

MeNary, formerly known as Nulo, has developed into a small town
for local trade in the irrigated district along the Rio Grande. This

preNazy: valley, with rich bottom-land soils, mild climate, wide
ee eos areas of level surface, and a large water supply from
Population 50.* +‘ the river now controlled by the Elephant Butte Reser-

sais Orleans 1,131 voir, has developed rapidly in recent years. Much of
mues.

the land from McNary to El Paso is under irrigation

and is yielding large crops of cotton, alfalfa’? and other forage plants,
grain, fruits, and vegetables. The railroad passes near or through
cultivated fields for the entire route, in striking contrast to the sand
hills and barren lands of the area above the ditches. The alfalfa
fields are usually of a rich green color, which becomes shaded with
the lavender of the sweet-smelling blossoms when the plant is left to
continue its growth for the development of seed. In 1929 the irri-
gated area in Hudspeth County was about 14,000 acres and in El
87 Alfalfa (lucern in Europe) Ser fone 1 Boake Gate highs Guia
been cultivated as forage, for historians
record its introduction into Greece from

Besides being highly nutritive and pala-
table, alfalfa, when well rooted, is of
rank growth, long lived, and hardy.

Persia as early as the fifth century be-
fore Christ. Its cultivation was at-

regions, for it does not require a moist
climate and does not suffer from ex-
treme heat or from relatively severe
cold. It thrives best under irrigation,

an occasional g being n
for its growth. It has been found by
the Arizona Agricult, Experiment

Some fields are 25 years old, but on
most soils the best yields are obtained
in the third to seventh years. The
roots range from 6 to 15 feet in length.
Though alfalfa fields can be started in
some places with a pound of seed (about
220,000 seeds) to the acre, about 15

| pounds is used on irrigated lands. In

places alfalfa is cut three to five times
& year and therefore produces a larger
yield than any other forage plant in the
western United States. In some local-
ities the plant is allowed to ripen in

order to develop the seed, which is in
i demand,

considerable

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 17

A. BADLANDS IN LAKE BEDS IN VALLEY OF RIO GRANDE WEST OF FINLAY, TEX.
(P. B. King.)

B. OVERTURNED SYNCLINE OF MALONE MOUNTAINS, TEX.
Looking southeast. (P. B. King.)

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 18

A. SMELTER AT EL PASO, TEX.

amounts of gold, silver, copper, and other ores oe in the Southwest. The
mountains in the background are in Mex

Receives large

B. KILBOURNE HOLE, A GREAT CRATER IN T
MEXICO WEST OF EL PASO, TEX
Believed to be a result of steam explosion.

HE TERRACE PLAIN IN NEW

Looking south. There is a ranch near center of hole.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 121

Paso County 65,442 acres, an increase in the two counties of two
and one-fourth times in 10 years. From McNary northwestward
the railroad skirts the foot of the steep slope demarking the
higher terrace. To the southwest are wide areas of irrigated lands,
and across the river to the south are fine views of the high and pic-
turesque front of the Sierra del Presidio, in Mexico. It consists
of strata of Comanche age. A mile west of McNary is the 5,000-
acre cotton plantation named ‘“‘Algodones” (ahl-go-do’nace, from
Spanish algodén, cotton), on which most of the water is pumped
from shallow wells by electric power.
Among the many frontier military posts established by the Govern-
ment the garrison at Fort Hancock was regarded as one of the most
important, for it guarded the San Antonio mail road
Fort Hancock. through the Rio Grande Valley below El Paso as
Elevation 3,505 feet. far as Fort Quitman, 20 miles away. The ruins of
New Osean 3,136 Some of the old buildings are still visible a short dis-
tance from the tracks about half a mile west of the
station.
In this part of the valley the railroad passes along the edge of the
sand hills at the foot of the terrace that rims the valley. This terrace,

miles

° ’ 2 Miles

a +3 ar

Cp, Limestone (Permian); Cm, limestone (Pennsylvanian and Mississippian); Sf, Fusselman
limestone; Om, Montoya limestone; Oe, El] Paso limestone; €b, Bliss sandstone

which consists of sand and gravel, slopes upward to the foot of the high
plateau extending northwest from the Finlay Mountains. This
plateau is capped by the Finlay limestone, dipping to the southeast
at a very low angle. At one point 8 miles northwest of Fort Hancock
a butte of shale of Trinity age protrudes through the terrace deposits.
The wide terraces adjoining the Rio Grande in this region consist
largely of lake deposits laid down when the river was blocked for a
period (p. 120) and detritus washed from the ridges to the north.
Some of the material is loose sand, and in many areas this has been
blown by the wind into sand dunes.

Northwestward from Fort Hancock the railroad follows the edge
of the sand hills past Ross, Iser, and Polvo sidings. Not far west
are extensive fields of cotton, alfalfa, and other cro ised by
irrigation, partly by water pumped from the valley fill. ee

e course of the Rio Grande is very sinuous, and some of the
larger bends bring it near the railroad. On the opposite side ee
Mexico are irrigated areas and in places large mountains, which __
seem close. There are many cottonwood trees along the valley,

152109°—33——-9 1 eee

122 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

and for a while in the summer the air is filled with their seeds wafted
by fluffy bari of cotton.
To * (tore-nee’ yo) is a small village sustained by cotton
raising and other agricultural interests. Fabens, 6
miles beyond it, is a town of considerable importance
in the center of a large and prosperous irrigation
community.
The contrast here is very great between the sand-

Tornillo.
Elevation 3,586 feet.
tion 60.*

New Orleans 1,153
miles,

Fabens. hill and desert country of the terrace just north
Elevation 3,620 fect. 280d the fertile irrigated district in the bottom lands.
ion 1,623 About 20 miles north of Fabens, in places visible

from the railroad, is the south end of the Hueco
Mountains (way’co).*°

Clint is a local center for a productive irrigation district which
extends to and beyond El Paso. In this district the railroad passes
through irrigated fields of alfalfa and many other crops,

tia gardens, and orchards. One of the large ditches here
prey conan ag aalleis the railroad for several miles. Most of the

New Orleans 1,166 roads in this district are ‘‘alamedas” (ah-lah-may’das)
cons embowered by overarching cottonwood trees.

In this portion of the valley a few hundred Indians still remain,
mostly working on ranches or associated with Mexican settlements.
Originally they had many rancherias of their own. They were of
the Pueblo type and known as the Tiguas (Teguas or Turcervas).
Of the many Indians formerly i in Texas probably not more than 2,100
remain, widely scattered in small groups, the largest of which is in
Polk County, in the east-central part of the State.

The old Mexican village of San Elizario, 2 miles west of Clint,
was once the seat of Spanish government of the territory of Nuevo
Méjico. The viceregal residence is still standing opposite the old
church and jail. The place is famous also as the center of the “salt

his name is used for a “screw

Permian age lies directly on Montoya

contains considerable

® This range presents a succession of
strata from Permian limestone at the
throu

stone).
in

the Bliss sandstone. In the south
oa me eres the eneitons ‘of

stones of Sogn sts some age.
ll exposed in Powwow

egy on eal highway from El] Paso
to Carlsbad. The lower beds of the

es regarded as Permian carry
abundant remains of the foraminifer
Schwagerina uddeni,

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 123

war” of 1877, initiated by the earlier settlers, who rebelled at paying
for salt in Salt Flat (see p. 117), and also as the scene of some of the
exploits of the outlaw known as “Billy the Kid.” |

Ysleta (ees-lay’ta) is one of the old settlements of the Rio Grande
Ysleta. Valley, now largely Mexican in population but
levation 370 feer, Orginally Indian. Its cathedral is the old Spanish
Population 2,025... mission of Nuestra Sefiora de Carmen, founded in
nln Orleans 1,175 4682 shortly after the Indian rebellion of 1680.

From Ysleta into El Paso there is a wide zone of
almost continuous settlement with attractive residences, shade
trees, and irrigated fields, gardens, and orchards raising hay, alfalfa,
and other forage crops, vegetables, fruits, and other products for the
local market and for shipment. Long-staple cotton is also an
important crop here, yielding a bale to the acre. After the long
trip through the thinly populated arid part of western Texas this
irrigated valley seems like a different country. About 180,000
acres is under cultivation above and below El Paso. With an
average annual rainfall of only 9 or 10 inches irrigation is absolutely
necessary. The water is taken from the river, which has furnished
it for several centuries, but now the Elephant Butte Reservoir, 115
miles above El Paso, insures a regular and larger supply.

Near El Paso there are fine views of the Franklin Mountains, to
the northwest, and some prominent ranges in Mexico, to the west
and southwest.

The railroad enters El] Paso from the southeast and goes to a
union station near the western edge of the city. El Paso is a large,

long-established business, livestock, and railroad
El Paso. ; ‘
Be i ince center, an important port of entry from Mexico, and
Population 10242. the headquarters of the large Army post of Fort
Naw. Qeheas! 18 Bliss. Its original site was determined by the gate-

way cut by the Rio Grande and a good ford
crossing into Mexico. It is on ‘‘El Camino Real” (ca-mee’no ray-
ahl’), now Highway 85, the oldest highway on the continent, which
passes through the city as San Franciseo Street.

The Rio Grande was discovered in 1536 by Cabeza de Vaca, who,
after eight years’ wanderings following the disastrous failure of the
Narvaez expedition to Florida, forded the river just above its junction
with the Rio Conchos, 100 miles below El Paso. It seems probable
that De Vaca reached the El Paso region in 1536 and traveled up its
east side far north into the present New Mexico before turning
southwest to reach Culiacan, in Mexico. (Sauer, Bolton, and R. T.
Hill.) It was next visited in 1540, in its northern extension, by
Hernando de Alvarado, one of Coronado’s captains, who named it the
Rio Bravo del Norte, a name still in use on most Mexican maps.

The first explorers to cross the ford at El Paso were Francisco
Sénchez Chamuscado with Padre Agustin Rodriguez in 1581, and

124 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Antonio de Espejo the next year. They had both ascended the Rio
Grande, which they called the Guadalquivir (gwa-dal-kee-veer’),
from the mouth of the Rio Conchos. In 1598 Juan de Ofiate reached
the Rio Grande 25 miles below El Paso with a band of heroic colonists
consisting of 130 soldiers or more, most of them with their families,
with 83 wagons and 7,000 cattle. This expedition crossed the river
at El Paso and took possession of all the region to the north in
the name of King Philip II of Spain, calling it Nuevo Méjico. Ofiate
then ascended the Rio Grande Valley to the mouth of the Rio Chama,
in New Mexico, where his colony was established under the name of
San Juan de los Caballeros. The headquarters of this Spanish
colony was subsequently removed to Santa Fe, and it was from that
place, at the time of the pueblo rebellion in 1680, that about 1,000
settlers and some loyal Indians fied down the valley to the mission
of Nuestra Sefiora de Guadalupe, started by the Franciscans in 1659
on the south side of the river, at the present Ciudad Judrez (seeyou-
dahd’ hwah’race).” This incident led to the establishing of a presidio
(fort) and supply station at the mission, which was the beginning of
settlement in the general E] Paso region. Twelve years after the
revolt Diego de Vargas left El Paso and effected an easy reconquest
of the Pueblo Indians.

In 1700 the settlement at the ford had a population of 5,000,
including 637 Indians, and the white inhabitants of the whole terri-
tory numbered perhaps 19,000 and the Indians 10,000. The place
had a large traffic, especially in January, when an annual fair held
in Chihuahua was attended by New Mexican traders, at times
numbering 500. The neighborhood was famous for its orchards and
vineyards, supported by irrigation from a dam, which was usually
destroyed by each summer’s floods. Zebulon Pike was the first
English-speaking person to visit the place, having been taken there
in 1807 as a prisoner by Spanish forces. At this time there was no
settlement on the north side of the river, but the sites of the Mills
Building and the Southern Pacific station in El Paso were occupied
by the adobe buildings of the hacienda of a Mexican named Ponce de
Leén. On his death in 1857 it came into American hands, the first
owner being Franklin Coontze, after whom Mount Franklin is
named. About that time James Magoffin, whose diplomacy had
secured for the United States the acquisition of New Mexico from
Mexico without the firing of a single shot, established a trading post
near by which was called Magoffinsville. Fort Bliss, a short distance
northeast, was started by the United States Government in 1848 for
the protection of the frontier. The region was generally referred to
as El Paso (the pass).
; % N. e for. ee Te * . - .
oe ne had de coma ape Bian Juarez, first President of Mexico, who at

U. 8S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 17

Zaragoza

Cerro Alto

LZ 6767

Texas 105 30

I
Scale 500,000
linch=8 miles (approximately)
= 10 1S 20 MILES

Each — shown
in the

op ondooe map of that
KO \

12] § lo 15
Contour interval 200 feet

20 KILOMETERS

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every
10 miles, and the crossties are drawn I mile apart
on the ame in parentheses
left corner is i mapped i in eg nt on the U. 8. G. 8.

3!

Ce *
)) an *
ene
> S
3\
oo”
| 1@
ar} |W
30
EXPLANATION oe
A Sand, gravel, etc. (valley fill and alluvium) 2,000’+
B Shale Colorado 300’ Upper Cretaceous
C Limestone Washita group :
Fredericksburg group isang
D_ Limestone, sandstone, ete. Trinity group 900’ é eure
E Limestone Malone 1,000’ Jurassic
F Limestone, shale, gypsum 1,500’ Permian
G Limestone Q—1,800’ Pennsylvanian
H Limestone 500’ aia
| Limestone Fusselman ———3 1,000’+ = Siluri
? 400’
J Limestone Montoya 200- Cudwvician
K Limestone El P: 1,000’
L. Sandstone Bliss 0-300’ Cambrian
M i 1.500’+
Rhyolite porphyry Algonkian (?)
N Quartzite Lanoria 777 1,800’
© Granite Post-Carboniferous
(probably in part pre-Cambrian)
P Porphyry, ete. (igneous intrusions) eS Post-Cretaceous
~~~ Concealed fault &
‘es
o

—— by G. B. Richardson, P. B. King, R. E. King,

30

C. Baker, and N. H. Darton

106 30

Topography: U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps

WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO.. WASH. D.C.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 125

In 1852 a post office, called Franklin, was established here, and
in 1859 this name was changed to El Paso. There was no town
development until after the Civil War—in fact, there was no settle-
ment between Fort Clark and the El Paso region, a distance of 480
miles. There was continuous traffic, however. Three mail routes
afforded communication with Santa Fe, San Antonio, and San Diego
(see p. 97), and San Francisco. From 1858 to 1861 the Butterfield
Overland Mail transported mail semi-weekly from St. Louis and
Memphis to San Francisco under contract at $600,000 a year. The
annual receipts reported from this line in 1859 were $27,230. The
railroad was used to Tipton, Mo., and stage coaches the rest of the
way. The time consumed was 21 to 23 days, and the passenger fare
was $150 and $200, without meals. This mail service was transferred
to a more northerly route in 1861, and soon after that the Civil War
cut the seceded States off from the United States postal service. A
few years after hostilities ceased a triweekly schedule was established
for this region. The railroad reached El Paso from the east in 1883
and in the next few years brought many immigrants to the Rio
Grande Valley. Since that time the city has had a rapid growth.

El Paso has long been prominent as a headquarters for the mining
industry, although there are no notable mines in its immediate
vicinity. For many years it has had the largest custom smelter in
the United States, usually employing 1,000 men and treating ore from
New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. (See pl. 18, A.) In 1930 the
Nichols copper refinery was completed on the eastern edge of the city.
Just west of this refinery are the Pasotex and Texas Co. oil refineries,
which receive crude oil by a long pipe line from the Winkle field in
Texas. Another pipe line brings gas to El Paso. The large cement
plant on the western edge of the city furnished the cement for the
Elephant Butte Dam; it utilizes the limestone of the Comanche
series." Beaumont Hospital is a large Government establishment
for tubercular soldiers, and Fort Bliss, 5 miles northeast of the center
of the city, with 153 officers and 2,362 men (in 1930), is the largest
cavalry post in the United States. The Texas College of Mines, a
branch of the University of Texas, and Loretto College or convent
are also in El Paso. The city water supply is obtained from a group
of deep wells, which are reported to yield 14,000,000 gallons a day.

* Cement is made by roasting a mix- | cement manufacture, but there is a
ture of ground limestone and shale and | limit to the demand, and it is difficult
grinding the resulting ‘‘clinker” to a | to introduce a new brand of cement in
fine powder. In some places clay is | competition wit! ts of established
used instead of shale. Some lime- | reputation which have proved their
stones contain naturally a suitable | i iabili
admixture of the clay element for the
manufacture of hyd ic cement.
Most limestones could be utilized for

126 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

The climate at El Paso is typical of that in much of trans-Pecos
Texas. The mean annual precipitation is slightly less than 10
inches, with a recorded range from 2.22 to 18 inches. Most of the
rain falls in heavy local showers, and more than half of the annual
total comes in July, August, and September. The greatest recorded
fall was on July 9, 1881; it amounted to 6% inches. The mean annual
temperature is 63.5°, and the mean monthly minimum about 31° in
January. The temperature is rarely below 20° and then only for a
few hours. The average humidity ranges from 23.2 per cent in May
to 47.3 per cent in January, with an average of 39 per cent for the
year. The annual evaporation is estimated at 82 inches. Snow
falls rarely and then only in small amount, and usually it melts in a
few hours. The percentage of sunshine is about 81.

Outside of the irrigated zone the vegetation is characteristic of an
arid climate. Trees are rare, even on the mountains, but there is a
scattered growth of mesquite and creosote bush (Covillea). Yucca,
lechuguilla, sotol, bear vrass, ocotillo, and several species of cactus
are abundant on the slopes.

In New Mexico and Texas above El Paso the Rio Grande flows in a
wide valley of alluvium, bordered by a high older terrace plain; in
parts of its course farther north in New Mexico it is in deep rocky
canyons. At El Paso the valley is constricted to the narrow rock-
walled pass that gives name to the city, but the bordering high terrace
continues far down the valley. Below the pass the alluvial plain is a
broad flat in which the river meanders widely, often changing its
course by cutting new channels at times of freshets. The high terrace
plain that borders this valley terminates in bluffs and steep slopes, in
places 200 feet high above the bottom lands. The smooth plain at
the top of these bluffs extends far north as a wide bolson or desert flat
between mountain ranges. Near El Paso there are several distinct
benches, 3,800 to 3,950 feet above sea level, mostly in the form of
mesas or projections from the base of the Franklin Mountains.
These benches slope gently toward the river and are in part capped by
caliche, an infiltration of calcium carbonate in the sand, which makes
a material so hard that it helps to preserve the tabular form and sharp
edges of the mesas. The Franklin Mountains form a high ridge on
the southern prolongation of an axis of uplift which extends across
central New Mexico from the Rocky Mountains. Probably this
uplift is cut off to the south by a fault. The Tange rises abruptly
about 3,000 feet above the adjoining plains or valleys and culminates
in Mount Franklin (elevation 7,152 feet). The west side is mainly a
dip slope of heavy beds of limestone with pronounced westerly dip;
the east side shows many ridges irregul Ae

ee : ar lower crests, and buttes,
deeply cut by canyons. The range is a typical tilted block of

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

127

the Seon type, which predominates in a large part-of the

Southwes

The Aes) ‘*M’”’ so conspicuous on the mountain side is painted each
year by the students of the School of Mines; the ‘““E”’ is placed there

by high-school students.

At night a flashing beacon to guide airplanes

® The Franklin Mountains present a fine succession of strata from pre-Cam-

brian to Permian, all so bare
easily studied. They hav

26 shows the principal features of the range,

following table:

and free from talus tha
e been described by Richardson.

the various formations are
The section in Figure
and the formations are listed in the

Formations exposed in the Franklin Mountain area

Thick

Age Formation ness

(feet)
gph fy Limestone, shale, and sandstone. 300
rmian. eco. imestone 1, 500
Pennsylvanian. Magdalena. | Limestone. 0-100
Devonian. ercha. Limestone, dark, impure. 40
i Fusselman. Lieeices massive, light gua dark. 1,000
: Montoya. estone, massive, Magnesian 20-400
Ordovician El P Pateashenins ita Nordic ahias venus eae ae 1, 00+

Cambrian. liss. Sandstone, brown and gray, locally conglomeratic at base.

Rhyolite porphyry, mostly red, with agglomerate at base. 1, 500+
Algonkian(?) | Lanoria. Quartzite, light and dark, cut by diabase dikes and sills. 1, 800+

3 Miles
j

FIGURE 26. he Fran se

f El Paso, Tex. After Richardson. In, Lanoria

El Paso limestone; Om, Montoya limestone;

quartzite; rhp, rhyolite porphyry Bli
Sf, Fusselman

to the north; Kem, Comanche series; gr, granite

Granite similar to the pre-Cambrian
basement of other regions also under-
lies the Bliss sandstone, but as some of
it cuts the Aegektenth and Paleozoic
strata all has been classed as post-
Paleozoic.

The Lanoria quartzite, with its sills

part of the Millican formation near Van
Horn. e Paso estone here is
in its type locality, and the few fossils
found in it, to a horizon within 100 feet
of the bottom, are of Lower Ordovician
age. Locally it lies directly on the pre-
Cambrian rocks, but at most places it
is underlain by the Bliss sandstone.

; Oep
limestone; Ch, fesastad, mostly Peasitine under!
; Tap, andesite porphyry; Qb, bolson deposits

by Devonian and Pennsylvanian

There are fine exposures of this lime-
stone on and near the roads at thesouth

hiatus representing much of late
Ordovician time. us lime-
stone, containing a characteristic Pen-
merus of Niagaran age, represents but
small dare of Silurian time. It is 1,000
feet thick and constitutes some of the
highest rege’ in the Franklin Moun-
tains. A small wedge of Devonian
Beate occurs | in the northern portion of of

Tanga an

nie otc fossils, The main mass

128 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

is a noticeable feature on the south end of the mountain. The moun-
tains to the south, in Mexico, are the Sierra Guadalupe and the Cerro
de Muleros.

Wells in El Paso are reported to have penetrated valley fill to the
depth of 2,285 feet. Fossil bones found in the Quaternary deposits
have been determined as Elephas columbi, Equus complicatus, and
Tapirus haysii?, representing an elephant, an ancient horse, and a
tapir, all of which have been extinct for many centuries.

Tin ore was discovered in the Franklin Mountains in 1899, and
various unsuccessful attempts have been made to work it profitably.
The mineral is cassiterite, or tin oxide, and it occurs with quartz in
the granite 12 miles north of El Paso.

The Franklin Mountains figure in many legends of the Indians and
early settlers. One of the peaks suggests the outline of an Indian’s
head, traditionally said to be that of Cheetwah, a chief who was
responsible for the massacre and exile of the Spaniards in New Mexico
in 1680. There also is the reputed location of La Mina del Padre, a
famous lost mine, the entrance to which, so the story runs, can be
seen from the portal of the cathedral in Jusdrez by looking northeast
exactly at sunrise ‘on the right day of the year.”

In the Hueco Mountains, above the long talus slopes, there are
caves which have yielded remains of the primitive people who once
inhabited the region—fragments of head dresses, sandals, a cord
skirt, and shell pendants, possibly indicating a ceremonial place. At
Hueco Tanks are pictographs of various life forms and geometric
designs in red pigment, and at the foot of the range near the New

is a little more than 390 miles. It covers an area of 122,634 square

miles, or slightly more than that of Colorado. It includes the south

of Carboniferous limestone in the range
Permian

c are invaded by masses of porphyry
ein yo of which have been intruded in a molten

At several localities in the

nina arried remains of Inoceramus
1€ abiatus, a characteristic Colorado fossil
_ cement works, where about 90 feet of (Upper Cretaceous.) This shale also
crops out on the south side of the river.
The heavy deposits of gravel and sand
of the higher terraces are well exposed
| in the upper part of the city.

-retaceous beds appear on the opposite

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 129

end of the Rocky Mountains, the general axis of uplift of which extends
to El Paso, together with wide plateau areas in large part higher than
5,000 feet above sea level. The portion east of the Rio Grande was
included in the Republic of Texas, and for relinquishing it and some
other territory in 1850 Texas received $10,000,000. The rest of the
State was acquired by the Mexican War and the Gadsden Purchase.
(See p. 150.)

New Mexico was the most highly valued of the Spanish possessions
in this country. It was first visited ® by Friar Marcos de Niza,
accompanied by the negro slave Estevan, in 1539, in their trip to the
vicinity of the Indian pueblo of Zufi, in search for the fabulous “Seven
Cities of Cibola.” In the following year Niza led Coronado to the
Zuni villages, where they arrived July 10. Later the Coronado
expedition crossed the northern part of the State on a journey to
Quivira. The first attempt at colonization was made at the mouth of

When first organized as a Territory of the United States in 1850,
New Mexico included the area which later became Arizona. It was
given statehood in 1912. Its population in 1930 was 423,317 and the
density of population 3% persons to the square mile, having much
more than doubled since 1890. More than half of the population are
“Mexicans,” a people consisting largely of descendants of Mexican
settlers of long ago, together with many recent immigrants from
Mexico, mostly of the peon class and largely of Indian origin.

“It seems probable that Cabeza de; ™Gamio, Manuel, Sources and dis-
Vaca may have reached the general | tribution of Mexican immigration into
locality of El Paso late in 1535, but he the United States, Mexico, 1930.
ascended the Rio Grande and crossed Mexi immi
southwestern New Mexico on the way grants: Foreign Affairs, vol. 8, pp.
to Culiacén, in Mexico (Bolton, Sauer, | 99-107, 1929,
and R. T. Hill),

130 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Spanish is the language of a large proportion of the population of New
Mexico, in many sections greatly preponderating over English.

A large number of Indians live in the several reservations, aggregat-
ing 7,340 square miles, in the northern and central part of the State.
According to the report of the United States Commissioner of Indian
Affairs the number was 28,736 in 1932, more than half of them
Navajos. There are numerous ruins of settlements of aborigines,
some of them of great antiquity, for there were large villages of these
people at many places long before the coming of the Spaniards. Irri-
gation was extensively practiced by some of these ancient people.

According to the Census Bureau and the General Land Office the
area of New Mexico is 78,401,920 acres, of which 14,383,995 acres (1931)
is unreserved public land, 14,000,000 acres State land, 30,822,034
acres in farms and ranches, and 9,912,026 acres in national forests.
Large numbers of cattle, sheep, and goats are pastured in the national
forests at a small fee, under certain restrictions as to number of animals
and their distribution to avoid overgrazing. About 12,000,000 acres,
some of it in ranches, is included in land grants and Indian reservations.

About 2,000,000 acres is cultivated; of these 600,000 acres is under
irrigation. The largest reclamation project is that of the Elephant
Butte Dam, where the Rio Grande isimpounded. The Pecos River is
dammed near Carlsbad, and there are many small irrigation projects.
United States census reports show that in 1929 the farms and ranches
numbered 31,404, with a total value of $220,856,219, including build-
ings, fencing, and machinery, and the value of crops was $34,648,000.
Much of the ranch land and other areas is used as pasture for live-
stock. Cattle in 1930 numbered 1,060,327, and goats and sheep
numbered 2,587,600 and yielded wool and mohair valued at $3,392,114.
A large part of the public land in New Mexico is not suitable for agri-
culture on account of its configuration and the aridity of theclimate.

The principal mineral resource of New Mexico is coal, which occurs
in large fields west of Raton, near Cerrillos, and about Gallup, also in
several minor areas, all in the northern part of the State. The total

area underlain by coal is very great. Its production in 1930 was
1,969,433 tons (U. S. Bureau of Mines). There are mines of gold,
copper, silver, lead, zinc, and other minerals, and a small production
of clays, gypsum, and building stones. Potash is now being mined
near Carlsbad, and petroleum and natural gas are obtained in the
southeast corner of the State and in the San Juan Basin. Accord-
ing to the Bureau of Mines the values of metals produced in 1929
were, copper, $18,000,000; zine, $4,520,000; lead, $1,397,000; silver,
$582,000; and gold, $707,000—in all, $25,206,000. The yield of petro-
leum in 1929 was 1,830,000 barrels; in 1931 it was 15,360,383 barrels,
mostly from Lea County, and a large amount of natural gas.

_ The climate of southwestern New Mexico is in general similar to
_ that of areas of like elevation above sea level (4,000 feet or more) in

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 131
a wide region extending from western Texas to southern California.
The winters are mild, and although the summers are hot the air is so
dry that the heat is much more endurable than in the sultry periods
that occur in the summers of the Eastern and Central States. Decem-
ber is usually the coldest month, with an average temperature of about
40°. On nearly 300 days in a year there is sunshine for the greater
part of the day, and storms of long duration are rare. The region
lies outside of the normal storm track that extends over the central
United States, and in consequence the weather is much more uniform
than in the regions farther north and east. The principal rainy
season is in July, August, and September. The annual rainfall in the
wide valleys is mostly less than 10 inches, but on the higher ridges
there are many rains and snows at times when there is little or no
precipitation in the adjoining desert valleys.
NORTH LINE FROM EL PASO, TEX., TO MESCAL, ARIZ.
From El Paso westward to Tucson the Southern Pacific Railroad
has two lines—one going by way of Deming and Benson and the other
(formerly the El Paso & Southwestern Railroad) by way of Columbus
and Douglas. Leaving El Paso, the north line of the railroad follows
the north bank of the Rio Grande for some distance, with Mexico in
plain view on the opposite bank. (Turn to sheet 18.) In about 1
mile a large smelter (pl. 18, A) is passed, and in 2 miles a cement plant,
near which are large quarries in limestone (of Comanche or Lower
Cretaceous age) in a downfaulted block at the south end of the Frank-
lin Mountains. It is the presence of this rock and a mass of intrusive
porphyry associated with it that causes the constriction of the river
valley at El Paso (Spanish, the pass). At the entrance of this pass
the railroad crosses the river into New Mexico and skirts the north
side of the Cerro de Muleros, a high ridge which lies mostly in Mexico.
At one place the railroad is within a few yards of the Mexican bound-
ary, and one of the monuments is plainly visible on a hill near by.®
The Cerro de Muleros consists of a mass of limestone, shale, and
sandstone of Cretaceous age penetrated and tilted by a large in-
trusive stock of porphyry.% The lower or quarry limestone in this
succession (of Fredericksburg, Lower Cretaceous age) is well exposed

% The monument marking the be-

e
bank of the Rio Grande a short distance
south of the west end of the south-line
railroad bridge across the river. It in-
dicates the location of the point near by
where the ‘‘deepest channel of the Rio
Grande touches the parallel of 31° 47’
north latitude,’’ as prescribed in the
terms of the Gadsden Purchase.

p. 152.)

(See |

% In his description of the Cerro de
Muleros, Bése gives the following sec-
tion of the Comanche stratigraphy:

1. Limestone, hard, white and

light gray, with Exogyra Feet
WW 4 -
2. Marl, yellow, with Exogyra
whit and Hemiaster
Mei ee.
3. Sandstone, red-brown, thick
bedded, wi
w, i ts

132 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES
in the first railroad cut on the west side of the river. It is overlain
by nodular and slabby limestones and shales containing large numbers
of Washita fossils and grading up into a thick mass of dark shale in
which there are deep cuts extending to and beyond Brickland siding.
This shale is extensively worked for brick, hollow tile, etce., on the
west bank of the river a short distance below the two railroad bridges.®”
The relations are shown in Figure 27 (p. 134).

Just beyond Anapra siding, where the north and south lines are
close together and joined by switches to be used in case of necessity,

Anapra. the railroad grade ascends the terrace of valley fill,
Elevation 2,90 fect, 'U® @dge of which margins the Rio Grande Valley in
Population 7" long line of steep slopes. The top is attained near

New Orleans 119% Strauss siding. Along the upgrade are many fine
meee exposures of the gravel and sand of which the terrace
is composed. This material was deposited by the Rio Grande at an
earlier stage of its history, when it flowed west of the Cerro de Muleros

PRES and another high range to the south and emptied
into the Guzman Basin in Chihuahua, Mexico. This

Elevation 4,104 feet. i‘

Population #2.° was before its present course was developed through

New Orleans 1,2 the ‘‘pass” at El Paso. Looking east from this grade,
— the traveler gets fine views of the long west slope of
the Franklin Mountains, with its succession of westward-sloping

4. Marl, brown, shaly; sand- and other fossils indicative of the Del
sto

ne and limestone with — Feet Rio horizon of the upper part of the

Alectryonia quadriplicata. 30-65 | Washita group (Comanche, Lower Cre-

5. Marl, sandy, with shales taceous age). The shale is overlain by
and beds of li bro istone (possibl t

estone

OOS 5 tre occ dele os seg 100-165
6. Shale, marl, and limestone,
- Pervinquieria nodosa___-
ck

err: 100-165
7. Limestone, sandy,

, and black
shale with Ozytropidoce-
ras cf. O. belknapi______

30
8. Marl, brown, with beds of
:

:
z
:

30-65

Sm en a a

weet ee ee ee

oa part of the shale are |

he xh I ~ yur Le,
Eagle Ford or the basal formation of the

| Upper Cretaceous), which is well ex-

posed in a cut about 1 mile beyond the
bridge, and this in turn is overlain by
massive white limestone, also of Upper
Cretaceous age, which is conspicuous
near the tracks at intervals in the next
half mile west. It contains numerous
large shells of a species of Exogyra, a

part by the margin of the high-
level deposits of the Rio Grande Valley,
h, 5)

(“Dete consisting mostly of boulders of

yry from the near-by Cerro de
Muleros,

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 133
beds of limestone. Farther north is Organ Mountain, which, like
the Cerro de Muleros, consists mainly of a great mass of porphyry
intruded into the sedimentary strata. The central part of this
igneous mass presents a massive columnar structure with spires having
the appearance of huge organ pipes. The limestone into which this
porphyry has been intruded has been greatly mineralized in places,
notably at the Stevenson mine, east of Las Cruces, which has been a
producer of silver and other ores for many years. Various rare min-
erals occur at this place. Up the valley is seen the winding ribbon of
the Rio Grande, bordered in large part by irrigated fields. About
40 miles north, near Las Cruces, is the Mesilla Valley (may-see’ya),
where a large amount of land is under intensive irrigation, utilizing
water conserved by the Elephant Butte Reservoir, 115 miles above
EI Paso.

From Strauss siding the railroad goes northwest over the wide
alluvial plain that extends entirely across the southwestern part of
New Mexico. This plain is characterized by vast numbers of a
species of yucca (pl. 20, A) with shaggy trunk and a cluster of white
flowers, which finds the sandy soil favorable for its growth.
plant, locally known as soapweed or palmilla, yields a valuable fiber.
and its roots, known as amole, are used as a substitute for soap. The
datelike fruit is greatly relished by cattle. The northerly trend of the
railroad in this area is taken to avoid the large rugged area of volcanic
rocks of the West Potrillo Mountains and its extension to the north.

The thick body of sand and gravel underlying the plain has been
drilled for water at several points along the railroad. A boring at
Lanark passes through 950 feet of beds, all supposed
ie ce ee be valley fill but possibly including some under-
Population 40.* lying Tertiary or Cretaceous strata. It found water
So Orleans 1,214 which rises approximately to the level of the bere in

the Rio Grande Valley, 15 miles east. A boring
Kenzin, several miles beyond Lanark, passed through 550 feet of clay
and sand with water in its lower part and continued through rock 527
feet farther.

Beyond Rutter siding great lava fields are in sight to the south-
west, and near Afton and Kenzin sidings the tracks skirt the edge
of a fresh recent-looking lava flow (pl. 19, A), which came from two
conical craters plainly visible to the south and southwest.

Lanark.

% According to the United States

sonry. L
up the valley with an average width

1% miles and a capacity of 2,638,000
acre-feet. It holds the floods of the
Rio Grande and conserves the water
for use when needed for irrigation all
along the valley in southern New Mex-
ico, western Texas, and i

134 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Eight miles southwest of Rutter siding are two large “holes” in
the wide terrace plain which have been a source of much wonderment
for many years. They were originally called Los Corrales de Piedra
(rock corrals). The more northerly, Kilbourne Hole, shown in

Plate 18, B, is 300 feet deep and is encircled by a rim of loose mate-
rial 50 to 150 feet high, so that at many places it has a total depth
of 450 feet, with a maximum of 463 feet.

sw.

The diameter is nearly

ee ae Se oe
SS een Samar soe ee a

PyWAx aad)

Fi

wy

BWranrer 97 <Q, ti th
PIGURE 4i-

t fre t q y 2 miles west of El] Paso, Tex. Is, Limestone, and
ss, sandstone, of Upper Cretaceous age; Kdr, Del Rio horizon; sh, dark shale; Kf, Fredericksburg
group; Tp, intrusive porphyry

2 miles. Hunts Hole, 2 miles south, is closely similar but smaller
and has a rim of less height. A third one, Phillips Hole, to the
southeast, is only about 50 feet deep and has no rim. The mate-
rial in the wall of Kilbourne Hole (see fig. 28) is stratified sand
similar to that which underlies the wide surrounding plain, capped
by a 15-foot layer of lava, which thins out toward the southeast.
The encircling rim is composed mostly of soft sandstone, strongly

Rim Rim €.
rom xine 179-foot =
dit Bal hee hee Bit eae ; boring epee
rer Page eee
Horizontal scale
re] 1 2Miles
eu i i i J
Vertical scale
° 500 1,000 Feet
SE |
FIGURE 28.—Cross section of Kilbourne Hole, 8 miles west of Lanar
y W

k, N. Mex.
- T, Lee. 1, Lava; d, ejected material; Qss, sand

eross-bedded and including some cinders, fragments of pumice, and
many angular blocks of lava. A very remarkable fact is that much
of the cross-bedding slopes toward the hole. It is believed that these
two holes were caused by a volcanic explosion probably with outburst
of water. Steam doubtless accumulated in sand under the lava
sheet until the pressure was sufficient to cause the explosion.
In the sand penetrated by a 179-foot boring in the Kilbourne Hole
part of the jaw of a Pleistocene horse was found at a depth of 70
_ Possibly in material that had caved from the sides of the hole.
oe aaa, of the boring a large amount of warm sulphur water

135

Through Kenzin, Pronto, Aden, Chappel, and Dona sidings lava
fields are in sight in every direction, especially on the south side of the
railroad; most of them are recent outflows of scoriaceous basalt, but
some are rhyolite of Tertiary age.

Aden Crater, 4 miles south of Pronto siding and 7% miles southeast
of Aden siding, is a cone of lava undoubtedly marking the vent from
which came one of the large recent lava flows skirted by the railroad in
this vicinity. In its top is a deep blowhole or steam vent in the lava,
in which many animal skeletons have been found, including coyotes,
bobcats, and other animals of the present feiubie; and a remarkable
ground sloth which Lull’ has identified as Nothrotherium shastense.
The remains were partly buried in bat guano in a sloping chamber
about 100 feet below the surface. The bones of the sloth were held by
the original ligaments and tendons, and some of the periosteum,
patches of skin, muscle fibers, and claws remain. Most of the hide
had been devoured by fellow victims, whose teeth marks are visible
on the remaining fragments. The sloth and other animals had
evidently fallen into this hole, which is a natural trap in the crater
rim. The time was many thousands of years ago, for the sloth is of a
species found also in the Rancho la Brea asphalt in Los Angeles
where it occurs with bones of middle Pleistocene age. (See pl. 19, B. )

Just south of Aden is a prominent knob of rhyolite of the older
volcanic series with a basalt flow at its foot, and 3 miles west are other

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

and in large part removed or cut back
by erosion. They were erupted from
cracks or craters, some of which are still
izable by

® Along or near the railroad in

the D., grained,
xas, are the product of | is mostly of light color, and consists
eruptions that continued for a large | mainly of ash and small grains of
part of Tertiary time. They consist | pumice. It was blown out of vents by
of alternating lava flows of various | steam and deposited by wind or water
kinds, mainly of the varieties known as | in great sheets over the lava flows or
rhyolite, andesite, and latite, which | other surfaces; in most places it was
differ in character and order from | covered by later lava flows, the erup-
place to place and are locally separa: tions generally consisting of alterna-

by thick beds of light-colored tuff and
volcanic ash. These lavas and beds
of fragmental materials occur in sheets
of varying thickness; some of them are
several hundred feet thick and of wide
They are much older than the

ent, for they have been uplifted, tilted,

tions of lava outflows and ejections of
fragmental materials. There were also
mud fiows, consisting of material
similar to the tuff and ash, mixed with
water, which poured out of craters or
vents and spread over the surface in
plastic condition, in places to a thick-
ness of 50 feet or more.
1 Lull, R. S., A remar
sloth: Yale Univ: Peabody Mus. ik,
vol. 3, pt. 2, 1929.

136 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

knobs of rhyolite tuff capped by basalt of the older succession. The
volcanic area here extends so far north as to cause considerable
northerly deflection of the railroad to reach a long tangent that passes
through Chappel and extends beyond Carne. At Chappel the lava
fields are left behind, but detached igneous masses are in sight not far
to the south and north. Two miles south of Dona siding is the very
prominent Providence Cone, rising nearly 300 feet above the sur-
rounding desert plain. Apparently it was the orifice of an old volcano,
but any flow of which it may have been the source has either been
removed or lies beneath the valley fill. Far to the west from this place
extends the level-floored Mimbres Valley (mim’brace), which merges
Goodsight Peak

THT
NTT I)

aL fil
: THEE |
ETT Uli

TT m7
meer nt
1S3 +27 Sone — —

- Mex. Tb, lava (basalt); Tss, gray sandstone; Tcg, conglomerate; Tag,
agglomerate

into the Lake Guzman Desert, Mexico. This extensive basin has no
surface outlet to the Rio Grande.

Near Cambray, the highway crosses the railroad, and after following
the track for some distance, goes due west to Deming. It comes
e . from El Paso by way of Las Cruces, passing through

Ei a country better suited for tourists than the sandy
j 0° and desolate region traversed by the railroad.
—— oe The old Butterfield stage route to California came
through Mesilla, just south of Las Cruces, but crossed
the desert in a course north of the present highway; it passed through
a gap just south of Goodsight Peak and entered Cooks Peak Range
in its southern extension, where old Fort Cummings was located
adjacent to an excellent spring. (Turn to sheet 19.)

North of Cambray are the prominent Goodsight Mountains,
which consist of a thick sheet of basalt capping a mass of agglomerate
and tuff; the basalt dips gently to the east, as shown in Figure 29, but
Tises again in the mountains farther east.

_* The agglomerate in the east slope | gray sandstone, both consisting largely
- is & very Massive rock and consists | of voleanic materials and probably of

: ! L in the lava
a widespread eruption when it was poured out Evidently
us or early T. the agglomerate was tilted lan

e. It is overlain unconformably by | off by

rosion prior to the deposition of
soft | the overlying beds.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 18

107 106 30° New Mexico-Texas
T
5 EXPLANATION °
Re Pd
7 Rae _|32,
Sand and gravel 2,000’* Quaternary 30
(valley fill)
and other rocks 1,200’* Quaternary and
of Lec her origin Tertiary
C_ Shale, limestone, and 300’ Upper Cretaceous
sandstone
D Limestone 300’* Lower Cretaceous
E Limestones 3,000’+ Carboniferous (and
—— 9 asc
F Limestone === Fusselman 1,000’ Silurian
G _Limestones Montoya and 1,400’ Ordovician
El! Paso
H_ Sandstone Bliss Cambrian
| Granite Post-Carbonferous
(possibly in part
J Rhyolite porphyr pre-Cambrian)
lla K Quartit ces YYW 1,500’ :
pe Algonkian (?)
ee] 1,800’5 post-Cretaceous
Cambra
cao s——- Faulk
co J, =--= Concealed fault
‘ if J Geology of Franklin Mtn.
J by G. B. Richardson
o>
8
P
wn

“the Mtn
ose
,NEW MEXICO 3
\ TEXAS
tS
Philli 3
y. illips
f jitole . =
4093 ye?
° a
Qo
Pa
Fillo
te /lfalfa
“uae og
za — Fra rk in
¥ Juarez
° 5 10 __20 KILOMETERS Ee
oat ee <a | sonerernenerene San Jase
Contour interval 200 feet Each eter shown on the map with a name in parentheses 3)
The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every in the lower left corner is — in detail on the U. §. G. 8. ro Ys letal
10 miles, and the phe are ori e mile apart topographic map of that s

107 106 30

te ee veename in

Topography: U.S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps er ee

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 19

A. TYPICAL EDGE OF A RECENT LAVA FLOW IN SOUTHWESTERN NEW MEXICO

The ropy rounded surfaces and the broken variety at the left are characteristic. (Hill.)

B. RESTORATION OF GIANT SLOTH

From remains found in Afton Crater, N. Mex,

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 20

A. ““LILIES OF THE DESERT”

Yucca in blossom in the region west of Deming, N. Mex.

B. OBTAINING

: A QUENCH OF WATER FROM THE BIZNAGA CACTUS
Sometimes a life sayer in the deserts of the Southwest.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 137

The southern part of New Mexico is underlain by an extensive
series of formations representing various parts of geologic time from
pre-Cambrian to Recent. Most of them are also present in western
Texas, as described in preceding pages. Those that are exposed near
Deming and westward near the Southern Pacific Railroad are listed

in the following table:

Geologic formations of southwestern New Mexico

Age Group and formation Character and general relations By ised
Recent. Alluvium. Sand, gravel, and silt of river bottom, 0-1, 000
desert floors, and fans
‘Unconformity-
Pleistocene and Yaienic = and asso- | Lavas, ash, tuff, a a conglomer- 700-1, 400
Tertiary. its. ate, and sandston ?
Upper Cretaceous. Colorado she cate Dark shale. (?)
Sarten sai Gray sandstone.
Lower Cretaceous 450
(Comanche). Limestone of Comanche | Limestone.
Tseoatomniicy
Triassic? Lobo formation. yer conglomerate, and sandstone, partly 0-350
Unconformity-
Permian, Gym limestone Limestone, massive and slabby. 30-1, 000
Pieters dg |
Pennsylvanian, Mag ion. Limestone, with some shale. 0-40
. ; Unconformity=—
Mississippian. tone. Limestone. 0-700
Devonian. Percha shale. Black shale. 0-175
Silurian. Fusselman limestone. Limestone, massive. 100-300
Serer Limesto: ith chert ber abo
Montoya limestone. nwo 0-300
Ordovician. Vadertcrmitty: sandy below.
E] Paso limestone. Limestone, slabby; weathers light gray. 500-800
Cambrian. papa aa ie Sandstone, massive to slabby, glauconitic. 30-200
Pre-Cambrian. oe Granite and schist.

Deming is a long-established ee center, railroad junction,
irrigation interests. Here the

and headquarters for minin

Atchison, Eopeltae & Santa Fe Railway from Albu-

nua not, duerque passes on the way to Silver City, and there
Population 3,377, 1S @ branch railroad connecting with the south line
New Orleans 1,276 of the Southern Pacific at Hermanas. There is now

; but little mining in the immediate vicinity, but ores
of various kinds have been produced in the adjoining mountains,

note " fuotite (calcium fluoride) from mines 10 miles northeast, an
manganese ore from a mine in the north end of the Little Florida
There are extensive mines at Silver

Mountains, 12 miles southeast.
City and near Santa Rita, about 50 miles northwest of Deming.

However, the undergro

und water in the sand and gravel about

Deming and southward is the most important economic resource
in the region, and it is utilized extensively in irrigation. 3 It lies

3 Described by N. H. Darton in U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 618 and Water-Supply

Paper 345-C.

152109°—33——10

138 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

from 25 to 150 feet below the surface. A large area is underlain by
the water-bearing beds, but the largest volume at moderate depth
is found about Deming and in the lower part of the wide bolson
extending southward from that place along the west side of the Flo-
rida Mountains (flo-ree’dah). It is believed that the water is an
extension of the underflow from the Mimbres River with additions
from confluent streams, and there is some increment from the local
rainfall, which amounts to about 10 inches a year. Although most
of the rain water evaporates, a certain proportion passes underground
where the soil is porous. There is, however, a return of part of this
water to the surface by capillary action, which is strong in arid regions.
The volume of water stored in the valley fill is great, but it is well
known that such a supply can be depleted if it is drawn upon more
heavily than it can be replenished. To ascertain these conditions
a careful investigation was made by the United States Geological
Survey,* cooperating with the State of New Mexico, to ascertain
the amount of water available. It was estimated that the average
annual increment of the ground water during 20 years was from 10,000
to 11,000 acre-feet, with a high rate in wet seasons, and therefore
that this should be the limit of its utilization. The rate of movement
down the valley is mostly from 2 to 3 feet a day. Heavy pumping
reduces the level of the underground water table.

Irrigation by well water began in 1908, and in 1914 nearly 200
pumping plants had been installed or were under erection. As
most of the operators were inexperienced in agriculture many of the
projects were not profitable, and in 1919 only 25 pumps were in
operation. In 1930 there had been considerable revival of the in-
dustry, and 116 pumps were supplying water for irrigation and other
uses, and about 6,000 acres were under cultivation, mostly with very
satisfactory returns. The water is generally less than 50 feet below
the surface and is pumped with small gasoline engines, with a yield
of 200 to 1,000 gallons a minute. Various crops are raised, including
a large acreage of beans and considerable alfalfa. The amount of
water necessary varies with the soil and crop, but 2 to 2% acre-feet
to the acre is used. A well producing 500 gallons a minute can itti-
gate 25 acres in about three days, but this must be repeated several
times during the growing season.

The wide desert about Deming, known as the Florida Plains, is
a part of the valley of the Mimbres River (Spanish, mimbres, water
willow), past and present. It is heavily covered by valley fill, the
bottom of which appears not to have been reached by borings 710,
980, and 1,665 feet deep in Deming and vicinity. Out of the level
surface of this plain or valley rise several high mountains and ridges,
such as the Florida Mountains; the Tres Hermanas Mountains,

* Results given in U, S, Geol, Survey Water-Supply Paper 637—B, by W, N. White.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 139
far to the south; the Victorio Mountains, to the west; the Good-
sight Mountains, to the east; and Cooks Ravige with its prominent
culminating Cooks Peak, to the north. There are also many isolated
ridges and buttes that rise abruptly from the desert plain. One of
these, Black Mountain, a prominent isolated mesa 10 miles to the
northwest, is capped by an eastward-dipping sheet of basalt. Another
conspicuous feature is Red Mountain, 10 miles southwest of Deming,
which consists of a large mass of rhyolite:

The Florida Mountains, southeast of Deming, form the most
striking feature of the landscape, with exceedingly high rough crags
all over their higher summits. At one point there is a jagged hole
through the crest known as Arco del Diablo (bridge of the devil),
85 feet high by 250 feet long, which is visible from Cambray to Luxor.

c ¢ cal
3 mA 3
5 nas a

3 Miles
Jj

Luna County, a Mex. A, Through
andstone; e, El Paso

tones; J, ‘Lobo aitiethies g, Gym limestone;

k, keratophyre dikes; Agr, granite; ag, ieee agglomerate

The northern half of the range, like the outlying Little Florida Moun-
tains, consists of agglomerate and other igneous rocks; the southern
half is pre-Cambrian granite overlain by sandstones and limestones
of Cambrian to Permian age. The rocks are tilted and traversed
by several faults of moderate amount. The principal relations are
_ Shown in the sections in Figure 30.5

5In general the range is a tilted

underlying granite is exposed at the

block of pre-Cambrian granite capped

lies under the bolson on th

side by a fault. At Capitol Dome, at
the north end of the range, the Paleo-
zoic rocks and agglomerate deposits all
dip to the east-northeast, and the

foot of the western slope. This easter-
ly dip, with repetition of the limestones
by faulting, is exhibited again farther
south in the center of the range, where
there is a profound fault that trends

Permian limestone dipping
east; on the west side of the peak this

140 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

The ridge known as the Little Florida Mountains consists of a thick
sheet of felsitic or vitreous rhyolite, included in a thick deposit of
agglomerate apparently somewhat younger than the beds constituting
the north end of the Florida Mountains. It is possible, however,
that a fault may pass between the two ranges. The structure is
shown in Figure 31, in which section A shows the relations that pre-
vail along the greater part of the ridge and section B shows features

Scale
9 1,000 3,000 Feet

SE carer A .

SECTION B

_ 31.—Sections across the Little Florida Mountai , Across center of range;
miles farther south. ag, Agglomerate; r, felsitic y bahay 8 ae k, keratophyre

of the faulted portion farther south. Manganese ore is mined in the
north end of the range.

The conspicuous ridge a few miles north of Deming is Fluorite
Ridge, an outlier of the south end of the Cooks Range. It consists
of a thick central mass of porphyry so intruded as to cause an irregular
dome-shaped uplift, elongated to the northwest and southeast. The
strata on the south and east sides of the dome stand nearly vertical,
but those on the north and west sides have more moderate dips.
The plane of intrusion is low in the Paleozoic strata at the southeast
end of the uplift, but it rises rapidly toward the north and west,

limestone nigel Sct over the

ane edges of underlying Fussel-

Silurian), foal (Ordovician),
(Ordovician) li

300 feet, consists largely of reddish and
gray shale and gray to pinkish impure
limestone, with coarse basal beds.
Near Capitol Dome, a conspicuous
peak on the north end of the mountains,
this formation extends across a fault
(shown in fig. 30, A) which lifts the
granite about 1,000 feet to the level
of the top of the El Paso limestone.
The uplifted block was eroded to 2
plain before the deposition of the Lobo
beds, and therefore their is be-
lieved to be post-Paleozoic, probably
Triassic,

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 141

finally reaching the base of the Sarten sandstone (Cretaceous).
There are several faults at the south end of the ridge.*®

In the southeast end of Fluorite Ridge a large amount of the
mineral fluorite has been mined. It consists of calcium fluoride and is
of bright-green color, crystalline structure, and glassy aspect. It is
used extensively in steel making. The mineral occurs in several
steeply dipping veins, mostly i in the porphyry; these varied from a
few inches to 12 feet or more in thickness with a general range in the
workings from 2 to 5 feet. Much of the fluorite was more than 90

r For several years this material found a ready market
at Pueblo, Colo., and other places, and the annual production aver-
aged about 5,000 tons, but cheaper sources of supply were found and
the workings are now abandoned.’

The Cooks Range, lying north of Fluorite Ridge and a very con-
spicuous feature from Deming, is an irregular dome due to a great

¢

oO
p =
Wanye - fos

As |.

ah gies oe ey Se =

\ ey ep Peo Sane =, 0
= ais: as Poaey
aS Su is aX WS 52
“oN , a2, j

ou

oo t , 3000 Feet

F1GURE 32.—Section across Fluorite Ridge, N. Mex. Tag, Agglomerate; Ks, Sarten sandstone; 1,
Lobo formation; Clv, Lake Valley limestone; Om, Montoya limestone overlain in part by lime-
stone of undetermined age; Oe, El Paso limestone’ €b, Bliss sandstone, gr, granite and diorite; p,
porphyry; b, diabase dike

central intrusion of porphyry which brings into view a floor of pre-
Cambrian granite and the succession of Bliss sandstone, El Paso,

‘Red granite and diorite (pre-| largely of Sarten sandstone penetrated
Cambrian) are exposed in the lower | b hyry and overlain by Tertiary
southern slopes and also a breccia of | agglomerate. A small exposure of
mica schist fragments. The Bliss ane granite in the locality indicates one
stone is overlain by a regular successi faulting or bade for in places
of strata to and including the eve Sarten sandstone lies directly on
portion of the Lake Valley limestone. | granite. Goat Rides, a short distance
Some of the beds are greatly squeezed, | to the west, is an elongated dome with
notably the El Paso limestone, _— axis trending northwest that exposes

Sarten sandstone. The

rock at the east end of the range have | in part of the area, and granite appears
undoubtedly replaced limestone, prob- | on the northwestern slope of the ridge.
ably of both Lake Valley and Montoya | The Pony Hills, a small group of knobs
age. A profound fault that extends | just north of Fluorite Ridge, consist of
along the east side of the ridge appears | irregular outcrops of granite and
to lift porphyry, although it is possible | Sarten sandstone in prin Benge
t his igneous rock was intruded | owing either to overlap or

after the faulting, and there is some 7 Darton, N. H., and Burchard, E. F.,

i ear

slopes on the east side of the ridge. 545. 1911,
The west end of Fluorite Ridge consists

142 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Montoya, and Fusselman limestones, Percha shale, Lake Valley, and
Gym limestones, limestone of the Magdalena group, Lobo formation,
Sarten sandstone, and Colorado shale. The southern slope consists
of agglomerate, Sarten sandstone, and Colorado shale. Some rela-
tions to the central and southern parts of the range are shown in
Figure 3

Cooks Peak consists of a large laccolithic mass of granodiorite
porphyry which was intruded in a molten condition into the Lake

Gooks Peak

=

Sy.

/ aa

= P >>. .

Rave Sa

Ze eh ry =. 8

~ weaSnen sear < a = bomaf 4 Teg Qbd
eo Xe, a ¥a%, Ma; rary “ © Fe REA

aHocttowte! scale :
2 Miles
4 |

‘Ve ti 7 |
alee en aaa Feet
ROLE
FIGURE 33.—Sections across Cooks Range, N. Mex. Upper section, through
Cooks Peak; lower, about 3 miles south of Cooks Peak. Base of sections,
yry; Tag, agglomerate; Qbd, valley
Gym limestone and Magdalena formation; Clv, Lake Valley limestone; Dp,

Fusselman and El Paso limestone

Valley limestone and adjoining strata. Several other large porphyry
intrusions occur southwest and south of the high central area.

On the west slope of the range northwest of Cooks Peak and in the
slopes south of that peak the Sarten sandstone is exposed, overlain by
shale of Colorado age (Upper Cretaceous). It contains fossils of
Comanche age (Lower Cretaceous). This sandstone constitutes the
prominent dip slope 2 miles south of Cooks Peak, which becomes
Sarten Ridge to the south, where the Sarten sendaenad is underlain
by the Lobo formation, the Gym and Lake Valley limestones,’ and a
small amount of Perchs shale.

* The Lake Valley limestone (e: early | formation of New Mexico. In this
sedaseeaee which crops out in | region it is overlain by the Lobo forma-
ces in t i isti

= formation, and this in turn by also exposed on Goat Ridge and in the

ym only 20 to 30/ deep hollow near the th end of
feot thick, which is believed to be a Sarten Ridge, Rae

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 143

From Deming the railroad line goes slightly south of west on a
tangent 37 miles long over a great desert plain, with a rise of only
250 feet in 33 miles to the Continental Divide.

At Tunis siding Black Mountain seems near on the north, showing
in cross section its eastward-dipping cap of black basalt about 250
feet thick, lying on volcanic ash and sand of which 500 feet is exposed,
cut by rhyolite. Still nearer, to the south, is the craggy butte known
as Red Mountain, so named from the pinkish tint which it shows in
some lights. It consists of nearly white felsitic rhyolite, apparently
lying on agglomerate. Probably this igneous mass was extruded in
a highly viscous condition, so that it piled up thickly without extend-
ing far beyond its present area. It is regarded as of Tertiary age.

The Snake Hills, a group of low mounds in the plain 3 miles south
of Red Mountain, consist of the upper member of the El Paso lime-
stone and the lower member of the Montoya limestone.

North of Gage are some conspicuous rounded and pointed buttes
known as the Grandmother Mountains, composed of felsitic rhyolite

similar to the rock of Red Mountain and doubtless

G ‘ j

oe extruded at the same time. Other buttes farther
Elevation 4,590 feet. 3 . ‘<
Population 20.* north include Cow Cone, which also is part of a large

pipe Be coreg 129% mass of felsitic rhyolite. In the distance to the north
! are the mountains in which lies Silver City. South
of Gage are the Victorio Mountains, which present many features of
geologic interest. The main ridge consists of a sheet of hornblende
andesite about 200 feet thick underlain in part by a thin sheet of
rhyolite. It dips 20°-25° NNE. In the hills just south of this
ridge there are, in succession, the El Paso, Montoya, Fusselman, and
Gym limestones. Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian time
apparently is not represented. Figure 34 shows the principal features
in both parts of the uplift.

®° The Gym limestone, about 300 feet

stone. There are various unconformi-

a crops out in a zone about 2,000
ide marked by knobs on the
pe side of the range. It appears to

The Gym is overlain unconformably by
700 feet of shale and sandstone, mostly

dish, which resembles the Lobo for-
mation (Triassic?) but may be much

conglomerate are included which con-
tain boulders of seremee and near the
top some greenish quartzite carrying
pebbles of fossiliferous Paleozoic lime-

ties in the succession, but all the strata
have practically the same attitude.
are several faults and some
obvious overlaps. The F
estone carries an interesting fauna
of Niagaran corals and lies on cherty
beds of Montoya limestone with Rich-
mond fossils. The Montoya includes
a prominent eae member. There
several intruded dikes, mostly of
es v.08 alt amount of mineral-
ization has occurred along the fault in
the west side of Mine Hill, but the
mining operations on this zone ap-
parently did not yield a return suffi-
ciently satisfactory to warrant ex-
tensive development,

144 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

About halfway between Wilna and Ladim sidings the railroad
crosses the Continental Divide at an elevation of 4,587 feet. <A
sign marks the place, which is on the broad bolson or valley fill of un-
known thickness, far from the rock ledges in the hills to north and
south. About a mile north of Ladim siding there is a low butte con-
sisting of limestone with much chert which is probably of Ordovician
age (Montoya) or possibly of Lower Cretaceous age. (Turn to sheet
20.) To the west is a gentle down grade into Lordsburg, but with
the course changing to northwest to pass the north end of Pyramid
Mountain. At Separ siding are wells over 600 feet deep from which
about 40,000 gallons of water a day is pumped for use by the loco-
motives. It is contained in gravel and sand in the thick deposit of
alluvial fill which underlies this valley. About 12 miles north of

4200"

sh Ce
SECT!
verte ate ein = g Horizontal scale
°° 1500 Fee t 1,500 3,000 Feet
Ficure 34.—Sections across Victorio Mountains, south of Gage, Luna County, N. Mex.

@, Atidesite; Tag, agglomerate, shale, and sandstone; Cg, Gym limestone (Permian); Sf,
Sikicwans limestone; Om, Montoya limestone; p, porphyry dike
Separ are the foothills of the Burro Mountains, consisting of granite
_ overlain to the east by volcanic rocks forming high conical buttes.
Considerable turquoise has been obtained from these mountains,
mainly by the Indians. This beautiful gem mineral was mined by
American aborigines at an early time, for beads and pendants of it
are found in ruins at Chaco Canyon, N. Mex., the earliest of which
( to the annual growth rings in some “of the timbers) prob-
ably ifita back to the time of Christ, and turquoise is mentioned in
many of the old myths of the pueblo people of the Southwest. In
1539 Marcos de Niza met Sonoran Indians who worked in turquoise
mines in New Mexico, probably those at Los Cerrillos, which for
centuries were the most productive source of the minerel in this
country. The very old mines in the Burro Mountains were relocated
__-years ago and worked for some time.
Far to the south is Big Hatchet Mountain, and to the southwest

the Pyramid Mountains are BIORUDE a. cs yucca (see pl, 20, 4);

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 19

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
108° 107°30° New Mexico
= T t
Scale 500,000
EXPLANATION linch=8 miles (approximately)
: ie) 5 10 15 20 MILES
A Sand and gravel 1,665’* Quaternary
‘ ILOMETER:
BLavas, tuff, agglomerat ate, 2,000’ Tertiary 2 2 x Se BE ULIMETERS
and other voleanic products Contour interval 200 feet
C_ Shale Colorado 300’ Upper Cretaceous Cooks x 3c “nr distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every
D Sandstone and limestone — Sarten sandstone 350’ Lower Cretaceous £L 8603 0 miles, and the crossties are drawn | mile apart |
32 Sh Soe 3 3 ' ecg - a shown on the map with a name in parentheses 32}
Sate E Sandstone, mostly red Lobo 95-500’ = Triassic? — the left corner is $ mapped in detail on the U.S. 6. S. 3%
00’ Perm v

F Limestone

Gym

L i
G_ Limestones and sandstone Montoya and El Pas
Bliss

H_ Granite

| Porphyry ae

—-— Fault

Sheet 20

3
Valley and — elman

Mis “ai. aa Silurian
Ordov

0—1,0

a(S

Geology by N. H. Darton, 1927
Be

oR Sey Ly Butts. a

we ae
a eae brs an

Post-Cretaceous

Zz
a a eee S?6res =
Springs ATTY? i Re

° Tunis

ra

sf “a
Rive €.427a >”
os cs see esa
weesoon® )

“8 sone map of that
on
Ss

0 ee
fum mings/
\
}

Florida

A

FL F337 _

Topography: U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps

WILLIAMS @ HEINTZ CO. WASH.._D.C

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 145

which has been abundant for many miles along the tracks, continues
to be the most noticeable element in the sparse vegetation. It
blooms in June and early July.

Lordsburg is a busy town with local stock and mining interests,
and a Government airport, which is extensively utilized throughout _
the year. A branch line leads to the mining com-
ae munity of Clifton, Ariz., and another branch goes
Population 2,069. southeast to Hachita, on the south line of the railroad.
New Orleans 1,336 Lordsburg lies just north of the north end of the

miles. .

irregular group of ridges, buttes, and peaks of the
Pyramid Mountains, in which there are several active mines. One
of these, known as ‘‘the 85,” is in sight as the train approaches Lords-
burg. It lies in a cove at the foot of the mountains and ever since
its start, in 1885, has been productive of gold, silver, and copper. The
mineral veins cut volcanic rocks, and some of them crop out as dark
“reefs,’’ which are conspicuous in the hill slopes. There are other
mines farther south, and Gold Hill, 14 miles northeast of Lordsburg,
has long been a producer of gold from quartz veins in the old crys-
talline rocks. The Pyramid Mountains consist of an extensive suc-
cession of igneous flows and intrusions, apparently of Tertiary age.
The greater part of the range is andesite of porphyritic texture, but
there are masses of diorite porphyry in the western part of the mining
district, near Lordsburg. Considerable brecciation has occurred in
parts of the area, and there are many mineralized veins, some of which
have yielded a large amount of ore containing silver, lead, copper,
and gold. The Lordsburg district furnishes 60 per cent of the New
Mexico production of gold, also considerable copper, mostly from the
deeper workings. The total metal production from the district is
estimated at $18,000,000. All the ore is shipped to smelters at El
Paso, Tex., and Douglas, Ariz. The deepest shaft is 1,700 feet deep.

Passing around the end of the foothills of the Pyramid Mountains
west of Lordsburg and between a group of outlying hills of lava, the
railroad deflects southwestward to reach Steins Pass. It crosses the
bare wide level-floored basin of the Playa de los Pinos, which contains
two large ‘‘alkali’’ flats north of the railroad. Sometimes these
flats are covered by water, but usually they present a glistening sur-
face of crystalline salts, often giving rise to striking mirages. This
basin is a northern extension of the Animas Valley (see p. 168), so
deeply filled with detritus that the rise to the divide at Steins is only
about 200 feet.

Lordsburg.

+

10 One of these hills a mile west of | Pyra siding are due to a sheet of lava
Lordsburg, south of the railroad, con- | capping volcanic tuff (Tertiary). This
ists of quartzite faulted against igneous | rock is a latite carrying phenocrysts of
rocks and probably of Lower Creta- | plagioclase and hornblende in a fine-
ceous age. The hills just northwest of | grained groundmass rich in orthoclase.

146 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

The highway to Douglas and the Southwest leaves the railroad a
short distance east of Steins (locally pronounced steens) and reaches
the south line of the railroad at Rodeo. There has
poles oe been considerable mining at several places north and
Population 40.* south of Steins. The Carbonate mine, about 3 miles

saa! oormen 1355 south, is on the eastern slope of the Peloncillo Moun-
tains. These mountains, made up of lavas, form a
long, narrow ridge which extends far to the north and south along
the western margin of New Mexico. The jagged crest line presents
many conical peaks, each resembling a pel6n (Spanish for a cone of
raw sugar). Peloncillo (pay-lone-see’yo) is the diminutive form of
pelén.

The gap through which the railroad crosses this range is known as
Steins Pass, but the divide is at Steins station, a short distance east
of the rocky gateway. The pass has high walls on the north side and
rocky slopes to the south, all consisting of lavas that were erupted in
early Tertiary time, part of a succession of flows 1,200 feet or more in
thickness which have been tilted gently to the north and northeast;
on the east are two old volcanic cones from which doubtless some of
the lava flows originated. In the large stone quarry in the north
wall of the pass a contact of two flows of the lava (andesite on rhyolite
tuff) is strongly marked by difference in color. Here both rocks have
been quarried for ballast for the railroad and for other uses. In the
quarry a dike cutting the lava is well exposed. Vertical jointing is a
very conspicuous feature, especially on the west slope of the mountain.

From Steins Pass there is a magnificent view to the west across the
wide San Simon Valley (see-moan’ ) to the Chiricahua (an Indian name
pronounced nearly like cheery cow) and Dos Cabezas Mountains,
which are separated from each other by Apache Pass. In the high
crest of the Chiricahua Mountains is a profile of a huge face directed
skyward, known as Cochise Head, from the famous Apache chief
Cochise (co-chee’say). The prominent straight nose is easily recog-
nized; the chin is to the north.

Steins Pass has long been an avenue of access into eastern Arizona
by way of the San Simon Valley and thence west by Apache Pass or
by Railroad Pass at the north end of the Dos Cabezas Mountains.

This region with its wide adjacent valleys was the scene of many
Apache depredations in the early days of travel and settlement.
Much blood was shed during Cochise’s outbreak, especially when the
frontier troops were called east for the Civil War. The stages then
ceased to run, and a large proportion of the white settlers left the
country. Many ant vee killed. The Apache Indians raided
ranches, mines, travelers, sallying forth from hiding places inac-
cessible to riders less skilled than themselves, where a oe di

could resist many times their number. They were difficult to fight,

Steins.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 147

for they avoided open engagements and could travel fast and far on
their ponies. It is stated that Cochise’s enmity was aroused by an
act of treachery of an inexperienced young Army officer who, when
Cochise, under a flag of truce, came to deny that his tribe had ab-
ducted a white child, seized him and a group of his chiefs. Cochise
escaped, but his chiefs were hanged. This was in 1860. It was Gen.
O. O. Howard who 12 years later finally arranged a peace pact with
Cochise, a treaty which the chief required his band to observe until
his death in 1874.

In the Chiricahua Mountains is a great cavern where the remnants
of Cochise’s band had the custom of gathering after his death to
honor him with weird ceremonies. These mountains were also the
headquarters of Arizona Kid, one of the last of the bad Apaches.

The Chiricahua Apaches were repeatedly placed on reservations,
but they were subject to a vacillating Federal policy, with the result
that they went on the warpath at frequent intervals. Chato, Ge-
rénimo, Nachi, Loco, and Victorio were notorious chiefs. On his last
escape Fnsite the reservation in the White Mountains, Gerénimo and
his band, slaughtering people as he went, traveled south along the
New Mexico-Arizona line as far as Scie Pass. Here he turned
west to a hiding place in the Chiricahua Mountains. After 10 years
of this warfare the Apaches were subjugated in 1886 by Gen. Nelson
A. Miles, and their leaders removed from the territory.!!

At Cavot siding, 4 miles west of Steins station, the State of Arizona
is entered. The State line is on the thirty-second meridian west of

Washington (very nearly 3 miles west of longitude
Arizona. 109° west of Greenwich) and was so defined ~ ws

when the Federal Government was attempt
establish an initial meridian passing through the National Pe
Most of its western boundary is formed by the Colorado River, and
its average width isabout315 miles. With an area of 113,956 square
miles, it is the fifth State in size in the Union, being nearly as large as

4 Victorio, after various raids and | Carlos, Ariz., but he was recaptured.
atrocities in Mexico, Texas, and Ari- | In 1882 he left San Carlos on a raid into

of his band he was attacked by Mexican | Crook in the Sierra Madre and settled

is said that his scalp was exhibited in | 1884-85 he made a bloody raid through
Mexico City. Nachi was Cochise’sson. | southern Arizona and New Mexico into

Gerénimo (Spanish for Jerome), who | Mexico, where in August, 1886, he and
was particularly notorious, was born | Nachi (his chief, son of Cochise) and

New Mexico, and died in captivity | finally to Fort Sill in Oklahoma. He
February 17, 1909. His real name was | died there Feb. 17, 1909 (Hodge,
Goyathlay (‘‘one who yawns”). In| F. W., Handbook of American Indians:
1876 he and other Apaches fied to | Bur. 5 ean Ethnology Bull. 30, p. 491,
Mexico to avoid being moved to San | 1912),

148 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

New York and New England combined. Arizona is a region of vast
plateaus, in larger part from 5,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level, numer-
ous ridges and mountains, some of them reaching more than 12,000 feet,
and many wide desert valleys. The highest point is San Francisco
Peak, north of Flagstaff, elevation 12,611 feet; the lowest point is on
the Colorado River below Yuma, about 70 feet. On account of its
great width from north to south and its range in elevation the State
presents wide diversity of climate, with extremes in the low hot
regions near Yuma and the cold forested mountains in the north.

Although the agricultural resources of Arizona are not developed
to their full possibility, even where water is available for irrigation,
the farm products for 1929 were valued at $50,544,000 and for 1930
at $37,000,000. The area cultivated, most of it irrigated, was about
650,000 acres,” or less than 1 per cent of the area of the State. The
number of farms in 1929 was 8,523. Of the total area, 10,526,627
acres, or 14% per cent, is in farms or ranches, and their value in 1930,
including buildings and machinery, was $194,644,470. Nearly 22,000
acres is in fruit trees. In 1929 the cultivated hay crop had a value of
$5,745,444, and wheat and other grains $2,061,808. In 1930 cattle
numbered 695,118, with large yield of dairy products, and sheep and
goats numbered 1,630,853 and yielded nearly 6,200,000 pounds of
wool and mohair, ‘ecbiels sold for more than $1,600,000. Fruits of
citrus and deciduous trees, a comparatively new source of income in
Arizona, reached a value of nearly $2,000,000 in 1928. Cotton and
corn are being more and more cultivated as new lands are brought
under irrigation. In 1929 211,178 acres was in cotton, yielding
149,488 bales, valued at about $15,000,000. Some of the cotton is
of the long-staple variety, averaging 1% inches long, which is in
great demand for automobile tires. This variety was developed from
the Mitafifi stock brought from Egypt by the United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture about 1900.

Arizona is second to California in the production of lettuce, es-
pecially the “‘Iceberg”’ variety, which yields two crops a year. Tim-
ber has been an important industry for 40 years, with a cut of
160,000,000 board feet in 1929, valued at nearly $5,000,000. The
remaining timber, of which there is a vast area with a growthi esti-
mated by the United States Forest Service at over 14,000,000,000
board feet, is mostly in national forests, where it is cut under super-
apg and brings a good revenue to the United States.

_ Mining has always been the chief industry of the State, and it
is estimated that 25 per cent of the adult population is connected
with thisindustry. The total output up to 1929 had a value of about
‘= These figures and the following | the imueres: Census of the United
statistics as to farming, livestock, and | Sta

aes are taken from the reports of |

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 149

$2,500,000,000, and $37,000,000 has been paid in dividends by cer-
tain large mines (Yearbook of Arizona, 1930). Copper is the chief
product, coming mostly from mines at Bisbee, Jerome, Globe, Miami,
and Ray. According to the United States Bureau of Mines, the total
output of the State to the end of 1929 was 13,914,970,235 pounds,
making it the largest copper-producing region of the world. Arizona
now supplies 46 per cent of the United States output of copper and 22
per cent of the world’s product, or slightly less than South America.
Most other common metals are also produced. Many old mines have
been abandoned, but new developments are constantly in progress.
The Bureau of Mines states that the value of the principal metals
produced by mines in Arizona in 1929 was about $158,433,300.
Owing mainly to greatly reduced production, but partly to the lower
price of most of the products, the value dropped to half of this amount
in 1930 and to less than a quarter in 1931. In 1929 gold was mined
to a value of about $4,217,000,” silver $3,875,000, copper (833,525,000
pounds) $149,200,000, lead $984,250, and zine $156,800. The year
1929 was the most prosperous since 1918, and the sum paid in divi-
dends that year was the largest on record, but in 1931 the gold output
decreased to about $2,554,000, silver to about $915,500, and copper
to about $33,000,000 (Bureau of Mines). Altogether the mines of
Arizona have yielded profits in excess of $500,000,000 (Yearbook of
Arizona, 1930). A large amount has been spent in prospecting and
unprofitable mining.

According to the Yearbook of Arizona for 1930, the assessed valua-
tion of property in Arizona in that year was $714,945,809. There are
more than 2,500 miles of railroad lines in the State.

With a population of 435,573, according to the census of 1930, or
3.8 persons to the square mile, Arizona is one of the most thinly
populated of our Western States. The increase in population from
1920 to 1930 was 30.3 per cent, or much greater than in most other
States. According to the report of the Commissioner of the General
Land Office for 1930-31, of its 72,838,400 acres there remains
14,366,400 acres of public land, but a very large part of this area is
not suitable for agriculture. About half of this public land is not
yet surveyed. Nearly 2,000 square miles is included in Indian reser-
vations and national forests. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
in his report for 1932, gives the Indian population as 48,162, or
about 14 per cent of the total number of Indians in the United States.
Of these nearly 25,000 are Navajos, nearly 6,000 Apaches, about
5,000 Pimas, and about 5,000 Papagos.

There are many indications of the presence of prehistoric skeridiies
in Arizona, for on plains, on mesas, and in the cliffs there are ruins of

13 Gold has a fixed value of $20,671835 an ounce for “‘fine” or pure gold.

]

150 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

their habitations, some of them very old. However, it is believed
that the number of people living in the region at any time may never
have been great, for they moved from place to place, abandoning
their communal or village dwellings. The early expeditions of the
Spanish explorers found many pueblos, but they were widely scattered.
It is probable that the first Spaniards to enter Arizona were the Fran-
ciscan friars, Juan de la Asuncién, Juan de Olmeda, and Pedro Nadal,
who made an exploration in 1538 from Mexico City ‘1,700 miles
northwest to a broad, deep river’? which they could not cross—
perhaps the Colorado. In 1539 Marcos de Niza, another Franciscan
friar, crossed southeastern Arizona from Sonora on the way to Zuii.
A year later De Niza led Francisco Vasquez de Coronado to Zuiil.
Coronado had an advance escort of 50 horsemen, some natives and a
group of friars, followed by his main army of 250 adventurers, includ-
ing many Spaniards of high rank, and some 800 Indian allies. Two
small parties from Coronado’s expedition visited the Hopi pueblos,
and they were also reached by Antonio de Espejo in 1583. Hernando
de Alarcén explored the Gulf of California and lower Colorado River
in 1540, and Juan de Ofate visited part of the same region in 1604-5.
It was Ofiate who in 1598 took possession of ‘‘all of the country north
of New Spain” and called it Nuevo Méjico. In 1691 Eusebio Kino,
a Jesuit priest, began his missionary work in Arizona, visiting settle-
ments in the Santa Cruz, San Pedro, and Gila Valleys and supplying
the Indians with livestock. He laid the foundation of the mission
church of San Xavier at Bac, 9 miles south of Tucson (too-sown’),
in 1700 and of San Gabriel at Guevavi, near Nogales, in 1701. He
made numerous expeditions, reaching the Colorado River near Yuma
in 1699 and again in 1700. He crossed the river below that place in
November, 1701, and reached its mouth in March, 1702. The expe-
dition of Father Jacobo Sedelmair in 1744 followed the Gila River
(he’la) below Casa Grande and traversed the region west and south
to Yuma, discovering the warm springs at Agua Caliente. Father
Francisco Garcés, a Franciscan who labored for 12 years as a mis-
sionary to the Indians, made notable expeditions from San Xavier
in 1768 to 1775 into southwestern Arizona and southern California. |
He was killed at Yuma in the Indian revolt of 1781. (See p. 237.)
After Mexico won her independence from Spain in 1822 the region
made but little progress, and when in 1827 the order of expulsion
against the Spanish caused most of the friars to leave, many of the
little settlements were abandoned. The country north of the Gila
River was ceded to the United States by the treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo in 1848, Prior to that there were no American inhabitants
_ the territory. Most of the early visitors were prospectors, thou-
Sands crossing during the gold rush to California in 1849. After the
Gadsden Purchase (see fig. 35), by which over 45,000 square miles

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 151

south of the Gila River was acquired through an expenditure of
$10,000,000 in 1854, several Governmental surveys were made across
the region, mainly to find routes for railways. For a long time the
principal access to Arizona was by water, ships from many ports
coming into the Colorado River. Mail and passenger stages from
the East (see pp. 97, 125) ran from 1857 to 1861 and again from 1867
till superseded by the railroads. The Southern Pacific line was
constructed in 1879-80 from Yuma eastward to the Arizona State
line, whence it was completed eastward to El Paso by the following
year. (See p. 293.) From 1847 to 1860 many mines were opened
and placers operated, more or less under protection of the Government.
In 1860 the white population was less than 5,000. The outbreak of
the Civil War and the withdrawal of troops gave the Apaches and
white outlaws increased opportunity for depredations. Many settlers

17° 5° 13° me 109° 107° 105°
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FiGURE 35.—Map showing the Gadsden Purchase (shaded area) acquired from Mexico in 1854 for
$10,000,000

were killed at this time, most of the mining was discontinued, and
nearly all who could do so left the country. A small band of people
fortified themselves in Tucson, which was taken by the Confederates
in 1862 and held until Union troops, known as the California Column,
came from California. After the war also there was much bloodshed
by Indians, who killed about 400 settlers and 150 soldiers in the
interval from 1866 to 1886, when the Apaches were finally subjugated.
The difficulties with these Indians greatly retarded the development
of Arizona, for they kept out prospectors and settlers, interrupted
travel, and frightened investors.
<iotl ,

152 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

The name Arizona is supposed to have been taken from Papago
words that signify place of small springs. According to Cavat and
Mora, however, it is derived from an ancient Pima name first applied
to a mining camp in Sonora. It was used by the Spaniards as early
as 1736. The capital has been ively at Fort Whipple, Prescott,
Tucson, again at Prescott, and since 1889 at Phoenix. Statehood
was attained February 14, 1912. The Southern Pacific Railroad
was built through Arizona in 1880 and the Atlantic & Pacific (now a
part of the Santa Fe system) in 1883. The first train entered the
State at Yuma in September, 1877. (See p. 292.)

As the tracks wind down grade from Steins Pass, there are in view
many plants of the curious-looking ocotillo (0-co-tee’yo), Fouquieria
splendens (see pl. 41, A), which prefers the rocky soil of the foothills.
It consists of a cluster of nearly straight, slender stems diverging
upward, covered with thorns and bearing very small leaves during
part of the year. In early summer each branch is tipped by a plume
of bright-crimson flowers. A stalk thrust in the ground will usually
grow, yet the wood is dry enough to make a torch. Mesquite occurs
in places, especially along the arroyos and lower flats. The creosote
bush (Covillea tridentata), named for the famous botanist F. V. Coville,
is abundant here and throughout much of the desert region. It
grows from 2 to 6 feet high and is rather widely spaced, after the
habit of desert plants, so that the wide-spreading roots may gather
the moisture from an ample area. For most of the year its leaves
are covered with a resin that protects them against evaporation and
also renders them very unpalatable to animals. Its small yellow
flowers are conspicuous during part of the summer. The common
name is due to a tarry odor given off when the plant is burned.

Ten miles beyond the State line is San Simon, the center of a small
irrigation district using water from artesian wells. It is in the
Sax Bima bottom of the wide San Simon Valley, which lies

gore between the Peloncillo Mountains on the east, the
Population 300.* Chiricahua and Dos Cabezas Range (dose ca-bay’sas)
ot :

___ the area in which artesian flows are obtained extends about 18 miles
the lower part of the San Simon Valley above and below San

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 153

Simon. Its width averages about 6 miles. There is also a small,
narrow area:of artesian flow at the San Simon Ciénega (se-ay’nay-ga)
a few miles up the valley, and an extensive area in which water is
obtained by pumped wells of moderate depth. Up to 1910 the region
was a range for cattle belonging to widely separated ranches using
water from shallow wells. Then the discovery of water in deeper
beds under sufficient head to afford artesian flow brought many
agriculturists, who have utilized the water for irrigation. In 1914
there were 127 flowing wells, mostly ranging in depth from 500 to
1,000 feet and yielding from 20 to 100 gallons a minute. It was
estimated that at that time the total flow approximated 15 second-
feet, or 11,000 acre-feet a year. Many nonflowing wells are now
pumped. The quality of the water is excellent, most of it containing
only from 250 to 380 parts per million of total solids. The moderate
supply of water requires careful conservation, especially to avoid
waste. The water occurs in gravel interbedded in light-colored
clay and sand, which have been penetrated to a depth of 1,230 feet.
These beds are overlain by a thick body of blue clay which holds the
water down. The source of supply is rain that falls on the sides and
upper part of the valley. The region has an arid climate, with a

ean annual precipitation of less than 7 inches at San Seine: at
Bowie, however, it is nearly 14 inches, a difference probably due to
the proximity of the Dos Cabezas Mountains, in which the precipita-
tion is estimated as near 20 inches. At Paradise, in the Chiricahua
Mountains, it is 18 inches.

Originally the San Simon Valley was grassy, and the broad flats were
covered with a coarse, high grass known as sacaton (sa-ca-tone’).
With the extension of cattle grazing this was largely eaten out, but in
rainy seasons the lower parts of the area had considerable small grass,
and grama and other grasses grew in fair supply on the higher slopes.
Since the advent of settlers erosion has cut deeply into the valley
bottom, and many wide gullies and bare areas have resulted.

In the west slope of the Peloncillo Mountains, about 10 miles north-
east of San Simon, are very small deposits of ‘‘saltpeter,” or potassium
nitrate, in rhyolite tuff, which have been prospected to some extent.
It has been found, however, that the material is only a surface im-
pregnation in crevices and under overhanging cliffs. Probably it has
been formed through the action of bacteria on organic matter in places
where the air has access and where the associated rock is sufficiently
porous to permit the percolation of water, which would be concentrated
by evaporation. The mineral occurs in this manner in many caves
and places protected from the rain wash in the West and generally
gives rise to the false hope that valuable nitrate deposits may be found.

The Chiricahua Mountains, which culminate in the peak known as
Cochise Head (elevation 8,100 feet), are 15 miles south of San Simon,

’ Pes wre ent

154 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

They consist largely of a thick succession of volcanic rocks of Tertiary
age similar to those of the Peloncillo Mountains. Here, however, it
may be seen that these rocks mantle an older mass of Paleozoic sand-
stones and limestones, in part overlain by sandstone, limestone, and
shale of Lower Cretaceous age (Comanche series.)'* In one area the
intrusion of igneous rocks has changed the limestone to marble, which
has been quarried to some extent. Blocks of this material lie along the
railroad at Olga, a siding halfway between San Simon and Bowie.
The deeper canyons in the mountains reveal a basement granite or
schist of pre-Cambrian age. These mountains sustain a growth of
pine on top and are part of the Coronado National Forest, which in-
cludes five timbered ranges in this general neighborhood. (Turn to
sheet 21.)

About 15 miles southwest of San Simon is Apache Pass, a saddle of
moderate height separating the Chiricahua Mountains from the Dos
Cabezas Mountains and formerly the route of all emigrant travel,
including the Butterfield stage line. This region was a favorite haunt
of the Apache Indians because it was not far from their stronghold in
the Dragoon Mountains. A fight near this pass in 1862 between these
Indians and the California Column, the troops that came from Cali-
fornia to restore Union supremacy, led to the establishment of Fort
Bowie near the pass, which was long maintained as a military outpost.

West-southwest of San Simon are the Dos Cabezas, the culminating
summit of the Dos Cabezas Mountains. They consist of two rounded
knobs of granite close together and strongly suggesting “‘two heads,”
which the Spanish name means. This striking landmark is visible
over a wide area in all directions.!®

“The succession of strata in the | slopes of the Dos Cabezas Range. The

Chiricahua Mountains is as follows: | limestone under the Martin limestone
Sandstones and limestones (Comanche | (Devonian) has the character of the
series) ; limestones of Carboniferous and | Abrigo beds at Bisbee, but Ordovician

Devonian age; slabby limestone (Abri-
go) of Upper Cambrian age; and sand-
stone, in part quartzitic (Bolsa) of

the arch is broken by faults. Porphy-

ritic rocks of igneous origin cut some of
the strata.

** The Dos Cabezas Mountains are a |
stone and sandstone on 150 feet of

are separated by Apache Pass. They
present the same Paleozoic strata as are
exposed in the Chiricahua Mountains,

oe oe
the n , and the pre-Cambrian

fossils occur in the upper beds. Most
of this limestone here has _ slabby
bedding, weathers to a light blue-gray .
color, and has brown reticulating mark-
ings of a supposed seaweed on many of
the bedding planes. In these peculiari-
ties it resembles the El Paso limestone
of southwestern New Mexico. It is
underlain by 200 feet of slabby lime-

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 20

\N. Alkali
\Flat

olga

10830 Arizona-New Mexico
Ct VY

i a
me)

EXPLANATION

cist

4 Limestone
Sandstone
G Schist and granite

|
>
|
3

H_ Porphyry, ete. (intrusive) 5X2:

i

Scale 500,000
| inch=8 miles (approximately)
5 10 15

A Sand and gravel re
Quaternary
B Lava (basalt) 30’
c_ Lavas and other rocks 800’ Tertiary
of voleanie origin

3,000’ Lower C —-
es

Sheet 19

series)

(Comane

600’ Cambrian

Pre-Cambrian
Post-Cretaceous
Geology by N. H. Darton and C. J. Sarie A

20 MILES

10)
° 5 10 15 20 KILOMETERS
Contour interval 200 feet
The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every
10 miles, and the crossti d. T mile a,
Fach auad L

topographic map of that name
= owe

in the lower left corner is mapped in detail on the HB. C8.

108 30

Topography: U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps

WILLIAMS @ HEINTZ CO. WASH. D C.

oI EE iA TOE OO
400’ = Devonian

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 155

Bowie, a village in the San Simon Valley, is the junction point of
the branch railroad that goes north down the valley to its mouth and
Bowie: thence down the valley of the Gila River, past the
Flevation 3,762 feet, COOlidge Reservoir, and over a low divide to Globe
Population 400.* (124 miles). This is the route of the Apache Trail
Ne 1° trip to Phoenix described on page 207. The latest

historical authorities appear satisfied that it was down
this valley, as far as Solomonsville, that Fray Marcos de Niza and
Coronado made their spectacular trips to Zufi in 1539 and 1540.
Bowie was named after Col. George W. Bowie, of the ‘California
Column,” who established Fort Bowie in Apache Pass.

High on the south side of the Dos Cabezas Mountains is the mining
settlement of Mascot (formerly reached by a branch railroad from
Willcox), where considerable ore was mined some years ago. On the
north slope of the range, southwest of Luzena siding (lu-say’na),
there are many small placer workings from which for many years
gold has been obtained, but the deposits are so irregular in location
and variable in value that no attempt has been made to work them

=)
3 S
oe a oretecee €a eb
peipoue Spr. me aS Le Ae =
ee tO ee
OID RAISH WIEN AS y

° 1 2 Miles
j

FIGURE 36.—Section of Dos Cabezas Mountains, Ariz. Ce, Escabrosa limestone; Dm, Martin lime-
stone; €a, Abrigo limestone; €b, Bolsa sandstone; Gr, Granite

on a large scale. The gold is probably derived from quartz veins in
the schist and has been set free by disintegration and washing on the
mountain slopes. Northwest of Bowie and north of Luzena are the
high Pinalefio Mountains, of which the culminating summit is Mount
Graham, 10,720 feet above sea level (U. S. Coast and Geodetic
Survey), about 30 miles distant. Mount Graham was named either
for Maj. L. P. Graham, who led an expedition from Chihuahua to
California in 1848, or for Lieut. Col. J. D. Graham, who acted on the
United States and Mexico Boundary Survey Commission.

The Pinalefio Mountains consist mainly of massive gray granite,
but in their south end is a flanking mass of volcanic rocks similar to
those in the Peloncillo and Chiricahua Mountains and in many other
ridges in New Mexico and Arizona. Outlying exposures of these
rocks also appear not far north of the railroad near Luzena siding
and at intervals west. As there is considerable pine timber in the
Pinaleio Mountains, they are included in the Coronado National
Forest

West from Luzena siding the railroad continues upgrade on the
valley-fill deposits, which extend to and through a low, wide divide at
the north end of the Dos Cabezas Mountains. This divide, known as

156 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Railroad Pass, is at Raso siding, where an elevation of 4,376 feet
is attamed. A short distance south of this siding are mountain
slopes of schist and granite, and at the divide there is a cut in gravel.
The foot of the Pinalefio Mountains lies a few miles north, and Mount
Graham is discernible in the distance. To the west is a short descent
to Willcox, in Sulphur Spring Valley, across which the Winchester
Willcox ountains are visible. Sulphur Spring Valley was
: named from a sulphur spring at the foot of a small
Pavan butte 20 miles south of Willcox. Established in
New Orleans 1,410 1880, Willcox was named for Gen. O. B. Willcox, at
ae that time commander of the military department
of Arizona and southern California (1878-82). :

Sulphur Spring Valley is a wide, nearly level-floored basin 130
miles long, with no outlet stream, which receives the drainage of a large
area of surrounding slopes and mountains. In it there has been
deposited a thick accumulation of sand, gravel, and loam. Much
water passes underground in this material, and about Willcox and for
some distance north there are scores of wells which obtain from this
source an abundance of pure, soft water for irrigation and domestic
use. The land is fertile and the irrigated areas yield various farm
products, notably pink beans, and fruits. Willcox is one of the largest
cattle-shipping points in Arizona and the outlet for many sheep and
much wool and mohair. In the center of the basin is a large, shallow
flat of about 40 square miles, of irregular shape, known as Willcox _
Playa. In times of rainfall this playa becomes a shallow lake, but

_ in dry weather, which usually prevails, it presents a wide expanse of
glistening salt, covered in places by ponds of saline water. Although
there is little mineral matter in the run-off water from the mountains,
it is all concentrated by evaporation in the central basin, of which the
playa occupies the lowest part, and as this process has eon Biied for
many centuries considerable saline matter has accumulated. Sedi-
ments have been deposited at the same time, so that the basin now
contains a thick succession of clay and silt and saline admixture.
For a time this basin was occupied by a lake, which has been called
Lake Cochise. It varied considerably in depth, but a zone of beach
sands and sand dunes marks a shore line that persisted for a long
period of inundation. Sand dunes of this old beach are conspicuous
near Hado siding (ah’doe). Beyond this place is a broad flat of saline

= deposits on which, at times, considerable water is visible on each side
of the embankment on which the railroad passes. The playa is only
__ about 3 miles wide near the railroad but widens greatly to the east and
_ south. Frequently there are striking mirages on this playa in which
_the great flat in the distance appears to be a huge lake with the buttes

a the south rising as islands.
dug in the So floor near Willcox and Cochise have revealed
ts, camels, and bisons of oy Pleistocene = e

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 157

These animals were probably mired in the soft mud at the edge of
the prehistoric lake.

The desert valleys of San Simon and Sulphur Spring were inhabited
by Indians of the agricultural class long before the advent of the
Apaches. They had small settlements on the slopes near the foot of
the mountains, mostly at places where the ground was occasionally
flooded by summer downpours. Most homesteaders who have tried
to live in such places have failed, but the Indians had the advantage
of special drought-resisting varieties of corn, beans, and squash,
which matured quickly when they had a little water, and their ability
to piece out the ration with mesquite beans, sacaton seed, and animal
food. Possibly there were many other plants that yielded food for
them. Water supply was a serious problem, for in many places the
water had to be brought from a great distance. Many potsherds indi-
cate that they had plenty of vessels for the storage of food and water.

Cochise is a small village sustained mainly by ranches in the adjoin-
ing valley, and it is the junction point of the Arizona Eastern Railroad,

: which goes south through Sulphur Spring Valley to
Coctier. the mining settlements of Pearce (15 miles), Court-
Populations land, and Gleeson and the city of Douglas. (See
New Orleans1,420 p, 173.) At Pearceis the Commonwealth mine, which

—— has been producing gold and other ore for the last 35
years. The production to 1922 is stated by the present owners to
have been $20,000,000.

Northwest of Cochise is a prominent butte consisting mainly of
limestone of Carboniferous age, on the southern extension of the axis
of the Winchester Mountains.

The old Butterfield Overland Mail, having come through Apache
Pass and crossed Sulphur Spring Valley some distance south of Will-
cox, passed near Cochise and through Dragoon Pass to the old stage
station at Croton Spring, in the San Pedro Valley. Near Cochise the
railroad has a moderate upgrade to reach Dragoon Pass, the gap
between the Dragoon and Little Dragoon Mountains. In the Dra-
goon Mountains, which lie south of the railroad, is the celebrated can-
yon known as Cochise’s Stronghold, where the wily Apache band
under the leadership of Cochise took refuge when pursued.
handsome canyon, eroded out of red granite, has so narrow a mouth
that it was easily defended and never taken. Gen. O. O. Howard was
secretly conducted here by agents of Cochise for the conference which
led to a treaty in 1872. (See p. 147.) The remains of Cochise are
buried near the mouth of the canyon, but no white man has ever known
the precise location. The stronghold, now often used as a picnic
ground, can be easily reached by road from Cochise.

A short distance south of Manzoro siding i is the old Golden Rule
mine, formerly a producer of silver ore in moderate amount, from

158 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

veins at or near the contact of an igneous intrusive mass (monzonite)
with limestone of Abrigo to Martin age at the north end of the
Dragoon Mountains. These mountains extend south from Dragoon
Pass to and beyond the mining settlements of Courtland and Glee-
son and contain many small mines and prospects. Thegeneral struc-

ae
PB Vi alscl

bh

Horrzentet scale ;

° 2 Miles
j

Vertical scale
4000 Feet
ORE he
Figure 37.—Sections across the Dragoon Mountains, Ariz. Upper section, 3 to 6 miles southwest of
the railroad; lower, 12 miles southwest of the railroad
ture of the northern and medial portions of this range is shown in
Figure 37.
Some of the limestone on the west slope of the central ridge has been
altered to marble by igneous intrusions, and this rock has been quar-
ried in small amount in the slopes 3 miles southeast of

Siewons Dragoon. In the higher part of the limestone suc-
Panda: cession in the north end of the Dragoon Mountains
bests ay 1,430 is a member of red sandstone and much coarse lime-

stone conglomerate containing boulders of limestone
and sandstone.
_ North of Dragoon are the high hills and ridges of the Little Dragoon
Mountains, in which is situated the small mining settlement of
Johnson, a copper producer for 45 years. The southern part of this
range has a rough surface of knobs of granite, mostly of very coarse
16 The Dragoon Mountains consist | many large detached —— of —
largely of granite, | limestone are included in

which euts across the Pinal schist

(Archean), Bolsa quartzite (Cambrian),
Abrigo limestone (Cambrian), Martin
Tmestone step limestone of

sandstone and
shale of eum eee i age. Small

The eastward-dipping thst suc-
cession in the north end of the range,
with a thickness in excess of 2,000 feet,
is mainly Naco limestone (Permian and
Pennsylvanian). Abrigo limestone and
the underlying Bolsa quartzite on Pinal
schist are in sl mil

southeast of Dragoon station, with the
relations shown in the upper section in

Figure 37.
and

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 159

grain, possibly of pre-Cambrian age, although it resembles the
younger intrusive granite of the Dragoon Mountains. This pictur-
esque granite area is traversed by the highway northwest of Dragoon,
where it presents an extraordinary variety of remarkable erosion
forms, notably rounded masses. The rock contains large crystals of
feldspar, which weather out conspicuously, and also veins of tungsten
ore (wolframite and scheelite), which were mined during the World
War.” Pre-Cambrian schist is also exposed, in places overlain by
Bolsa quartzite, Abrigo and Martin formations, and limestones of
Carboniferous age that constitute the crest of the high ridge just west
of the mining camp and also a ridge on the east side of the valley,
east of Johnson. The general features in this vicinity are shown in
Figure 38. The Abrigo limestone consists mostly of slabby beds and
includes considerable sandy shale. At the top is a sandy member, as

t 1 1

J a eee 3 J
rs

Qkatah As h Te 1, 1 oe 33.
FIGURE 38. through t

in the Bisbee region. An outlier of this formation alae rg ridge
which is skirted by the railroad 4 miles southwest of Drag

From Dragoon west there is a steep down grade into ns dies valley
of the San Pedro River (pay’dro). This depression is very different
in character from the broad, high basin of Sulphur Spring Valley—a
difference due to the presence of a vigorous stream which has cut a
deep, wide trench into the thick body of old stream deposits that
originally occupied the valley. The San Pedro River rises in Mexico
and has many affluents from the Mule, Huachuca (wa-choo’ ca),
Whetstone, and other mountains. Ordinarily its flow is not large,
but in times of heavy rainfall there are freshets which erode the soft
valley deposits and carry a large volume of detritus to the Gila River.
The railroad in its descent to Benson requires many long loops to
diminish the grade, and there are numerous deep cuts through the
materials of the valley fill. On this grade near and beyond Ochoa
siding there are fine views of the Rincon Mountains (rin-cone’) to the
northwest and the Whetstone Mountains to the west. The Huachuca
Mountains lie far to the south; to the southeast, in the Dragoon
Mountains, the impregnable western wall of Cochise’s Stronghold can

17 Tungsten is used mostly for the | one-seventh from the United States.
filament in electric lights and for hard- | Tungsten ore also occurs in veins in
ening steel, especially tool steel. A | granite on the east slope of the Whet-
large proportion of the ore now used | stone Mountains southwest of Benson.
comes from China and Burma and only pli

160 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

be seen. The granite cliffs of Cochise’s Stronghold border a deep
valley extending far into the Dragoon Mountains. Here the Apache
Indians had a most useful hiding place, easily defended against every
approach. Gerénimo fled here after his depredations and murders
in Sulphur Spring Valley.

The valley-fill materials revealed in cuts, badlands, and deeply
gullied slopes are mostly fine pale reddish-brown sand and loam with
a few beds of coarser materials. The brownish loam predominates,
with nodular layers and beds of harder sandstone projecting from it.
The lower beds well exposed east of Benson are reddish clay. This
succession is about 900 feet thick in the valley slopes, and several
hundred feet additional is known to underlie the valley floor at
Benson, although above and below that place some of the underlying
granite and schist are bared near the river. The sands and clays are
deposits of former streams and lakes, which occupied the valley for a
long time. They lie nearly horizontal near the center of thevalley and
grade laterally into coarse deposits (Gila conglomerate) consisting of
detritus from the adjoining mountain slopes and for the most part
considerably tilted. In the clays have been found numerous remains
of animals such as horses, elephants, mastodons, camels, deer, llamas,
carnivores, various rodents, several reptiles, the tortoise G/ etches um,
and several species of birds which have been described by J W.
Gidley. Many are new species, and some are South American types.
They are regarded as of late Pliocene age and indicate a warm, moist
climate, probably subtropical. This faunal assemblage is very different
from the present one and has been extinct for many thousands of years.

In the fine-grained deposits in the southern part of the valley are
deposits of gypsum and thick bodies of diatomaceous earth consisting
largely of diatoms, minute siliceous skeletons, mixed with volcanic ash.

The San Pedro River, which is crossed a short distance east of
Benson, flows into the Gila River near Winkleman, nearly 100 miles
to the northwest. It is a small stream when not in freshet but
furnishes water for irrigation at several places, notably the old Mor-
mon settlement of St. David, a few miles above Benson, established
in 1878. Here also was the first artesian district in Arizona; the
water is obtained from wells of moderate depth in the valley fill.

Benson is a small commercial center and junction point for a branch
railroad up the valley to connect at Fairbank with branches to
B Tombstone and Patagonia. The Southern Pacific

doe ae. south line (by way of Douglas) is on the bench 3
Pern a miles west of Benson. In the San Pedro Valley are
Ss mpd ruins of dwellings and pottery and implements

‘Spanish explorers from Mexico. According to Sauer and Brand ®
rome of the settlements were of considerable extent.

oo Sa Pubs. in Aoupohi' vol. 3, No. 7, 1980.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

°o

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 21

°

I

Scale 500,000
linch=8 miles (approximately)
5 10 iE}

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every
10 miles, and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart
Each quadrangle shown on tne map with
in the lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. 8. G.
me

8.
topographic map of that na

Rincon Mts

@

a name in parentheses

20 MILES

1@)
12} S 10 iss 20 KILOMETERS
Contour interval 200 feet
¢s mean sea leve/

SISA
Ni

ee 4
~~ s
Nts

109 30 Arizona a2]
C S >

FS
:

}
oe

ERE RE

Gircle Hills
45 4

Y

iY 4

fj

‘Rasg
Ws

; Hado
EL B/S
\Y

wy

~
2

142
&y

EXPLANATION

0-600’ Quaternary
0-1,000’ Tertiary

A’ Sand, loam and gravel

We ie B Lavas and other voleanic
rocks

(@| C Sandstone, limestone, shale, 4,000’ Lower Cretaceo
Cx

and conglomerate

Naco a4
‘yD Limestones Escabrosa 700’ Lorheneanna
; Martin 3
Ee Limestone Abrigo 750’ Cambrian
Sandstone Isa 450’
p> F Sehist Pre-Cambrian
G Granite Pre-Cambrian in part
H Porphyry and granite Post-Carboniferous

and post-Cretaceous

- Topography: U.S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps

WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO. WASH. 0. C.

161

The San Pedro River was the Rio Nexpa of the era when De Niza
and Coronado made their expedition from Mexico to the Indian
pueblo of Zufii in quest of the somewhat legendary ‘Seven Cities of
Cibola.” It seems probable that their route led from Mexico down
the San Pedro Valley as far as the site of Benson, thence eastward
over Dragoon Pass and Railroad Pass to the San Simon Valley, which
it followed northward to its junction with the Gila River. A hun
dred and fifty years later Padre Kino made an exploration wih
Lieutenant Mange and Captain Bernal along the San Pedro from
Quibure northward along the base of the Rincon Mountains to its
junction with the Gila and thence to Casa Grande and beyond. The
valley was fertile and irrigated, and the Indians were industrious,
raising maize, frijoles, calabashes, and cotton. There were 14 villages
and 2,000 Indians, all very friendly to the friar. This line of travel
from Benson north was followed by the road from El Paso to Yuma
for which Congress appropriated $200,000 in 1857; Bancroft gives it
as the route of the Butterfield stages, but Hafen includes Tucson in
their itinerary. The road previously opened by Colonel Cooke and
the Mormon Battalion left the San Pedro Valley at Benson, turning
west to Tucson, the course now followed by the railroad. It leads
through the broad divide between the Whetstone ® and Rincon
Mountains at Mescal. On this rather steep climb there are many
cuts through the valley fill and extensive badland slopes, and as the
top of the grade is approached there are excellent views of the Rincon
Mountains to the north and the Whetstone Mountains to the south-
west. The Rincon Mountains consist of pre-Cambrian schist with

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

19 The Whetstone Mountains consist
3 wa cgansic block of pre-Cambrian
y Paleozoic limestones
ibid Cretaceous ee but as in most
mountains of this character rising out
of alluvial valleys, the structural rela-
tions at the sides and ends are no

et

Granite constitutes the foot-
hills and peaks on northeast end of
the range except a irting

ski
ridge of Lower Cretaceous (Comanche)
sandstone and shale lying about 5 miles
south of the railroad. A small area of
Pinal schist appears on the east slope,
faulted against Carboniferous lime-
stone, and a thick mass of Cretaceous
strata constitutes the southern third of
the range, sa is not visible from the
railroad. e 39 shows the prin-
cipal tana § in me northwestern part
of the range. The succession, which is
typical for southern Arizona, has basal

quartzite (Bolsa) of Upper Cambrian
age, overlain by Abrigo slabby lime-
stone (Cambrian) which closely re-
sembles the El Paso and Longfellow
limestones. The Abrigo weathers to a
light gray-blue color with brown retic-

so

layers of sandstone and sandy shale.
The Martin limestone, next above,
contains numerous fossils of Devonian
age, some of them finely preserved, and
the overlying limestones, which are
1,000 feet or more thick in the center
of the mountain, include representa-
tives of the E.

The high southern summit, known as
Granite Peak, appears to be a mass of

| intrusive porphyry cutting Cretaceous

strata.

162 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

massive platy structure that gives it the appearance of limestone in
some lights. Rincon Peak, a high summit in the southern part of the
range, is 8,465 feet above sea level.

The Whetstone Mountains are in full view to the south from
points near Mescal. The higher parts of the Rincon, Whetstone, and
other mountains to the north and south are included in the Coronado
National Forest so that their pine timber may be conserved.

N.
Carboniferous
>
Lower
Se —

La oa f =——r 7
CN “Geenite rent

PEND A

bal iad

Horizontal, ou :
2 Miles
ciitsnadbiiiabialnitiatn

Vertical scale
‘1,000 Feet

Figure 39.—Sketch secti th rth t end of the Whetstone Mountains, Ariz.

SOUTH LINE FROM EL PASO, TEX., TO MESCAL, ARIZ.

Several trains go to Tucson (see sheet 18, opposite p. 136) over the
former El Paso & Southwestern Railroad, which has a more southerly
route than the original Southern Pacific line by way of Deming and
Lordsburg and joins the north line at Mescal, 40 miles east of Tucson.
It parallels the north line for the first few miles out of El Paso, crossing
the Rio Grande in the western part of the city, into the southern part
of New Mexico, skirting the north side of the Cerro de Muleros
(moo-lay’ros); it diverges from the north line beyond Anapra siding.
(See p. 132.) Just west of the Rio Grande it passes through an area of
Cretaceous strata adjoining the intrusive mass of the Cerro de Mule-
ros, which makes the south or Mexican side of the ‘‘pass” from which
El Paso isnamed. The strata exposed are mostly dark shale of upper
Washita age in which there are long cuts, beginning a few rods beyond

Praha the west end of the bridge and extending west to and
Elevation 3.845 ft. beyond Bowen, a siding at the west end of a tunnel
Population 20 through the shale. Below the shale are limestones of

~ New Orleans 1,193
miles.

Washita and Fredericksburg age (Comanche series),
the latter extensively exposed in the cement quarries @
short distance north of the river bridge. (See also p- 131.) (See fig.
40.) In the upper part of the dark shale are sandy beds containing
‘Nodosaria”’ and other forms indicating Del Rio age. Itisoverlain by

_ ahard sandstone probably basal Upper Cretaceous (Eagle Ford), which
is conspicuous on the ridge just west of the railroad near the tunnel
__ and crosses the railroad half a mile beyond Bowen. This sandstone

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 163

is overlain by white massive limestone with many large Exogyras of
Upper Cretaceous age.

Not far beyond this place the tracks approach those of the north
line, which they closely parallel to Anapra siding. Here begins the
long climb to the top of the high terrace plain that borders the Rio
Grande Valley and extends far westward across southwestern New
Mexico. (See p. 133.) On the ascent there are fine views to the north
up the Rio Grande Valley, to the east to the long west slope of the
Franklin Mountains with its succession of westward-dipping strata,
and to the south to high ridges in Mexico. On this upgrade there
are many cuts which afford excellent exposures of the sand and gravel
making up the desert plain, the top of which is reached near Mastodon
siding, so named because the remains of a mastodon were excavated in
the slope on the northeast. This great elephant was formerly abun-
dant over a large part of the present United States, and his remains,

NW.

Cerro de Muleros

%

WSS PRESS aE so

Da

,,

Vertical scale
! Mile ° so0Feet

i i i.
FIGURE 40.—Section through Bowen siding, New Mexico

sa

as also those of the mammoth, a somewhat similar animal, are found
at many places.

From Mastodon west for 17 miles there is a tangent to the foot of
the Potrillo (po-tree’yo) grade where there is a rise to a slightly higher
bench on the general plateau. To the north are the steep-sided
East Potrillo Mountains, which consist of limestone of Comanche
(Lower Cretaceous) age.”

From Potrillo siding west there is a down grade to Mount Riley
siding, which lies south of Mount Riley. This very prominent vol-
canic mass, just west of the north end of the East
Potrillo Mountains, was apparently a vent from which
40." lavas were ejected in Tertiary time. To the west are
New Orleans broad recent lava fields of the West Potrillo Moun-

miles. ; :
tains, with many craters and cinder cones, some of
large size. Lava flows from these vents extend in various directions,
some of them being traversed by the railroad from a point 2 miles
west of Mount Riley siding to their western margin, about 15 miles

70 This limestone contains Caprina | nella dolium, a Fredericksburg fauna _
occidentalis, Trigonia sp., and Actaeo- | determined by T. W. Stanton.

164 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

west of that place. Several large fresh-looking cinder cones are
plainly visible not far north of the railroad. West of the lava fields
there are knobs of igneous rocks on both sides of the track, but they
are mostly of the older period of eruption.

At intervals during Tertiary and Quaternary time there was great
volcanic activity in many parts of the West, and in southwestern New
Mexico large areas were covered by lavasin both periods. At numer-
ous vents the outflow of lava was followed by an outburst of cinders
and ash, which were thrown into the air and, settling back about the
vent, formed a cone, generally having a central crater. The building
of these cinder cones therefore usually marked the last stage of ac-
tivity of the voleano, but in some places a later gush of lava issued
from the side or base of the cone. The lava contained a vast volume
of steam, for much of it is highly porous, or vesicular, owing to the
expansion of the steam in the lava as it spread over the surface. The
cinder consists of lava filled with small steam holes, so that most of
it is completely porous or ‘‘pumiceous.” In the cinder of the cones
are usually embedded masses of compact lava, probably thrown out
as bombs. These vary in form from balls to elongated and irregular
shapes, mostly with smooth surfaces, such as might be expected in
molten material ejected from a vent. In places there are flattened
masses of lava several yards in extent, in part twisted around some of
the cinders in which they are inclosed.

On approaching Arena siding (turn to sheet 19) the railroad
descends nearly 200 feet into a wide, smooth-surfaced basin, or desert,
which extends to Columbus and beyond. It slopes southward into
Mexico and is occupied by Palomas Arroyo, a dry wash which is
crossed 2 miles east of Columbus. This arroyo leads south into
Palomas Lake, in Mexico, a water body due to springs known as Ojo
de las Adjuntas (o’ho day las ad-hoon’tas), which come up in the
valley bottom about 2 miles south of the international boundary.

: umbus is a commercial center for agricultural and stock interests
in the southern part of Luna County. <A considerable area in the
ee ae Palomas Valley north of Columbus is irrigated from
Elevation 405 fet. wells which draw water from a widespread underflow
Poguiation 9 contained in the gravel and sand that underlie the
a» 1282 desert plain. Columbus is on a main road from
Mexico and has a custom house and at times has had
_ an encampment of United States troops. It was the scene of a
o — rary by the Mexican outlaw Pancho Villa in 1915 “_ has
‘itnessed many border episodes of greater or less importanc
oe “ont 20 miles north of Columbus are the Florida Mountains, the
a south end of which is plainly visible. This range is described on
se 139, To the northwest are the Tres Hermanas Mountains
ee ‘nas, a for three sisters), named from the three
/ conical in the north end. main feature of this

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

165

range is a large intrusion of quartz monzonite porphyry which uplifts

limestones of Permian age.
rocks of Tertiary age.

There are also some masses of eruptive
Zinc ore has been produced in considerable

amount from mines in the altered limestone near the porphyry con-

tacts. Some of the geologic relations are shown in Figure 41.

In the ©

ridges north of Columbus a small amount of onyx was quarried at

one time.

From Columbus west the railroad Sects across the great plain
of valley fill and passes around the south end of the Tres Hermanas

Mountains through

Mimbres siding. Beyond Mimbres two small

lava fields are crossed, apparently the product of rather recent

a ESTE
Horizontal scale

gener 59 scale
o-

, 5900 Feet

FiGuRE 41.—Section across Tres Hermanas Mountains, Luna Cou
¢

nty, N. Mex. Cg, Gym limestone
phyre

Permian); p, porphyry; r, rhyolite; b, basalt; q, quartzite; k, kerato:

eruptions. To the southwest are high mountains in the State of

Chihuahua, Mexico.

Hermanas is in the entrance to a low gap between the Carrizalillo
Hills (ca-rree-sa-lee’yo) on the south and the Cedar Grove Moun-

tains, a ridge
Hermanas.

Elevation oe feet.
Population
Ni

the southwest corner of Luna
beyond Hermanas are the Carrizalillo Springs, a very

which extends southeastward across
a8

unty.2". Two miles

pit Orleans 4231 good example of underflow water brought to the
surface by a ledge of hard volcanic rock which here

crosses the v

ey
into the great basin of Lake Guzman, in Mexico.

To the west is a wide desert valley draining south

The international

*t This ridge consists mainly of a
succession of thin sheets of latite and
other voleanic rocks of Tertiary age,
dipping to the northeast at low angles.
A basal agglomerate crops out along
the southern foot of the summit. The

1.

and also constitutes an outlying | front
He stati

rich in soda and carrying little or no 4

quartz. A ridge parallel to the main
Cedar Grove Mountains, extending
He for about

northwest from
16 miles, consists of a thick sheet of
dark lava (basalt) dipping northeast
and lying on tuffs and other fragmental
voleanic deposits. also occurs
at other points in the vicinity of the
mountains, where it appears to have
been the Product of the] latest t eruption.

O11 Walllseaiiitl’

ded , Hillis ‘shoe shsetd Of ehipolitd tui and

relatively short period of geologic time.

a
q

166 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES
boundary is about 2 miles south of the tracks near Savoya siding.
To the southeast of this siding is a high volcanic range in Mexico, a
southern extension of the Carrizalillo Hills. Far to the southwest
is the Sierra Boca Grande, also in Mexico.

Near Victorio siding (named from the Apache chief referred to on
p. 147), which is in the middle of the valley, the rounded slopes of the
Cedar Grove Mountains extend along the north side

of the valley, and the more rugged outlines of the Sierra
Rica rise prominently to the southwest.” About 1%
miles west of Continental siding there is a sign read-
ing ‘‘Continental Divide,’’ but this is a mistake, as the
basin of Hachita Creek, to the west, empties into the Rio Casas Grandes
in Mexico, which, like other streams east to Arena, drains into Lake
Guzman. This is, however, the highest point on the railroad west of
the Rio Grande, being 4,745 feet above sea level. The Continental
Divide is crossed 20 miles or so farther west. (See p. 168.) From
this sign west there is a down grade to Hachita (ah-chee’tah). North
of the track on this grade is a long, narrow ridge capped by lava
(basalt), which probably originally flowed down a valley and pro-
tected the area which it covered, while the adjoining surface was being
eroded to a lower level. This is an interesting example of an old
stream bed at a higher level than the new ones.

The Apache Hills, south of the railroad, consist mainly of intrusive
quartz porphyry overlain by Tertiary volcanic rocks to the north and
in contact with limestones of Comanche and probably Magdalena age
to the south. There are several mines and prospects in the range;
the largest is the Apache mine, which has produced considerable
silver ore.

Hachita, in the broad Hachita Valley, i is a small settlement, railroad
junction, and headquarters for mining interests in the adjoining

Ae © mountains. Several of the mines in the general

(sit. region have had prosperity, and some are believed to
os hold considerable promise. The most productive
m0 ae. 1,305 mines are in the Sylvanite district, in the Little

Hatchet Mountains, about 10 miles southwest of
Hachita. (See sheet 20.)

Victorio.

Elevation 4,576 feet.

New Orleans 1,294
mi

oe 3 me
: tain ‘Trinity fo fossil, but ledges in vies

= The Sierra Rica consists largely of
blue-gray limestone of Comanche age,
in part massive and in part thin

bedded.
The strata have a general dip of 4°-5°

__N. in most of the area, but Fig the south

y bend over a low anticline with

rn) Say Banta 06 Caen

ing buttes to the east and probably
separated by a fault contain Exogyras
of Washita age. western part of
the Sierra Rica consists of limestone of
Pennsylvanian (Magdalena) age, which
in outlying buttes to the west is over-

A mile east of boundary stone 39 there

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 167

South of the Little Hatchet Mountains” the much higher Hatchet
Mountains are prominently in view, culminating in Big Hatchet
Peak, 8,366 feet above sea level. They are of special geologic interest
because they present an extensive succession of strata from Car-
boniferous to Cambrian lying on a floor of pre-Cambrian granite.
The section in Figure 42 shows some of the relations. In the south-
western part of this range are thick beds of limestone, sandstone, and
shale of Comanche age containing many characteristic fossils.

West from Hachita the railroad climbs a moderate grade of about
150 feet to reach the pass at the north end of the Little Hatchet
Mountains. On the northern slope of these mountains near the rail-
road there are scattered exposures of dark shale of Comanche age.
The ridge north of the railroad, of which Coyote Peak is the culminat-
ing summit, appears to consist mainly of Tertiary eruptive rocks.

Figure 42.—Section across the north end of the neg Mountains 20 miles south of Hachita, N

Mex. ‘€b, Bliss ang (Cambrian); | Oe, El ae he oe (Ordovician); Om, Montoya lime-
stone pantie an); Sf, Fusselman | (Siluri p, Percha shale (Devonian); Clv, Lake
Valley limestone? oauaap Mississippian); Cm, aa of Magdalena group (Pelinayiviedianss

At its north end is a westward-trending ridge known as Quartzite
Mountain, consisting of quartzites of Comanche age. small but
prominent butte a short distance north of this ridge is made up of
limestone of the Magdalena group.

West from Vista siding the railroad descends 368 feet into a broad
basin with a long, narrow lake bed or “playa’’ in its bottom. In wet
seasons this basin is occupied by water, but usually the northern edge
of the lake is some distance south of the railroad. At a time not very
remote geologically a larger lake existed in this basin long enough for

is a mineral vein associated with a Comanche age cut by a large granite
quartzite (probably of Trinity age) | dike. The higher central part of the
which yielded considerable silver-lead | range consists of a thick succession of
ore at the veges aoe mine, long since | limestones of the Magdalena group
abandone (Pennsylvanian) dipping southwest-

23 The ae Hatchet Mountains | ward and cut off to the north by a large
present a considerable variety of rocks | mass of porphyry. In the northern
and complex geologie relations. The of the range are Many pro: minent

ie

masses of intrusive
prominently in Granite Pass, 15 miles | in the ngrd = the Old Hachita camp
southwest of Hachita. Next north of | limestone of the Magdalena group is
that gap are ledges of sandy shale of | exposed.

168 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES
beaches and other shore features to develop. Its depth was about
40 feet. The lowest point on the margin of this basin is at Hatchet
Gap which leads into the valley of Hatchet Creek. The fill in Playas
Valley is probably very thick, and nothing is known of the configura-
tion of its bedrock floor. An 836-foot well near its center was entirely
in loam, sand, and gravel. These deposits contain considerable water,
which is pumped for stock and domestic use and to a small extent for
irrigation. Ataranch about 25 miles south of the railroad-there is an
artesian well yielding about 5 gallons a minute from a depth of 102
eet.

Southwest of the Playas Valley are the Animas Mountains,” a long .
rugged ridge consisting largely of lavas of Tertiary age in widespread

Pla sheets considerably flexed and faulted. In their
yas. : ‘ 3 - ; ,

eiitddwdsix ta higher parts is an extensive pine forest included in the
Population 20." Coronado National Forest. The Continental Divide
gc ey 1825 is crossed on the inconspicuous summit a few miles

west of Playas siding, at an elevation of about 4,515
feet. To the west of this point the drainage flows into the Animas
River, which empties into the playas west of Lordsburg. These
playas, on the rare occasions when they overflow, drain into the Gila
River, which empties into the Colorado River and thus into the
Gulf of California.

The detached ridges near the railroad between Antelope and Animas
sidings are formed by Tertiary lavas. In this region there are fine
hele views of the distant mountains, notably the Hatchet
Elevation 4,405 feet. Mountains, 25 miles southeast. To the north are
eae 1336 the id Mountains, which end just south of

| Lordsburg, on the north line of the Southern Pacific
Railroad. According to Sauer and Brand * remains of very old
Indian settlements have been unearthed in the Animas Valley, and
there is evidence that crops were raised on some of the larger flats,
doubtless by the use of flood waters. One notable settlement, which
covered 60 acres or more, was at a large spring west of Animas, which
was dried up by the earthquake of 1887. Many types of pottery and
other utensils were found in the vicinity.

There are ranches scattered along Animas Valley which obtain
water from wells in the valley fill. Some water, mostly pumped by
gasoline engines, is used for irrigation.

mm On Flse entral eastern slope of this | southwest of Playas siding consist
Tange, aoe —_ of ar k called Gill largely of limestone of the Magdalena.
= ; » imestone with Comanche group (Carboniferous) and quartzite
fossils (possibly reworked) is extensively and shale of Comanche age. These
a boat much if not all of it, however, | strata are cut by large masses of por-
ik conglomerat and the erials may Phyry which have been forced up in a
age. TI % California Univ. Pubs. in Geog-

of raphy, vol. 7

Fa, No. 7, 1930.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 169
Between Animas and Pratt sidings the railroad crosses a sheet of
black scoriaceous basalt, a local lava flow of relatively recent age.
Pratt Several low cinder cones mark vents through which
tion 4,425 feet, the lava reached the surface. About 2 miles west of
New ¢ Orleans 1,34 Pratt sandstone of Comanche (Lower Cretaceous)
age constitutes a ridge extending for a mile or more
along the east slope of the mountain just north of the railroad, and a
short distance northeast of this ridge, or about 1 mile siopthioresh of
Pratt, is a conical butte of limestone of the Magdalena group.

West of these features the railroad passes through Antelope Pass, a
deep gap in the Peloncillo Mountains, and descends about 450 feet into
the San Simon Valley, which drains into the Gila River. This moun-
tain range extends for about 100 miles along the southwestern margin
of New Mexico and consists mainly of Tertiary lava flows similar to
those constituting the Animas Mountains and many other ranges, ina
thick succession which is considerably flexed and faulted. Heavy
beds of massive lava * and tuff lying nearly horizontal are well
exposed on the north side of the gap. There are also necks and
craters which were sources of outflow, but the region has been so
deeply eroded since the time of eruption that the volcanic history is
difficult to decipher.

About 12 miles north of Antelope Gap is Granite Gap, through which
highway 80 crosses the Peloncillo Mountains in a low pass. Here the
rocks underlying the Tertiary sige are revealed rising in a
large mound in the center of the range.”

Beyond Antelope Gap the railroad bends southward and ascends
the broad alluvial valley of San Simon Creek in order to pass around
the south end of the Chiricahua Mountains. This high rugged
range, rising grandly to the west of the railroad, presents an intricate
mass of high peaks and a steep mountain front deeply
notched by canyons. The higher part of the range
is made up of a thick succession of lava flows which
lie on an irregular floor of Paleozoic and Mesozoic

, sandstones, and shales. There are many
faults, flexures, overlaps, pad other fe

=

%® Rhyolite with phénoerysts of
quartz and orthoclase, as oa
by C. 8. Ross, of the U. S. Geologi

ey.
27 The El Paso limestone, here ex-

posed, presents the same features as

the Franklin Mountains, near El Pass

but is much thinner. A massive dark

limestone 30 feet thick strongly suggests

the Fusselman. It is overlain by 100

152109°—33——12

feet of dark shale, jecbaniy Percha
(Devonian), which is capped by lime-
stones similar to the Escabrosa (Missis-
sippian) of southeastern Arizona. The
Magdalena group is well r

by
overlying limestone, the outerop of
e

which extends far to the north.
granite is exposed in an area of about
1 square mile,

a

170 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

in detail. A very interesting section of the strata“ is presented in
the foothills north of Portal, Ariz., a small settlement and resort 10
miles northwest of Rodeo. (See fig. 43.)

The canyon of Cave Creek just above Portal has been called the
Yosemite of Arizona, on account of its great beauty. It is walled
with magnificent white cliffs 1,000 to 2,000 feet high, which have
been eroded into a great variety of castled and pinnacled forms.
The rock is a massive latite, the product of a great volcanic outflow
in Tertiary time. The canyon is extremely narrow and tortuous and
contains a charming typical mountain stream. There is a good road
extending up the canyon and finally crossing the mountain to Sulphur
Spring Valley. This mountain region is embraced in one of the divi-
sions of the Coronado National Forest, for the higher portions are
covered with pine and other timber. Much of the mountain land is
also used for grazing of large numbers of cattle, sheep, and goats.

SE NW.

Silver Creek

—_—— “==
=== ZEEE
Es

eee

Horizontal scale

2 Miles

Vertical scale
4,000 Feet
5 ee

URE 43. tion of northeastern foothills of Chiri M i Portal, Ariz. <b, quartz-
ite with sills of rhyolite (Cambrian); €a, thin-bedded limestone and shale (Abrigo); Ce, limestone
(D i di Carbonife ): K, sandstone, limestone. d shale (C he, Lower Cretaceous);
Ty, lava (latite, Tertiary), dip ‘i th at a }l

ping le; gr, granite
Six miles above Portal is Crystal Cave, in limestone (Comanche),
which has been only partly explored, and on the west slope are many
remarkable pinnacles and other erosion forms developed in the lavas.
In various parts of the east front of the mountain there are remains
of cliff dwellings, and many of these have also been found in the cliffs
of the great succession of volcanic rocks constituting the Peloncillo
Mois east of Rodeo and in the upper part of San Simon Valley.
Evidently there was an aboriginal population of considerable size in

#8 The limestones of Carboniferous | vanian age, but at its top, overlying a
age include the Escabrosa (lower | 100-foot quartzite member, are 500
Mississippian), overlain by about 134 | feet of limestones in which =
feet of beds in Mien fom aban-

dentalis, Meekella pyramidalis, Sige:
_ anow has discovered an interesting ia guadal ; i

aoe assemblage of upper Mississippian coloradoensis, a typical Kaibab fauna
Log fossils; next occur about — feet of | of Permian ermian age,
Naco- limestone, largely of Pennsyl-

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 171
this region, and it was also a great resort for the Indians of later times,
who found water and good hiding places in the numerous canyons.

In the San Simon Valley at Rodeo and for some distance above and
below considerable water is available in the sand and gravel of the
valley fill, mostly at depths of 300 to 400 feet. It has been exten-
sively utilized by wells and the water applied to irrigation with excel-
lent results. According to Schwennesen most of the wells penetrate
two water-bearing beds, and some of them more. In the central
part of the valley, in the vicinity of Rodeo, the first water-bearing
beds are from 70 to 80 feet deep, the second from 90 to 100 feet, and
the third at about 150 feet. Near Apache the depths are slightly
greater. In the San Simon Cienega, 15 miles north of Rodeo, the
water comes to the surface in a small area. A well pumped at Rodeo
station yields about 200 gallons a minute, and at that rate the water
level is lowered 22 feet. The total solids in the well water of this
region are only 160 to 364 parts per million, and the principal salt is
sodium carbonate.

Two miles southwest of Rodeo the State of Arizona (see p. 147) is
entered. The course of the railroad is 8. 30° W. through Mora and
Apache sidings and nearly to Chiricahua siding, ascending the wide
grassy flat-bottomed valley of San Simon Creek. It skirts the bold
east front of the Chiricahua Mountains, broken by deep canyons up
which are vistas of the high central range with its forest covering.
From a point near Mora siding there is an especially fine view of this
kind up Horseshoe Canyon. East of the railroad are the steep slopes
of the Peloncillo Mountains, consisting of volcanic rocks similar to
those on the opposite side of the valley. They lie nearly horizontal,
although northeast of Rodeo the succession is tilted to the southeast.
Beyond Apache a prominent butte (Squaw Mountain) west of the
railroad shows a block of part of the volcanic succession dipping east
and probably separated by faulting along its west side. Near by are
the remains of a very old Indian settlement of considerable extent.
Not far beyond Apache siding the headwaters of the San Simon Valley
are crossed, and here begins a flow of black lava (basalt) which occu-
pies a wide area in the valley and extends south to the international
boundary. *° The lava is very fresh and evidently the product of an
eruption in Recent geologic time from vents now marked by cinder
cones, several of which are visible not far east and southeast of Ber-
nardino siding. The relations of the scoria, bombs, and lapillae in

2? The lava is black and cellular, and [| the valley. As its area widened the

although the sheet is not very thick it
presents a surface of extreme irregu-

larity, closely resembling some of the
recent flows in other parts of the world.
Apparently most of the lava welled out
of cracks and spread over the bottom of

surface congealed and the hot lava
broke out from underneath,

tunnels caved-in areas.
That the molten lava was filled with
steam is shown by the scoriaceous or
honeycombed character of the rock.

172 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES
one of these cones are well exposed by a quarry and cut a few miles
Chislealia beyond Chiricahua siding. Between two cones 5
Elevation 4,671 feet, ules southeast of Chiricahua siding is a very remark-
New Orleans 13H able crater closely similar in character to the Kilbourne
ae Hole and Hunts Hole, southwest of Lanark. (See p.
134.) Itsrim is dimly visible from the railroad. It is a huge oblong
hole a mile long and about 200 feet deep. The bottom, now a smooth
surface of alluvium, is encircled by a wall of lava of the flow that con-
stitutes the surface of the surrounding country and was probably
derived from craters marked by cones to the north and south. Upon
this wall is an encircling rim, in places 150 feet high, of fragmentary
material, lava, cross-bedded sand, or soft sandstone and many frag-
ments of limestone containing Comanche fossils from strata that un-
derlie the valley and crop out init not many miles southeast of the cra-
ter. (See fig.44.) This
feature is believed to
have been caused by
a volcanic explosion
after the lava flow.
This region is called
the San Bernardino Valley from an early settlement at the San Ber-
nardino ranch (now the Slaughter ranch), on a Spanish land grant
that straddled the present international boundary. The ranch house
is about 10 miles southeast of the railroad. A main road to the west,
laid out by Lieutenant Colonel Cooke and the Mormon Battalion,
a division of General Kearny’ s Army of the West, went through this

RPS oe “ese
AANA

_ Figure 44.—Section across explosion crater 5 aes southeast of
Chiricahua siding, Cochise County

place i in 1846 and, passing near

Douglas, followed down the San

‘Many of the details of flow are clearly
shown by the surfaces, w
places are ropy, as the lava puckered

d in others are glassy

in congealing, an
basis smooth like slag from a blast

sas gtk OF crplntoas ot Rake
The | in of the flow presents an

: i. pushed along by the advance of the
_ flow. In places a cinder cone was

lt COD a Sacliphegomange

hich in some |

an orifice. In its last stages the action
was mainly a violent escape of steam,
which blew out a large amo of cin-
dery or pumiceous material, together
with a few hardened masses of lava.
This was all thrown to a considerable
height in the air and then fell on all
sides, quickly b
recent date of these eruptions is indi-
cated by the fact that the piles of loose
material have not been affected by the
powerful erosional processes of the re-
gion, and there i is no perceptible oxida-

the roofs of the tunnels. Also, the lava
and cinders lie on sand deposits that
are of Recent age,

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 173

Pedro River to Benson. This road became part of the great emi-
grant trail of the West, and its existence and relations to a possible
railroad route had much to do with the Gadsden Purchase.

In prehistoric times the part of San Bernardino Valley near the
springs was occupied by Indians who lived in settlements of consid-
erable size. According to Sauer and Brand, there are many remnants
of foundations and “‘cimientos,”? or cobblestone walls, and abundant
fragments of pottery, implements, ornaments, and a few corn cobs;
potteries of various types indicate long occupation and commerce far
to the north, south, and east. Probably mesquite beans were the
most important food element to these people, but they raised crops
on some of the more favorable soils.

Beyond Perilla siding the railroad skirts a lava-covered mesa and,
leaving the broad San Bernardino Valley by a huge horseshoe bend,
ascends the rocky valley of Silver Creek to a divide at Cazador siding.
(See sheet 21.) Near Silver Creek siding sand and conglomerate are
exposed under the lava sheet, and voleanic rocks of Tertiary age
appear. These rocks present striking exposures in the ridges about
South College Peak, where there is a cap of massive latite with strongly
marked columnar structure on a large scale. A feeder dike trending
east from the foot of the ridge is noticeable 1% miles south of Silver
Creek siding. Near Cazador siding Castle Dome, a huge plug of
latite, is visible 5 miles to the north. From this point the course of
the railroad is mostly south and southwest over Tertiary volcanic
rocks.

At Lee siding the railroad passes between two knolls of limestone of
Comanche age, which underlies or is faulted against the volcanic
i rocks, and enters the southern portion of Sulphur
Elevation 4,411 feet. Pring Valley. In this vicinity this valley is drained
New Orleans 1,30 by Whitewater Creek, flowing southeast into Mexico,

= where it finally empties into the Rio Bavispé, a branch
of the Yaqui River, which empties into the Gulf of California near
Guaymas.

On approaching Douglas the first visible objects are the high stacks

of the two large smelters, the Copper Queen and the Calumet &
: Arizona, on the western edge of the city, where copper

fen oso eet, OFS from Bisbee and other places are treated. Doug-
Population 9,828. las lies near the middle of the wide plain of the south-
New Cumans #8 ern extension of Sulphur Spring Valley. The valley
: plain here is about 20 miles wide and extends north-
ward 60 miles to and beyond the main line of the Southern Pacific
Railroad in the Willcox repaints (See P. 156.) It is deeply £ seierbael ‘by
sand and gravel washed from th lop d known
to be nearly 1,000 feet thick. “The configuration o of these intermon-
tane valleys is highly characteristic, the : oping gently

174 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

up to the foot of the mountains, which rise abruptly with steep rocky
slopes. To the east the rugged ridges of the Chiricahua Mountains
are visible; 25 miles due north are the Swisshelm Mountains, which
consist largely of Paleozoic rocks; and to the west are the Mule
Mountains, which rise more than 3,000 feet above the valley and in
which the great copper mining center of Bisbee is situated. To the
south in Mexico are many high mountains and peaks, mostly of
voleanic rock. One conspicuous conical peak to the southeast on the
international boundary is the place where the notorious outlaw Pancho
Villa assembled his forces before attacking Agua Prieta in 1915

Douglas is on highway 80, which continues west through Bisbee and
Tombstone. The city extends south to the international boundary
and the small town of Agua Prieta, Mexico (population 2,500), with
which it shares an international airport. Douglas, which ranks third
in population in Arizona, is a port of entry from northern Sonora,
Mexico, with extensive imports. Railroads branch here to Nacozari,
in Sonora, where there are large copper mines, and northward up
Sulphur Spring Valley to the mining towns of Gleeson, Courtland, and
Pearce to join the north line of the railroad at Cochise, 59 miles away.
The mines about Gleeson and Courtland are on the east slope of the
Dragoon Mountains, in the Turquoise district, so called because
turquoise was obtained from the quartzite and granite, mainly by
the Indians, who greatly value the blue-green mineral as a medicine
stone. The mines, which have been worked to moderate extent
since 1883, have produced considerable gold, silver, lead, and copper,
and the value of the copper output is more than $8,000,000.

Douglas was named for Dr. James Douglas, who had much to do
with the development of the copper industry of the Bisbee district,
and it had the advantage of being planned as a city with the definite
object of being a smelter and trade headquarters. It began in 1900.
The water supply is obtained from wells 3 miles distant.

On leaving Douglas the smelters are passed (south of the railroad),
with their huge piles of black slag resulting from the copper smelting.
According to the United States Bureau of Mines, in 1928 these
smelters had a joint output of 271,400,000 pounds of copper, 5,970,118
ounces of silver, 105,641 ounces of gold, and 14,500,000 pounds of
lead, the largest copper-smelting output at any one place in the West.
About 1,500 men are employed, many of whom live in the suburb of
Pirtleville. In a short distance the railroad crosses Whitewater Draw

*The rocks exposed in this vicinity
comprise the Pinal schist (Archean),
Bolsa quartzite and Abrigo limestone
(Cambrian), limestone of Carboniferous
~~: age, San Cretaceous age, and | were fo ‘inci )
_ Porphyries, granite, and Sicaius of | of the Cia eee
_ post-Carboniferous age. The rocks are | ue

flexed and faulted and also displaced
by a remarkable overthrust by which
schist and Cambrian strata are carried

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

175

and ascends the west slope of the wide valley. Near Forrest there are
buttes of eastward-dipping limestone of Comanche age (Mural lime-
stone), outliers of the large mass of Comanche strata which constitute

the east side of the Mule Mountains.*!

In one of these buttes a short

distance west of Forrest is the large Paul lime quarry. The railroad
passes around the south end of this range, which shows a few rocky
ledges, and crosses the Espinal Plain, which is occupied by gravel and

sand.

At Bisbee Junction there is a branch railroad to Bisbee, 8 miles
north, which passes the great concentrating plant of the Copper

n Co.

Bisbee,” a prosperous city in the Mule

Quee
Bisbee Junction. Mountains, is built in a most picturesque fashion in

Elevation 4,676 feet.
New Orleans 1,427

small production.

the narrow crooked canyon and along the precipitous
slopes of Mule Gulch. It began as a lead camp with
The rich Copper Queen ore body

was discovered in 1878 and for a few years yielded ore averaging 23

31 In the Mule Mountains the Co-
manche series comprises the following
formations:
perce a —_ nodular shales with

‘oss-bedded buff, tawny, and red sand-
stone; a _ Tages = —_—— limestone

Near

Feet

limestone; upper member massive
hard gray limestone; lower member thin

alternating wi
“a —— a few thin layers of it

limeston ar top
Glance ca uestlaes ‘bodded conglomerate
ith rather angular pebbles, chiefly schist,
chert, and limestone of local origin (uncon-
formably on older rocks) 75
32 The formations at Bisbee comprise
Pinal schist, Bolsa quartzite, Abrigo,

lim

believed to have been originally shales
and arkosic sandstones, were folded
and metamorphosed to their present
crystalline condition in pre-Cambrian
time. They are cut by granite and

on
Paleozoic formation, lying unconform-
ably on the schist, is the Bolsa quartz-
ite. to 500 feet thick
and is overlain by about 750 feet of

which Stoyanow has recently discov-

-tura formation, shales

ered many trilobites of Upper Cam-
brian age. Martin limestone, 300
to 350 feet thick, is of later Devonian

ici De-

sissippian is represente e

brosa limestone, 700 feet thick, and the
Pennsylvanian and Permian by the
Naco limestone, about 3, 000 feet thick.

glomerate, 25 to 500 feet; Morita for-
mation of sandstones and shales, 1,800

low, 650 feet; and at the top the Cin-
and sandstones,
1,800 feet or more. There has been

t of the strata with con-

basement of Pinal schist. The Lower
Cretaceous beds were deposited on an
unevenly eroded surface of the uplifted

of :
later times,

176 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

per cent of copper. When this ore was worked out new bodies of lower-
grade ores were found which have continued to produce a large ton-
nage, and in 1902 other ore bodies were revealed by the Calumet &
Arizona mine. The workings are large and of considerable depth, but
all lie in an area of less than a quarter of a square mile. (Ransome.)
According to the United States Bureau of Mines about 32,250,000
tons of material has been removed from Sacramento Hill, most of it
low-grade ore. About 3,000 men are employed. The copper produc-
tion of the several mines in 1929 was 186,130,352 pounds, which, to-
gether with considerable gold, silver, and lead as by-products, had a
value of $35,504,798. The most extensive ores are sulphides, oxides,

4 sea level WaT
Horizontal scale - vere scale
a a ee . 2M oR 9 L i 1 lopcc Feet,
Figure 45.—Section across the Bisbee region, Ariz. Ke, Limestones, sandstones, shales, and conglom

erate of Lower Cretaceous age (Comanche); Cn, Naco limestone; Ce, Escabrosa limestone; D,
Martin sas (Devonian); €a, Abrigo limestone; €b, Bolsa quartzite (Cambrian); sc, schist;
gp, granite porphyry. After Ransome

and carbonates. In 1929 their average value in metals was near $12

a ton.

The mean annual precipitation in this region is from 18 to 20
inches.
Naco * is in the wide Espinal Plain (es-pee-nahl’), which slopes
west from the foot of the Mule Mountains into the broad valley of
the San Pedro River. This river rises in Mexico,
ene north, and finally empties into the Gila River.
onan dee 4.78 feet. ‘The San Pedro Valley has had an interesting history,
New Orleans 1,431 having long been a natural passageway for explorers,
pat travelers, and Indians, including De Niza and Coro-
nado. (See p. 150.)

In 1692, on his first visit, Padre Kino (see pp. 161, 186) named the
river Quiburi (kee-boé-ree) from a rancheria of about 500 Indians,
near the river not far from Tombstone. It was the home of Coro,
the head Pima chief, and it was here that Kino on the expedition of
1697 found the Tudians dancing about some Apache scalps they had
just obtained. Later American and Mexican settlers in the valley

_ were greatly harassed by hostile Indians, until the final subjugation

of the Apaches in 1886. The earliest Shariah settlers were four
Mormon. families from the colony established near Mesa, Ariz., by
In March, 1929, Naco, Mexico, | tionists, in which the latter, by the aid
just across the boundary from Naco, | of bombs dropped from airplanes and
ab was the scene of a severe sess attacks by tanks, were victorious.

Naco.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 177
Brigham Young in 1878. These settlers founded St. David. It was
down the San Pedro Valley in 1846 that Colonel Cooke laid out the
military road to the West that was used extensively by later travelers.
His troops were made up largely of Mormons who entered the service
in order to reach California, where their term of enlistment would end.

The railroad reaches the bottom of the San Pedro Valley at Here-
ford and follows it northward to Benson. Near Hereford and for
some miles north the prominent’ Huachuca Mountains

ma ect, (Wah-choo’ca) form the west side of the valley,
sulation2ai, attaining an elevation of over 9,000 feet in Miller

Peak and Carr Peak. It is included in a division
of the Coronado National Forest. At its north end
is Fort Huachuca, a frontier military post reached by a 13-mile
branch railroad from Lewis Springs.

The San Pedro Valley is from 15 to 20 miles wide in greater part, and
with steep lateral slopes and a declivity of nearly 600 feet in 40 miles it
is very different in character from the basinlike

Sulphur Spring Valley, which lies a few miles east.
Elevation 4,027 feet.
New Orleans 1,453 This difference is due to the erosion of a vigorous
miles: river which trenches deeply into the thick valley fill,
especially in the region below Lewis Spri At Lewis Springs and
at intervals northward porphyry is revealed in the valley bottom,
which is apparently on the crest of an underground ridge connected
with the porphyry area so extensively exposed about Tombstone.
This noted mining camp lies 8 miles east of the main railroad and is
reached by a branch line from Fairbank, where there is also a branch
railroad leading to Patagonia.

Tombstone is on the gentle slopes of the Tombstone Hills, overlook-
ing the San Pedro Valley. The ore deposits ** were discovered by
Ed. Schieffelin almost by accident in 1878, the great strike occurred
in 1879, and the town was established in 1881 with the name Tomb-

New Orleans 1,443
miles.

Lewis Springs.

stone because someone predicted

to Schieffelin that his prospecting

34 According to Ransome the Tomb- |
stone mining district presents a local
uplift of Paleozoic rocks lying on a base-

also larger
masses of granitic rocks and porphyry
that cut all the strata, causing consid-
erable metamorphism, which appar-
ently had much to do with the deposi-
tion of the rich silver ores in the lime-
stone. The basal strata are 440 feet of

limestone i
above are 340 feet of Martin limestone

(Devonian), 500 feet of Escabrosa ne
stone (Mississippian), and 2,000
3 ,000 feet of Naco limestone ee
vanian and Permian). There is much
faulting. The greater part of the silver
ore was found in the limestone of the
overlying Comanche series, partly as
replacement deposits in the limestone

deposit in the Naco

178 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

would yield only a tombstone. The Silver King was a famous pro-
ducer of rich ore which assayed $2,200 and some of it even $9,000 in
silver to the ton. Later several rich mines were combined and
operated profitably until flooding of the largest mine threw the com-
pany into legal difficulties, during which most people left Tombstone.
After years of litigation the principal group of mines was sold at
auction for $500,000, and production at Tombstone was resumed in a
small measure, for a time. After the silver mines were abandoned it
was found that the associated deposits of manganese ore could be
marketed, and in 1918 the old Oregon mine was producing about
2,000 tons a month of this ore for use in small proportions in iron
making to improve the quality of the pig iron. Tombstone is now a
city of 850 inhabitants with hopes that additional ore bodies will be
discovered some day and restore the former prosperity. It is the
scene of the Wolfville stories of Bret Harte and many other books and
stories by various authors and the place where the famous newspaper
“The Arizona Kicker” was published; the present newspaper bears
the name ‘“‘Tombstone Epitaph.” Its historic ‘Bird Cage Theater”
in boom days housed some great actors.
The small village of Charleston, on the banks of the San Pedro
River, at one time had a smelter and was noted as a
wild frontier town. From Fairbank the railroad
raaerenngee fet. ascends the west side of the San Pedro Valley and
ew Orleans 1,457 passes northwestward around the northeast side of
ere the Whetstone Mountains (p. 161). (Turn to sheet
Fairbank. 22.) At Mescal it crosses (on a bridge) the old
Elevation 3,853 feet, ™ain line of the Southern Pacific, now used for east-
bound traffic between Tucson and Mescal, and is
joined by the line from El Paso by way of Deming,
Lordsburg, and Bowie.

Charleston.

New Orleans 1,464
ih

MESCAL TO TUCSON, ARIZ.

At Mescal the north line (formerly the main Southern Pacific line
from El Paso to Tucson) (pp. 131-162) is crossed by the south line
us (formerly the El Paso & Southwestern Railroad from El
ae eso Paso to Tucson), which comes by way of Douglas (pp.
New Orleans 1,461 162-178). Thetwol / ly I lel f Mescal
paseyirrtiegees nearly to Tucson, and practically the same features
on are to be observed over both lines. The tracks are

| now so connected by switches at Mescal that all
westbound traffic, whether from Benson or Douglas, passes onto the
north track; eastbound traffic comes to Mescal on the south track,
trains for Douglas diverging just east of the station to the old El
_ Paso & Southwestern tracks. Near Irene siding, 15 miles west of
igen the north track with its westbound traffic is bridged across

.

bound track and continues south of it into Tucson.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 179

Desert conditions prevail all the way across southern Arizona,
where the annual rainfall in the wide valleys is 10 inches or less. Most
of the characteristic plants continue westward, notably the ubiquitous
creosote bush, the mesquite, the yucca, the weird-looking ocotillo,
and many cacti. On the adjoining mountains the rainfall is greater
and there is a consequent difference in vegetation, and the higher
summits carry extensive pine forests. The desert plants present
many features of interest, especially in the flowering season, when
some of them are of great beauty. On the lower rocky slopes grows
the biznaga, or “barrel cactus” (Echinocactus wislizeni), with its
large barrel-shaped body covered with curved thorns and bearing
bright-red flowers in early summer. It contains much watery sap,
which can be used to quench thirst very satisfactorily in case of neces-
sity and has often been a life saver for man and beast. To obtain
water the top is cut off and the liquid pressed out of the interior moe
as shown in Plate 20, B. This pulp is also used in making candy.
There are also the smaller Echinocactus johnsoni and clusters of the
nigger-head cactus, E. polycephalus, which bears beautiful deep-red
flowers in the early summer. All these cacti are covered with large
spines and contain water which is protected f evapora-
tion by the thick skin of the pa The desert rats, however, gnaw
into some of them and clean out their watery pulp, lsaving an empty
shell. The yellow-looking, very spiny, branching cactus (mostly
Opuntia fulgida) begins to be conspicuous in the region west of Mescal
and is a prominent member of the desert flora all across southwestern
Arizona.

Here also begins the sahuaro (Carnegiea gigantea), a treelike cactus
with round fluted trunk which may reach a height of 50 feet; most of
these strange plants bear branches that start high on the trunk and
turn upward so as to produce the appearance of a giant candelabrum,
as shown in Plate 31, B. The sahuaro is covered with thorns and in
May bears at the top a cluster of white flowers, which in June develop
into fruit that is in great favor with the Indians and birds. The
Indians make from the fruit a kind of fig paste, also molasses, and an
intoxicating drink. Garcés found the Indians greatly addicted to
this drink at the time of his travels in 1775. Many birds make their
nests in holes in the trunk, which they excavate in the soft pulpy
material, but in a short time these cavities are sheathed with plant
tissue which prevents sap leakage. It is stated by Spalding that most
of these holes are made by the Gila woodpeckers (Melanerpes uropy-
gialis), but they are utilized by other species, such as the sparrow
hawk, screech owl, purple marten, and flycatcher. To this giant
cactus the elf owl (Micrathene whitneyi) resorts when breeding; it is
the smallest of owls, only a little larger than the humming bird. The
gilded flicker is also fond of the sahuaro and rarely found elsewhere.

180 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

A woodpecker with a red head (male) and a black and white ladder-
striped back so greatly prefers the branching cacti for its nest that it is
called the cactus woodpecker (Dryobates scalaris cactophilus).

The sahuaro is a huge reservoir of water, made up of rods about an
inch in diameter connected by plant tissue so that it has considerable
strength to withstand the wind and also great capacity for rapid
expansion when rain brings a supply of water. When dead the sahuaro
loses its pulp, leaving a spectral skeleton of a bunch of tough wooden
rods that burn with a bright flame; they are much used by the Indians
for sheathing huts and making inclosures. The sahuaro prefers south-
ward-facing slopes of rocky character where its roots can penetrate the
soil between the rock fragments; basalt and tuff are favorable, but
caliche appears not to be.

Members of the cactus family have remarkable ability to store
water, because the roots extend widely, for the most part only a
few inches below the surface, so as to absorb a quantity of water
from the soil very quickly after a rain. It has been found by investi-
gations by MacDougal, Spalding, and others at the Desert Botanical
Laboratory at Tucson that once stored in the plant tissues, this
water is retained with great tenacity as a provision for long, dry
intervals. Water absorbed by plants is expended continuously in
the process of living, mostly by evaporation through their green
surface. While most of the cacti have leaves, as a rule these are
minute or even microscopic (the conspicuous parts are botanically
stems, not leaves), and the structure of their cells is such as to hinder
tr: tion and conserve the water stored. The slowness of
chemical reactions in these and most other desert plants aid in the
conservation of moisture. In the walls of the cells of the cacti are
thin sievelike places which permit the easy passage of water from
one cell to another throughout the interior. A barrel cactus was
found to contain 96 per cent of water. A large sahuaro contains
many gallons of water, sufficient to maintain it for a year or more.
The water in some cacti is palatable, but that in others is very bitter,
and it is interesting to note that those of the latter class are less pro-
tected by spines than those whose juice is acceptable. The spines
of the cactus are straight or curved, hairy or feathery, and grouped
in starry clusters or in rows. They have been used for fishhooks,
needles, combs, and in various other ways by the primitive tribes.
The flowers of the cactus vary in form, and most of them are beautiful
_in brilliant tints of purple, yellow, orange, and rose. (See pl. 31, A.)

Some open by day; others, such as the night-blooming cereus, by
ey night. Many of the species bear edible fruits, several of them deli-
_ ious, and some of them yield seeds used by the Indians for food.
In Arizona the cacti and some other desert. plants are legally pro-
from removal, with a ~~ of $50 to $300 for each offense.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 181

The maguey (mah-gay’) (Agave parryi) and sotol (Dasylirion
wheeleri) are scattered on many slopes, the former greatly preferring
the rocky limestone areas. (See pl. 22, A.) Sometimes the maguey
is called the “‘century plant,’ with the idea that it blossoms once
in a hundred years, but the period is generally only six or seven
years, and after the fruit is developed the plant dies. It is a useful
plant to the Indians, who make tough fiber from its leaves. The
bulbous base of its young staff when baked is like squash, and it
also furnishes juice which when fermented becomes pulque (pool’kay)
and when distilled yields the strong brandies “‘mescal” and “tequila”
(tay-kee’la). Many piles of stones in the Southwest mark the sites of
‘“‘mescal pits,” where the plant was roasted by the Indians.

The broad stiff-leaved yuccas (Yucca macrocarpa and Y. baccata),
called ‘dagger’ or Spanish bayonet, bear large white flowers in
bunches on a tall stalk, which develop into an edible fruit, ‘‘datil,”
somewhat like the pawpaw, that is utilized by the Indians. Their
fiber is also used extensively for basket weaving. The abundant
narrow-leaved yucca with its stalk of beautiful white blossoms
(palmilla of the Mexicans) is called soap weed because its roots
(called amole) make a soapy lather when pounded in water. Bear-
— (Nolina) is a different plant but also contains an excellent

The more noticeable desert trees which grow in nearly all parts of
western Arizona are the mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa), which often
attains a height of 30 feet along the valleys, the palofierro, or iron-
wood (Olnega tesota), and the paloverde (Cercidium and Parkinsonia),
many of which grow to be more than 300 years old. There are a
few chiriones, or soapberry trees (Sapindus marginatus), and desert
willows (Chilopsis linearis) in the arroyos. The ‘‘Crucifixion” bush,
consisting entirely of thorns, and the indigo thorn (Parosela spinosa)
are interesting bushes of widespread occurrence. The very thorny
catclaw, ‘‘ufias del gato” (Acacia greggii), merits its name, and there
is another Acacia (constrieta) called ‘tisito,” which bears globular
yellow flowers of remarkable fragrance. On the higher lands are
many junipers (sabinas), the pifion (Pinus edulis) with its delicious

nabs and many oaks.

Three miles west of Mescal, in the headwaters of Pantano Wash,
aaa are outcrops and cuts in sandstone of Lower Cretaceous (Co-
manche) age that underlies the wide, low divide of the Mescal region,
and farther west, notably near Pantano, there are scattered exposures
of tilted conglomerates, sandstones with interbedded lavas, and
Gila conglomerate (Pliocene and Pleistocene). A massive volcanic
rock is exposed i in the stream gorge about 80 feet deep just east of

182 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Irene, where the two tracks cross and where also the highway crosses
the stream and railroad.. Farther west, downstream, are exposures
of agglomerate, a breccia or conglomerate of volcanic origin.

As the train approaches Marsh and Pantano sidings and from
these places to Vail, there are seen to the south the Empire Moun-

Pinta. tains,** culminating in Mount Fagan (elevation 6,175
foot). In these mountains there are many small min-

Elevation 3,547 feet. . ° °
Population 30.* ing prospects, mostly of silver ores; mines about Hel-
pe’ Orleans 1,472 yvetia, on the western slope, have produced ore in
eee mo daeabe amount. This range extends south to the

Santa Rita Mountains, in which there are several small mines, notably

%

a
bee “e684, Carbonih =
Q oO ny rbponiferous

X, :

: Quartzites Abrigo a s SSK Qe
Reb Ano me tone NEQe Sea commas
N ranit LIRR EN a RSS ANS SN = :
EAN SS SAS RAK S
i ROARS SS SS SASSSS WZ

Dikes

1000 2000 Feet
i i j

FicureE 46.—Section 1 mile north of Helvetia mining camp, Ariz.

near Greaterville and Old Baldy. Some of the geologic relations are
shown in Figure 46.

From points near Vail it may be seen that the Rincon Mountains
merge into the pres Verde Mountains (tahn’kay vare’day), which
Vail. n turn merge into the Santa Catalina Mountains, to

as ba ihe northwest. The ranges are separated by saddles,

New poker 1480 and each one has a prominent projection to the west.
— The prevailing rock in these ranges is a hard massive
schist, but the Sante Catalina Mountains include toward the north
a large mass of granite. On the west end of the Rincon Mountains
Carboniferous limestone and other strata form foothill — which

% In the various ridges of the Empire | Bol rtzite (Camb din
Mountains are exposed Bolsa quartz- Davidson Canyon. The outer slopes
ite, Abrigo limestone, Martin and over- | of the mountains consist of sandstone,
lying i shale, and conglomerate of Lower Creta-

; glomerate consisting of pebbles and

) i cobbles of various colored limestone,

limestone pre-Cambri granite | quartz, and other materials.

oat vumeseacne part of the summit oonaiomgems indicates a time break

: many millions of years re represented

nes are over- pe i by late Paleozoic, Mesozoic,
strata, Jurassic strata,

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 183
approach the railroad between Pantano and Vail.* Three miles east
of Vail, a cavern known as Colossal Cave extends far underground
with many interesting galleries, some of them with stalactites and
stalagmites. Formerly it contained guano which was excavated for
shipment to Los Angeles for use as fertilizer. The interesting relations
of the rocks in this vicinity are shown in Figure
Near Vail and westward the wide, level desert plain extends east
and south to the Empire and Santa Rita Mountains, north to the
Rincon and Tanque Verde Mountains, northwest to the Santa Cata-
lina Mountains, and west to the ragged peaks of the Tucson Moun-
tains. It slopes west into the wide arroyo of the Santa Cruz River.
e prominent Santa Catalina Mountains, just north of Tucson,
present a formidable array of rugged cliffs, bem by jach-walled
canyons heading deep in the range. These mountains consist of a
large central mass of very coarse nesiialibe and granite, which
weathers to picturesque pinnacles and balanced rocks; they are the
latest of a series of granitic intrusions, one of which, known as the
Oracle granite, is exposed in a large area around Oracle. On the
southwestern slopes of the lesa the rocks are dominantly
gneisses, which are eo layered and which form the rugged crests
and slopes of the numerous canyons. On the northeastern slope there
are extensive outcrops of the Apache group, comprising the Scanlan
conglomerate, the Pioneer shale, the Barnes conglomerate, the Drip-
ping Spring quartzite, and the Mescal limestone, which is here a shale.
These have been greatly metamorphosed by the later granites of post-
Paleozoic age, which have also changed the overlying Cambrian,
Devonian, and Carboniferous strata. Moore, personal
communication.

36 The larger ridges consist of massive
ie apa limestone, Martin (Devon-
and Escabrosa (Mississippian),

group, lying on granite. The diabase

closely resembles in character and rela-

tions the diabase in the Apache group
bed

8s silica in large bodi
asily be mistaken for quartz
se the Martin limestone is the
Abrigo limestone, mostly very impure
agments of

which has been found by Stoyanow to | shown in section
sonteti Middle Cambrian fossils. Next | the plane of displacement slopes to the
below is hard reddish bedded quartzite | southwest at a low angle. In this por-
with intrusive sills of diabase, which | tion of the area a 38-foot bed of quartz-

resembles the Dripping Spring quartz-
ite of the Apache group. Under this
is red shale like the Pioneer shale and
at the base a conglomerate resembling
the Scanlan conglomerate of the Apache

ite of unknown age overlies the Abri
and apparently separates it from the
Martin li ne, as in Bisbee and

Johnson areas,

184 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

It is believed that the steep southern and western sides of the
Santa Catalina Mountains are determined by a great fault, for the

bs

=-

5)

Ae Re i
ig SI ~
Foye ra /

aN’
rs gs
ra >

4
oe ea

* <7
WN es
/ : Pri eee UY i Beate
‘ i 4 As ;
7\Faul = 27 foe Ace
oe FL ow, <<, TW ge 2
ay os

ha

cate a Met es, ae

Abri Quartzite, Granite Diabase sills Faults Strikeanddip
limestone etc. (pre-Combrian)

n sandstone xX Much silica in limestone

% y ihlhisy
|
Gila cgl. Limestone Abrigo
and Ter- (Carb-Dey)

: °

reo =
Pe me Soe

ae ° Ya Mile

| _ Figure 47.—Geologic map and crosssections in the vicinity of Colossal Cave, 3 miles east of Vail, Ariz.

_ Strongly marked bedded structure of the schists dipping to the west
= tly cut off on those sides, The upper part of the range

U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 21

THE OLD MISSION OF SAN XAVIER DE BAC

Ten miles south of Tucson, Ariz.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 22

A. MAGUEY (AGAVE PARRY]
Abundant on r y limestone hills in the Southwest. About 7 years
is required for as velceiens nt, after which it dies. Allied species are
the source of the Mexican drinks mescal and pulque.

im
ie a NE te ae ~

Pee = en ee
=

B. PICACHO, A NOTABLE LANDMARK NEAR W YMOLA, ARIZ.
A mass of yolcanic rock of Tertiary age, Looking southeast.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 185

appears to be the remains of an old erosion surface, now deeply dis-
sected, on which the Mount Lemmon highland rises as a rounded
swell, probably a residual mound. The northwest corner shows
evidence of later upbending of 1,000 feet or more. (W. M. Davis.)
Rising to the south foot of the mountains is a steep slope of sand and
gravel underlain by sandstones and conglomerates of supposed late
Tertiary age revealed in the deeper canyons. The beds dip steeply
away from the mountain front and in places are considerably faulted.
The high Tanque Verde and Rincon Mountains, east of Tucson,
also consist of gneiss. All these mountains are included in a national
forest, for their higher parts sustain a growth of valuable timber :
many live oaks and junipers occur from 4,500 to 6,000 feet, the yellow
pine thrives between 6,000 and 8,000 feet, and there are small areas
of fir and spruce above 8,000 feet. On the lower slopes sahuaros
are numerous, notably on the west slope of the Tanque Verde Moun-
tains, 15 miles east of Tucson, where the State University has reserved
an area in which these interesting plants are especially abundant
and large.
TUCSON TO PICACHO, ARIZ.

Tucson, the second city in size in Arizona, is the oldest settlement
in the State and can boast of a colorful history. For many years
it was a small, rough frontier town, preponderantly
Tucson. % : " :
Were: Mexican in population and appearance. Now it
Population 32,508. is a well-ordered city containing the State University,
New rns 14 with an enrollment of more than 3,000 students,
es.
many high-class hotels, clubs, and a large residential
district of particular beauty and charm. These features, in addition
to the mild, healthful climate, attract many new residents, as well
as tourists.

The State University, which is now accredited by the American
Association of Universities, was built on ground donated by three
leading gamblers of the city, and the first building was constructed
before there was a high school in the Territory; during its first years
students had to be taught the prerequisites to its freshman course.
The university includes the Arizona Bureau of Mines, which is making
investigations of the mineral resources of the State, and the Stewart
Observatory for astronomical research. An important investigation
conducted by Prof. A. E. Douglas has established a chronology
of tree rings, which gives a key to the age of logs used in aboriginal
houses and even to some that occur in petrified condition. There
are at Tucson also the Desert Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution
and a seismologic observatory of the United States Coast and Geo-
detic Survey.

152109°—33——13

186 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

According to long observations by the United States Weather
Bureau the average annual precipitation at Tucson is 11.8 inches,
usually with the maximum rainfall in July. The precipitation shows
wide variation, however, sometimes falling considerably below 10
inches (5.26 inches in 1885) and occasionally exceeding 15 inches
(24 inches in 1905). The mean annual temperature is 67.3, and the
humidity is generally considerably under 50 per cent. The daily
range in temperature ordinarily varies from 32° to 57°. The average
number of sunshiny days in the year is 309. Snow is rare in the valley
but often falls heavily on the surrounding high mountains.

Tucson is built on the nearly level desert on the east bank of the

Santa Cruz River, a wide watercourse which is dry most of the time.
In every direction are fine views of the splendid mountains that
encompass the far-reaching desert flat. To the north is the high
Santa Catalina Range, which rises more than a mile above the slopes
at its base; its highest summit, Mount Lemmon (elevation 9,150
feet), is in plain sight. This range is continued far to the east in
the Tanque Verde and Rincon Mountains. To the south are the
Santa Rita Mountains and the Sierrita Range, separated by the
valley of the Santa Cruz River, and to the west and northwest are
the pinnacled Tucson Mountains, not high but very rugged. Beyond
the Sierrita Mountains is a distant view of the prominent Babo-
quivari Peak (bah-bo-kee-vah’ree).
_ There was considerable mining in the general region about Tucson
by Spaniards, Mexicans, and Americans down to 1861, when all
industry ceased. It was revived in 1878 with the discovery of rich
ores at Tombstone. Several productive mines are now in operation
in the Empire, Santa Rita, and Sierrita Mountains. In the Twin
Buttes, on the east side of the Sierrita Mountains, there are mines
producing ores of silver, copper, and lead.

The Santa Cruz River rises in Mexico south of Nogales, and on the
rare occasions when it carries a large flood it empties into the Gila
River southwest of Phoenix; its total length is thus about 200 miles.
With the advent of the missionary-explorers, in the early days, its
valley became an important artery of travel from the western part of
Mexico to Arizona and the north and west. The first of these
explorers of whom there is authentic record was the heroic German
Jesuit Eusebio Francisco Kino, who spent 20 years in constant jour-
neying, often entirely alone, throughout the Indian region as far west
8 the Colorado River. He left Mexico City in 1687 and, after found-
ing several missions in northern Mexico, reached the Indian rancherfas
of Guevavi and Bac, on the Santa Cruz River, in 1691. In the
next few years he reached the coast of the Gulf of California and also
discovered Casa Grande, on the Gila River. He visited Mexico City in
1695. In 1696 he reached Quiburi (kee-boo’ree), the Indian settle-
‘ment on the San Pedro River. He visited this place again in 1697 and

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 187

followed the San Pedro and the Gila to and beyond Casa Grande. He
returned by Bac,*” 9 miles south of Tucson, where he laid the founda-
tion of the church of San Xavier in 1700. At that time Bac had a
population of 830, with 176 houses, extensive wheat fields, and much
well-tended livestock; it was the largest rancheria in the Pima country.

In 1700 also Kino descended the Gila River to its mouth, and in
1701 he returned to the vicinity of Yuma and crossed the Colorado
River on a raft. The observations made on these explorations con-
vinced him that California was not an island. In 1702 he made
another journey to the mouth of the Colorado and other places.
He continued his travels for a few years more, taking his last view of
the Gulf of California in 1706. He died at Misién Dolores in
Mexico in 1710 or 1711, at the age of about 70 years. - In some of these
great journeys he was alone; in others he was accompanied by Father
Juan Maria Salvatierra and Capt. Juan Mateo Mange. At that time
there were no other Spaniards in the Southwest, so that these journeys
were lonesome and hazardous, but Kino found the Indians perfectly
friendly and eager to learn, and they gave him guidance and supplies.
His persistence and endurance were phenomenal.

A mission was conducted at Bac by the Jesuits from 1701 to 1767,
when that order was expelled by the Spanish Government and the
Franciscans placed in charge of all missions. One of the Franciscan
missionaries located in San Xavier was Padre Francisco Garcés, the
great explorer whose journeys down the Santa Cruz Valley and over a
wide region as far as Utah and California during a period of 13 years
constitute one of the most brilliant chapters of American history.
Born in Spain in 1738, he was 30 when he entered upon his heroic
career as missionary to the Indians of Pimeria Alta. His first
“entrada,” in 1768,°5 was from Bac to the Gila River, and later he
proceeded down that stream to its mouth and crossed the Colorado,
finally reaching the Mission San Gabriel in California. In 1775 he
accompanied Captain Juan Bautista de Anza’s expedition to found
San Francisco as far as the Colorado River and then made a great
trip alone, cireling to the north and returning to Bac by a route that
gave him a glimpse of the Grand Canyon, being thus the first white
man to approach that great spectacle from the west. He gave it the
name Puerto de Bucareli. In 1779 he established his ill-fated colony
in the Yuma region and was massacred with it on July 19,1781. He
is now buried in San Pedro de Tubutama, in Sonora. A coworker,
Padre Pedro Font, has written of him: “‘He is so fit to get along with
the Indians and go about among them that he seems just like an

37 Bac, a Pima word frequently en- 38 Garcés’ travels have been described
countered, means house, adobe house, | in detail by Coues (Diary and Itinerary
or a ruined house, of Franciseo Garcés, 1775-1776, 2 vols.,

Harper, 1900).

188 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Indian himself. In fine, God has created him, I am sure, totally on
purpose to hunt up these unhappy, ignorant, and boorish people.”’

The present beautiful and interesting church of San Xavier at Bac,
shown in Plate 21, was rebuilt very near the site of the first church,
which was destroyed in the Indian outbreak of 1751. It was begun
probably in 1783 and finished in 1797 (the date carved on the sanctuary
door), during the period of comparative peace and prosperity that
extended from 1786 to the end of the Spanish rule in 1822. Thechurch
is still in use, together with a school for the Indian children of the
neighborhood.

In the immediate vicinity of the present Tucson there were several
early Indian villages which doubtless were passed by Father Kino in
his journey to Casa Grande in November, 1694. The first Spanish
settlement in the immediate neighborhood appears to have been San
Agustin de Tucson, located on a low ridge 3 miles northwest of the
present city hall, some time prior to 1763. It led a precarious and
intermittent existence owing to Apache depredations, as did also the
small Indian village of ‘‘San Cosme de Tucson,” ** which sprawled at
the foot of Pinnacle Peak, now familiarly known as ‘‘A’’ Mountain,
from the great white initial annually inscribed upon it by university
students. Here under the guidance of Padre Garcés an hacienda and
small settlement were established in 1776; this was known as El
Rancho de Tucson and later as El Rancho del Padre. Half a mile
northwest a mission was built under the name San Jose de Tucson.
About this time the Spanish garrison was transferred from Tubac, 44
miles away, to San Agustin de Tucson and later to the present site
of Tucson. Around the presidio at Tucson was built an adobe wall
12 feet high with low towers and parapets, one corner of which is
marked by a bronze tablet. This diminutive walled city became the
metropolis of the Southwest and for a long time marked our extreme
western frontier. The valley was richly productive, minin
successful, and the hills were covered with herds of wild cattle. On
the withdrawal of soldiers and missionaries from southern Arizona
before and after the war of Mexican independence, the Apaches re-
sumed their depredations, killing many persons and destroying 100
houses and several settlements. At this time from 3,000 to 4,000
settlers left the country, only a few remaining at Tucson. It is stated
by Lockwood that in 1848 the population of Tucson was 760 and
Tubac 249 and that Tubac was abandoned at the end of that year.

Even under American rule it was not until after the Civil War that
Apache and other warring Indians were finally conquered and ban-
ished to reservations. Fort Lowell, the old United States Army post,
of which the ruins still stand 7 niles northeast of Tucson, was estab-

% The name Tucson means “the foot | son, m a of
eaning foot of, or “the place
ofa black hill,” from rom the —— In- | dark springs,” from the Sobaipuri

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 189

ren in 1862, abandoned in 1864, reoccupied in 1865, and moved in

1873. It was named for Gen. C. R. Lowell, of the United States
Cavalry. After the Gadsden Purchase Anprtauns began to arrive,
not a few being encouraged to journey thither by sheriffs and
vigilance committees of neighboring States. With these came stur-
dier citizens with true pioneer spirit, but no white woman resided
permanently in Tucson until 1870.

On the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 Tucson was seized by
Confederate troops from Texas, who in turn withdrew on the approach
of the Union volunteers from California (the ‘California Column’’)
under Colonel Tarleton. (See p. 154.)

The stage from San Antonio to San Diego began making two trips
a month late in 1857. For a while it passed through Tucson, but
later it followed a more northern route in the Gila Valley. Tucson
was on the oldest highway from the Rio Grande to Yuma and the
Pacific coast, and traders and Government wagons with supplies for
the various army posts in the Apache country were constantly on
the move. The railroad arrived in 1880, and this fact was heralded
to the world by telegrams from the eet citizens to the President at
Washington and the Pope at Rome.

Near Tucson there is a small settlement of Papago (pah’-pa-go)
Indians (527 in 1932) at the mission of San Xavier at Bac, and there
are also two small settlements of Yaqui Indians from Mexico on the
western and southern margins of the city.

The Indians now known as Papagos live mostly in a large reserva-
tion in the desert southwest of Tucson (4,914); on the Gila Bend
Reservation, west of Phoenix (224); and in the Chiu-Chiuschu Reser-
vation, south of Casa Grande (349). The Indians of this region claim
descent from the builders of Casa Grande (see p. 197 ), and they are
a branch of the Piman family. The ‘‘Pimas” lived in the Gila and
Salt River Valleys, the Papagos in the Santa Cruz Valley and west
into Sonora, Mexico. Another Piman tribe, the Sobaipuri, now
extinct, occupied the San Pedro and Santa Cruz Valleys during
Kino’s time, when it was estimated that the total Pima population
was about 12,000. The Papagos (‘‘bean people”’) are a large-framed,
well-formed people of dark skin and rather bold, heavy features. The
women are of more delicate mold than the men, and some of them are
decidedly handsome. The bravery of the Papagws has been proved
in many conflicts with the Apache and other predatory Indians, and
they have been uniformly friendly to the whites. Many of them are
industrious and good workmen. Their life is closely adjusted to the
arid region in which they live, especially in the matter of water supply
for themselves, the use of flood waters for irrigation, and the utiliza-
tion of the scanty natural food resources. They often have had to
move to places favorable to their interests, and at times starvation
has taken many lives. Mesquite beans and the fruit of the sahuaro,

190 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

pitahaya, and agave, besides acorns and camote, an edible root, are
important food resources, especially in poor seasons; formerly there
was considerable game. One of their principal trading commodities
is salt, which they gather from lagoons on the shore of the Gulf of
California. The Papagos are divided into clans, two of which are
included in the “‘red velvet ants,’ who are regarded as the original
owners of the country, and the others in the ‘‘white velvet ants,”
who have come later. Descent in these clans is by the male line,
which is contrary to the custom of the Pueblo Indians, The Papagos
of San Xavier apparently absorbed the Sobaipuris, the last of whom,
Encarnacién Mamaxe, died at San Xavier Mission early in 1932, at
the age of 106 years. The Papagos regarded the sun as the “ Father,”
and their principal deities were the ‘‘Elder Brother” and the “ Rarth
Magician,” but most of them are now Catholics.

The Desert Laboratory occupies 860 acres on the Tumamoc Hills
in the western part of Tucson. It was established in 1903 with the
belief that this location offered the greatest opportunities for studying
desert vegetation and the problems of its growth, its enemies, and soil
relations. In 1905 it was made the headquarters of the department
of botanical research of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. It
has obtained a large amount of most valuable information regarding
plant growth, soils, and water conditions in the desert. The State
Agricultural Experiment Station at the university has branches in
various parts of Arizona, studying many problems of crop, fruit, cotton,
and nut production.

Tucson obtains its water supply from wells that draw from the
underflow of the Santa Cruz Valley south of the city. In the Rillito
Valley (ree-yee’toe), just north of Tucson, underground water is
pumped for irrigation. When old Fort Lowell was located in this
valley, at the mouth of Pantano Wash, the cavalry horses were fed
with hay cut from the flood plain, which is now dry and deeply
trenched.

From Tucson a branch line of the Southern Pacific system ascends
the Santa Cruz Valley to Nogales, on the international boundary, and
thence goes to Guaymas (10 hours), Guadalajara (48 hours), and
Mexico City (65 hours). At 44 miles south of Tucson it passes the
ruins of the old Spanish presidio of Tubac, which dates prior to
1752 and was erected to protect the neighboring missions. At
this place in 1858 to 1860 a small group of Americans and Mexicans
partly restored the ruins and published the “Weekly Arizonian,” the
first newspaper in the Territory. A short distance beyond Tubac is
the old Tumacacori Mission (too-ma-ca’co-ree), established by Father

_ Kino in 1702, now a most interesting national monument under Gov-
ernment protection, |

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 191

Westward from Tucson the railroad crosses the southwestern por-
tion of Arizona, a region presenting geologic and topographic features
such as characterize the Basin and Range province of the Southwest.
While the geology has not been mapped in detail, the principal fea-
tures have been ascertained by reconnaissances by Bryan, Ross,
Wilson, Lausen, Darton, and others. Many of the ridges consist of
the pre-Cambrian granites and schists of a ‘‘basal complex.” In
places these are overlain by sandstone of Cambrian age, limestones
of Devonian and Carboniferous age, sandstone and shale of Creta-
ceous age, conglomerate, lavas, and sands of Tertiary age, and thick
beds of Quaternary sand and gravel. Igneous rocks of various
ages cut the schists and sedimentary rocks, and some of the younger
granitic rocks are not very different from the pre-Cambrian granites.
The sea covered much of the area for at least a part of Carboniferous
time, for there are remnants of limestones of this age at many places.
Outliers of Apache rocks indicate that there was deposition of sedi-
ments in the region during part of Algonkian time, the products of
which may have been much more widespread than is indicated by the
small remnants that are exposed. The features most striking to the
traveler are mountains or knobs of schist or granite and ridges and
mesas made up of a thick succession of lavas and other volcanic rocks.
Many of the knobs rising above the valley floor are the summits of
ranges which are now nearly buried under the thick valley fill of sand
and gravel washed from the mountain slopes for a million years or
more. Before the extrusion of the Tertiary volcanic matter the region
presented an irregularly eroded surface, doubtless a desert, some areas
of which were occupied by sands and boulder deposits of earlier
Tertiary age. These deposits consisted largely of detritus from
ridges and were mostly laid down by torrential streams under condi-
tions similar to those of the present time. The lavas came to the
surface through craters and cracks at various 1 widely,
probably filling broad valleys and desert flats. Peebles some of
the earlier ridges were not entirely buried. At intervals a great
amount of ash, tuff, and other fragmental material was blown out of
some of the vents. The succession of sheets of lavas and fragmental
material is 2,000 feet or more thick in some areas, but it varies con-
siderably from place to place in thickness and in the character and
order of its rocks. The lavas were later uplifted, tilted, flexed and
faulted, and widely removed by erosion, so that their original extent
is not evident. Much of their detritus, together with that of older
formations, makes up the thick alluvial fill of the present valleys.

The great deserts of the Southwest at first sight seem nearly desti-
tute of animal life, but actually they are the habitat of many animals
in considerable variety, most of them, however, small and not often
in sight. Most numerous perhaps are the kangaroo rats, which live

192 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

in large colonies in the sandy areas, but they are nocturnal, and most
of their associates have the same habit. Coyotes, foxes, and bobcats
frequent many localities. Various lizards and the bold little horn
toad (Phrynosoma platyrhinos) are abundant, and in places there are
rattlesnakes (see pl. 23, A), including the variety known as the “‘side-
winder’’ (Crotalus cerastes), a name referring to his sidelong motion
both in locomotion.and attack. The rare tiger rattler lives in the
rocks in out-of-the-way places, and the Sonoran coral snake (Hlaps
euryranthus) is occasionally found. The Gila monster (Heloderma sus-
pectum) (see pl. 23, B), a clumsy black and pink lizard a foot or more
in length, is of frequent occurrence in southwestern Arizona from the
San Pedro River to the Colorado. He carries poison about the teeth in
his lower jaw, and his bite is fatal to small animals. The larger lizard
known as chuckwalla(S lus ater) near the Colorado River,
and the Indians find him as palatable as chicken. Jack rabbits and
w. E. cottontailrabbits are
plentiful, especially
in the vicinity of the
arroyos, and there
c= remain a few of the

Hori tal: | ; “
ee Mg epg rare antelope jack

Jt L
Vertical scale
°
asses eee ES oot a

ee rabbits, a taller,more
Figure 48.—Section at Picacho de la Calera, 16 miles northwest of Tuc- slender specks than
son, Ariz. €a, Cambrian quartzite; €a, Abrigo limestone; Dm, Mar- the commonone. A
tin limestone; Ce, Carboniferous limestone; d, dike few antelopes, deer,
wild sheep, and lions remain in the mountains; formerly these animals
were abundant, especially the antelope, but vigorous hunting has greatly
reduced their number. The tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) roams over
some of the desert areas, and his empty shell is a common sight. The
average size is 8 to 10 inches. These tortoises are usually found far
from water holes and evidently are not dependent on water. This is
true also of the other desert animals, which obtain from plants the
small amount of water that they need. Experiments made with
desert mice appeared to prove that they will not drink water at all.
Quail are abundant in most seasons, and doves thrive in the irrigated
areas and near water holes. Cranes and similar birds are found along
the rivers, and crows and buzzards congregate rapidly when food is in
sight. The road runner (Eolaptes chrysoides mearnsi) is frequently
seen. Tt eats rats, birds’ eggs, and snakes. It runs very fast and»
stops quickly, using the long tail as a brake. Tarantulas (large hairy
spiders), centipedes, and scorpions occur in many places; though their
bites or stings are painful and probably somewhat poisonous, they
appear not to be fatal.
oS The Tucson Mountains, west of Tucson, are the Frente Negra, oT
_ Black Face Mountains, of Garcés. The range is of moderate height

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 23

Sunt aet?
er et ade

A, RATTLESNAKE

Common throughout western Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

B. GILA MONSTERS

Found in many places in southwestern Arizona.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 24

4. CASA GRANDE, ARIZ.

The ruins of a communal house of the aborigines, now under a protecting shed.

a

B, TYPICAL HOME OF PIMA IN

DIANS ON RESERVATION SOUTH OF PHOENIX,
ARIZ,

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 193
and consists mostly of volcanic rocks in widely extended sheets and
several stocks, erupted from craters or possibly from some cracklike
vents in early Tertiary time. On the east slope of the mountains is
an old quarry in light-colored volcanic tuff which has been used for
building one of the university buildings and many houses in Tucson.

The Tumamoc Hills, an outlying knoll of the Tucson Mountains
just west of the city, consist of a succession of lava flows (andesite,
rhyolite, tuff, and basalt) and several intrusive masses that are pro
ably of Pleistocene age.

From Tucson the railroad follows the wide flat adjoining the
Santa Cruz River, which has a sandy bed of many braided channels,
usually dry. At times of rain the Santa Cruz carries
considerable water. According to records of the
United States Geological Survey the flow at Tucson
woe 1,511 ageregated 57,200 acre-feet in 1914 and 24,700 acre-

feet in 1915. The Santa Cruz is an affluent of the

Cortaro.
Elevation 2,156 feet.
ation 80.*

Gila, which its channel reaches in the neighborhood of Phoenix, but
even in Garcés’ time it sank into the sands near Picacho Peak, andl at

present it rarely ‘ai i

flows even that far.
However, there is
considerable under-
flow in the sand and
gravel of the valley
fill, especially below

the mouths of Rillito FicGure 49.—Secti fth t side of the T M ins, Ariz., about

Creek and Cafiada 3 miles south of the Ajon 2milessouth of Amole Peak. a, Agglom-
. erate; rs, red sandy shale

del Oro, and this

water is pumped for irrigation. The irrigated area is entered near
Jaynes, a short distance out of Tucson, where there is a State experi-
mental farm; it continues with some interruptions nearly to Naviska.

* Rhyolites and andesites, in part
porphyritic, are the principal rocks,
with some tuff and basalt. Amole
Peak (ah-mo’lay), the highest summit,
and some other knobs consist of in-

usive, occur on

e west side of the north end of the
range. Picacho de la Calera, an out-
lying butte to the northwest, consists
of limestones of Carboniferous and
Devonian age (Escabrosa and Martin)
with abundant fossils. These lime-
stones are underlain by 300 feet of
typical Abrigo limestone with trilobites
and other fossils of Upper Cambrian
age, and at the base, lying on pre-

| shows the relations

| Cambrian schist, is 200 feet of Bolsa
quartzite.

e section in Figure 48

at this place.
Along the foot of the southwest side
of the Tucson Mountains are extensive
exposures of sandstone and sour foot

lieved to be of Lower

They lie nearly level and « are overan
by the Tertiary volcanic

the east and by a sheet of rhyolite *
the west. Farther north the

Figure 49 shows the relations in this
part of the area,

194 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

The area under cultivation is about 7,000 acres. The water is supplied
by many shallow wells operated by electric power from Tucson, and
there are some flowing wells. The water is carried by canals, mostly
cement lined. Much cotton and alfalfa are raised, together with
various other crops. Cotton is a native plant (Cabeza de Vaca was
presented with cotton garments by the natives in 1535), but the
wild variety gives only a small yield of the fiber. The cultivated
cotton yields about a bale to the acre. The average crop in the
valley requires from 20 to 24 inches of water, but alfalfa, which is
cut five or six times a year, requires 36 inches. There is considerable
dairying to supply milk for Tucson and other places.

Northeast of Rillito is a conspicuous range of buttes and ridges
known as the Tortolita Mountains (tore-toe-lee’ta). They consist of
Rifiieg. pre-Cambrian granite and schist and rise abruptly
ee eee: from long slopes of gravel, sand, and other detritus.
Population 32.* On the south edge of the range are volcanic rocks.
fat! Orleans 1,516 To the south and southwest from the railroad near

Naviska siding there are fine views of the rugged
ridges of the Roskruge, Coyote, Quinlan, and Baboquivari Mountains,
the last culminating in the square tower of Baboquivari Peak (ele-
vation 7,740 feet), 50 miles away. To the west are the Silver Bell
Mountains. These are all on the west side of the wide desert of Avra
Valley, which joins the Santa Cruz Valley a short distance southwest
of Red Rock. These valleys are deeply filled with gravel and sand.

From Tucson to Picacho the railroad follows the route pursued by
Padre Garcés and the expedition of Captain Anza in 1775 on their
long overland journey to establish a colony at San Francisco. They
traveled, however, on the left bank of the stream as far as Red Rock.
According to Padres Gareés and Font, the Anza expedition consisted
of 30 soldiers and 136 other persons, including women and children.
It followed the Santa Cruz River through Bac and Tucson. Rillito
lies at the place they called Llano del Azotado (meadow of the flogged
man), because a deserting muleteer taken into custody was here given
12 lashes. Passing near the present Red Rock station to a point
beyond Picacho Peak, it turned to a more northerly course,
approaching the Gila River about 2 miles west of Casa Grande,
which the friars visited and minutely described. Several camps were
made on the Gila River in this very populous Indian country, where
wheat, Indian corn, and cotton were being raised. The course then
swung southwestward around the south end of the Sierra Estrella
across the “‘Dry Wash” (apparently Waterman’s Wash) and through
the pass in Maricopa Mountains now followed by the railroad t
modern Gila Bend, a route which later became the emigrant trail.
__ Near Gila Bend they found an Indian village, called by Padre Garcés
_the Pueblo de los Santos Apéstoles San Simén y Judas,

sist ss

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 195

Rillito and Marana are small settlements sustained by irrigation

with water pumped from the underflow of the Santa Cruz River.

West from Naviska siding the region is a wide desert.

cuss Occasional sahuaros are in sight from Avra siding and

aactiasistie ata westward nearly to Picacho. The village of Red

New Orleans 1,520 Rock is on this wide desert plain, which — north
me: to and beyond Phoenix and far to the west. Thi

Wad Rock plain 4 is floored with sand and gravel, in <i places
Blevation 1,88 fet very deep, and the subsurface geology is not known.
Population 40. The embankments at intervals along the railroad in

New es $31 this vicinity were built for protection from flood

waters. Many steep-sided mountains rise out of this
plain, mostly of granite, schist, or volcanic rocks, their rugged out-
lines indicating rapid disintegration.“ The valley floor bears a sparse
vegetation of small mesquites and other plants, widely spaced on
account of the arid climate.

A railroad branches to the southwest from Red Rock to Silver Bell,
18 miles distant, a small town with a large copper mine. The werk.
ings are in a group of high ridges, consisting in part of rhyolite and
tuff of voleanic origin, and a succession of 3,700 feet of quartzite and
limestone, the latter containing Carboniferous fossils (C. F. Tolman).
An extensive intrusion of alaskite porphyry carries blocks of the
limestone, one of which, according to Stewart, is nearly 2 miles long
and 2,000 feet wide, and: there are later dikes of andesite and trachyte
porphyry. The ore reduction works at Sasco are visible from Red
Rock. The Waterman Mountains, a small range 6 miles southeast
of Silver Bell, consist of porphyry, quartzite, and a limestone that
contains fossils of Permian age (Naco limestone).

Northwest of Red Rock, on the left side of the railroad, is the
prominent peak known as Picacho or Saddlerock Picacho (see

*' Rock disintegration proceeds rap- | and along the larger streams. Running
idly in the desert regions of the South- | water containing sediment in suspen-
west. The great difference of tempera- | sion is a powerful erosive agent, and

ture between hot afternoons and chilly | wind-blown sand is especially effective
dawns is an it agent, causing | in removing decomposed or soft roe
great expansion and con » and Joints in rocks are cracks, erally
he fr not of great length, due to shrinkage in
ing disintegrati of lime- | cooling if the rocks are of igneous origin,
stones and decomposition of minerals | or ins of various kinds,

in crystalline rocks are factors which | earth movements. They may run in
produce large results in a few centuries. | various directions or may be
ost rocks are traversed by joints or | in sets of nearly parallel cracks which
wR and along these disintegration | intersect other sets at approximately
es. It finally isolates spalls | constant angles. Joints differ from
or * blocks of the rock, and these fall and faults i in being much smaller fractures
eventually crumble into detritus, which vertical
is worked down the slopes and becomes displacement of the rock along the
valley fill or is carried by freshets into

/
196 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

pl. 22, B), which becomes conspicuous near Avra siding and is a land-
ead for many miles in all directions. Its elevation is 3,374 feet.
It consists of lavas steeply tilted to the north, and it may shoes include
the neck or vent of an old volcano. The railroad passes very near
this peak at Montrose and Wymola sidings. According to Garcés, it
was called Cerro de Tacca by the Indians. Near it, in ancient days,
was a Pima settlement or rancheria called Akutchiny (“mouth of
the creek’’), located at the sink of the Santa Cruz River.

In the pass a few rods east of Wymola siding there is a 10-foot
monument just south of the tracks with the inscription ‘Lieut. J.

Barrett and Privates G. Johnson and W.S. Leonard,
Wymola. killed April 15, 1862, in the only battle of the Civil
et =n, War in Arizona. Erected by the Arizona Historical

fles. : Society and Southern Pacific Railway, April 15, 1928.”

These men and a few others, members of the Cali-
fornia Volunteers, had an encounter with Confederates who had just
evacuated Tucson.

The Picacho Mountains, a high rocky range rising out of the desert
plain north of Wymola, culminate in Newman Peak (elevation 4,529
feet). They consist of schist, all of which in this general region is
believed to be of pre-Cambrian age.

Beginning near Wymola and extending for about 5 miles west is a
very fine assemblage of cacti, growing mostly on the rocky slopes
along the south side of the railroad. There are many stately sahuaros,
barrel cactus (biznaga), cholla (cho’ya), and other desert species.

The region extending west from the San Pedro River to the Colo-
rado River and the Gulf of California, constituting the northern part
of the Province of Sonora, was known to the early explorers as Pimeria
Alta (pe-may-ree’ah). When the Spaniards found that its northern
and northwestern extension: was occupied by the Papago Indians they
called this portion Papaguerfa (pa-pa-gay-ree’ah), to distinguish it
from the region of the more sedentary Sobaipuris of the Santa Cruz
and San Pedro Valleys. With a mean annual rainfall on the lower
lands ranging from 3 to 10 inches and a mean annual temperature of
67° at Tucson and 72° at Yuma, it is one of the warmest and most
arid portions of the United States. In places the summer maximum
temperatures are as high as 126°. The vegetation is a striking
assemblage of peculiar plants in which large cacti, small desert trees,
and many shrubs are present, but all widely spaced. No part of the
region is so dry as to be without plants except a few areas of drifting
sand. Where the ground water is near the surface, as in the wider
plains subject to occasional flooding by rains, there is considerable
mesquite, but this plant also grows in many places where the amount
& of water is very slight for most parts of the year. Mesquite, like a
— soni pmeanaienea foe Sc Fell ooh ageabhte le

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 22

10°30" Arizona
T

2000 \

A

Sheet 23

-Iran mMOnW>Y

EXPLANATION

Sand, gravel (valley fill)

Lava, tuffs, and other voleanie products

Sandstone and shale

Limestone =
Limestone and shale ZZ
(underlain in ie a8 — brisket

Quartzite.

nite
Porphyry, granite, and other i
intrusive rocks

Geology by N. H. Darton, F. C. Schrader, and C. F. Tolman

Tornado
Martin
Abrigo

Apache

800’ Quaternary

900’ Tertiary
1,700’ Lower Cretaceous
) : ;
, jCarbonifeous
f 1,300 ——
450’ Cambrian
700’ Algonkian

Pre-Cambrian
Pre-Cambrian and later
Post-Cretaceous

(in greater part)

Rillite a

aS
Ree 2069 | |

/ x a Res 2156
/ 4 :
/ \8)
Sie:
f ) = f
3 A C
‘

\ \ aedert or

Contour interval 200 feet

et distances from New Orleans, La., are snown ee
0 miles, and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart
— eusdrange shown on the map with a

ame in ES
in the lower left corner is s mad in deta on the U. S. G. 8.
ra ae map of that

321 Scale 500,000
linch=8 miles (approximately)
ie] S ie} 15 20 MILES
2) 15 20 KILOMETERS

oo

Topography: U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps

WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO., WASH. D.C

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 197

sands containing some moisture, and also a system of wide-spreading
lateral roots that quickly absorb water near the surface when there is
rainfall. Creosote bush, iron wood, paloverde, ocotillo, grasses, and
scattered cacti of several kinds are the more noticeable plants in the
valleys and along the dry mountain slopes.

The topography is of the Basin and Range type, with high, bare
rocky ridges, mostly narrow, separated by wide, flat valleys. The
larger features trend north and south, although there are many local
exceptions to this trend. The valleys range from about 3,000 feet
above sea level in the northeast to 250 feet in the Yuma Desert. The
mountains are bare and desolate, and the broad desert valleys with
terrifying scarcity of water seem formidable to travelers. For many
persons, however, the region possesses an intense interest and charm—
often referred to as the lure of the desert.

MAIN LINE, PICACHO TO PHOENIX AND WELLTON, ARIZ.

The line from Picacho to Wellton by way of Phoenix (turn to sheet
23) was built in 1925 and 1926 at a cost of $15,600,000, in order to
pass through the great irrigation district of the Gila
Picacho. (he’la) and Salt Rivers. It is 42 miles longer than the
Elevation 1621 feet. old line but has the advantages of better grades, fewer
miles. "~~ eurves, and long tangents, which almost compensate
for the detour. The Gila River is crossed twice, one

' bridge being 5,000 feet long and the other 3,800 feet.

This route leaves the old main line at a switch tower a mile west of
Picacho siding and goes north across the wide alluvial plain to the
Coolidge. Gila River, 20 miles distant. It passes through the
cietuigt tu sidings of Peak. Topaz, and Randolph and the town
Population 1,100. Of Coolidge in this interval and also crosses the great
sae ac 1,564 ditch that carries water from the Gila River to Casa

Grande and other irrigation settlements to the west-
ward. This water conserved by the Coolidge Dam, on the Gila River
in the mountains 50 miles above Florence, is let out into the river as
required and deflected into the main canal near Florence. (See p. 210.)
About 40,000 acres of the land to be irrigated is in the Gila River
Indian Reservation, and the remainder of the water is available for
settlers outside, who have taken up much of the land and are
cotton, lettuce, and other crops with satisfactory results.

Two miles beyond Coolidge the ruins of Casa Grande are in sight,
not far west of the railroad. For many years they had no protection
against the weather, but finally after some restorations a roof was
erected to protect the ruins from rain and in some measure from wind-
blown sand, a powerful erosive agent in regions of dry climate. (See
pl. 24, A.)

198 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Casa Grande,” as the name indicates, is the ‘large house’? men-
tioned by the early explorers; it was the work of aborigines of 700 to
1,000 years ago. It was discovered by the Jesuit Padre Kino in
1694; he reached it again by way of the San Pedro in November,
1697, and said mass within its walls. It stood 1% miles south of the
Gila River, with which it was at that time connected by a wide ditch.
It was visited by Padres Garcsé and Font in 1775 and minutely de-
scribed by Font. It has always been one of the best preserved of the
prehistoric ruins and has been restored to a considerable extent by
the United States National Park Service, which took possession of it
in 1892. There were three buildings within a space of 150 yards, two
of which were practically ruined. The walls of the main building,
which was three and in the central part four stories high, were massive
and 4 or 5 feet thick at the base. The inner sides of the walls were
vertical, but the outer sides sloped inward in a slightly curved line.
The house contained 11 rooms and had a watchtower estimated to
have been 39 feet high. The material used was the local mud and
gravel packed into rectangular blocks until hardened. ‘There is some
ornamentation in red on the inner polished walls, but no inscriptions.
There are doors east and west, but no windows except circular open-
ings in the upper part of the chambers. The framework of the build-
ing evidently was burned, presumably by hostile Apaches. Near by
are ruins of other buildings and of an elliptical amphitheater more
than 100 feet long, probably all used for religious or communal cere- -
monies.

Excavations in 1930 a mile east of the Casa Grande ruins revealed
several large houses, several crematory pits, and much pottery,
carved bone, and stone and shell artifacts. Fragments of mirrors
whose reflecting surface was a close mosaic of iron pyrite crystals were
also found, showing that the people took considerable interest in their
personal appearance.

In the river flat just north of the ruins are remains of old irrigation
ditches which conveyed river water to fields. The people of this
early settlement were evidently experienced in agriculture, and the
irrigation ditches, some of them large, show considerable engineering
skill. (Seep. 201.) Itseems clear from the broken pottery and ruins
that the Gila Valley and the valley of the Salt River supported a
good-sized agricultural population in the early days. The Pima
Indians called these people ‘‘Hohékam.’”’ They lived in small huts
not unlike the Pima “‘jacales,” made of rude masonry. It is supposed
that they came from the south. It is an Indian tradition that a hos-
tile faction from the east drove these agriculturists from their settle-

2 T+ +t h

oe i > ee a

east on his way to the Seven Cities of
Cibola (Zufii) in 1540, but many author-
ities believe that his route was farther
| east, (See p. 161.)

be the ruined house called gested
a (red house), where Coronado

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 199

ments in the Gila Valley, but some who remained in the general
region were the ancestors of the Pima, Papago, Yuma, Chemehuevi,
Mohave, and Maricopa tribes of the present day.

In the times of the Conquistadores and the missionaries most of the
sedentary Indians of Papagueria lived on adjacent ranches and in
villages palisaded for protection against roving Apaches or other
enemies. It is stated that there were about 6,000 of these Indians
and 100 rancherias in the lower Gila region in 1742. There was
constant warfare among the tribes or among allied tribes. For the
white man there seems to have been a hearty welcome until ill treat-
ment roused hatred that prevailed for a long time. The Pima In-
dians, however, have always been friendly to the white settler and
helped to fight the Apaches, who were hereditary enemies of the
sedentary tribes, stealing their crops and wives. Now Papago,
Maricopa, and Pima Indians live in harmony on the reservations
south of Phoenix. The Pimas and Maricopas have the first rights on
the irrigation waters of the Gila River, which they use extensively for
the more common field crops.

The lower Gila region was never the scene of such extensive and
bloody Indian warfare as other parts of Arizona, because of the more
peaceful character of its aboriginal inhabitants and partly because of
the scarcity and poverty of the white settlers in the early days.

Two miles north of the Casa Grande ruins the broad bed of the Gila
River is crossed on a long bridge. In the main channel there is
usually considerable water, which is allowed to flow from the Coolidge
Reservoir to sustain irrigation, together with some ground water and
seepage of local origin. The Gila River is one of the major streams of
the Southwest, for it drains an area of about 7,200 square miles and is
about 500 miles long. It rises in western New Mexico and crosses all
of Arizona to join the Colorado River just above Yuma, receiving
many large affluents, including the San Simon, San Pedro, and Santa
Cruz Rivers, which are crossed by the railroad in eastern and central
Arizona. Up to 1853 (the time of the Gadsden Purchase) the Gila
River was the boundary between the United States and Mexico.
The Gadsden Purchase brought into the United States the portion of
Arizona south of the Gila River, an area of 40,000 square miles (see
map, p. 151), at a cost of $10,000,000. The international boundary
was surveyed in 1855, and the United States took possession in 1856
by sending troops to Tucson. The river was called Rio del Nombre
de Jestis by Ofiate in 1604. The heroic Father Kino in 1694 applied
the name Rio Grande de Gila to the river, but generally called it
Rio Grande. The Indians on its headwaters were called Xila or
Gila, and this name was applied by the Spaniards to a savory but
bony fish called matalote by the Indians. It is stated also that
there is a Yuman word Hila, meaning salty stream. Later, Kino’s
name was given to the entire stream.

200 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

After crossing the Gila River to Poston siding, near which a branch
line leads to Florence, 6 miles east, and thence to the mining town of
Christmas, in eastern Pinal County, the railroad deflects northwest-
ward and follows near the north bank of the river through Blackwater
and Olberg sidings. To the east and north of the railroad are many
buttes of granite, the highest of which, Walker Butte, is capped by
lava. At Olberg is a quarry in lava and scoria, which are used
extensively for road making.

North of Olberg is Malpais Mountain (mal-pah-ees’), which con-
sists of lavas and tuff * capping granite which appears also in ridges
and detached buttes to the east; it also constitutes Santan and Gold-
mine Mountains, farther north. Yellow Peak and Rock Peak, a few
miles north of Olberg, are capped by conglomerate of Tertiary age.

South of Olberg are the prominent granite ridges of the Sacaton
Mountains, with various outlying buttes. These are all typical desert
mountain ridges, with steep rocky surfaces rising abruptly from the
long, gentle slopes of wash and valley fill, which is very thick in the
adjoining valleys. At most places large parts of the flanks of these
mountains are buried by detritus and only the tops protrude, and
doubtless there are many others that are entirely buried. If this
valley fill were removed the Salt River-Gila plain would present a very
rugged topography, with ridges and buttes 1,000 to 2,000 feet high.
The filling has progressed for centuries, is still actively going on, and
will continue until the present ridges and buttes are worn very low
and the smaller ones buried entirely. A view of a typical desert valley
in this region is given in Plate 25, A.

Just south of Olberg is a dam that diverts water from the Gila River
into canals to supply the lower portion of the Gila River Indian Reser-
vation. This reservation occupies a wide area in the Gila Valley and
according to the report of the United States Commissioner of Indian
Affairs for 1932 contains about 4,000 Pima Indians, 500 Maricopa
Indians, and a few others. Many of these Indians irrigate farms,
using the water provided for them by the Government and raising
alfalfa and other crops which under irrigation flourish in the rich soil
of the valley lowlands. In Padre Garcés’ time (1775) the largest
Pima settlement was located in this immediate neighborhood, with a
population of about 5,000. He called it Sutaquison, but Padre Kino
80 years earlier had named it Encarnaci6n.

*$ These volcanic rocks cover an area

of about 9 square miles and consist of
several flows, in all several hundred feet
thick, dipping gently south-southwest.
At one locality a sheet of olivine basalt
is exposed lying on a 200-foot sheet of

latite, in part tuffaceous, which in turn
lies on the old granite. Under the
microscope the latite is seen to consist
mostly of volcanic glass crowded with
microliths; it contains some orthoclase,
albite, biotite, and olivine.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 25

A. TYPICAL DESERT PLAIN WITH RIDGES, WESTERN ARIZONA

Sahuaros in foreground.

B. INDIAN PICTOGRAPHS NEAR SACATON, ARIZ.

Crude figures of animals, snakes, birds, etc., depicting records or messages. Probably very old.

i

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 26

A. DATES IN SALT RIVER VALLEY NEAR MESA, ARIZ.

B. COTTON RAISED BY IRRIGATION IN SALT RIVER VALLEY NEAR PHOENIX,
ARIZ.

Camelsback Mountain in background.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 201

Leaving the bank of the Gila River near Olberg the railroad skirts
the rocky slopes of Malpais Mountain and passes through Dock and
Santan sidings. There are many sahuaros, or giant cacti, and cholla
(mostly Opuntia bigelovii) on these slopes. Indian houses are in sight
at many places (see pl. 24, B), and the Pima Indian village of Santan,
with a large school, is a mile east of Dock siding. Three miles south
of Dock is the larger settlement of Sacaton, with the Indian agency
that administers the Gila River Reservation.* The reservation
consists of 371,422 acres of which a small part is under irrigation.
Now that water of the Gila River is conserved by the Coolidge Dam
a much larger area can be cultivated than formerly. Near Sacaton
is a field station of the United States Department of Agriculture in-
vestigating the crop conditions of the region.

East of Santan is a group of rugged ridges and hills culminating in
a peak 3,093 feet high known as Santan Mountain, which is a con-
spicuous feature from the wide desert plain to the north. This
mountain and the surrounding — consist of pre-Cambrian
granite and schist cut by younger grani

Near the Maricopa-Pinal county line ne railroad bends due north
and goes through Chandler to Mesa.

Near Serape siding the Salt River Valley is entered, consisting of
almost continuous irrigated fields in a high state of cultivation, utiliz-
ing water from the Salt River conserved by the Roosevelt Reservoir.
(See p. 214.) The contrast between desert conditions and vigorous
plant growth is strikingly shown on the margins of the irrigated
areas, especially at the foot of slopes of the rocky ranges rising out of
the plain. The use of Salt River water for irrigation dates back to an
early time, for the aborigines had many ditches, some of them of con-
siderable size and length. These and the later ditches of the white
man were washed out or damaged every few years by floods, which
are especially prevalent in the arid region. In 1877 many settlers be-
gan coming into the valley, and since that time its development has
been rapid as irrigation has been improved and extended.

Chandler, in the southeastern part of the great Salt River irri
tion district, is an attractive rural settlement founded in 1912 by
Chandler Dr. A. J. Chandler. It is also a noted pleasure and

: health resort with an artistic winter hotel. From
Population tee ~©6Chandler and northward there are fine views of
New Orleans 1,507 Four Peaks, the high summit of the Mazatzal Range,

fae and of the bold west front of Superstition Mountain.

44 The Pima agency also administers | on ranches in the adjoining regions.
the Gila Bend and Chiu-Chiuschu Res- | About one-quarter of them speak
ervations, occupied by small groups of | English, and many speak or understand
Papagos. are Spanish.

152100°—33-——_14

202 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Mesa was started in 1878 by a colony of 77 Mormons who followed
the original Mormon colony from Utah, established the preceding
year at Jonesville (now Lehi) by Brigham Young.

The new colony at once commenced the construction
Wega a of a ditch costing $43,000, to irrigate about 5,000
New Orleans 1,604 acres. At present there is a very large area under

see irrigation and many crops are produced, including
dates (pl. 26, A) and citrus fruits. From a small village in 1883
Mesa has grown to an area of 1 square mile, parts of which are closely
built. The near-by population is about 11,000. The Mormons have a
large temple, several churches, and an auditorium.

Two miles west of Mesa is a 160-acre farm of the State Agricultural
Experiment Station, where practical tests of many kinds are made on a
tract of heavy silt-loam soil, which is typical of much of the Salt
River Valley. Here cotton, alfalfa, lettuce, melons, and other plants
are grown under various conditions of irrigation, fertilization, crop
rotation, and cross breeding. Experiments are also made with cattle
and sheep pasturing.

In this vicinity are fine views of the west front of Superstition
Mountain, 20 miles east of Mesa. (See pl. 31, B.) It consists of
flows of lava (rhyolite) and beds of white volcanic tuff, in all more
than 3,000 feet thick, yet greatly eroded from its original size and
extent. On its slopes are many sahuaros and other desert plants, and
in early summer the showy scarlet flowers of Beloperone californica,
which also grows on the Picacho Mountains, and is very attractive to
humming birds.

From Mesa the railroad turns sharply west, and near Tempe
(tem’pay) it deflects north on joining the branch line from Maricopa.
hsiigk: At ‘Tempe is the State experimental date farm, the
ae os United States Entomological Laboratory, a large
Population 2,495. normal school, and a condensed-milk factory which
es Ctenee 1,611 utilizes much of the product of dairying, now a great

industry in the Salt River Valley. Tempe, established
in 1870, is the second oldest town in the valley. It was first called
Haydens Ferry and later renamed for the classic Vale of Tempe.

At Tempe a great bridge carries the railroad over the Salt River.
This large stream rises in the mountains of eastern Arizona and flows
into the Gila River about 15 miles southwest of Phoenix. Formerly
it experienced many freshets, with disastrous results to irrigation
ditches and near-by fields, but these no longer occur since its waters
have been impounded by the Roosevelt and cther dams. Nowits flow
is regulated to meet the needs of the farms and orchards it irrigates,
and its utilization has resulted in an agricultural development which
has made the Salt River Valley a celebrated garden spot. Kino
_ called the river Rio Azul, and Gareés Rio de la Asuncion.

Mesa.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 203

Just east of the bridge over the Salt River is Tempe Butte (see
fig. 50), a prominent landmark due to a heavy mass of lava (andesite)
lying on shale and sandstone, which with the lava is tilted to the
southeast at an angle of 45° or more. The base is a massive sand-
stone quarried to some extent for building. The strata are more and
more mixed with clay toward the top, where most of the material
under the lava is red shale. More red sandstone in massive beds is
exposed north of the river opposite Tempe; it grades down into a
coarse granitic arkose or breccia lying on an irregular surface of old
granite. It dips 65° NW., nearly at right angles to the dip of the
exposure in Tempe Butte. This sandstone was found in a well 1%
miles northeast of Tempe, but a well 2% miles northwest of the town
was entirely in granite. Similar arkose and conglomerate lie on
granite in Camelback Mountain, near Phoenix. Probably the age of
the formation is late Tertiary. (Lee.) Other buttes, including Bell
Butte,* rise out of the valley a short distance southwest of Tempe.

N. oe Butte s.

Horizontal stalk
re) 1,000 Feet
j

| are i i.

‘Vertical scale
000 Feet
ee i i

Figure 50.—Section through Tempe Butte and Tempe Well, Ariz. After Lee

Just north of the river north of Tempe sedimentary rocks of Ter-
tiary age form a small group of picturesque hills included in the
Saiuaro National Monument. Here the material is an arkosic con-
glomerate in massive beds lying in part on granite gneiss and in part
on a porphyritic felsite. The conglomerate contains much granite
and some schist and felsite with many fragments from 6 inches to
6 feet in diameter. In places there is but little matrix, but in general
the coarse material is embedded in sand composed of grains of quartz
and feldspar. It has been suggested that these rocks are of Triassic
age, but here, as in Tempe Butte, they include a thin basalt flow and
are capped by basalt, a succession closely resembling that which is
found in the Tertiary of the surrounding region. The tilting of the
Tertiary beds here and elsewhere in the Phoenix region shows that
there have been earth movements in this region in post-Tertiary time,
and the similar tilting and faulting of the volcanic succession in

46 The rock of Bell Butte under the | of hernttende and feldspar of the soda-
microscope proves to be a hornblende- | lime group. The is glassy,
pyroxene andesite showing phenocrysts | in part microlithic. (Lee.)

204 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

adjoining regions indicate that deformation was widespread in south-
western Arizona.

In the Sahuaro National Monument are many fine sahuaros and
other plants of the desert flora which will be preserved under Gov-
ernment supervision. The rocks are eroded in many fantastic forms,
one of which is the natural window called ‘‘Hole in the Rock.” The
gravel-covered plains surrounding the hills are typical of the wide
desert valleys of the Southwest.

Phoenix, the metropolis of western Arizona and capital of the
State, occupies an area of about 10 square miles on the plain extending
north from the bank of the Salt River. Although in

the midst of a desert, the city has developed great
| clbee salam ogy landscape beauty and many cultural and educational
620 resources. Itwasestablished by Jack Swilling in 1867

as a colony for irrigation, a fact commemorated by
the Swilling memorial fountain in the courthouse grounds. Phoenix
was incorporated in 1881. It was reached by a branch line from
Maricopa, on the Southern Pacific Railroad, in 1887 and by a branch
from the Santa Fe lines (Santa Fe, Prescott & Phoenix Railroad)
from Ash Fork in 1886. Prescott was the State capital from 1864 to
1867 and 1878 to 1911, and Tucson from 1868 to 1877, The Phoenix
region was first visited by Padre Kino in 1694.

The growth of Phoenix has been rapid, especially since 1910, when
it population was only 11,134; the growth was 70 per cent from 1920
to 1930, and this increase was closely paralleled by the growth of the
populous surrounding ranch territory. The name Phoenix (given by
Darrel Duffa) refers to the fact that the settlement has “risen from
the ashes of the vanished civilization of the aborigines of long ago.”
In the valley there are many miles of ditches of great antiquity,
capable of watering many acres. There are also ruins of numerous
settlements and many remnants of utensils and implements. Large
collections of archeologic material are on exhibition in the Arizona
Museum in Phoenix and also in the Heard Museum. At the latter

are collections from the ruins of ‘‘La Ciudad ” or the ‘Indian mounds”
near the city. At Phoenix there is a large Indian school sustained
by the United States Government.

Irrigation has gradually been extended over level lands of the
Salt River Valley until now a large area is occupied by farms and
ranches in a state of high cultivation, connected by fine roads in greater
part lined with cottonwoods and other trees. The valley population
is about 150,000. Many crops are raised, including a large production
of grapefruit and alfalfa, and for a wide area the region is a veritable

: garden, im great contrast to adjoining unirrigated lands that remain
in their original desert condition, as shown in Plate 27, A. (See also
_ Pls. 26, B, and 27, B.) In 1929, according to the United States

Phoenix.

miles.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 205
Bureau of Reclamation, the agricultural products were valued at
$38,000,000 from an irrigated area of 404,315 acres. Production and
irrigated area have about doubled since 1920.

The development of irrigation was slow and irregular under private
management, and there were many complaints of inadequacy of water
supply and much conflict in respect to claims for water and canal
rights. Finally the United States Bureau of Reclamation “ reorgan-
ized the project and built the Roosevelt Dam to hold the water of the
Salt River and its tributary Tonto Creek in a huge reservoir in the
mountains 80 miles east of Phoenix. (See p. 213.)

In the Salt River Valley, as in most other irrigated lands in the
Southwest, alfalfa is the most extensive crop, yielding from 5 to 8
tons to the acre; other forage plants are also raised, most of them
giving two crops a year. The value of the cotton crop in 1929 is
estimated at $12,435,000 by the State College of Agriculture, including
much of the itehanlh variety introduced from Egypt, for which
the region is well suited. Cotton was a minor product prior to
1912, when its area was only 400 acres. The cost of producing
cotton in the Salt River Valley in 1928-29, according to careful
investigations by the State College of Agriculture, ranged from 8.72
to 20.46 cents (average 13.4 cents) a pound for ordinary cotton and
from 17.2 to 38.8 cents (average 23.8 cents) for long-staple cotton.
This included picking, which cost 1.5 and 2.5 cents respectively, and
ginning, 45 cents per 100 pounds of seed cotton. The ginning is
more than paid for by the value of the seed.

Cattle feeding and dairy farming have the advantage of having
open pastures the year round, but a staggered system of pasturing is
used to provide for regrowth of the grass. About 25,000 dairy cattle
were reported in 1929. Many sheep are wintered in the Salt River
Valley to be fattened on alfalfa.

The sugar mills are busy for much of the year, the cane crop coming
in as the beet crop ends. Citrus fruits are extensively produced, to
the number of 453,330 boxes in 1929 (Census report). The very
young grapefruit trees can not be left out in winter, so they are taken
up in December and placed under cover until spring. This process
is called ‘‘balling,”’ because a ball of earth is taken up with the roots.
It was in the suburb of Ingleside, at the foot of Camelback Mountain,

Up to June 30, 1929, the Government
L 3: 4 -j kL. + @19Eec ANN Ann:

46 This bureau of the Government
was an outgrowth of plans of Maj. J. W.

ree-

Powell for the reclamation of the arid
lands of the West, and it was brought
into existence by the irrigation act of
1902, fostered by President Theodore
Roosevelt, with the late F. H. Newell as
the first director. The Roosevelt Dam
was the first large project completed.

lamation projects in the United States
(not counting interest), and the total
repayments have been $36,350,000.
The repayments in the fiscal year of
1929 amounted to $6,308,000 (U. 8S.
Bur. Reclamation).

206 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

that the first orange orchard and the first olive grove in the Salt River
Valley were planted. Of cantaloupes and melons the annual output
is nearly 6,000 carloads, and of lettuce about 10,000 carloads. Figs
and dates are important products, and other small fruits are raised in
great variety and large amount.

Much water for irrigation, city water systems, and individval ranches
is pumped from shallow wells in the gravel and sand that underlie
the Salt River Valley. These deposits contain a large volume of
water, mostly the general underflow from the Salt and Gila Rivers
to which is added some of the local flood water entering the valley.
It is believed that although most of the rainfall is lost by evaporation
or run-off, a part of it as well as considerable water that has been used
for irrigation sinks into the porous material of the valley floor and
in a measure replenishes the underground supply.7 The amount of
underground water available varies from place to place with the thick-
ness and character of the permeable beds, and in some localities heavy
pumping has depleted the supply. It is estimated that 525 square
miles in the Salt River Valley is underlain by water-bearing beds
from which the water can be profitably utilized by pumping.® About
Mesa the area of water-bearing beds is 15 miles wide and some of
them extend to a depth of 200 feet.

In the Salt River Valley as in other similar districts there are two
principal kinds of alluvium—the coarse river deposits of many sorts,
laid down at various stages of the rivers, in old and new channels, and
under different conditions of velocity; and the finer sheet wash

rate of 2 to 3 miles a year has been
alley fill and other permeable material | estimated. (Meinzer.)

i * A detailed study of these under-
ud of the ground water resources was made by
of a mile a year, or one-eighth of an | the U. §. Geological Survey in 1900—
_ inch 4 minute, is a fair average; in the | 1903. (See Water-Supply Paper 136,
: sands of the rivers and wash deposits a | by W. T. Lee.)

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

ESF PHOENYP

= «Maric
“Unetya Gillage)

LL tt.

ee eee

Hansen |

Pozo!

Olay) (2 re

29
Buchan <4
EL/#IB hagas. |

HZ

Snaketown”
a

f Rivera =<
‘es.

HIGHWAY
j

; a D
\~ ~1BTO MEL 3977
eS
<n
&
EXPLANATION Pe: “
A Sand, gravel (valley fill) Quaternary a \ ae
ns
> ~
4 nthe and other Acongge products et Tertiery ry ( ~
C Sek 1 os A Ls
Schist, mostly 6 Oo. /
CC ‘ * 5
D_ Granite, mostly Tee Cesuees Wooatier Pks' /
Geology by N. H. Darton and others Bipa p \a é °
|RESERV
;
Scale 500,000 !
linch=8 miles ia
18} S 10 20 MILES
ee 15 =e KILOMETERS
“Contour iekancad 200 feet
32 feve/ ach le ted show th
The distances from New Or. lean , La., are shown every in the lower left psi ris mane in detail on the U.S. G
10 miles, and the crossties are PURE 1 mile apart tect map of that ni

Casa Grande
i EL/IZ98

, £4 14S

+ i.
Ne ew =e a ee

9) ‘
{ -Chiuschu
iPepato village) am

Topography: U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 207

beds of boulders underground, and at a later stage the river shifted
to its present course north of these mountains. At this time it
deposited the boulder beds that yield the underflow about Phoenix.
These later gravel deposits lie in an old channel roughly parallel to
the present one and excavated in the finer beds which were spread
widely by overflows during the earlier period of accumulation.

Care has to be taken in irrigation not to let the mineral contents
of the water accumulate in the soil, especially some of the well
waters, which are more highly mineralized than the river water. In
some parts of the valley the soil has been poisoned in this way, but
this can be avoided by suitable underdrainage to carry off water that
otherwise would evaporate and leave its dissolved mineral matter.

The Salt River Mountains, which rise abruptly from the desert
plain a few miles south of Phoenix, consist of chloritic schist and
fine-grained biotite granite. The granite is quarried to some extent
as an ornamental stone. The Sacaton Mountains and many of the
peaks and ridges on the east and south sides of the Salt River Valley
are made up of granite, some of which is very coarse grained, with
many of the feldspar crystals as much as 2 inches in length. A few
miles north of Phoenix are the Phoenix Mountains, which consist
largely of quartzite and other metamorphic rocks in massive beds,
several thousand feet thick in all, tilted at high angles. Some of the
mountains in the Salt River region are upthrust blocks; others are
remnants of older ridges nearly buried by valley deposits.

The climate of Phoenix is similar to that of most of the deserts of
southwestern Arizona at elevations from 1,000 to 2,000 feet. Accord-
ing to the records of the United States Weather Bureau, the mean
annual precipitation is about 8 inches, most of which falls in mid-
summer showers. The amount varies greatly from year to year,
however, in some years being less than 5 inches and in others as much
as 14.41 inches (1911). The mean annual temperature is 70°, and
the summers are long and warm, but the summer heat is much less
oppressive than in regions with more moisture in the atmosphere.
The amount of sunshine, as compared with the greatest amount pos-
sible, is 84 per cent. The mean temperature during the winter is
about 40°, owing to cold nights, but most of the winter days are mild.
Parts of the valley are free from killing frosts. (Continued on p- 218.)

DETOUR BY THE APACHE TRAIL

A most picturesque chapter is added to the transcontinental trip
by the detour over the Apache Trail. (See fig. 51.) The distance is
120 miles in all and requires about one day in time and certain extra
expenses for bus fare and hotel stop. This additional time and ex-
pense are well justified, however, by the superb scenery and the thrill-
ing character of the trip.

208 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Westbound passengers diverge from the main line at Bowie, pro-
ceeding by a branch railroad (through sleeper) to Globe and thence by
auto bus to Phoenix, where the main line is rejoined. This detour is
equally easy in the reverse order for eastbound passengers, who leave
the main line at Phoenix and rejoin it at Bowie. The best features
of this trip may also be seen by a circuit in private conveyance from
Tucson over excellent highways across the highly picturesque Santa
Catalina, Mescal, and Pinal Mountains, up the canyon of the Gila
River to Globe and thence over the Apache Trail to Phoenix (or the
reverse order). The geologic features on this line of travel are espe-
cially interesting. A comprehensive 1-day trip can be made from
Phoenix to the Roosevelt Dam or even to Globe, and return, and in this
trip duplication can be avoided by making the return journey to
Phoenix over a perfect highway crossing the mountains from Miami
to Superior and thence to Phoenix. All these trips eliminate the less
interesting part of the journey, between Bowie and Globe.

From Globe to Phoenix the route is a fine highway following the old
Apache Indian trail across Pinal Mountain, past the Roosevelt Reser-
voir, down the Salt River Canyon, through a very rugged region south
of that river, past Superstition Mountain and across the ‘Salt River
Valley irrigation district. The scenery is most impressive and the
geology is of great interest.

Safford. wide areas of verdant fields of alfalfa, corn, and other

crops,

Elevation 2,923 feet. . «

Population 1,706, Water is also derived from wells and from Merijilda
miles.

Mormon colonists, who had a hard struggle with Indians, floods, and
other difficulties. A large proportion of the present population of the
region, which is about 10,000, consists of descendants of these original

" Named for A. P. K. Safford, governor of the Territory from 1869 to 1877.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 27

A. THE DESERT FROM WHICH THE SALT RIVER VALLEY IRRIGATION DISTRICT
HAS BEEN RECLAIMED
It is covered by cacti —_ oe desert plants and margined by bare rocky mountain slopes.
Note sahuaros in fruit, also cholla at right.

B. IRRIGATING IN SALT RIVER VALLEY

The water is derived from the Salt River and from wells.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 28

A. CLIFF DWELLINGS, TONTO NATIONAL MON UMENT,
2 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ROOSEVELT, ARIZ.

ROOSEVELT DAM AN D RESERVOIR, ARIZ.
ht; Sierra Ancha in distance; ledges of Mescal li
at left.

Apache Trail at rig mestone and overlying strata

SHNIT OLI0OVd NYAHLAOS

113" ae ‘
@
}
as
wan eat
we ree Station |.
. “x GLoBe 43]
7 Miami,
oe ’ Superior f San Carlos
« 3
Geroninie™ *«: Fhanias
ano Band Winkelman
ee la Bend \ 3
ee ii Thatcher Safford
: Tanque
Escala
nie . . 2" Tucson Y Bowie
Vail a Willcox
14 C., .
= Cochise San Simon
ne ne am .

Ficure 51.—Map showing route of Apache Trail, Ariz.

60G

210 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

From Safford northwest the railroad follows the southwest side of
the Gila River, passing through an extensive irrigation district about
the towns of Thatcher, Central, Pima, and Fort Thomas. In this
region are many remains of dwellings and pottery of aborigines who
used the water of the Gila River for irrigation many centuries before
the coming of the white man. To the north is the high ridge of the
Gila Mountains, made up of great flows of lava and deposits of vol-
canic tuff, agglomerate, and ash extending north to the White Moun-
tains, which were the center of eruption of a vast amount of volcanic
matter in Tertiary time. To the west are many high mountains con-
sisting mostly of granite of pre-Cambrian age. About 11 miles north
of Pima are hot springs, probably rising along a fault at the foot of the
Gila Mountains. At Fort Thomas was an old frontier fort. At
Geronimo the route enters the San Carlos Indian Reservation, 55
miles wide and occupied by 2,715 Apache Indians, a district of valley
and mountains with considerable good land along the wide alluvial
flats adjoining the Gila River. The lower part of the valley in the
center of the reservation, however, is flooded by the great San Carlos
Reservoir created by the Coolidge Dam, which is built in a narrow
canyon in the Mescal Mountains. The dam, completed in 1927 at a
cost of $5,500,000, was constructed by the United States Commissioner
of Indian Affairs to control water for the irrigation of the Gila River
Indian Reservation and the adjoining region west of Florence and
about Coolidge, Casa Grande, and Sacaton. According to the records
in the office of the Commissioner the dam, which is of novel construc-
tion, consists of three domes supported by two buttresses, is 250 feet
high and 920 feet long, and has a spillway capacity of 120,000 second-
feet. The reservoir is about 25 miles long and in places 4 miles wide
and has a capacity of about 1,200,000 acre-feet of water. Thisamount
is sufficient to cover 100,000 acres to a depth of 12 feet, which is four
times the volume required for one year’s irrigation in the Casa Grande-
Gila Reservation region. Below the dam is a power plant using two
7,500-horsepower turbines. This dam is barely visible from the rail-
road, which now skirts the north and east margins of the reservoir,
but it is crossed by the highway from Bowie to Globe. At its abut-
ments are fine exposures of eastward-dipping limestones of Carbonif-
erous age.

San Carlos, long known as Rice, is at the confluence of the San
Carlos River and Aliso Creek, two streams which also supply water
Sins Cabten, to the San Carlos Reservoir. On both sides of the
Elevation 2,623 feet, Valley here are lava-capped mesas, and a short dis-
Population 43, tance east is the old volcanic vent known as the
-< Oreans 1449 Triplets. From San Carlos the valley of Aliso Creek
poe is ascended. To the south are the high granite
_ Tidges of Hayes Mountain, capped in part by an extensive succession

a

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 211

Some of the Apache and overlying limestones are exposed in cuts
of the railroad 6 miles west of San Carlos. To the southwest are the
Pinal Mountains (pee-nahl’), consisting of granite and schist and
culminating in Pinal Peak (elevation 7,850 feet).

Passing out of the Indian reservation about 12 miles west of San
Carlos, the railroad crosses the gravel-filled divide between the Gila

and Salt River drainage basins and descends a short

._..._ distance to Globe.
Population 7,187. The old mining town of Globe owes its existence
New Orleans 1,510 and sustenance mainly to the Old Dominion copper
mine, the workings of which extend far under the
hills on the north side of the valley, in the northern part of the town.
This mine has been in operation since 1877, producing a large amount
of copper, much of it from rich ore that has been smelted, as is indi-
cated by the great terrace of black slag near the mine. The ore is

Globe.

wsw. ENE.

ce bine eb

ee ot
or 4 A

S-
Oi
ef gc? \e

3% “3 genet.
iin OS ON cee at

=") Late oleae . Bo Fe
sett ecake «Vertical “zcale
2 Miles 1,000 Feet

t
FIGURE 52.—Secti th ter of Hayes Mountain, southwest of San Carlos, Ariz.

in rocks of the Apache group, especially the Mescal limestone, which
are invaded by large dikes and sills of diabase intruded in molten
condition in pre-Cambrian time. Lying unconformably above the
Apache rocks are sandstone of Cambrian age, limestone of Devonian
and Carboniferous age, and a capping of dacite, a light-gray massive
volcanic rock of Tertiary age that is conspicuous on the slopes near
the mine. The area is traversed by many faults. The mine is very
wet; in 1928 it was necessary to pump 5,000,000 gallons a day.
Part of this water is sold for use at Miami and elsewhere. There
are smaller mines north of Globe which have yielded considerable
copper. Globe was established in 1876 and named from a nearby
mining claim. (See figs. 53, 54.)

Globe is in a region of great archeologic interest, for many remains
of prehistoric structures and implements have been found here, and
on the Healy terrace, on the edge of the city, an old dwelling has been
uncovered.

50 According to the U. S. Bureau of | and silver. Most of the ore is now
Mines the production of ore at this | mined from 2,400 to 2,600 feet below

mine to 1929 was 415,890 tons, aver- | the surface. According to the Mines
aging 2.65 per cent of copper and | Handbook for 1931 this mine paid
yielding about 18,943,000 pounds of | dividends of $14,405,260 from 1905 to
copper, together with considerable gold | 1918 and $2,477,750 from 1919 to 1929.

212 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

From Globe busses convey passengers over the Phoenix highway,
generally known as the Apache Trail. The first conspicuous feature
is a ridge of gravel (old valley fill), which is crossed just south of the
Old Dominion mine. The road passes about 2 miles east of the great

Sw. NE.

Apache Mtn.

FIGURE 53.—Section of region near Globe, Ariz. By Ransome and Darton

copper camp of Miami, where copper is extracted by acid leaching
from altered schists and other rocks that carry the metal in small
percentage. Great piles of tailings of pulverized rock are a con-
spicuous feature. According.to the United States Bureau of Mines,

T- 4 Bie 4
ba
-
i

me PACE By Ae 1,

y ..

‘f
J ba
a
5 a
mah

(2

tof As The
cae .

7) ~ te Rogie tee

SSS "EARS ae
~

lente. ts eestniaceee See hoon
eck Ss SE e EC as
Gila conglomerate “Dacite : | conglomerate Grasats a ry
AND Devenieees AL PCNCAN ARCHEAN "§
Ly Se yy ye . of
Mote ww -=-
Tornado and Martin Apache group Granite Pinal schist Faults
peaetones ° 1 5Miles
FIGURE 54.—Outline geologic map of Globe-Miami mining region, Ariz. By F. L. Ransome
in 1929 this camp produced 166,357,360 pounds of copper from

ae ,067 tons of ore in which the copper content ranged from 0.83
ee ee sca The ore here is predominantly chalcocite; that at
the Old De tinion mine in Globe contains also chalcopyrite, bornite,

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 213

and pyrite. The road descends the valley of Pinal Creek for some
distance past outcrops of dacite lava and rocks of the Apache group
broken by many faults. (See fig. 55.) Beyond the small irrigation
settlement of Wheatfield the north end of the Pinal Mountains is
crossed. This ridge here consists mainly of coarse granite (probably
pre-Cambrian), which to the north is capped by heavy lava flows of
Tertiary age. From the summit, which is in a high saddle (elevation
3,980 feet), there is a fine view of the valleys of the Salt River and
Tonto Creek (tone’ toe), now flooded for many miles by the Roosevelt
Reservoir.

The broad old valley of the Salt River is floored and in part mar-
gined with valley fill consisting mostly of gravel and sand, part of
it bedded, and some fine sediments probably deposited in alake. The
lake deposits are well exposed in badlands north of Roosevelt. As the
road approaches Roosevelt there is a good view of the extensive Tonto
cliff dwellings of aborigines in a deep alcove high in the cliffs about

Barnes Peak
i Mescal limesto
: a Ke Spring quartzite sw
So Lower division)

si Ean: Dripping Spring quartzite
om oat ae aa

—Sill

=
’ _ —
7 oy ii r a ef
ee ae - see fares
- “A; pet” ee ys Opso7 = ti Dit orerit ne ee ore
f af PC TNS Se BS a hl Bs S ss / te’ yao AIA

Bo 500 1 arene Feet
L i

FIGURE 55.—Section showing relations of Apache ee 7 miles northwest of Miami, Ariz. By F.L.
Rans'

2 miles southwest of the road. (See pl. 28, A.) One of them is a
three-storied building, and there are also niaiiae structures, all of
which have been abandoned for many centuries. There are also ruins
of cliff dwellings in the Sierra Ancha, on the north side of the Salt
River Valley. This high range of vides and plateaus consists of a
thick succession of strata of the Apache group invaded by intrusive
sills of diabase, as shown in Figure 56. Certain layers of the Mescal
limestone have been altered to the chrysotile variety of asbestos, .
which has been mined extensively for commercial use. Some of the
refuse heaps at the workings are plainly visible from the road, as
great white streaks high on the mountain slope. The value of this
mineral varies greatly with quality. According to the Bureau of
Mines the prices in 1931 ranged from $10 to $400 a ton.

A short distance beyond the small village of Roosevelt the Roosevelt
Dam (pl. 28, B) is reached. It is built across the entrance of the long,
deep canyon cut through the mountains by the Salt River just below
the confluence of Tonto Creek. The Salt River rises in the mountains

214 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

of eastern Arizona, where there is a moderately large rainfall and much
snow. Its volume varies considerably from year to year; in 1914 the
flow into the reservoir was 629,500 acre-feet, and in 1915 it was
1,440,100 acre-feet (U.S. Bur. Reclamation). Tonto Creek drains an
extensive district north of the reservoir but has a much smaller flow
than the Salt River. The reservoir when full is 15 miles long and
from 2 to 4 miles wide and provides water for the irrigation of the
Mesa-Phoenix region, 70 to 80 miles west of the dam.

This project was one of the early ones of the United States Bureau
of Reclamation. At the time the work was begun in 1903 the region
was inaccessible, so that roads had to be built, a cement mill erected,
and a plant constructed for development of power from a canal taken
out of the Salt River 19 miles above the dam site. Much of the work
_ was done by Apache Indians. (See pl. 29, A.) The dam was com-
pleted in 1911 and dedicated by ex-President Theodore Roosevelt on

oy 7?
Ye

“ i
Horizontal scale
o '

L lL
Vertical scale
500 1000 Feet

FicuRE 56.—Section through Sierra Ancha, 15 miles northeast of Roosevelt, Ariz; d, Dripping
Spring quartzite; b, Barnes conglomerate; p, Pioneer shale; s, Scanlan conglomerate

March 18 of that year. According to the United States Bureau of

Reclamation it is 1,125 feet long and 280 feet high (to the roadway),

with great spillways, in all requiring about 340,000 cubic yards of

masonry. The power plant develops as much as 10,000 kilowatts,

which is transmitted to the Phoenix region on three wires carrying

20 per cent to this capacity and treble the electric power. These
features completely control the Salt River, which formerly wasted
flood waters that caused devastation in the lower country. From

° dams water is let out as needed, and the supply is sufficient for

about $10,000,000.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 215

At the dam are great rock walls exhibiting one of the finest known
sections of the Apache group, which lies on pre-Cambrian granite and
is overlain unconformably by sandstones and limestones of Cambrian,
Devonian, and Carboniferous age. (See fig. 57.) The strata dip
eastward, and the hard quartzites form the crest and east slope of a
high mountain range, the northern part of which is known as the
Mazatzal Mountains (mah-zat-zahl’, Indian word for red rocks).
The river has excavated a canyon nearly half a mile deep across this
range, which has been uplifted since the stream has flowed in its

resent course." The range is a long up-tilted block of the earth’s
crust, west of which the pre-Cambrian rocks occupy a wide area, in
part overlain by Tertiary volcanic rocks.

Below the Roosevelt Dam the road descends the Salt River Canyon
along its south side, crossing a wide area of the old granite that under-

69y ,
SW. = Sonn oy NE:
J
Rh . esther at?)
a Tine (iE

FIGURE 57.—Section at Roosevelt Dam, Ariz.

lies the Apache group near the dam. In places, especially at points a
few miles west of the dam, this granite is invaded by thick dikes of

5t The section begins a short distance | feet. Much of this limestone is
below the dam and extends to the | but some beds contain considerable
quarries southeast of the dam. The | interbedded chert in thin layers, pos-

and the Scanlan conglomerate, the | lies a sheet of lava (basalt), vesicular
basal formation of the Apache group, | in large part, especially at the top and
is clearly exposed on the road as well le.
as in the north wall of the canyon, a | This was a surface lava flow in late
short distance below the dam. The | Apache time. The overlying sand-
Dripping Spring formation, next above, | stone (Cambrian), about 200 feet
is a reddish quartzite, in part slabby, | thick, contains at the base pebbles of
but so hard and compact that it makes | the lava and other rocks, and though
the mountain crests to the north and | conformable in attitude it is separated

the Mescal limestone, which here | which are well exposed in ledges and
attains its maximum thickness of 350 | quarries above the dam,

216 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

diabase that doubtless were feeders of sills in the Apache group,
which probably formerly overlay the granite in this area also. The
sahuaro, or giant cactus, is conspicuous here and in the country to the
west. (See p.179.) The narrow depths of the canyon in this vicinity
are occupied by Apache Lake, a long picturesque reservoir held by the
Horse Mesa Dam, built in 1926 in a tight canyon cut by the Salt
River through the rhyolite at the west end of Horse Mesa, 17 miles
below the Roosevelt Dam. According to the Bureau of Reclamation
the Horse Mesa Dam is 305 feet high (bedrock to top of coping) and
540 feet long. The head of 264 feet gives about 43,000 horsepower.
The lake has a storage capacity of 245,000 acre-feet. The highway
skirts the lake but does not reach the dam.

Six miles below the Roosevelt Dam, where the road climbs onto a
high spur, and at various other points in the next few miles there are
fine views of Apache Lake and its high encompassing cliffs of volcanic
rocks. These rocks belong to the succession that lies in a syncline
constituting the southwest flank of the Mazatzal Mountains, Horse
Mesa, and the highlands south of Apache Lake. (See fig. 58.)

In this region there are many fine views of Four Peaks (elevation
7,645 feet), in the Mazatzal Mountains to the north, and of the

yy =~

et >
Pp EER EES SU SERALTE TSUN a a PAE en Ie Cer
Oe Cr Poor okie sec SMe at oe a Seat \
tal scale : ; Vertical scale
4 Miles ° 500 4500 Feet

wide,

FicURE 58.—Section showing relations of Tertiary voleanic succession 15 miles southwest of
Roosevelt Dam, Ariz. Tr, Rhyolite tuff; Ta, andesite; Agr, granite

ridges capped by Apache or voleanic rocks to the south. The Four

Peaks are also visible from many points westward to Phoenix. The

Mazatzal Mountains contain deposits of quicksilver ore of low quality

but of considerable extent which may prove to be of economic impor-

tance. They are in schists of pre-Cambrian age.”

About 14 miles below the Roosevelt Dam the highway crosses &
low divide, leaving the Salt River Valley, and passes into the valley
of a branch of Fish Creek. Here in a short distance the granite is
hidden by the volcanic succession just mentioned, of which the lower
_ members (andesite or latite) are dark gray to bright red. These are

_ overlain by a 2,000-foot succession of light-colored tuffs, agglomerates,
and lava flows (largely rhyolite), most of which are so hard and mas-
sive that they present huge cliffs. These are especially prominent on

h Creek, as shown in Plate 30, and in the canyon of the Salt River,

, F.L., U. 8. Geol. Survey Bull. 620, pp. 111-128, 1916.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 24

A. ENCAMPMENT OF APACHE INDIANS ON BANK OF ROOSEVELT RESERVOIR
These Indians did much of the construction work on the d

am and the Apache Trail. Sierra
Ancha in distances

B. VIEW ACROSS CANYON LAKE pithy CANYON OF SALT RIVER, 35 MILES EAST
OF PHOENIX, ARIZ.

Apache Trail in foreground; Four Peaks (Mazatzal Mountains) in distance. The cliffs are vol-
j sate i canic tuff,

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 30

VIEW UP CANYON OF FISH CREEK AT CROSSING OF APACHE TRAIL, 40 MILES
EAST OF PHOENIX, ARIZ.
Cliffs of volcanic tuff,

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 31

A. BLOSSOMS OF PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS (NOPAL), SALT RIVER VALLEY NEAR
PHOENIX, ARIZ

ea

B. SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN, ARIZ.

From point near Apache Trail, 28 miles eas ,0enix, lookir Ocotillo on right; giant
cactus tn in center, oan ri lt Se and wine aie a ‘aa ssert plants

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 82

- MONTEZUMA FACE, NORTHEAST OF HYDER SIDING, ARIZ.
A remarkable profile on th

B. NORTHERN PART OF MOHAWK MOUNTAINS, ARIZ.

Consisting of sandstone, shale, and conglomerate of kaa age, steeply tilted, Looking
south-southeast. (E. D, Wilson.)

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES AAT

both of which have cut deeply into them. There are fine exposures of
these rocks on the ascent on the west side of Fish Creek, where the
road climbs nearly 800 feet to gain the summit of the principal massive
member, and also on the wide upland westward, which the road trav-
erses on the divide between Fish Creek and Tortilla Creek. In a
cavern called Hip Pocket, on the slopes near Fish Creek, American
troops under General Crook cornered a band of outlaw Apaches and
destroyed them all, in part by rolling stones onto them from the cliffs
under which they were hiding.

As shown in Figure 58, the principal structural] feature in this
vicinity is a shallow syncline, which is plainly visible along the road
for a long distance west. Tortilla Creek exposes the dark basal mem-
ber of the succession. Mormon Flat, the lower part of the valley of
this creek, at its junction with the Salt River, is flooded by the
reservoir known as Canyon Lake (pl. 29, B), which is held by a dam
built in 1923-1925 in a bend of the Salt River just below Tortilla
Creek. The river enters the reservoir through a gap near the lower
end of the wide portion of the lake. The dam is 350 feet long and
229 feet high above bedrock, which lies about 70 feet below the bed
of the river. It cost about $1,257,000, and the power plant, which
develops 10,000 horsepower, an additional $500,000

The Stewart Mountain Dam, holding the Sahuaro Reservoir, is 10
miles below the Mormon Flat Dam and 7 miles north of the Apache
Trail, in a narrow part of the Salt River Canyon where the river passes
through walls of granite. It is 210 feet high above bedrock and cost
$2,300,000 for the dam and a power system of 17,500 horsepower.
The storage capacity is about 70,000 acre-feet.

From Canyon Lake the road climbs rapidly to a divide consisting of
the rhyolite tuffs and lavas of the volcanic succession, dipping north
at moderate angles and showing many details of the relations of
various lava flows and tuff accumulations. At many places the old
Apache Indian trail is visible near the road. Not far beyond the
summit in Apache Gap, Superstition Mountain comes into view, a
huge pile of the same volcanic succession just crossed by the road but
lying nearly horizontal and on a base of granite, which is revealed at
a few points, (See pl. 31, B.) The precipitous west front of this
mountain is skirted by heer highway to and beyond the old Goldfield

camp, which has produced considerable ore. Superstition
Mountain is a famous subject for photographers and painters and
probably appears in more pictures than any other mountain in the
West. In the foreground are usually shown the sahuaro, cholla, and
some other cacti and desert plants which are conspicuous in this region.
A short distance north of Superstition Mountain and visible from
points near Goldfield is Weavers Needle, a sharp peak of voleanic rock.
In this vicinity was the Lost Dutchman mine, reported to have had
wonderful richness. Many futile attempts have been made to find it.

152109°—33——15

218 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Five miles from Goldfield is Apache Junction, where the highway
from Florence and Tucson joins the Apache Trail, and from this point
a nearly due west course is taken to Phoenix. On the way are passed
several hills and ridges, consisting of granite or schist, rising abruptly
out of the desert, which here is a wide plain of alluvium irrigated by
water from the Salt River.

MAIN LINE, PHOENIX TO WELLTON, ARIZ.

West from Phoenix the railroad follows the wide Salt River, with
its highly cultivated district of irrigated fields, through Fowler,
Cowden, and Cashion sidings and the town of Tolle-

son. At Cashion is a large power plant made
ou ae feet conspicuous by its high stacks. In this district
ew Orleans 1,631 alfalfa, cantaloupes, head lettuce, and cotton are
pst the principal products, and many cattle are pastured.

Near Litchfield the route crosses the Agua Fria River (ah’gwa
free’ah, Spanish for cold water), a stream that drains a mountain
Litchfield region of volcanic rocks, schists, etc., to the north

: in which considerable mining is dons: Southeast of
eck ne Litchfield is the junction of the Salt and Gila Rivers
New Orleans 1,636 near the north end of the Sierra Estrella (es-tray’ya),

eas a high and exceptionally rugged range of schist that
extends far southward. A short distance farther east, the Santa
Cruz River, when flowing, empties into the Gila River. Litchfield,
Norton, and Liberty are small settlements where a considerable
area of desert land has been reclaimed by irrigation. (Turn to sheet
24.) West of Liberty, however, there is a zone about 4 miles wide
in which the soil appears to be too much mineralized for agriculture.

At Buckeye, on the north side of the Gila River, wide fields of
alfalfa, cotton, grains, and other crops are irrigated by a canal from
thaaice the Gila near the mouth of the Agua Fria. Alfalfa

ye. : : : ,

seed is an important product. The canal is 20 miles

Population 1077, long and provides water for nearly 20,000 acres.
pacts Orleans 1,651 Considerable water also is pumped from the under-
flow from the Gila River, some of the wells yielding

200 gallons a minute. An irrigation district on the south side of
the valley uses water pumped from the Gila River. North of Buckeye
are the rocky slopes of the White Tank Mountains, which consist of
light-colored massive schists and granite cut by small dikes of pegma-
bie , diabase, and other igneous rocks. A few remnants of lava have

*

Tolleson.

in this range.

The Buckeye Hills, south of Buckeye, are irregular buttes and hills
= of granite and schist, part of a wide area of pre-Cambrian rocks
oe an extensive land surface that probably persisted

1 in 1929; named for Na Gitolerm ene of the original settlers.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 219
through most of Paleozoic and later time. Granite appears near the
river bank southeast of Liberty and Buckeye. West of Buckeye the
railroad continues along the north side of the Gila Valley, passing
through several sidings used to some extent as shipping points for
the many ranches in the district, most of them sustained by irriga-
tion. Just beyond Hassayampa siding the creek of that name is
crossed. It drains an area of moderate extent in the northern part
of Maricopa County. There is a legend widely quoted in Arizona
that the veracity of persons who have quenched their thiest with the
water of Hassayampa Creek can never be relied on. Thirty miles
to the north is the Vulture mine, on the south slope of the Vulture
Mountains, which for a time was a notable producer of silver. The
famous Vulture lode, discovered in 1863, yielded ore containing more
than $4,000,000 in gold (Yearbook of Arizona, 1930).

Not far beyond Hassayampa, near Dixie siding, there are small
areas of recent lava, and Robbins Butte and Powers Butte, on the
south bank of the Gila River, are conspicuous remnants of lava. In
Powers Butte the lava caps sandstone, probably of Tertiary age.
Here the Gila River bends sharply southward around the west end
of the Buckeye Hills, but the railroad takes a southwesterly course.
Near Arli n there is a small irrigation district using river water.
Alfalfa is the principal crop, and most of it is used to feed cattle.
Five miles south of Powers Butte, at a point where the valley is
greatly narrowed by a lava flow,® the Gillespie Dam impounds the
river water. This dam, built by F. A. Gillespie in 1921, is a concrete
structure 1,800 feet long which conserves water for the irrigation of
about 100,000 acres below Gila Bend, including the Indian reserva-
tion that occupies a long strip of bottom lands northwest of the town.
The geologic relations at this dam are shown in F igure 59,

From Arlington the railroad descends into the broad valley of
Centennial Draw, so named because it is about 100 miles in length
from the most remote portion of the basin which it drains. The

* The Vulture Mountains consist of
volcanic rocks of Tertiary age lying on
pre-Cambrian schists cut by granites
and other igneous rocks.

55 The lava that occupies the plain
west of the Gillespie Dam is relatively
recent and no doubt blocked the valley
for a while and caused a temporary
lake. Indistinet terraces in the Arling-
ton Valley, especially on the edge of
the basalt hills north of Arlington
village, seem to indicate that the lake
extended to that place. Probably at
that time most of the water of the Gila
River escaped westward through the

pass in the Gila Bend Mountains.
Terraces leading into the pass were
doubtless formed then, for they could
not have been developed by
stream now heading in the pass.

Gila River was probably also dammed
by the lava flow north of Sentinel, for
the present channel is in a gap cut
through the lava. The west end of the

Tint We:

of andesitie lava interbedded in sandy
shales and conglomerate of Tertiary
age. The conglomerate carries angu-
lar pebbles as much as 6 inches in
length.

220 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

lower part of its course is through a thicket of mesquite. The route
continues southwestward on an upgrade of about 200 feet to a pass
through the Gila Bend Mountains, thus avoiding the big bend of the
Gila River. On this grade there are fine views to the northwest
showing very prominent buttes, peaks, and ridges of volcanic rocks
rising steeply from wide desert valleys. The most conspicuous of
these is Saddle Mountain, more than 2,000 feet high, which takes its
name from a deep saddle-shaped depression in its top. These features
mark a center of great volcanic activity in Tertiary time, with the
outpouring of thick sheets of lava and a large amount of ash and tuff.
The sheets of these materials have been gently tilted and flexed and
considerably faulted, and erosion has cut wide valleys that isolate
the ridges. In Saddle Mountain the beds are broken by many faults.
sw. NE.

Gila Bend Mts.
Buckeye
i

NI "F
Ad by
er,

° es
ype

Ficure 59.—Section across the valley of the Gila River at Gillespie Dam, Ariz. After C. P. Ross.
Ql, Quaternary lava; Tl, Tertiary lava; Ts, Tertiary sandstone; Agr, granite

The rocks underlying this region are granite and schist of pre-Cam-
brian age which present a rolling surface under the volcanic deposits.

West of Crag the railroad reaches outcrops of lavas and other
volcanic rocks which are extensively displayed in the pass at the
divide near Harqua and in many surrounding ridges.

In this desolate region the desert flora is well represented by various
cacti, including scattered sahuaros, many covilleas, and much palo-
verde and mesquite, the last named being most conspicuous along the
dry washes. The volcanic succession has great thickness in the prom-
inent flat-topped Woolsey Peak,” which is conspicuous to the south at
intervals from Crag to Gillespie. Cimmerian Peak is the highest point

58 According to C. P. Ross the rocks | which lie just east of Saddle Mountain,
in Saddle Mountain consist of fine- | consist mostly of the younger basalt,

of fragmental rocks, mostly volcanic | pioneer settler on the Gila River who

agglomerates and breccias. Some of | engineered the ‘Pinole treaty,” in

the rounded forms and hollows appear | which many Indians, invited to come
to be due to a disposition to curved | unarmed to a feast and council, were
_ exfoliation and not the result of solu- | treacherously set upon and slaughtered
_ tion or erosion. The Palo Verde Hills, | by their host and his friends.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 221

on a prominent serrated ridge which extends to July 4 Butte and
probably marks a great igneous dike. The old mail road from Phoenix
to Yuma crossed these mountains in a pass between Cimmerian and
Woolsey Peaks and, descending Woolsey Arroyo, reached the bank
of the Gila River at Agua Caliente (ca-liane’ tay). It passed Woolsey
Well, formerly a favorite camping place, about 3 miles west of Woolsey

eak, where some interesting geologic features are exposed. The
basement lavas are overlain by conglomerate and sandstone of Ter-
tiary age, tilted gently to the west. These rocks are capped by a
sheet of basalt and intersected by several dikes and sills of basalt.
Some of the boulders in the conglomerate are from 1 to 3 feet in
diameter.

About 2 miles northwest of Gillespie is the Old Dixie mine, where
shale and andesitic agglomerate are cut by quartz monzonite por-
phyry that was probably intruded in Tertiary time.

ix~ =~
eae RS are ota 1 =s

tr FP FueX, ete fe Se ie =~
Fagg oy iy) ‘Cagev!s AS ANSINITE
ER Pe ee if FI eS

a
ae
‘

ges
SIN eS TCO

FIGURE 60.—Section in Yellow Medicine Butte and adjoining mountai
Arizona. Tb, basalt; Te, conglomerate; Tt, light tuff; Ta, andesite, etc.;
Agr, granite
On approaching Harqua siding the railroad passes through cuts of
granite in a small exposure in the midst of the volcanic succession.
From the divide at Harqua siding there is a rapid
Harqua. descent into the wide alluvial flat of Quail Spring
Po gana ag ~~ Wash. To the north from a point near Saddle siding
miles. "there is an excellent view of Yellow Medicine Butte,
which consists of a high southward-sloping cuesta of
basalt capping a thick mass of tuffs. A fault traverses this cuesta,
breaking it into two portions. This succession and the basement of
granite on which it lies is general throughout the region, notably in
the Montezuma Cuesta and its companion to the south; in Columbus
Peak, where the dip is 20°; and in the Agua Caliente Mountains.
The relations are shown in Figure 60.

Beyond Papago siding a gap leads between basalt-capped mesas.
Passing Montezuma and Camel sidings the lowlands on the north
side of the Gila River are entered. To the north is a fine view of a
feature known as Montezuma Face, which, as shown in Plate 32, A,
presents a remarkably natural face profile looking upward,

222 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

At Hyder the railroad passes north of the basalt-capped mesas
known as the Agua Caliente Mountains, the slopes of which are
fyaer: covered with talus. A big dike in the hill just north

: of the railroad extends southward under the northern-
Elevation 536 feet.
Population 20.* most of these mesas. At the south end of these mesas
sate! *ieae 1,704 are the warm springs at Agua Caliente (Spanish for

: hot water), where a health resort has been established
to utilize the water. The priest-explorer Sedelmaier visited them in
1748, and Garcés and Font mention them in their diaries of the Anza
expedition of 1775. For a long time Agua Caliente was a station on
the old stage road that crossed the mountains near Woolsey Well.

Sahuaros occur on the plains and hillsides aes to Athel siding,
together with widely spaced bushes, mainly Covil

At Athel siding the sharp peaks of Pass ae a group of
volcanic buttes 8 miles to the north, are seen, and northwest of Athel
and north from Horn to Kofa (turn to sheet 25) the Palomas Mountains
are conspicuous. These mountains consist of a cap of basalt on a
thick deposit of volcanic tuff and ash, which lies on and against gran-
ite that constitutes the western range of the mountains.

From Horn to Growler siding and beyond the desert plain is cov-
ered with low sand dunes. In this vicinity the railroad approaches
the north bank of the Gila River in the midst of a

H : Ses ; :

— wide desert plain into which the river has cut a broad
Elevation 468 feet. a
Populat inner trench about 50 feet deep. The stream me-

oe Orleans 1,714 anders widely in this alluvial flat, and for many miles
the south bank of the trench presents a long line of
northward-facing cliffs of sand, loam, and gravel. The region is arid,
with an annual rainfall of less than 5 inches in the lowlands, and
consequently vegetation is very sparse. Yet there are scattered
cattle ranches and goat or sheep outfits, and in seasons of average rain-
fall and where drinking water is nfovided the stock business has
prospered. The river is one good source of supply, and in the ad-
joining region water is obtained from widely scattered wells, mostly
of considerable depth and yielding only a moderate volume. In the
mountains of the general region there has been a small amount of
mining or prospecting, but the results do not appear to have been

_ satisfactory.

At Burger siding Texas Hill is visible to the south, evidently a
feeder for a small flow of basalt. The Anza-Garcés expedition, which
followed the north bank of the river for a few miles, camped at the
foot of this hill on the night of November 16, 1775. Signal Butte,
northwest of Growler, is of similar eae In this vicinity the
Mohawk Mountains (p. 232) are a prominent feature to the south.

2) About 30 miles to the north the steep western front of the Kofa

: Mountains i is is paca At its foot were the King of Arizona,

U. 8S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 24

ag 13
301

EXPLANATION

A Sand, gravel,and clay (valley fill) Quaternary

B Lava and other rocks of volcanic origin Tertiary to Recent

C Schist (not everywhere separated) ] piCiabhin
D Granite f al
ey
Geology by N. H. Darton C. Lausen,
E. D. Wilson, and C. P. Ross
B
Columbus Pko) Ly ((C
Aug)
Son __

(G7 Pass Mtn
Ces Montezuma
Ox EL E03
NE ap, SE
a VY 70 a4
pe ees
amel
J i620? EL 549 ke:
ie 1
ies deres3e
Pua Caliente
EL SO. SS :
“719 MAthel
Fis
: /
N
+s Vee ad)
3} ATFs
Dl Paid a
” vj alamas

—-<2r7-
-

erase “Oe

eed f fi

Xe

© ee GILLESPIE DAM

i Py
SSS. ae

{
Scale 500,000
linch=8 miles (approximately)
os 19 15 _____20 MILES

Each quadrangle sh on the map with a name in parentheses
in the lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. 8. G. 8.
topographic map of that name

Oo bod 10 15 20 KILOMETERS
Contour interval 200 feet
in 1s mean sea level
The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every
10 miles, and the ti drawn 1 mile a

3

L
12°30"

Topography by N. H. Darton, C. Lausen, and E. D. Wilson

arn errant ne ine vasa
WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO. WASH. D.C

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 223

North Star, and other gold mines, which at one time, it is claimed,
yielded nearly $5,000,000 in gold and silver, much of it from very
high grade ore, some of which assayed as high as $20,000 a ton (Year-
book of Arizona, 1930). The ore bodies were in veins in voleanic
rocks (andesites) of Tertiary age. ;

North from Tyson siding the peaks of the south end of the Castle
Dome Mountains are conspicuous. They consist of a central core
of schist, heavily flanked by lavas of Tertiary age. Far to the north
may be seen the culminating summit, Castle Dome Peak, which is a
prominent landmark in a region of wide extent, This peak was
called Bauquiburi by the Indians and was often referred to in the
narratives of early travel as the Cabeza del Gigante (ca-bay’sa del
he-gahn’tay, Spanish for head of the giant). There are mines near
its base on the west slope of the range.

South of Roll the prominent, sharp Baker Peaks are in view south
of the Gila River, and beyond them the rugged crest of the Copper
Roll. Mountains. Roll is a small settlement sustained by
Elevation 265 feet, UTigation, using water pumped from sand and gravel
Population 40.* holding underflow from the river. To the west are

eans 745 the prominent Muggins Mountains, and to the north

the west side of the Castle Dome Mountains is con-

spicuous. The wide river terraces to the west are deeply trenched by
ar;royos.

Just west of Roll the railroad line bends southwestward toward the
Gila River, which is crossed at the north end of Antelope Hill, as
shown in Plate 33, B. This hill is composed of light-colored arkose
and arkosic sandstone supposed to be of Tertiary age, of which about
500 feet is exposed, dipping to the south at a low angle. Other ex-
posures of the same rock constitute the north end of the Mohawk
Mountains, as shown in Plate 32, B, the two knobs a mile southwest
_of Ming siding, and the Baker Peaks, southeast of Ming. The rock
is quarried extensively at two places near the river.

After crossing the Gila River the railroad turns to the south-
southwest and, rising onto the wide upland terrace, here 50 feet above
the river flat, joins the old main line at Wellton.

Wellton is a local trading settlement for the cattle and irrigation
industry and a headquarters for mining interests of the surrounding
‘elie. country. There is considerable irrigation near by and
Elevation 258 fer, 10F & few miles west from wells and from ditches taken
Population 80.* out of the Gila River. The village is situated on a
New Orleans 1,755 wide desert plain 2 or 3 miles south of the river.
ot igh mountains are visible on all sides. To the north
are the Muggins Mountains, an irregular series of high ridges of
Tertiary volcanic rocks heavily flanked to the east and south by
conglomerates and other strata of later Tertiary age. Farther north

224 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

are the high pinnacles and ridges of the Castle Dome Mountains.
To the west are the lofty Gila Mountains, consisting of granite and
schist; to the south are many low ridges of schist, making the Wellton
Hills; and to the southeast the Baker Peaks and the Copper Moun-
tains, referred to above. To the north is an irrigated district of
considerable size which is closely approached by the railroad near
Adonde siding.

OLD MAIN LINE, PICACHO TO WELLTON, ARIZ.

Until 1928 the trains of the Southern Pacific lines continued north-
westward from Picacho to Wellton via Maricopa, where there is a
branch to Phoenix. Now most passenger trains pass over a new
line northward from Picacho to Phoenix and thence down the north
side of the Gila Valley to join the old line at Wellton, as just described.
The old line from Picacho to Wellton is described below

Near Eloy siding (see sheet 23, p. 206) an irrigation dutviak which
extends to Casa Grande is baterad. Cotton and alfalfa are the

Eloy principal crops, together with melons, figs, and a fine
variety of head lettuce for which the soil and climate

Elevation 1,566 feet. & ¢ °

Population 13. seem particularly suitable. The lettuce is ready for

New Orleans 1,49 shipment in November, before it is available from
miles. . . e ° ‘

competing districts. The water is brought by ditches

from the Gila River near Florence, and considerable water is also

pumped from wells in the valley fill using electricity as an eco-
nomical source of power

About midway between Toltec siding and Casa Grande the railroad

passes north of the Casa Grande Mountains, a group of rugged peaks

hele of pre-Cambrian schist. Three miles to the northeast
are the Three Peaks, which consist of granite. About

Elevati

ac 15 miles southwest of Toltee are the conspicuous

ea Orleans 1,55 Sawtooth Mountains, which consist of lavas of
Tertiary age. :

Casa Grande is on a broad, smooth plain of sand and loam (valley
fill), in which the slope of the land is scarcely perceptible. The
Casa Grande. |™ean annual rainfall is about 6% inches. About 18
ES miles northeast of Casa Grande station are the ruins
Population 1,351. Of the prehistoric houses of Casa Grande, which are
ee | near the railroad on the main line from Picacho to

Phoenix. (See p. 197.) Nine miles south of Casa

Grande is the Papago Indian village of Chiu-Chiuschu (population

349), where there is a school and a pumping plant to obtain water

for irrigation. Many detached mountains and packy buttes are
yeible.) in all directions from Casa Grande and vicinity.®

. _ About 15 miles a south are the | interesting succession of Paleozoic rocks

comprising Bolsa quartzite and Abrigo
limestone (Combrian) and Martin

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 225

The low range of buttes rising abruptly from the plain a few miles
north of Casa Grande and extending thence westward are the Sacaton
Mountains, which consist of massive light-colored granite (mica
diorite). There is a small knob of this material 3 miles northeast of
Nufiez siding, and it appears in many of the ranges to the north and
west. It is an intrusive rock which has been forced up in molten
condition through the old schist in pre-Cambrian time.

At the small station of Maricopa is the branch’ line to which
formerly passengers for Phoenix were transferred. Now, however,
as explained on page 224, most of the trains go directly
to Phoenix from Picacho. Maricopa is situated on a
broad desert plain not far from the Santa Rosa Wash
— Orleans 85 and the Santa Cruz River, both of which are generally

dry. In this vicinity clierd is a small amount of
irrigation by water pumped from wells. Many mountains rise
abruptly from this plain, the Sierra Estrella to the north and the
Palo Verde Mountains to the west, which are continued southward
by various ridges of schist and granite to the high Table Top Moun-
tains, 25 miles south of Maricopa. This range, which does not appear
distant, culminates in a flat-topped peak that has an elevation of
nearly 4,000 feet and consists of a cap of basalt presenting steep
cliffs on all sides. Some distance northwest is the steep conical
summit known as Antelope Peak, composed of a sheet of lava dipping
at a steep angle. Below these lavas are granites and schists rising
to an irregular plane which in Tertiary time was a general surface on
which the lavas were poured out. Subsequent uplift, tilting, and
erosion have left the remnants of the lava flows perched high above
the general desert level, a feature which is general in a large part of
southwestern Arizona.

West of Maricopa the railroad ascends slightly to reach at Enid
siding the wide pass between the Sierra Estrella on the north and the
Palo Verde Mountains on the south. The Sierra Estrella is a very
prominent range which extends 25 miles north to the mouth of the
Salt River, with an average width of 3 miles and a maximum height
of about 3,000 feet above the plain. Montezumas Head, at the south
end, has an elevation of 2,406 feet. The siorthéastery front of the
range is very steep and rugged up to about 2,000 feet, where some
of the canyons open into valleys. The range consists mainly of
schist, but this rock is invaded by large intrusive masses of granite,
one of which at the south end extends nearly to the railroad. A

Maricopa.
ee 1,175 feet.
mn 30.*

(Devonian) and Carboniferous lime- | brian . The overlying limestones
stones. The Abrigo beds at this place | (Martin) carry abundant Upper Devo-
consist of slabby brown sandstones, in | nian fossils that indicate an extension
part glauconitic (greensand), with | of the sea waters of Paleozoic time over
brown and gray shales. They contain | much of western Arizona.

worm markings and lingulas of Cam-

*

226 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

granite aplite intrusion occupies an area of 5 or 6 square miles between
North Peak and the Webb mine. Dikes of coarse granite and diabase
also occur.

The Palo Verde Mountains, south of the gap at Enid, consist of
schist and are part of a line of ranges extending south through the
Vekol® and Cimarron Mountains. They are about 800 feet high,
deeply canyoned, and possibly bounded by a fault at their steep
northeast end. - In the pass between the Palo Verde and Table Top
Mountains, the range next south, there are ledges of Tertiary arkosic
conglomerate interbedded with basalt flows, the lowest of which
rests on granite. The beds dip 14° SW. Some of the boulders,
which are granite, are 6 to 8 feet in diameter.

The wide plain of the Estrella Desert is crossed west of Enid to
reach a low pass through the northern part of the Maricopa Moun-
tains. This pass is drained by Waterman Draw, and wells in the
valley fill near this draw have obtained sufficient water for cattle,
which find sparse pasturage in the valley and adjacent slopes. The
divide is just east of Estrella siding (elevation 1,523 feet), where there
is a wide gap floored with gravel and sand between high granite
ridges. Wells drilled in the valley fill at Mobile siding (452 feet
deep), at Ocapos siding (541 feet deep), and at Estrella found water
which rose high in the borings but was insufficient in quantity for
locomotive use. It was through this pass that Padre Garcés traveled
in 1775 on the way to Yuma, and he called it Puerto de los Coco-
maricopas. (See p. 194.)

Beyond the Estrella divide (see sheet 24) the railroad descends to
Ocapos siding in a wide valley with walls of granite. The Maricopa
Mountains consist mostly of this rock, with a minor amount of
schist. The east slope of this range north of Estrella has at its foot
a moderately wide pediment or slope of nearly bare rock, trenched but
slightly by streams. Atone place this pediment is surmounted by a hill
of gravel capped by a remnant of a basalt sheet tilted to the east, which
indicates uplift since the extrusion of the lava. On the west side of
the mountains and in the pass there is a thick mantle of valley fill.

* South of the Table Top Mountains, { erate like the Barnes. An overlying
about 45 miles south of Maricopa, are | quartzite like the Dripping Spring
the Vekol Mountains, which are of | quartzite is penetrated by thick sills of
ii eee interest, for they contain | dark-green diabase. Next above are
only a succession of Paleozoic | rusty sandy shales grading up into thin-
limestones including some strata of finds

| bedded limestone containing Upper
|} Cambrian fossils, undoubtedly the
Abrigo limestone. The higher lime-
stone in an adjoining ridge carries a
remarkable fauna of minute fossils,

= and gastro-
pods, of about 25 species of late

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 227

South of Bosque siding are the Sand Tank Mountains, which
consist of a long, high ridge of schist and granite and a high, wide tab-
ular mesa of volcanic rocks in a succession nearly 2,000 feet thick.
This region was a center of great volcanic activity in Tertiary time,
when widespread sheets of lava were poured out over the land. These
have since been uplifted, tilted, faulted, and greatly eroded.

Gila Bend is a town sustained by cattle, irrigation, and mini
interests and is the headquarters for the Gila Bend Indian Reserva-
tion, near by, where there is a colony of about 224

Gila Bend. : : = .
ppt Papago Indians. The climate is very dry, with a
Popaktinso - Mean annual precipitation of only 6 inches. A branch

New Orleans 1,627 railroad connects Gila Bend with Ajo (ah’ho, Spanish
get for garlic), 30 miles to the southwest, a copper-mining
town which has a population of 3,003. Copper has been mined at
Ajo since 1855, mainly from the Cornelia mine. Most of the ore
carries less than 1 per cent of copper, but it is easily worked and
occurs in large amount. The ores are mainly disseminated in monzo-
nite porphyry and a small amount is disseminated in veins in rhyolite
and tuff, into which the porphyry is intruded. It is estimated that
40,000,000 tons of ore is available. There are also dikes of diorite
and later porphyry, all presumably of Tertiary age. In 1929 a
total of 3,582,000 tons of ore containing from 1 to 1% per cent of
copper was treated.

South of Gila Bend are the Sauceda Mountains, a high range con-
sisting mainly of a thick succession of Tertiary volcanic rocks of which
the latest member is basalt. Hat Mountain, a prominent landmark
25 miles south of Gila Bend, has a cap of this basalt, a remnant of a
lava flow of Tertiary time.

Gila Bend is in the broad valley of the Gila River, which in making
its huge bend southward around the Gila Bend Mountains approaches
within 4 miles of the town. In this region the river is a wide water-
course which ordinarily carries only a small flow. It was in this

icinity that Padre Kino found a prosperous Opa (Maricopa) Indian
rancherfa in 1699, and it was visited in 1774 by Anza and Garcés, who
called it the Pueblo de los Santos Apéstoles San Simén y Judas.
There were other rancherias along the river at which the Indians were
raising two crops of grain a year by irrigation with river water. This
was the farthest east that the Maricopa Indians had advanced up th
river, but they have since moved to the region southeast of Phoenix.

® At the Sand Tanks, a watering
place in these mountains 23 miles south-
east of Gila Bend, the water is found in
holes eroded in a conglomerate of Ter-
tiary age which dips 20° N. This rock
lies on granite gneiss and consists most-
ly of tuffs and sandy tuffs containing

pebbles of granite, schist, and volcanic
rocks of various kinds. ists i
the central ridge are mostly chloritie,
and there are many transitions from
schist to gneiss. Fine-grained biotite
granite and phyllite also occur.

228 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

The valley fill here is thick, for borings 1,530 to 1,730 feet deep, for
water, appear not to have reached bedrock, unless “hard beds” in
the lower 550 feet are Tertiary or Cretaceous. In the surrounding
region there is a succession of older beds of gravel and sand ® which
are mostly tilted and in places faulted. They are overlapped uncon-
formably by the later sand and gravel that floor the valley. There
are excellent exposures of these relations on the slopes of the Gila
Bend Mountains near Woolsey Well, 15 miles northwest of Gila Bend,
and farther west at the north end of the Gila Bend Mountains west
of Dome.

As the Gila Valley below Mesa is filled with a thick mass of alluvium
underlain in part by sandstone of Tertiary age, it is evident that the
region was 1,000 feet or more higher when the valley was being ex-
cavated than it is now, and it has sunk to its present level as the
younger formations were deposited. Possibly this loading was the
cause of the sinking, but more likely it was due to some widespread
crustal movement. A notable feature revealed by the logs of deep
borings in the valley is a deposit of clay of wide extent, with a maxi-
mum thickness of 860 feet at Gila Bend. This clay must have been
deposited in quiet waters, such as those of a lake or estuary that
continued for a long period of time. The deposition of clay was
followed by the accumulation of coarser material spread by streams,
and since that time terraces higher than the present bottom lands
have been developed. In places these later deposits were flooded by
lavas, through which the present river trench has been excavated
nearly 100 feet. From the historical record the Gila River channel
has changed materially in a century or less. When it was originally
discovered there was a well-defined channel with hard banks sustain-
ing cottonwoods and other trees and plants. The current was swift
and deep in places, so that the stream could be navigated by flat
boats of moderate size, and it contained sufficient fish to be relied
upon as food for many Indians. It was reported also that the water
was clear and sea-green, very different from the present muddy stream.
Now the Gila River is depositing sediment in its lower part, and its
braided course follows many narrow sand-clogged channels. Possibly
these changes may be due partly to diverting and damming the water
and to an increase of silt caused by the removal of forest and increased
grazing in the higher region.

Irrigation has been practiced in this region for a very long time,
for old Indian ditches are found near the Painted Rock Mountains
below Gila Bend and at other places along the river flats. Irrigation
was again started in a small way by settlers who came soon after the
_ eas Sing a per ae Na aes and enh:

% These older beds are in general cor-
Telated with the Temple Bar conglom-
ae _ erate of Lee and the Gila conglomerate

of Gilbert. In places they include lava
flows (basalt) which are tilted and

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 229

bimonthly stage line between San Antonio and San Diego was estab-
lished in 1857. The area under cultivation was small, but it was
increased somewhat in the early seventies, and continued intermittently
until 1905, when a heavy flood destroyed most of the canals. Some of
these canals have since been restored and new ones developed, but
the principal enterprise now in operation is the utilization of water
held by the Gillespie Dam, 20 miles north of Gila Bend. (See p. 219.)
The lower Gila River Valley figures prominently in the chronicles
of many of the early explorers of Pimeria Alta. When Kino explored
this valley in 1699 and 1700 and Garcés in 1771 and later, they found
many Indian rancherias and some irrigation, but the adjoining region
was so inhospitable that it supported only a meager population. The
Pimas and some Papagos dwelt on the banks of the Gila near the
mouth of the Salt River, and these streams furnished water for con-
siderable irrigation. The Maricopas, who were of Yuman stock,
moved gradually up the Gila Valley, pausing at Gila Bend in Garcés’
time and finally reaching the Phoenix region, where many now reside
with the Pimas. The Yavapais or Apache-Mojaves lived in part in
the region between the Colorado and Gila Rivers. In early days
they were friendly to the whites, but after suffering various injustices
they went on the warpath in 1868 and were troublesome for several
years. Oatman Flat, on the Gila River a few miles northwest of
Gila Bend, was the scene of an Apache attack in 1851, in which an
emigrant named Oatman and his family were killed, except a young
son who escaped and two daughters who were carried off. The girls
were sold as slaves to some Mojave Indians, and one who survived
was ransomed seven years later. This case attracted much attention
and was the subject of a narrative ® that had a large circulation.
North and northwest of Gila Bend the Gila Riverresumes its westerly
course. The steep Gila Bend Mountains, which are in sight from the
railroad for many miles, consist largely of granite with a thick succession
of Tertiary volcanic rocks overlapping it on the west. These younger
rocks are thick in Woolsey Peak in the center of the range, which is
made up of light-colored lavas and some fragmental volcanic rocks.
On the western extension of the range these rocks are capped by a
thick sheet of dark-colored basalt, constituting prominent mesas.
One of the highest and most extensive of these mesas is called Yellow
Medicine Butte. About 14 miles north of Piedra station a large
basalt-covered cuesta extends with a long slope to the Gila River,
which swings north in order to pass between it and the north end of
the Painted Rock Mountains. The railroad, on the other hand, passes
near the south end of these mountains, near Piedra and Tartron
sidings. The Painted Rock Mountains consist of lavas of Tertiary

® Stratton, R. B., Captivity of the | massacre of the Oatman family in 1851,
Oatman girls and an account of the | San Francisco, 1857; New York, 1858.

~

230 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

age, capped in part by basalt, tilted, faulted, and considerably eroded.
The name is derived from Indian pictographs on bluffs near the river.

On approaching Tartron siding the railroad climbs a few feet to
the nearly level surface of a broad sheet of lava of relatively recent
age which extends about 17 miles, to a point beyond
Stanwix siding. This flow, which is wide to the north
Elevation 729 feet. and south, doubtless came from several vents. The
New Orleans 1,650 .

iles. remains of one crater, probably a source of a con-

siderable part of the lava, is a knob of moderate height
1miles northwest of Tartronsiding. Alongridg theast of Sentinel
siding probably marks another outlet. The lava, which is thin near its

edges, lies on gravel and sand and is of recent origin
Sentinel. compared with the lavas constituting the summits of
Elevation 600 feet. the high adjoining ridges that have been uplifted and in
“nie large part widely removed and cut back by erosion.

This recent lava undoubtedly dammed the Gila River
for a while, but the stream has since cut a trench about 100 feet deep
across its northern portion. In places the younger lava abuts against
slopes of the older volcanic rocks, and it occupies valleys developed
since the older rocks were flexed and faulted, a condition indicating a
long-time interval. Several wells at Sentinel siding pass through 60 to
100 feet of this lava and obtain agood water supply from the underlying
sands, which were penetrated to a depth of 1,129 feet.

From the Sentinel Plain there are extensive vistas across the desert
to the lofty Growler Mountains, far to the south; to the commanding
and nearer Aguila Mountain (ah’ghee-la), to the southwest, culmi-
nating in a high northward-sloping plateau of lava; and to the Aztec
Hills, to the west. Back to the southeast Hat Mountain (p. 227) is
conspicuous. To the north are many ranges, mostly of volcanic rocks,
which lie beyond the Gila Valley.

In this part of Arizona the railroad crosses wide desert plains, mostly
covered by creosote bush (Covillea). Very little of this land can be
reclaimed by irrigation, on account of the scanty water supply. The
question of water is the most important consideration in these desert
regions, not only for domestic use and for locomotives, but for the
cattle industry, which can not exist without it. Tanks created by
damming draws hold some of the rainfall, but the loss by evaporation

i feet

Tartron.

(tee-nah’has, Spanish for large earthen jars). Wells find water in
| the gravel and sand of the desert, in crevices in rocks of the mountains,
a and under some of the lava flows, but the amount is generally small.
The scant rainfall wets the soil and in large part evaporates, but some

es underground into the coarser materials, which occur

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 231

mostly along the sides of the valleys. The water is available in some
places in the valleys, but ordinarily it is only sufficient for domestic
use or for a few cattle. Along the river flats there is a ground-water
plane sustained by the streams and extending laterally for some dis-
tance; this is the source of supply for many wells, some of which in the
lower Gila Valley yield water for irrigation. In the lower part of the
Salt River Valley also the underflow is extensive and in much of the
area of ample volume.

The desert landscape has many peculiarities. At first sight its wide
gray plains and bare mountain slopes seem forbidding and monotonous.
However, they bave a certain grandeur and present attractive varia-
tions in light and shade during different portions of the day and from
day to day. Some of the sunsets are particularly beautiful. Under
the direct rays of the midsummer sun the heat is intense, but ordinarily
the low humidity keeps the skin comfortable, and there is much less
suffering from the heat than in a moist region at much lower tempera-
ture. Mirage is frequent, especially the sort due to a film of vibrating
hot air near the ground, which gives the illusion of distant lakes.
In the higher mountains precipitation is greater than in the valleys,
the temperatures are lower, and occasionally there is snow. LEvery-
where the rains are followed by rapid growth of many flowers. The
desert region of the southwest corner of the United States is a part of
the Sonoran Desert, which extends north from the State of Sonora
in Mexico and is very much of a unit in climate, vegetation, and gen-
eral aspect. Rainfall, which ranges from 3 to 6 inches a year in the
region west of Phoenix, comes mostly in widely separated heavy
downpours in narrow streaks, many of them ‘‘cloudbursts,’”’ which
give rise to local sudden freshets of great volume. One of these in 1930
washed out a large part of Wellton. Some floods are not confined to a
channel but extend widely over the valley floor.

Sand storms occur occasionally on the deserts of New Mexico,
Arizona, and southern California, but most popular accounts of them
are greatly exaggerated. The following description (by C. P. Ross)
will give some idea of a typical sandstorm. It followed showers in the
mountains and came from the southeast, where at frequent intervals
before, during, and after the blow there were sharp claps of thunder.
At first there came bodies of flying sand in long, thin pillars reaching
far upward and resembling waterspouts in shape and appearance
but moving with much greater speed. These were followed by
billowing clouds of sand, which, however, did not transport much
material, and then came the main blow in dees waves and carrying a
large percentage of fine sand. Where these waves struck the moun-
tains they were shattered, and the sand was whirled high on the foot-
hills, much like waves of water driven by a hurricane. In 10 to 15
minutes from the coming of the first sand the storm diminished, espe-

232 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

cially as to the amount of sand. During the height of such a storm
it is difficult to travel, mostly because the sand is blinding. It also
penetrates the clothing and fills the hair and every wrinkle of the skin
not well protected, so that it is somewhat uncomfortable, but there
is almost no cutting of the skin. Sand storms as severe as this are
rare.

A 710-foot well at Aztec yields an excellent water supply. Below
145 feet of sand it penetrated 455 feet of red clay, an extension of the
thick bed penetrated by deep borings at Gila Bend.

Aztec. . :

; Three miles due south of Aztec and conspicuous from
Elevation 497 feet. ze * ° °
Population 40.* the railroad is a white quartz knob that is on a spur

oe Orleans 1,671 of the Aztec Hills, which consist mostly of schist and
: granite. At the west end of these hills, 4 miles west

of Aztec and about a mile south of the railroad, there is a quarry in
schistose granite, which is crushed for use on the roads. (See sheet 25.)
Texas Hill, 6 miles northwest of Stoval, is a small butte on the
north bank of the Gila River consisting of basalt, probably part of a

dca small flow. Near it Garcés camped in 1775 in com-
— pany with Anza’s expedition to California. The old
Population 30.* -«- Settlement of San Cristébal, of which the station name

is an abbreviation, was near this hill. Saints’ names
were sprinkled over the country by all the early
explorers, and most of them do not indicate the presence of a mission.
West from the Aztec Hills is a wide desert known as the San Cristobal
Valley extending to the foot of the Mohawk Mountains. A well sunk
700 feet in the valley fill at a point about 4 miles south of Stoval
found considerable water, which it was hoped could be used for irri-
gation. This valley, like many others that lead to the Gila River,
is not trenched by its stream except where it approaches the river,
north of the railroad, but its bottom is a broad adobe flat.
The northern part of the Mohawk Mountains is crossed by the
railroad in a moderately high, rocky gap at Mohawk. These moun-
ains are very rugged and bare and consist largely of
— pre-Cambrian schist penetrated by granite. Con-
oo tacts of these two rocks are visible near the railroad.
miles. At the north end of the mountains the schist is

New Orleans 1,682
niles.

southwest. The granular schist a short distance northwest of
Mohawk, which is quarried for road material, contains veins of
_ barite that have been mined in small amount. Five miles south of
the station, on the east side of the mountains, is the old Norton or
. Red Cross mine, which produced a small amount of rich silver ore
: many years ago. The rock pediment on the west foot of the moun- -
tams is heavily flanked by loose sand, which has been blown by the

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 33

A. THE “EXPLORER”
A drawing of the st boat d by the Ives expedition up the Colorado River.

B. VIEW NORTHW a ACROSS THE GILA RIV = FROM ANTELOPE HILL,
VEEN WELLTON AND ROL IZ.
Castle Dome Mountains in distance; irrigated fields i in middle ground.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 34

A. PART OF YUMA, ARIZ, (1923)

The income of this hotel was rarely interrupted.

B. IRRIGATED DISTRICT ON THE LOWER LANDS NEAR YUMA

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 233
wind and accumulated at the foot of the slope. Farther north, near
the railroad, this pediment is deeply trenched by small arroyos. At
the north end of the Mohawk Mountains is the Gila River; at this
place Garcés in 1775 crossed to the south side of the river. The
Mohawk Mountains were named Cerro de San Pascual by Anza on
his expedition of 1774; he camped at their north end the following

year.

West of the Mohawk Mountains is the wide desert plain of Mohawk
Valley, which extends west for about 15 miles to a line of ridges con-
sisting of the lava-capped Cabeza Prieta Mountains (cah-bay’sa
pre-ay’ta, Spanish for black head), to the south; the Copper Moun-
tains, a conspicuous rugged range of granite southwest of Colfred
siding; and the Baker Peaks, a short distance south of Tacna siding.
The prominent Baker Peaks, named for Charles Baker, who in early
days ran a ferry across the Colorado River at Yuma, consist of tilted
sandstones presumably of Tertiary age.” South of the Baker Peaks
are ridges of conglomerate, also of Tertiary age, extending to the
flank of the Copper Mountains. Far to the north are the fantastic
summits of the Castle Dome Mountains. Closer at hand to the
northeast from Colfred siding is Signal Butte, rising prominently
above the desert plain a scant 5 miles beyond the Gila River. Itisa
small mass of basalt probably marking the center or outlet of a minor
lava extrusion.

A mile north of Tacna siding and extending for a mile to the bank
of the Gila River is Antelope Hill, about 600 feet high. It consists of
grayish arkose composed largely of granite débris and probably of
Tertiary age. The dip is to the south at a low angle, and about 500
feet of beds are exposed. There are also small exposures of this rock
in smaller buttes just north of the railroad 2 miles farther west, in
which the dip is 15° SW., and another small exposure northeast of
Antelope Hill. The material has been quarried extensively, mainly
for road metal.

At Wellton the old main line of the railroad is joined by the new
line from Picacho by way of Phoenix. (See p. 223.)

inches to 3 feet in diameter. The
+ to} + + tiar tna iA $4 nk

6&3 These rocks are well e: d at
Baker Tanks, 5 miles south of Tacna,
where the conglomerate dips 65° SW.

by present streams on the slope of

beds are a coarse conglomerate with
many pebbles and boulders from 3
152109°—33——16

Baker Peaks as to indicate that it was
derived from the same rocks under con-
ditions similar to those which now
exist.

234 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES
WELLTON TO YUMA, ARIZ.

In the vicinity of Wellton small areas are irrigated by water pumped
from wells that draw their supply from the ground water of the Gila
ne Valley. A 1,120-foot boring at Wellton passed
eS through 750 feet of sand and clay, regarded as valley
Population 80.* _—_—‘fill, and 370 feet of harder strata, including sandstone,
New Orleans 1,713 which probably are Tertiary. About 6 miles south

1,756 miles). | Of the station are the Wellton Hills, a group of small
knobs and ridges consisting of mica schist with minor
amounts of granite, all of pre-Cambrian age. They are in the midst
of the Lechuguilla Desert (lay-choo-ghee’yah), a broad, flat valley
extending south into Mexico, the international boundary being about
40 miles south of Wellton. Near the international boundary are the
Tinajas Altas, rock tanks containing water. They were a famous
stopping place on the Camino del Diablo (highway of the devil), a
cross-country thoroughfare much used in early days and so called
because of the difficulties of travel and the lack of water, which cause
many deaths. This road crossed the Gila Mountains 18 miles south
of Wellton and passed near the Fortuna mine on the way to Yuma, a
hard journey across the loose sands of the Yuma Desert. The Gila
Valley route followed by Garcés encountered west of Wellton an
area subject to inundation from the river. Much later stage-coach
travel stopped at a place called “Mission Station,” near Adonde
(ah-dohn’day), a few miles west of Wellton.

West from Wellton the railroad passes through the sidings of Adonde
and Ligurta and, following the south bank of the Gila River, enters
the wide gap by which that stream passes around the north end of the
Gila Mountains, a very characteristic desert range that consists of
granite and schist of pre-Cambrian age and that doubtless is, in part
at least, a fault block. A short distance north of Ligurta fossil bones
found in the alluvial deposits of the river indicate the presence of not
only an ancient variety of deer but also of the native horse, which
became extinct in this country thousands of years before horses were
introduced by the Spaniards, a few centuries ago. To the north is a
fine view of Klotho’s Temple, in the Muggins Mountains, which con-
sists of volcanic rocks. At Granite siding the railroad reaches the
rocks of the mountain slope, and granite is well exposed in cuts and a
quarry. From the quarry a large amount of crushed rock is produced
for railroad ballast on many miles of the Southern Pacific lines. A
thin mass of marble exposed in the north end of the Gila Mountains

region are shown in Figure 61. The granite is cut by many dikes of
dark intrusive rocks and traversed by veins of light-colored pegma-
tite ‘To the north is the Gila River, now so well controlled by dams

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 235

that it no longer is subject to the devastating floods which it formerly
carried.

The long deflection of the railroad in following the river around the
north end of the Gila Mountains is avoided by the highway, which
goes through a high pass nearly due west of Wellton.

; Dome is a sma :
satis aoa 3 place, but Gila City, =
Nees + its predecessor, was

a turbulent boom
town with a population of perhaps
1,000 people when placer mining
was in progress in 1858 and a few

Dome.

following years. SS

From Dome the railroad passes ey wa
through Blaisdell, Fortuna, and wanny wigs 8 13
Araby sidings. To the east are Se aE
fine views of the steep western front aN i
of the Gila Mountains. Twelve : a
miles southeast of Fortuna siding iM
is the old Fortuna mine, which at

: nN

one time produced considerable
rich ore, aggregating, it is reported,
$3,000,000 worth of gold (Yearbook
of Arizona, 1930). The rocks at < S
this place are mostly hornblende - Bae ol
schist, and the gold occurred in
included quartzose members. The
very pronounced schistosity dips
to the south and west at an angle
of 45°. Feldspathic dikes cutting
the schists appear to be branches
of the great intrusive masses of
granite that form the higher peaks.
After passing the north end of
the Gila Mountains west of Dome
the railroad bends to the south and
in about 6 miles reaches Blaisdell
siding. In this bend the railroad
follows the south bank of the Gila Li
River. Tothenorth aregood views © .
of the eastern part of the Laguna 8
Mountains, which consist of schist =
similar to the rock on the north end of the Gila Mountains—in fact,
_ the river gorge is simply a gateway eroded across this mass of schist.
The western part of the Laguna Mountains consists of a thick body
of conglomerate and boulders, probably of Tertiary age. It is

FiGuRE 61.—Section of north end of Gila Mountains, Ariz.

236 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

separated from the schist by beds of arkose and shales, which crop
out on the north side of the river and are also well exposed in slopes
and cuts 2 to 3 miles north of Blaisdell. The beds dip 20° SE. and
are overlain by terrace gravel of Quaternary age. The arkose is yellow
and reddish and made up of granite detritus, in part thin bedded and
showing mud cracks on some of its surfaces. Some of the pebbles
are half an inch in diameter. A few interbedded strata of shale are
of yellowish tint. These beds are probably of Tertiary age. A few
sahuaros are present, this vicinity being about the western margin of |
their wide zone of distribution.

Southwest of Blaisdell siding the railroad leaves the wide trench
excavated by the Gila River and ascends about 100 feet to the terrace
plain of the Yuma Desert, which extends far to the south and south-
west. It continues on this plain to Yuma. From the Vicinity of
Fortuna and Araby sidings Pinnacle Rock, far to the west in California,
is in sight. A large gold mine was formerly operated near this peak,
The vegetation on the Yuma Desert is very scant; on the alluvial flat
along the river, however, there is considerable irrigation by water
pumped from wells of moderate depth in the gravel and sand deposits.
(Turn to sheet 26.)

Yuma, one of the oldest towns in the Southwest, long the com-
mercial center for a large surrounding area, and now the headquarters
of a productive irrigation project, is situated on the
east bank of the Colorado River just below the mouth
Population 4892, Of the Gila River. The Gila here is in a broad alluvial
Nees 4 terraced valley, from which a few low granite knobs

: protrude, and this rock is reported in deep borings.
The bridge abutment at Yuma is on very coarse granite conglomerate
of Tertiary age, which also forms the knoll on which the ruins of the
old Territorial prison remain. Its components probably were derived
from granite knobs in the center of town and to the southeast, This
same formation underlies the basalt that caps Black Mesa, west of

a Dam, on the Colorado River 10 miles above Yuma.

Yuma is famous for its high summer temperature and large per-
centage of sunshine, but with the low annual precipitation of 3.1
inches “ (40-year average), the humidity is so slight that during the
greater part of the year the heat is not oppressive. Relying on the
almost perpetual sunshine, a hotel near the railroad station formerly
racing Pe sign ‘‘Free board every day the sun doesn’t shine”

Ppl. 04, 4).

Yuma.

“ The precipitation varies greatly danger is greatly exaggerated. The
from year to year, having been 11.4 average temperature for 29 years is
inches in 1905 and 0.6 inch in 1899. 72°, with extreme from 20° to
The greatest amount of rain usually | 117° in the bottom lands and 29° to
; falls in midsummer. Sandstorms occur | 117° on the mesa.
ally, but their importance or

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 25

114-30"

44°

33

Sheet 26

a

ee Focsuna / ay

2

32,
30

EXPLANATION

A Sand and gravel (valley fill and
terrace deposits)

Quaternary

oO

Sandstone, conglomerate and gravel pane ¢ ¥
sae Tertiary and later?

ce)

Lavas, ash and tuff (voleanic)
Pre-Cambrian
Geology mostly by E. D. Wilson, 1931

D Granite and schist

Rolll

£1 265

California-Arizona 113 30,
GGL 33
tom = /

4
1
- DAS,
i680 ‘a
toval 3
£L 9789. a

pate»

1
Scale 500,000
linch=8 miles approximately
5 10

)
15

20 MILES

QO 5 10 1S

—— a_i ——__—___ [|
Contour interval 200° feet

Hg! distances from New Orl

20 KILOMETERS

e shown every

estan shown on the m

n the

eT
0 miles, and the cuales a are es Som 1 mile apart

with me in parentheses
lower left corner is mnaped in detail on the U.S. G. &.

seiaragite map of that n

a3 SRR RENTERS
11430"

113-30

Topography: U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps

WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO., WASH... ¢

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES Shy

The history of Yuma dates back to 1540, when Alarc6n came up
the Gulf of California and ascended the Colorado River to cooperate
with the land expedition of Coronado. In 1700 Padre Kino came
down the Gila River to its mouth, where he found, on the Arizona
side, a large rancheria of Indians, which he named San Dionisio.
The Yuma Indians gave a cordial reception to the first Spanish
explorers and missionaries. The Jesuit missionary Jacobo Sedel-
maier reached the Colorado River in 1744 and again in 1748. In
1779 Garcés established the Misién de la Purisima Concepcién on the
west bank of the river opposite the present town. About 53 families
of colonists, laborers, and soldiers, appropriating the best lands,
settled near by and also at another mission near Pilot Knob, about
8 miles down the river. The Indians occupied palisaded towns and
raised melons, squashes, and grain. Although they had previously
appeared most friendly and amenable, they were irritated by the
failure of the Spanish authorities to fulfill promises, and in 1781 they
started an uprising in which Padre Garcés and three other priests and
most of their white men associates, to the number of about 46, were
slaughtered, including the visiting Lieutenant Governor of Baja
California and a dozen of his soldiers who were camped on the Arizona
side of the river. The women and children were enslaved. After
this one serious outbreak the Yuma Indians did not prove trouble-
some to the whites. Originally a powerful race, they themselves
suffered much in wars with other tribes and in 1857 were almost
annihilated by the Pima Indians.

The first military post, then called Camp Calhoun, was established
on the west side of the river in 1849 by United States Dragoons, who
escorted Whipple’s boundary-survey party. In this year also a boat
which came down the Gila River from the Pima region was pressed
into service as a ferry across the Colorado River, and on this ferry
during the gold rush many thousands crossed to California. The
fare was $2 for man or animal. Fort Yuma was established on the
west side of the river in 1851, when Camp Independence, as it was
then called, was moved to ai site of the old mission and renamed.

In 1861-62 the region was partly devastated by a flood. The
settlement on the east bank of the river, called Colorado City,
Arizona City, and finally Yuma, began to prosper in 1864, and
in 1871 the county seat was moved there from La Paz, 75 miles
up the river. The first steamboat to ascend the river was the Uncle
Sam, in 1852, built at the head of the Gulf of California. In 1855
several steamboats were running on the river, and in 1857 Lieut.
Joseph Ives started from the mouth of the Colorado in a 50-foot iron
stern-wheel steamer (pl. 33, A) and ascended to the “head of navi-
gation’’ through Black Canyon, the site of the reservoir to be
impounded by the Boulder Dam. (See p. 241.) Freight boats came

238 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

up the Colorado as late as 1895. The Southern Pacific Railroad
reached Yuma from the west on September 29, 1877, and established
its station on the east bank, south of the mouth of the Gila, where
there had been a few houses since the time of the Gadsden Purchase,
in 1854. That place remained the terminus until April 28, 1879,
when the tracks were completed to Maricopa. In 1880 connection
with the East was effected. Now Yuma is entirely on the Arizona
side.

Yuma and its environs have been greatly benefited by the comple-
tion of the Yuma irrigation project of the United States Bureau of
Reclamation. The water is diverted from the Colorado River at
Laguna Dam, 10 miles northeast of Yuma on the California side,
begun in 1902, one of the first results of the reclamation act. The
dam is 4,780 feet long and raises the stream about 10 feet, creating
a long, narrow lake that provides water for 100,000 acres of irrigable
land lying partly in Arizona and partly in California. Part of the
region is the alluvial flat along the river, including the Yuma Indian
Reservation of 8,000 acres on the California side, and part is on the
level ‘‘mesa” or terrace extending south from Yuma, onto which the
water is raised by pumps operated by cheap electric power produced
near by.

The mesa division comprises 45,000 acres lying about 80 feet above
the valley, of which approximately 15 per cent is now being developed,
with 1,400 acres under cultivation and 934 acres producing in 1930.
The soil is very sandy, but its deficiency in organic matter is easily
remedied by the use of fertilizer. The climate is frostless and well
adapted to citrus and other semitropical fruits, which in 1930 yielded
a return of $156,265, or nearly $167 an acre. (See pl. 34, B.) About
two-thirds of the product was grapefruit, of which about 60,000 trees
were bearing in 1930. It costs from $8,000 to $10,000 to develop a
10-acre unit. The yield of citrus fruits averages about $50 an acre
after 4 years, $163 after 6 years, and $350 after 8 years. The
value of all crops of the Yuma lowlands and mesa in 1928 was
$5,105,132, or $113 an acre. The total cost of construction of the
Yuma project has been more than $12,000,000, but this is being
repaid to the Government by the owners of the land. It amounts to
$55 to $90 an acre. (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.)

An interesting engineering feature of this project is the siphon by
which part of the water is carried under the Colorado River, an ex-
pedient necessitated by the difficulty of carrying a canal across the
Gila River, which empties just above Yuma. The water is brought
from the Laguna Dam by a canal along the west side of the river;
__ the siphon is 1,000 feet long and 14 feet in diameter and passes 50
feet below the bed of the river. The inlet may be seen just north

of the railr aad bridge. The Colorado River carries a large amount

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 239

of silt,” but much of this is caught in a desilting basin at the Laguna
Dam, so that it does not clog up canals farther down.

The limit of area of farm units is 40 acres. The duty of water
averages 3 acre-feet an acre at the farm, and the irrigation season
lasts throughout the year. On the rich alluvial bottom lands a great
variety of crops is grown, but the principal ones are cotton, alfalfa,
millo maize, kafir corn, feterita, wheat, and barley. A yield of 2 bales
of cotton to the acre is not uncommon, and alfalfa seed is a profitable
product which yields as much as half a ton to the acre from two cut-
tings. For hay, however, the alfalfa may be cut six or more times a
year. There is a large acreage of pecan groves, some of the older
trees producing as high as 180 pounds of nuts. The bottom lands
are protected from overflow by levees and drained to prevent accumu-
lation of mineral matter by evaporation.

From Yuma a trolley line runs south down the Colorado Valley as
far as Gadsden, passing west of the irrigation settlement of Somerton
(population 891).

In the valley filling along the Colorado River above the Laguna
Dam there is considerable fossil wood, which is often brought into
Yuma. The larger logs are a few feet long and less than a foot in
diameter. Many of them show grain and ring structure in a very
striking manner. They are said to be closely related to some of the
present-day desert hardwoods.

YUMA, ARIZ., TO LOS ANGELES, CALIF.

The Colorado River is crossed on leaving Yuma. This great river
rises in the mountains of Colorado and after its junction with the
Green River from Wyoming it receives the drainage
Colorado River. of a wide area in the high plateaus of Utah, New
Mexico, and Arizona. It was discovered by Fran-
cisco de Ulloa, who in 1536 ascended the Gulf of California to the
great mud flats at the mouth of the river. In 1540 it was explored
by Melchor Diaz, who traveled overland from Sonora, Mexico, to
the vicinity of Yuma, and by Hernando Alarc6én, who came in boats
from western Mexico and ascended the river for 15 days, possibly as
far as Needles. Early in 1605 Juan de Ofiate reached the river in
the vicinity of Yuma on a trip from Santa Fe. Owing to the custom
of the natives of carrying firebrands in winter with which to warm
themselves, Diaz named the stream Rio del Tiz6n (Firebrand River),
a name more distinctive than the present one. The name “Rio
Colorado del Norte” was first used on Kino’s map in 1701. He
reached it first in 1699. Padre Sedelmaier was there in 1744. The
6 According to investigations by the | per cent, but the average amount is
Bureau of Reclamation, in times of | 0.7 per cent, or 30 times as much as
freshets the silt may be as much as 2 | is earried by the Ohio River.

240 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES
Franciscan friar Francisco Garcés, traveling alone, reached the Colo-
rado in 1771 near Yuma and crossed it on a raft. He crossed it
again at that place in 1774 and 1775 with Anza’s expeditions.

In the vicinity of Yuma, as elsewhere, the Colorado River meanders
through a shallow channel in a wide trench excavated in the great
desert plain that extends to the Gila Mountains on the east and con-
stitutes the Colorado Desert and Imperial Valley to the west. The
trench or alluvial flat is nearly 5 miles wide at Yuma, where it is
bordered by long bluffs of sand and gravel 50 to 100 feet high. The
upper part of Yuma is built on the bluff, which is here called “the
Mesa.”” The trench also extends up the valley of the Gila River for
many miles. The surface of the alluvial flat is nearly smooth, but in
places it slopes slightly away from the river, owing to the low bank
or levee built by the stream at times of freshet when there is con-
siderable overflow in places not protected by artificial levees. South
of Yuma there are extensive sloughs and oxbow ponds along the
principal overflow channels.

The Colorado River empties into the head of the Gulf of California
in Mexico about 60 miles below Yuma (see pl. 35), and in fact this
large water body is an extension of the Colorado Valley submerged by
tidewater. The volume of the river varies considerably, and at times
it is greatly swollen by freshets. The floods oceur mostly in early
summer and are fed by winter rains and snows in the distant moun-
tains. The highest summer floods have exceeded 200,000 second-feet
(cubic feet per second). The ordinary maximum flow is 70,000 to
100,000 second-feet, the minimum flow, 2,500 to 3,000 second-feet,
and the average 10,700 second-feet. In August, 1931, the flow at
Yuma decreased to 200 second-feet (U. S. Bureau of Reclamation).
The total yearly flow at Yuma averages about 16,730,000 acre-feet
(1902-1916) including 1,000,000 acre-feet or more from Gila River.
The mineral content of the water ordinarily ranges from 1,000
to 350 parts per million,” and it is estimated that the geBiirreeait in
suspension is sufficient to cover about 100,000 acres 1 foot deep
(100,000 acre-feet) annually, Considerable sediment is also moved
along the bottom of the river. The material spread on the land by
overflow has important fertilizing value. (U.S. Bur. of Reclamation).”

% A very large amount of material is
removed from the land and earried to
the ocean by all rivers. Careful esti-
mates based on analyses of river waters
measurements of volume of flow
have shown that every year the rivers of
the United States carry to tidewater
3 513,000,000 tons of sediment in suspen-
sion and 270,000,000 tons of dissolved
matter. - The total of 783,000,000 tons

er 000 enbie 4 Ariz

yards of rock, or a cube measuring
about two-fifths of a mile on each side
(Ms eubie mile). The total is equiva-
lent to 610,000,000 cubie yards of sur-
face soil. (See U Geol. Survey

| Water-Supply Paper 234, p- 83, 1909.)

also Bacon, J. L., Monthly

Weather Review, vol. 59, p.
297, 1931; Breazeale, J. F., Arizona
Univ. Bull. 8, 1926; Raabe R. H.,

ona Univ. Bull. 44, 1

J PLATE 35
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845

i )
rs > GUNA am]
< > H os iM ny,
El Centro scar dchind
= A
: Riven
CALIFORNIA “4
AME, WAL pare ie’
520.47 LERICAN, pega =e LaCIFIC
7
reer Se a ‘Sexicall *
i “4 -
y 7S “Signal Mtn < ey
rs 7 pourse. i 1919-1927 --3 “e he
ait ate Nar Jf ff
L. f Af ON A
Co™

a

ata aes

My

fa

Aly,

eetes Levee

25 Miles

MAP OF THE COLORADO RIVER DELTA REGION, BELOW YUMA, ARIZ.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 241

An important engineering project in connection with the Colorado
River is the Boulder Dam, in Black Canyon, 200 miles above Yuma
(about 15 miles below Boulder Canyon), which was started in 1931.
It will completely control the waters of the river and not only maintain
the supply as needed, but prevent floods and greatly diminish the
amount of silt. According to printed statements of the United
States Bureau of Reclamation the dam will be a curved gravity
structure about 1,180 feet long and will contain approximately
3,500,000 cubic yards of concrete requiring about 5,500,000 barrels
of cement. Its height will be 707 feet above bedrock; this will raise
the water surface about 582 feet, or to 1,229 feet above sea level.
The reservoir, 115 miles long and with an area of about 145,000 acres
(227 square miles), will hold 30,500,000 acre-feet of water. It will
take a year and a half for the river to fill the reservoir under ordinary
conditions of flow. The cost of the dam will be about $70,600,000,
not including a 1,200,000-horsepower electric generating plant
($38,000,000), the revenue from which, together with the charge to
irrigators for the water, is expected to cover the interest and finally
repay the cost. An all-American canal 75 miles long, provided for
by an allotment of $38,500,000, will be built through the sand hills
that begin 10 miles west of Yuma, to replace the present canal, which
for 35 miles is in Mexico. Its cost also must be repaid by the i irriga-
tion under it. This canal, with a bottom width of 134 feet and a
depth of 22 feet, will supply a much larger volume of water than is
now flowing in the old canal, which is the largest one in operation in
this country, and will marae for greatly increasing the irrigated area
in Imperial Valley. The water will be taken from the river at a point
5 miles above the present Laguna Dam, a few miles above Yuma.
It is estimated that a branch 130 miles long to provide for irrigation in
the Coachella Valley and increasing the area irrigable under this
project to 900,000 acres, will cost about $11,000,000. Los Angeles

i also receive some of the water (1,500 cecadifekt. which will be
taken out at Parker and carried through long aqueducts and tunnels
by way of San Gorgonio Pass.

From a point 6 miles west by south from Yuma the middle of the
Colorado River is the boundary between the United States and
Mexico, Arizona extending about 16 miles farther south than Califor-
nia. By the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in 1848, the original
international boundary followed the Gila River to its junction with
the Colorado and thence was a straight line west to a point on the
Pacific Ocean 1 marine league south of the southernmost point of the
port of San Diego. By the Gadsden Purchase the southern boundary
east of the Colorado River was shifted to its present location, which
touches the Colorado at a point 20 English miles below the junction _
of the Gila. North of Yuma the Colorado is for many miles the :
: ee line between Arizona and California. ce

242 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

California, the largest of the three Pacific Coast States, has a
length of 780 miles and width of about 250 miles. The area is 158,297
square miles, nearly equal to New York, New Eng-
California. land, and Pennsylvania combined. The population
of California in 1930 was 5,677,251, or about one-
fifth of that of the Eastern States named. This was a gain of nearly
66 per cent in the 20 years from 1910 to 1930. The average number of
persons per square mile was 36.5, as compared with 22 in 1920.
The population is very unevenly distributed, however, the desert
regions east of the Sierra Nevada being very sparsely occupied.
The State has 1,264 miles of coast line, mostly bold and unbroken but
indented by the fine harbors of San Diego and San Francisco.
California has a great range in elevation, for some of its desert
valleys are below sea level and much of the Sierra Nevada is more than
10,000 feet above sea level, the highest peak, Mount Whitney, reach-
ing 14,496 feet. The lowest places are Death Valley, the bottom of
which is 276 feet below sea level, and the Salton Basin, the bottom of
which (when dry) is 273.5 feet below sea level. Owing to its great
range of elevation and latitude, California presents a wide diversity in
climate, with corresponding variation in vegetation and animal life.
Along the coast in southern California precipitation is low and tem-
peratures are equable. Around San Francisco Bay themoderaterainfall
comes almost wholly in the winter, and the seasonal range of tempera-
ture is comparatively small, although from hour to hour the change is
sometimes very marked. In parts of southern California typical desert
conditions prevail. The great interior valley of the San Joaquin and
Sacramento Rivers is characterized by moderate to scant winter
rainfall and hot, dry summers. Snow rarely falls except on the
adjoining high mountains.
Forests cover 20 per cent of the State. They are notable for the
large size of their trees, especially for the huge dimensions attained by

been preserved against the inroads of the lumberman by the Govern-
ment or through private generosity. The 21 national forests in
California have a total area of 40,000 square miles, or about one-fourth
of the State’s area. The national parks in the State are the Yosemite
(1,124 square miles), Sequoia (252 square miles), General Grant
(4 square miles), and Lassen Volcanic (124 square miles).
Agriculture is an enormous industry in California, and its impor-
tance is increasing. The following facts from the United States census
‘Ter rest: Of the total land area of nearly 100,000,000
Acres, about 30,442,581 acres is in farms and ranches, which with
uldings and machinery have a value of nearly $4,000,000,000.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 243

More than 4,000,000 acres is under irrigation. The value of crops in
1929 was $623,103,467, the cost of which for labor and fertilizer was
$212,417,664. The grain crop in 1929 was 48,451,246 bushels, of which
about three-fifths was barley. The cultivated hay crop for 1929 was
4,098,993 tons, and the cotton production 253,881 bales. In the
variety and value of its fruit crops California outranks all other States.
Its products range from dates, figs, pineapples, and other semitropical
fruits in the south to pears, peaches, apples, and plums in the north;
but it is to oranges and other citrus fruits and grapes that California
owes her horticultural supremacy. During 1929 California produced
53,820,634 boxes of citrus fruits, 37,738 tons of walnuts, 4,700 tons of
almonds, 1,691,111 tons of grapes, of which more than half were of the
raisin variety, and great quantities of prunes, peaches, apricots, olives,
and melons. Other notable crops are hops, about 7,905,965 pounds in
1929; lima and other beans, 5,526,351 bushels; sugar beets, 452,818
tons; potatoes, 6,489,203 bushels; and wheat, 10,957,967 bushels.
The total value of vegetables shipped in 1929 was about $60,272,659.
More than 5,000 acres is in strawberries, and the fig crop in 1929 was
more than 59,000 tons. California leads in apiculture, producing
about one-tenth of the Nation’s honey, the amount being normally
about 6,000,000 pounds, besides 300,000 pounds of wax. Much honey
is exported from Los Angeles. There are about 150 species of plants
that furnish nectar in important amounts; the blossoms of oranges and
sagebrush are the most reliable sources. The yield of honey is closely
related to the amount of rainfall. Many of the bee colonies are moved
from place to place to take advantage of blossoming periods, not only
for the honey obtained but for service in pollenization. Dairying is an
important industry, with a yield of 445,530,000 gallons of milk in 1929.

In 1930 the wool clipped amounted to 18,747,453 pounds. Cotton,

melons, and dates are raised abundantly in the irrigated districts in
the southeast corner of the State, and rice production is increasing
rapidly.

Of its mineral products, petroleum ranks first in total value, and
gold next. According to the United States Bureau of Mines, Califor-
nia’s output of petroleum was 227,329,000 barrels in 1931 (292,036,911
barrels in 1929), about 16 per cent of the world’s yield, and its output
of gold amounted to about $8,455,200. Other mineral products are
cement, 13,091,899 barrels; copper, 33,084,232 pounds; silver, $636,749;
mercury, 10,139 flasks (of 76 pounds); and borate minerals, 169,870
tons, valued at $4,515,375. The total value of products from Cali-
fornia mines and quarries in 1929 was $38,645,889, with a personnel of
more than 9,000. The-leading industry is refining petroleum, the
products of which in 1927 were valued at more than $350,000,000.
California’s fisheries are also a source of much revenue. According to
the United States Department of Commerce, the exports from San

244 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego had a value of $377 392,437 in
1929, and the annual imports amount to nearly $300,000,000, of
which more than half passes through San Francisco. There are in the
State four great universities—the University of California (enroll-
ment 19,000), Leland Stanford Junior University (4,600), the Univer-
sity of Southern California, and the California. Institute of Tech-
nology—besides many smaller collegiate institutions.

The recorded history of California began in 1542, when Juan
Rodriguez Cabrillo explored the southern coast. Sir Francis Drake,
who landed on California soil in 1579 to repair his ships, named the
place New Albion, but later the name California was applied. It is
claimed that this name was derived from Califa, queen of the Amazons,
used by Montalvo in a romance, but also that it was taken from the
name given by Cortez to the south end of Lower California and
meaning fiery furnace. Until Padre Kino’s explorations in 1700 and
1701, California was supposed to be an island. In 1602-3 Sebastian
Viscaino discovered the sites of San Diego and Monterey. From
1769 to 1823 21 missions were established in California under the
direction of the Franciscan friar Junipero Serra and other missionaries
of his order, and most of them still remain, although some are in ruins.
The first overland caravans to California began in 1827, and the dis-
covery of gold by J. W. Marshall at Sutter’s mill in 1848 brought a
large influx of gold seekers and settlers.®®

California was formerly a part of Mexico, but many citizens of Cali-
fornia were Americans and strongly desirous of entering the Union,
especially as trouble with Mexico increased. On July 7, 1846, the
American flag was raised in Monterey, and the annexation of Califor-
nia proclaimed. The treaty of Cahuenga, negotiated by Gen. John
C. Frémont and the Mexican commander, Andrés Pico, and signed
on January 13, 1847, ended hostilities, and in 1850 California was
admitted to the Union as the thirty-first State. The official State
flower is the California poppy (Esechscholtzia californica), and the
State’s motto, “Eureka,” means “I have found “.”

On leaving Yuma the railroad crosses the Colorado River on a_
long bridge (see p. 236) and curves around to the northwest to traverse
the alluvial plain of the river, here nearly 5 miles wide. This land is
included in the Yuma Indian Reservation, 8,350 acres in all, which is
supplied with water for irrigation by a canal from the Laguna Dam,
10 miles above Yuma. (See p. 238.) This canal, crossed not far
beyond the river bridge, was one of the early irrigation projects of
_ the United States Bureau of Reclamation, having been completed in
_ 1909. About 1,500 acres is under cultivation, yielding crops of various
__ kinds, notably cotton, which thrives on the rich sandy soil. Much
_% The first discovery of gold was | Angeles, in 1842, but it had little eco-

in Placerita Canyon, near Los | nomic importance.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 245

alfalfa is also raised. A view of part of the irrigated district is shown
in Plate 34, B. The Indians who occupy this reservation form a
picturesque element among the various people who make up the
population of the Yuma region. Usually the day trains in Yuma
are met by Indian women offering beads and other trinkets. The
Yuma Indians have cultivated the river flats for many centuries but
retain many primitive methods. The Fort Yuma Indian School, a
prominent building on the farther bank of the river, has an attendance
of about 200. A statue of Garcés in front of the chapel here com-
memorates the heroic Franciscan who, after martyrdom at his mission
here in 1781, was interred with respect by the Indians who had
murdered him. His body was later transferred to Mexico. (See
p. 187.) Kino estimated that there were 6,000 Yuma families. It
has been estimated that there were 3,000 Indians here in 1853; in
1932 there were 842 under the Fort Yuma Agency. The word Yuma,
from ‘‘Yahmayo,” son of the captain, was applied erroneously by the
early Spanish missionaries; the Indians call themselves Kwichan.

A mile west of Araz siding the San Diego & Arizona Railway, a
part of the Southern Pacific system, branches to the southwest and
eae goes by way of Mexicali, Calexico, and El Centro,
Elevation 156 feet. 2¢TOSS Imperial Valley, and through the beautiful.
eans 1,756 Carrizo Gorge to San Diego. (See p. 287.) Near

Araz the railroad reaches the western edge of the river
flat and begins an ascent of about 150 feet onto the higher terrace or
general desert level. On this grade it passes through long, deep cuts
exhibiting the nature of the sand and gravel deposits that make up
the terrace. At one point this material is extensively quarried for
road making. Half a mile beyond the siding, on the south side of the
highway, south of the tracks, are the ruins of the old Arazstage
station on the river bank, constructed in 1856. The material is
adobe.

From a point near this place a branch road follows the west side
of the Colorado River, which here makes a great bend to the south and
in less than 3 miles enters Mexico near the village of Algodon.

Southwest of Araz siding is the isolated Pilot Knob, or Cerro de
Pablo, near the west bank of the river, consisting of a mass of lava
lying against granite and schists. Near it in 1780 was established
the mission of San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicufier under the admin-
istration of Padre Garcés. The colony consisted of 20 settlers, 21
soldiers, and 12 laborers, with their families. In the Indian revolt
of the following year two resident missionaries and practically
all the soldiers and colonists were clubbed to death, and the women
and children were made captives. On the slope of Pilot Knob dur-

In the hes the term ‘‘adobe”’ | these sun-dried bricks are made and
(colloquially ‘“‘doby”) is commonly | for a structure made of them.
used both for the sandy clay from which

miles.

246 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

ing the gold rush of 1849 a stone structure called Fort Defiance was
built by Americans in connection with a ferry across the river near by.
It was soon abandoned after a massacre by the Yuma Indians.

As the level of the general desert plain is attained near Knob siding
many prominent mountains come into view—the rough ridges of the
Cargo Muchacho Mountains near by to the north, a
group of high ridges surrounding the sharp Picacho
Peak to the northeast, and various high ranges back in
Arizona. Some of these mountains consist in whole
or in part of volcanic rocks; others are made up of
old gneisses and granites, such as constitute the Gila Mountains. A
group of rocky knobs of vesicular lava, skirted 2 miles southeast of
Ogilby siding, has been a source of railroad ballast. On approaching
Ogilby the Cargo Muchacho Mountains seem near. They consist of
schists and include a number of mines, old and new. The principal
old one, the American mine, was worked from 1879 to 1918, with a
production locally estimated at several million dollars. Near by are
the ruins of Tumco (formerly Hedges), a town which had a popula-
tion of nearly 1,000 when the mines were operating. The ore was in
veins in pegmatite, which cuts the schist in every direction.

Three miles north of Ogilby is a mine producing cyanite, a very
refractory aluminum silicate that is useful in the manufacture of high-
grade porcelain ware, electrical insulators, and refractory brick and
shapes for the glass and iron industries. This mineral, which is of a
beautiful blue color, occurs in a large vein with quartz, in mica schist.
It is shipped to Los Angeles for the separation of the quartz and
preparation for the market.” A mile north of the cyanite mine talc
is mined, for use largely in paper manufacture.

West of Knob siding and extending from the Mexican boundary to
and beyond Amos siding, a distance of 50 miles, is a wide belt of sand
hills which is more familiar to most persons than they are aware, for
it has afforded the background for many ‘‘Sahara Desert”’ scenes in
the moving pictures. The belt is about 5 miles wide. It presents a
picturesque succession of shifting dunes, of loose pale-yellow sand, in
places 200 to 300 feet high, separated by irregular basins. The high-
way to El Centro formerly passed over this sandy strip on a road
made of heavy planks strung together with wire. It was 10 feet wide,
with passing places at intervals. In 1928 this unique roadway was
displaced by a wide concrete highway suitable for the present heavy

” Cyanite is of the same composi-

Ogilby.

Elevation 356 feet

New Orleans 1
miles

fibrous cyanite from the quartz is
ted

_ silica 37.15 per cent, the proportion of
alumina being considerably greater
_ than in clay. The separation of the

water, which shatters the quartz so
that it can be removed by washing and

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 247
traffic of Imperial Valley. This sand-dune belt is one of the largest
inland occurrences of its kind in the United States. Doubtless the
dunes are still shifting somewhat, but as land surveys of 1856 show
practically the same configuration as the present one, the change
must be slow, and probably many hundreds of centuries has been
required for their accumulation. They are a serious barrier to canal
construction, as the sand is loose and drifts extensively, but in 1931
provision was made to build an all American canal through them to
supply water to Imperial Valley without the deflection into Mexican
territory which the old canal makes.

From Ogilby northwestward the railroad passes between the sand-
hill belt and the long slopes that lead up to the mountains to the
northeast. At Glamis a road to Blythe leaves the
railroad and proceeds to a distant pass up the Palo
Verde Valley (pah’lo vare’day), a wide dry wash
which rarely carries any water. As the rainfall in
this region is very low, an average of about 3 inches a
year, vegetation is sparse and closely adjusted to soil conditions.
Ironwood (Olneya tesota) and the creosote bush (Covillea) are the most
noticeable features in the vegetation; ocotillo is conspicuous in places.
Some of the ironwoods are 20 feet high, but they are widely separated.
Northwestward from the gap northeast of Glamis the Chocolate
Mountains” make a high continuous wall extending for 20 miles as a
succession of prominent ridges rising abruptly from the valley, 3 to 8
miles northeast of the railroad. In these mountains there have been
a few notable mines, including the Paymaster and Pegleg, both of
which were good producers of silver-lead ores years ago. At the east
end are some outlying buttes capped by basalt, and in part of the
range and in foothills on its south side are andesitic and rhyolitic
lavas of Tertiary age. It has been suggested that the steep south
front of the range in this vicinity was determined by a te granite
and basalt occur in small foothills south of the main rang

On the south side of the railroad is the great sand-hill | belt (see pl.
36, A), on the farther side of which is Imperial Valley.

There is a down grade from a point near Glamis westward, and the
tracks pass below sea level near Flowing Well siding. This place

7 The Chocolate Mountains con- | the canyon leading to this pass beds of
sist mainly of granite, but schist also | white soft tuff give place to a vertical
occurs, and these old rocks are over- | mass of dark rhyolitie breecia in which
lain ee lavas
of Tertiary age. In Iris Pass, which

Glamis.
Elevation 338 feet.
Population 15.*

New Orleans 1,785
mniles.

In
crosses the range north of Niland, there
of stee

and yellow clay, lyi
igneous rocks. Near a upper end of

ate which appear to
zontal and contain boulders of rhyolite
and other volcanic rocks. West of the

pass granite is the principal rock, con-
stieetinare high rocky range. (Brown.)

248 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

owes its name to the former presence of a marsh and a pool of brackish
water of unknown origin. A short distance beyond is the East High-
land Canal, which carries irrigation water along the east margin of
Imperial Valley as far as Niland. From the canal crossing there is an
excellent view of the beach of the old Lake Cahuilla, which once
occupied the Salton Basin. (See p. 253.) The beach, which consists
of sand, here forms a steep bluff about 40 feet high and extends far to
the southeast along the east side of the canal.

Near Niland outcrops of soft sandstone appear in low ridges con-
stituting the north slope of Imperial Valley. The sandstone is

: interstratified with shale, clay, and conglomerate, the
Niland.
cet Sagi conglomerate mostly as a basal member. These
Population 200.* rocks are of Miocene or Pliocene age and steeply
ariel Orleans 1,815 tilted. They crop out almost continuously on the

northeast side of the railroad to Indio and beyond.
From Niland, formerly called Imperial Junction, a branch railroad
leads south to Brawley, E] Centro (32 miles), and Calexico (41 miles),
in Imperial Valley. In the eastern part of Niland the railroad is
crossed by the power line that furnishes electricity to Imperial Valley.
The current is generated by water power in Owens Valley, 300 miles
to the north. The line extends northwestward a short distance north
of the railroad, to Indio and beyond.

Imperial Valley has an area of about 600 square miles, occupying
the central part of Imperial County southeast of Salton Sea. Most
of it lies 10 to 175 feet below sea level. The parallel of 33° north
latitude passes through its center, and with the low elevation and this

Colorado River to be allotted to Mexico | than has ever been utilized in the area

s can Members of the International | desire nearly five times as much, or one-
Water ‘Commission have suggested | fourth of the total annual content of the

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 36

A. DRIFTING SANDS NEAR NORTH END OF SAND HILLS NEAR AMOS SIDING,
CALIF.

Chocolate Mountains in background. (Mendenhall.)

B. SALTON SEA AND SALTON BASIN, CALIF.

From point near Figtree John Spring, looking north to Orocopia and Cottonwood Mountains.
(Mendenhall.)

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 37

B. COTTON IN IMPERIAL VALLEY

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 249

connection with the Boulder Dam project the supply will be provided
by an all-American canal. (See p. 241.) The cost of the irrigation
system in Imperial Valley has been about $18,000,000. The crops
raised are most varied, with 112,432 acres of alfalfa, 22,165 acres of
cotton (see pl. 37, B), and a large acreage of fruits and vegetables,
including 8,000 acres in grapefruit and 70,000 acres in melons of
various kinds. ‘he yearly value of its products is locally claimed to
be between $40,000,000 and $50,000,000. Cotton, dates, citrus
fruits, barley, and alfalfa grow side by side. From Imperial Valley
New York gets its earliest cantaloupes, of which it is locally estimated
that about 20,000 cars are shipped each year, and 15,000 carloads of
lettuce were shipped to the eastern markets in 1926. The grapefruit
crop in 1929, according to the United States Census, was 329,461
boxes, and the grape crop 4,032 tons. Alfalfa yields 7 to 10 tons to
the acre for each cutting, and it is harvested several times a year.
Livestock and dairying are important industries which utilize the
pasturage and forage products to great advantage. It is locally esti-
mated that 16,000,000 gallons of milk was produced in 1929.

The United States Department of Agriculture has made a detailed
study of the soils of an area of 1,100 square miles in Imperial Valley,
or most of that portion of the irrigable area that lies within the United
States. All of the material is alluvium derived from the Colorado
River, and although most of it is suitable for agriculture, some areas
are too much mineralized for most plants, and others are suitable only
for certain crops. Irrigation also adds to the mineralization unless
precautions are taken to avoid accumulation of saline matter by
evaporation, for river water contains considerable of it in solution.

Imperial Valley has a very warm climate for a large part of the year,
but temperatures rarely rise above 125°, and the mean is about 70°.
With very low humidity the warmth is more bearable than sultry
heat in other regions. In winter the minimum has been as low as
19°, but temperatures below 32° are rare and of short duration. The
mean annual rainfall is somewhat less than 3 inches. The climate in
general is closely similar to that of much of the Nile Delta, but the
average humidity is only about two-thirds as great and is much less
variable. Dust storms, which occur mostly in February, March,
and April, are short but trying.

Prof. W. P. Blake, of the Government expedition of 1853, was
probably the first to recognize the agricultural capabilities of the lower
part of the Colorado Desert and to suggest that the water of the
Colorado River could be utilized for its irrigation. A few years later

river. In some years of scanty flow, | ments are 2,500 second-feet. (Homan,

such as 1930 and 1931, Imperial Valley | P. T., Economic aspect of the Boulder

could scarcely obtain a daily mean of | Dam project: . Jour. Economics,

1,000 second-feet, although the require- | vol. 45, pp. 177-217, 1931.)
152109°—33——_17

250 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

surveys were made for a canal, and in 1859 the State of California
petitioned the United States Government to cede 3,000,000 acres of
the land for development. In 1875-76 surveying parties reported
favorably on a diversion canal passing through Mexico, on practically
the present route of the main canal, but no concessions were granted,
and it was not until 1900 that the canal was begun under private
auspices. In 1901 water was available, and the excellent results
obtained encouraged a large influx of settlers. The alluring but well-
fitting name Imperial Valley was given to the region, and its develop-
ment has been rapid and extensive. .There were many difficulties to
overcome, such as rapid silting of the canal near the headgates, but
the worst setback was the breaking of the Colorado River into the
intake below Yuma in 1904 and 1905. The great river, swollen
by a winter flood, abandoned its own bed and flowed into the Salton
Basin through the old watercourses, the Alamo and New Rivers,
excavating wide channels. With this influx of the river the Salton
Sea grew rapidly into a great fresh-water lake, and large areas of
valuable lands and canals were destroyed. It was seen at once that
unless the flow could be stopped Imperial Valley was doomed. A
brush mat and piling dam was started after the summer flood had
subsided, but a later flood destroyed it, and other floods added to the
difficulty. Late in 1906 the Southern Pacific Co. took control of
operations, and after one disheartening failure, the use of vast amounts
of rock brought from quarries was effective in closing the break in
February, 1907. The cost of this work was estimated at $3,000,000.
The flooding of Salton Sea necessitated the removal of 67 miles of
railroad tracks, in places as much as 2 miles, to their present location.

This flooding was facilitated by the high gradient of 200 feet or
more in the valley, which gave the water greater declivity than its
own low gradient down the old main channel to the Gulf of California.
Soon the greater part of the river’s flow was entering the basin, and in
a year or more Salton Sea had increased in length to 45 miles and in
width to 17 miles, with a depth of 67.5 feet and an area of 443 square
miles. Its northwestern margin extended nearly to Mecca and its
eastern margin encroached on Imperial Valley. Had the water risen
pr higher the great irrigation settlement would have been inun-

ated.

When the inflow was stopped, in February, 1907, evaporation began
at once to reduce the lake, and in the next five years the level fell 25
feet. This fall of 5 feet a year was less than the average annual
evaporation (about 9} feet), for some water is received from the over-
flow and seepage of irrigation ditches and some through drainage from
the surrounding mountains. In 1915 the depth of the water had
_ diminished to 38 feet, and in 1919 to 30 feet. In the last decade the
_ water level has ranged from 250 feet below sea level in 1923 and 1925

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 251

Within two and one-half years after the Salton Sea was flooded its
water was four times as saline as that of the river from which its water
was derived. When the water receded and revealed a portion of the
bottom of the basin it was found that several feet of silt covered the
old salt deposit on its floor.

It has been estimated that during the time of their overflow into
the Salton Basin the Alamo and New Rivers removed from their beds
and banks 450,000 cubic yards of material in nine months. At this
time the Alamo River developed a waterfall 30 feet or more high,
which for a while cut backward at the rate of 1,400 feet a day.

Outside of the irrigated area this basin is part of the most arid
desert in the country. It was called by the Mexicans and Indians
‘Lia Palma de la Mano de Dios” (the hollow of God’s hand) and was
named the Colorado Desert by W. P. Blake in 1853, eight years
before the State of Colorado was named. At present the name
Imperial Valley is used for the eastern part of the area, Salton Basin
for the central area, and Coachella Valley for the upper part from the
head of Salton Sea to the foot of San Gorgonio Pass. It is an inland
extension to the northwest of the valley that holds the head of the
Gulf of California and comprises more than 2,000 square miles between
the Santa Rosa Mountains and Peninsular Range on the southwest,
and the Chocolate, Orocopia, and Little San Bernardino Ranges on
the northeast. It is followed for more than 150 miles by the Southern
Pacific Railroad.

Structurally this area is a complex downfaulted block of the earth’s
crust, deeply floored by Tertiary sediments and alluvial deposits.
Its lowest part is now 273.5 feet below sea level. Its main outlines
apparently were developed in Tertiary time, for it contains extensive
deposits of Tertiary age, and these have been flexed and faulted.
They comprise Miocene or Pliocene marine beds, overlain by subaerial
beds that were formed in a desert basin somewhat like the present one.
Since that time, however, the basin has been greatly uplifted, for part
of the Tertiary strata have been eroded down to a level far below the
present valley bottom. It has been suggested that the basin was
occupied until recently by an extension of the Gulf of California,
which was cut off by the building of a delta by the Colorado River,
but recent investigations seem to indicate that much of the present
depression below sea level was effected by crustal movement after
most of the Colorado River delta was built, and therefore long after
the invasion by the sea. Blake discovered that in relatively recent
time the basin was occupied by a transient fresh-water lake of large
extent, which he called Lake Cahuilla (ca-wee’ya). (See p. 253.)
The delta cone of the river, which now cuts off the basin to the south-
east, is young, however, and its top is only about 30 feet above sea
level. That there has been recent faulting in part of the basin is

252 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

shown by a very fresh fault cliff or rift in the surface (see pl. 39) and
by occasional earthquakes. As the great river carries a heavy load
of sediment (see p. 240), it is reasonable to believe that it would be
able to build a delta all the way from Yuma to the head of the Gulf
of California at a rate equal to a slow subsidence. The salt in the
present Salton Basin ” is believed to have resulted solely from the
evaporation of river water and of transient streams running into the
basin. The capacity of the Salton Basin up to the lowest point in
the delta rim to the southeast, 30 feet above sea level, an area of
about 2,100 square miles, is 264,500 square mile feet (square miles
1 foot deep). (Brown.) With an average annual flow at Yuma of
26,000 square mile feet, the water of the Colorado River, if it all
_ entered the Salton Basin, would supply this volume in about 10 years,
but evaporation would greatly retard and possibly prevent complete
inundation.

The Salton Basin is in many ways similar in configuration to other
closed basins in arid regions. The central portion is flat, and about
its borders are alluvial slopes extending to the foot of the mountains,
which rise very abruptly with steep rocky slopes. A few rocky buttes
or ridges rise above the basin floor somewhat like rocky islands in the
sea. The lower part of the basin is filled and floored with a thick body
of sand and silt which has been penetrated by borings, some of them
1,000 feet deep, without reaching bedrock, although they may reach
formations of Tertiary age. The bottom of the basin is now occupied
by Salton Sea. On the east side of the basin are the delta deposits
of the Colorado River several hundred feet thick, which consist
largely of fine sand and silt. Wells near Holtville are 500 to 800 feet
deep in sand and gravel, the lower part of which may possibly be of

3 This salt was a residue left in the | exploration of 1848 found in the bot-

bottom of the basin by the evaporation
of the water and was in crusts 10 to 20
inches thick; there also were layers of
various thickness in the mud _ below.
Before the inundation of 1891 salt in
considerable amount was obtained at a
salt works in the bottom of the basin
and shipped from old Salton sidi

For centuries before, however, this salt
had been utilized by the Indians. The
fresh waters flo into the basin
brought the salt but contained only a

concentrated by evaporation. A 300-
foot boring at the old salt works re-
vealed 270 feet of hard clay below the
salt and mud, a deposit of earlier over-

of in. Emory in his

small proportion, and it has been |

tom of the basin a very shallow, highly
saline pond less than 1 mile in length.

An analysis of the water of Salton
Sea made by Earl B. Working in June,
1923 (Carnegie Inst. Washington Year-
book 22, p. 66, 1924), shows a concen-
tration of nearly 39,000 parts per mil-
lion of dissolved mineral matter. This

tion the water

inundation in 1907 the mineral content
of the water was only about 3,000 parts
per million.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 253
Tertiary age. In the western or upper part of the basin there is
much coarse material and sand deposited by streams from the adjoin-
ing steep mountain slopes. In places the sands are blown into dunes,
which occupy areas of considerable extent.

The beach line of the large prehistoric water body known as Lake
Cahuilla “ is plainly visible at many places along the margin of the
Salton Basin and extending up the Coachella Valley * to a point
about 2 miles above Indio; it extends along both sides of Imperial
Valley and southward into Mexico. The surface of the water was
about 40 feet above the present sea level, or more than 310 feet
above the bottom of the basin. Variation in elevation of the old
beach from 30 to 57 feet above sea level indicates warping of the basin
in recent time. In most places the old beach forms a sandy ridge or
bench only a few feet high. West of Brawley this bench is half a
mile wide, and 4 miles east of Niland, near the point where it is
crossed by the railroad, it attains considerable prominence, and it
continues in view to a point beyond Frink. Many fossil shells of
fresh-water habit (including Anodonta, Planorbis, Physa, and Tryonia)
occur in the sand. Near Fish Springs, on the south side of the
basin opposite Salton siding, the old strand is marked by a band of
white travertine, a fresh-water deposit of calcium carbonate, on the
schists. This band is very conspicuous on a projection of the moun-
tain known as Travertine Point (pl. 38, B) and encircling an isolated
hill of granite 2 miles northwest of Fish Springs. The inundation of
1907 extended to the foot of the point, covering the old trail with
more than 60 feet of water, but it fell far short of the ancient lake
margin marked by the travertine. Macdougal * has estimated
that the date of the last filling of Lake Cahuilla corresponding to the
old beach was not more than 300 or 400 years ago. The local Indians
have traditions of the lake which disappeared “poco & poco.” Prob-
ably there were oscillations when freshets refilled it, a process which
may have recurred at various times while the delta was being built.

Near the mouth of the Alamo River, on the southeast shore of the
Salton Sea about 8 miles southwest of Niland, the presence of a center
of voleanic activity is shown by ridges of lava pumice and active
“volcanoes” of hot mud emitting sulphurous steam. One of these
features is shown in Plate 38, A. There are other larger ones 75
miles farther south, near Volcano Lake, in Mexico. Pumice is
7 The name Coachella is probably a
isspelling of “‘conchilla” (Spanish for

™ This name applied to the former

water body by W. P. Blake is that of |
valley

the Indians who inhabited

on several sm

Mecca, Cabazon, and Palm Springs.

little shell), which was used in the early
days and printed on the earliest 3

76 ugal, D. T., A decade of the
Salton Sea: Geog. Rev., vol. 3, pp. 457-

| 473, 1917.

254 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

obtained at Obsidian Butte,” on the southeast shore of Salton Sea
11 miles northwest of Calipatria. It is interbedded with sediments
and is the product of a volcanic eruption, probably from a cinder
cone near the present mud volcanoes. The pumice is in pieces as
large as 12 inches, and only those over 2 inches are shipped. The
material is sorted by hand. There is another mine in a similar deposit
9 miles northwest of Calipatria, in an area of about 100 acres on a low
rounded hill

From Niland westward the mountains on the southwest side of the
Colorado Desert or Salton Basin become conspicuous. To the
southwest, across Imperial Valley, the Fish Creek and Superstition
Mountains are clearly in view. Superstition Mountain consists of a
ridge of gray biotite granite about 750 feet high, flanked on its north
side by Tertiary sandstone and tuff with an interbedded flow of
vesicular basalt about 200 feet thick. To the west are the rugged
Santa Rosa Mountains, which consist of schists and granite; beyond
this range rise the high San Jacinto Mountains, also made up of
crystalline rocks. These ranges are sometimes known as_ the
Peninsular Mountains because they continue far south down the great
peninsula of Baja California. On the north side of the railroad west of
Niland are low ridges of sandstone and shale of late Tertiary age which
come to the surface at Niland. (Turn to sheet 27.)

At Mundo siding the Salton Sea is in sight (pl. 36, B), and the
railroad skirts its north shore nearly to Mecca. It is a weird spectacle
in the moonlight.

In crossing the Colorado Desert and Coachella Valley from Yuma
to Banning striking changes will be noticed in the natural vegeta-
tion, especially near Banning, where the xerophilous (‘‘drought-
loving’’) Lower Sonoran flora ceases. Near Yuma the desert plants
are about the same as those in Arizona, but the sahuaro is absent.
The ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens; see pl. 41, A) occurs near the

ilroad as far west as a point a few miles beyond Glamis, where
it recedes to the hillsides on the north, along which it continues to
Red Canyon, near Mecca. The paloverde (Cercidium torreyanum)
and indigo thorn (Parosela spinosa) continue to Palm Springs, and
a few trees like the desert willow (Chilopsis linearis) and the mesquite

(Prosopis glandulosa) extend part way through San Gorgonio Pass.
The mesquite thrives in the sand dunes in the Indio and Indian
Springs region, where a low trailing form (Prosopis juliflora) abounds.
The beautiful Washington palm (Neowashingtoniana Jilamentosa)
begins at the Dos Palmas Spring, north of Durmid, and occurs in
groups | at various springs along the mountain slopes past Indio.

— 7 Rock from from ledges in this butte has | tridymite and barbierite, probably by
oe been cos ot gol meen obsidian, | the action of hot volcanic gases.
ata ; mixture of | (A. F. Rogers.)

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 26

Oo o o
115 30 W5 Fg ee cee ie PE
Sa CARS
} 2
] EXPLANATION
= A Sand and gravel Quaternary
Acer B Sandstone, clay and gl t LG Pliocene
3 C Lavas and other rocks of Tertiary
voleanic origin (undifferentiated)
Be> D Schist and granite Pre-Cambrian and later
ee <a Geology, reconnaissance by J. S. Brown, 1917-1918
+> Va
ie d /
7, ci
Woe Rw
i G Aa? GS

Flowing Well 7’ SSS PO! Gy —
, °\ Te c LS) wf? 160i

1810 Iris > Sst : :
PAY MASTER
/
4

Estelle
2277

Calipatria

Imp
2z -4

\\0
e aS
( 0 Scale 500,000
Calexico linch=8 miles (approximately)
ene -5 10 15
r exicali
ce] Lo i) i}
Contour interval 200 feet
mM 13 mean see feve/
The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every
10 miles, and the crossties are drawn 7 mi
in the lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. S. |
topographic map of that name oe era
530° SS WS
Topography from U. S. Geological Survey uadrar zh map WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO., WASH. D.C

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 255

There are some groves or this picturesque tree in Palm Canyon, as
shown in Plate 41, B. The creosote bush (Covillea) extends all the
way up the valley; but in the more sandy places it is widely spaced
and greatly stunted. It is the dominant plant near Garnet and
Cabazon. The Spanish bayonet (Yucca mohavensis) continues west
and is especially conspicuous near Cabazon. The cacti (mostly
Opuntia bigelovii, O. basilaris, and O. echinocarpa) extend west along
the mountain slopes but do not occur low in the basin, where appar-
ently their altitudinal limit is passed. The ironwood (Olneya tesota)
is widely distributed on the dry uplands and bears much mistletoe
(Phoradendron californicum), a parasite which also infests the palo
verde, mesquite, and other trees.

In the moist alkaline flats of the lower part of the valley the salt
bushes (Atriplex canescens and A. polycarpa) and salt grass (Distichlis
spicata) are the principal plants, and in wet places near springs
rushes (Juncus cooperi), sedges or tules (Scirpus olneyi), arrowweed
(Pluchea sericea), and willow (Salix gooddingii) flourish. The willow
also forms dense thickets along the overflow lands bordering parts
of the Colorado River.

The animals and birds in the desert region of southern California
are the same as in southern Arizona and, except the coyote and
rabbits, are rarely seen. Large animals occur in the mountains,
and deer, sheep, and Ginchied are occasionally visible in out of the
way places.

From Mundo siding to Mortmar siding the railroad is built largely

on a bench near the shore of the Salton Sea. A short distance to
the northeast of the tracks are hills and badlands of tilted sandstone
and shale of Pliocene age. Some distance beyond rise the rugged
slopes of the Chocolate and Orocopia Mountains.
_ At Frink siding is a crusher making “‘Frink rock” for concrete
from detrital material consisting of boulders, mostly of schist,
rhyolite, and andesite brought by freshet waters from the mountains.
The capacity of the plant is 1,500 tons a day.

About 2% miles northeast of Bertram siding are the ‘‘soda mines,”’
where the mineral thenardite, an anhydrous sodium sulphate, with
hidiraih. a small amount of the hydrous form (Glauber salts),
peration-15 130 feet. E88 been quarried. The mineral occurs in a
New Sey peed 3 inches to 8 feet thick in the Pliocene sandstones

miles. and clays, which here dip about 35° N. The clean
mineral is more than 99 per cent pure, and the bed has been traced
for 3,000 feet. Several thousand tons a year has been shipped to
San Francisco for use in making wood pulp by the sulphite process
and also in the manufacture of glass.

From Bertram siding to Mortmar the Orocopia Mountains are
conspicuous to the north and northeast, culminating in a dark

256 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

rounded peak about 3,000 feet high, which is visible for a long distance
in the surrounding country. These mountains consist largely of old
black schist, but according to Brown andesitic and rhyolitic lavas
also occur in them. They are separated from the Chocolate Moun-
tains, to the southeast, by the wide valley of Salton Creek. At
their south foot, about 5 miles northeast of Salton siding, is Dos
Palmas Spring (Spanish for two palms), a watering place on the
old stage road from Ehrenberg to San Bernardino. The water,
which is somewhat saline, rises in a marshy poo] surrounded by
rank vegetation, and on its bank is a small clump of Washington
palms. A strip of loose sand marking the old shore of Lake Cahuilla
is a notable feature 2 miles south of Dos Palmas Spring.

There are several notable springs along the southwest side of the
Salton Basin, due to the escape of ground water under artesian
pressure. They are marked by clumps of trees that can be seen across
the valley from the railroad, although the distance is 15 miles. One
is Kane Spring, nearly due south of Bertram siding. It yields a
highly mineralized water rising from uptilted Tertiary strata. Another
about 25 miles farther northwest, is Figtree John Spring, which
yields good water. It received its name from an Indian who lived
there for many years in a grove of fig trees. Near by is Fish Spring,
nearly due south of Mecca, where warm water of poor quality forms a
large pool and has a flow reported to be 280 gallons a minute. Itis an
outlet for the artesian flow from the higher part of the Coachella
Valley. A small fish, Cyprinodon californensis, lives in the warm
water. Near this spring the water line of old Lake Cahuilla (see p.
253) makes a well-marked horizontal band of light-colored travertine
on the rocky slope near the base of the mountains and girdling an
outlying hill.

Near Mortmar siding the northwest end of the Salton Sea is
passed, and in a few miles the route enters the Mecca irrigation dis-
trict, where an area of considerable extent is irrigated by water
pumped from wells of moderate depth.

Most of Coachella Valley is underlain by water-bearing sand and
gravel, which in the area below sea level yield artesian flows to many
wells. Some water is also raised by pumping. The wells are mostly
about Mecca, Thermal, Coachella, ‘and Indio, where the water is
used extensively for irrigation. In fact, these places would be only
passing sidings were it not for the underground water supply. The
artesian water was discovered by the railroad company in 1888 at
Thermal and Coachella, and since then 400 or more wells have been
sunk, mostly from 500 to 600. feet deep and yielding from 10 to 40
miner’s inches (90 to 360 gallons a minute), the amount depending
_ on the size of the well and varying with the locality. The water is
_ contained in sand in the valley fill, and the head is derived from the
= "ight of the intake on the sides and higher parts of the valley to the

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 38

- MUD VOLCANOES SOUTHWEST OF NILAND, CALIF.

Boiling mud ae heated by buried volcanic rocks. The water is believed to rise on the
San Andreas fault.

phaser OF ANCIENT LAKE CAHUILLA
DE OF SALTON BASIN, CALIF.

B. TRAVERTINE DEPOSIT MARKING
NEAR FIGTREE JOHN SPRING, ON soUuT
Santa Rosa Mountains at ats (Mendenhall.)

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 39

A, VIEW SOUTHEAST FROM A POINT 3 MILES NORTH OF BANNING

B. VIEW NORTHWEST FROM A POINT 2 MILES NORTH-NORTHEAST OF INDIO
Little San Bernardino Mountains in distance.
SAN ANDREAS FAULT NEAR BANNING AND INDIO, CALIF.
(Continental Air Map Co.)

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY J y :
ICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 40

*

A. CANYON IN TERTIARY STRATA EAST OF MECCA, CALIF.

-—_——

BEDS IN INDIO HILLS NORTHWEST OF INDIO, CALIF.
(Mendenhall.)

B. TILTED LATE TERTIARY

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 41

A. OCOTILLO AND CHOLLA, COACHELLA
VALLEY, CALIF.

B. WASHINGTON PALMS IN PALM CANYON, CALIF

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 257

north and is maintained by the impervious cover of fine-grained de-
posits which occupy the center of the basin. The water is derived
from rainfall on the mountains and higher slopes, which passes under-
ground in the coarse material extending as alluvial fans along the foot
of the mountains. Most of the water falling on the mountains runs
off the hard rocks and steep slopes but is absorbed by the gravel and
sand of the valley fill. Several streams, such as Whitewater Creek,
Snow Creek, Tahquitz Creek, Andreas Creek, and the creek in Palm
Canyon, sink in that way. In the northern portion of the valley the
underground water is of excellent quality, containing only from 150
to 250 parts per million of mineral constituents, but south of a line
from the south end of the Santa Rosa Mountains to Salton siding the
waters are too saline for use.

The underground water supply about Indio and southward to
Mecca is limited in amount, but about 16,000 acres is being irrigated.
The crops include melons, dates, grapes, alfalfa, and many other
products. The United States Department of Agriculture has made a
detailed study of the soils of the Indio area, and many experiments
have been made to determine the best crops and proper conditions for
their irrigation. Underground waters are pumped at several places
west of Indio for irrigation and other purposes. Water furnished
by springs and wells east of Salton siding is of too poor quality for
irrigation.

At Mecca (formerly called Walters) the Coachella Valley is a wide
alluvial flat extending from the foot of the Santa Rosa Mountains on
the southwest to the Mecca Hills on the northeast.
The Mecca Hills consist of a 5,000-foot succession of
poration —1S8 eet. steeply tilted yellowish sandstone and sandy shales
New Orleans 1,859 with a basal member 1,000 to 1,200 feet thick of

oa: brownish-red sandstones and conglomerates. These
rocks are well exposed on the Shaver Canyon road east of Mecca.
(See also p. 259 and pl. 40,A.) The strata are closely folded, as shown
in Figure 62. In Burnt Springs Canyon and near Hidden Spring, east
of Mecca, the anticlinal structure of the front ridge is well shown.
At Hidden Spring the sedimentary rocks appear to be invaded by a
mass of rhyolite. At Shaver Well, about 10 miles east of Mecca, a
mass of old schist is exposed in contact with the overlying conglomer-
ate and sandstone. To the east of this place are the high ridges of
dark schist known as the Orocopia Mountains. A sandy strip mark-
ing the old beach of former Lake Cahuilla is crossed by the highway a
few miles east of Mecca, before it enters Shaver Canyon.

About Mecca the principal products of irrigation are oranges, dates,
and Bermuda onions, which are shipped to all parts of the United
States.

Many date palms are growing in the vicinity of Mecca and Indio,
where the climate and soil seem particularly favorable. Experi-

Mecca,

258 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

mental work on date culture was begun in this area by the United
States Department of Agriculture in 1904, utilizing waters pumped
from wells. Tests were made of many varieties from the principal
date-growing regions of the Old World, but only a few were found to
be suitable. The annual rainfall is less than 3 inches, and the humid-
ity is very low. Although the temperature is high for most of the
year, it falls below 32° at times, and it has gone to 15°. _In midwinter
there are light frosts, which seldom continue beyond February. Most
varieties of dates are injured by the slightest rainfall or even by dew
during the ripening season, so that the complete dryness generally
prevailing from August to November is especially favorable to the
maturing of the fruit. As the soil at Mecca is nearly pure sand on
the old lake beach, care has to be taken to develop sufficient humus
and prevent the too rapid sinking of the irrigation water. There is
more silt in the soil at Indio. It is necessary also to protect offshoots
and seedlings in canvas-covered sheds where suitable temperature and
humidity can be maintained. Most dates designed for long keeping
and export have to be picked before they are fully ripened and care-
sw. NE.

, SantaRosa
3400 " Mts.

° ' 5 MILES

Se eee Ce CSN WANN |
FIGURE 62.—Diagrammatic section across Coachella Valley through Mecca, Calif. By W.C. Mendenhall

fully sun dried. Seedling dates are about half females, which alone
bear fruit, so that all males in excess of those necessary for pollination
are culled out as soon as they can be recognized, which is from the
age of 3 to 4 years. Pollination is best accomplished by shaking a
frond of male flowers over the female flowers or by tying them together
so that the wind will transfer the pollen. Trees usually bear fruit in
_four years, at first in small amounts and then increasing in size and
productiveness for many years. The fruit hangs in great clusters, as
shown in Plate 37, A, and ripens in September, October, or November.
On the 40-acre experimental date farm of the United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture, about a mile southeast of Mecca, systematic
tests are in progress on the culture not only of dates but of other fruits
suitable to the region.

At Mecea the railroad company has a 1,500-foot well which supplies
400 gallons a minute of water of excellent quality, used for locomo-
__ faves at various places between that place and Glamis. The first well
___ here, bored by the railroad company in 1894, struck an artesian flow

a to that found at Thermal and Coachella several years before.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 259
Thermal is a village in the irrigation settlement that extends along
the Coachella Valley from Mecca to Indio and beyond. The fine
fields of alfalfa and other products of irrigation in this
Rlevation 121 fee. | 2e# Contrast strongly with the desert conditions in
Population 400.* the valley lands which have not been reclaimed. The
ee 1,865 soil is rich and responds readily to cultivation, and
many oranges, dates, and melons are grown, irrigated

by water from wells.

In ascending the Coachella Valley there are fine views of the adjoin-
ing mountains. To the west is the Santa Rosa Range, consisting
mainly of hard schists and igneous rocks. To the east
are the low but rugged Mecca Hills, consisting mostly
of softer sandstones and clays. These and the Indio
Hills, their northwesterly continuation, rise about
1,000 feet above the valley plain and show a large
amount of badland topography due to rapid erosion cutting
steep-sided gullies in soft materials. There are two distinct
formations. The lower one, of marine origin and regarded as the same
as the late Tertiary beds in the Carrizo Mountains, far to the south-
east, crops out in small areas east and west of the mouth of Thousand
Palms Canyon and in the northern part of the Indio Hills. It con-
sists of yellow clay with some sandstone and conglomerate and indi-
cates an extension of the waters of the Gulf of California to San
Gorgonio Pass in late Tertiary time. In places it carries reefs filled
with fossil oysters. It is overlain by several thousand feet of late
Tertiary clays, apparently playa deposits, arkosic sandstones, and
conglomerates. (Woodring.) 7

The strata in the Indio and Mecca Hills are folded in compressed
anticlines and synclines, which in general are parallel to the trend of
the hills, but the strike is somewhat more to the north and the beds
are cut off diagonally by the San Andreas fault, which passes along
their south side,” as shown on sheet 27.”

78 At the base of the Tertiary in this} 7 Noble, L. F., personal communica-

Thermal.

Coachella.
Elevation —66 feet.

Population 700.*
New Orleans 1,869
miles.

fragments of the underlying schists.
The material becomes finer grained
farther away from the contact, the
conglomerate ing laterally into
sand and clay. This gradation is well
exhibited in Shaver Canyon, east of
Mecea, where near eimai Well see

near-by ledges of at eBay pony

tion.
8 At the entrance to Shaver Canyon
the beds of soft sandstone and clay dip

turned in a — anticline, oe
in Plate 40,
the dip is bs ee northeast, and here
the anticline is overturned, with ver-

this anticline there is a broad basin, on

260

The San Andreas fault is a break in the earth’s crust that extends
for many miles across southern and central California. Movement
along it began far back in the Tertiary period and has progressed at
intervals to very recent time.®! It passes along the southwest side
of the Mecca and Indio Hills and traverses the valley-fill deposits in
the intervals between these ridges, where in places it gives rise to a
low cliff. This feature is well shown in the airplane photograph re-
produced in Plate 39. Its course, as recently determined by L. F.
Noble, is shown on sheets 27 and 28, together with that of another
similar break known as the Mission Creek fault, which joins it near
Indio.

The fault trace is less conspicuous along the south side of the Mecca
Hills, where in places it is marked by a low bluff, extending as far as
Mortmar siding. It is believed by Noble to continue southeastward
under the Salton Sea to the mud volcanoes southwest of Niland and
thence southeastward by Brawley and Holtville. Another fault
beginning in the Indio Hills is believed to extend through Dos Palmas
and Frink Springs and continue approximately parallel to the railroad
northeast of the sand-hill belt. There are scarps and springs in
places along its course.

North of Indio the fault extends along the southwest margin of the
Indio Hills nearly parallel to the railroad and from 2 to 3 miles distant.

The older crystalline rocks of the high mountains bordering the Colo-
rado Desert and Coachella Valley are schists and gneisses penetrated
by old granite. These schists and granites are cut by younger
granitic igneous masses and overlain by a younger series of schists,
limestones, and quartzites that are considerably metamorphosed.
(Brown, Vaughan, and Frazer.)

GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

the east side of which basal conglomer-
ates rise on the mass of schist that
appears at Shaver Well.

The Indio Hills have practically the
same structure as the Mecca Hills,
except that they consist caddalhe of two

anticlines in a faulted block cut off on
the southwest by the San Andreas
fault. (Noble, L. F., personal com-

tion.

munica
8t That there still is movement along
this fault or other faults west of it

Bull., vol. 5, pp. 130-148, 1916.) In
order to e the amount of
vertical movement on this line of
displacement precise levels have been

through El Centro, Niland, Yuma, and
Jacumba, a distance of 158 miles.
These, when compared with previous
levels, indicate slight vertical displace-
ment a short distance south of Niland
(probably on an extension of San
Andreas fault), just south of Brawley,
and farther south on the supposed east-
ward continuation of the Elsinore fault.

earthquake of March, 1932, which
caused Ih 1 oie Dp ane Coa 5 eee
near Long Beach, was due to movement
that centered in the ocean, to the west.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 261

About Indio are many trees and fields of alfalfa and various other
crops. <A large date orchard can be seen just north of the railroad
jadio: west of Indio, and in the station yard is a fine Deglet
ie ee ag Noor date palm (female), imported from North
Population 1,500." Africa, “‘the offshoots of which are always true to
to aaa 1872 type.”’ At Indio is the winter resort of the Los

Angeles Y. M. C. A., and near by is the attractive
resort of La Quinta (keen’ta).

The tilted Tertiary rocks constitute the range of high ridges known
as the Indio Hills, which lie about 5 miles northeast of Indio.

_ In the center of the valley west of Indio and north of Indian Well

is a heavy accumulation of dune sand, some of it bearing considerable
stunted mesquite. Loose sand is an abundant material in the Coa-
chella Valley, most of it shifted by strong winds that separate the sand
from the coarser materials brought into the basin by many sidestreams.
Small sand dunes accumulate, but the material is moved rapidly.
The wind-blown sand is a powerful agent of erosion, cutting rocks,
metals, and wood; the railroad company finds that the replacement of
railroad eyuipment, telegraph poles, and bridge timbers is a consider-
able item of expense. It will be noted that many of the telegraph poles
are protected by a pile of stones at their base. Sand storms occur
occasionally, and if the traveler is not protected he may find them
trying. The sand is rounded and worn as it cuts and finally loses
most of its abrasive quality. Pebble pavements seen in many desert
regions look almost artificial. They owe their origin largely to the
removal of sand by the wind so that the pebbles remaining settle
down into a pavement that resists further erosion. The surfaces of
the ieara ths smoothed and polished by the attrition of sand carried
by the win:

From Lie northwestward the railroad ascends the Coachella
Valley through Myoma, Dry Camp, and Edom sidings. At Edom
there is a small irrigated area in which some of the fields are sur-
tounded by tamarisk. This tree was imported from southern Europe,
for use in making hedges and windbreaks. As it withstands droughts
and thrives under various other adverse conditions, it has proved very
useful in the Southwest. As it is not an evergreen and is quite unlike
cedar or cedar or juniper, the name “salt cedar,’”’ by which it is often known, is

. <9 Bemea kinds of igneous rocks and | in rock disintegration by solution of
Sandstones in desert regions show | the cement or of mineral:
Pitted or cavernous surfaces, with | hold the grains together. Wind and
cavities of various sizes up to several | other agencies remove the disinte-
inches in diameter, differing materially | grated material. Thesame process has
from ving and fluting caused ae ae elena RE
by wind-blown sand. These cavites dd

are believed to be due to inequalities region. " (Blackwelder.)

262 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

inappropriate. A wide area of sand occupies the valley from a point
beyond Indio to Myoma. To the north are prominent hills of sand-
stone of late Tertiary age, in front of which passes the San Andreas
fault. This fault cuts the sandstone for a short distance near the
west end of the range. At intervals along the San Andreas fault and
sustained by moisture which it brings to thesurface, aresmall clumps of
the Washington palm, mostly visible from the train. Behind the hills
about 6 miles northeast of Edom are the Thousand Palm Springs
(pl. 41, B), the water of which is believed to rise on the Mission Creek
fault. Farther back are the high ridges of the Little San Bernardino
Mountains, which consist of a great batholithic mass of granitic rock
ranging from pink biotite granite to dark diorite. (Brown.) ;

San Jacinto
FR:

Horizontal scale
ane Miles
L

Vert cal scale
’ 10000 Feet
OLE ie

FIGuReE 63,—Section through the San Jacinto Mountains, Calif. After Frazer. ss, Sandstone; sc, schist;
, gneiss; gr, granite
The San Jacinto Mountains, prominently in view to the northwest
(pl. 42, A), consist of a huge central mass of granite * flanked by
schistose rocks * believed to be a contact phase of the granite. (See
fig. 63.)

At Rimlon siding the railroad skirts a large hill of loose conglom-
erate, mostly covered with white wind-blown sand in which Woodring
has found marine Tertiary fossils. These fossils also
Rimlon. were found in and near Painted Hill, a ridge east of the
New Oras 18 Whitewater River not far north of the railroad.
aap are numerous mollusks in large variety and

y Foraminifera
The Whitewater 1 River i is a wide ‘dry wash filled with boulders and
sand. It is a flowing stream in the mountains just north of the rail- rail-
% According to Frazer, the ere 60 to 70 per cent. Some of the + nek
i would be classed as quartz monzonite,

* The schists dip away from the
central mass at angles mostly from
30° to 60° and in places are overlain by
dj co so schists, 2,600 feet or _—

limestone (marble). These rocks are
—< to have been metamorphosed

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 27

California _ 9]

ee
° NG 16

He

EXPLANATION

A’ Sand, gravel, loam, ete. (valley fill Quaternary
and lake deposits) ‘
B Sandstone, shale, and conglomerate Pliocene
C Schist, granite, ete. Pre-Cambrian and later
D Lavas and tuffs (voleanic) Tertiary and later
eR Beach of Lake Cahuilla
a Fault

~~~= Concealed fault

Geology, reconnaissance mainly by J. S. Brown, 1917-1918;

I

Scale 500,000
linch=8 miles (approximately)
= lo 15

20 MILES

10
Contour interval 200 feet

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every
10m d the ti d 7 mile a,

iles, and

I h. th, ooh

20 KILOMETERS

part

j hb

sy

in the lower. left corner is mapped in detail on
topographic map of that name

6 30

San Andreas and Mission Creek faults by L. F, Noble, 1932

the U. 8. 6. 8.

Topography south of railroad by U. S.

WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO., WASH..D.C

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 263

road, but the water sinks rapidly when it reaches the valley fill. In
times of flood, however, it runs far down the Coachella Valley and has
been known to reach Salton Sea. (Turn to sheet 28.)

Palm Springs Station is 7 miles northwest of Palm Springs, a popu-
lar winter resort in the valley that separates the Santa Rosa Moun-
Palm _Sorings tains from the San Jacinto Range. The village is of

Sta considerable size and has many luxurious homes and
Elevation 1,130 feet. ide The springs issue from the valley fill,
New Orleans 1,901 probably rising on a fault fissure in rocks below this

deposit, as the tepid water indicates a deep-seated
source. The water has a very low mineral content (243 parts per
million), mostly sulphates and chlorides of sodium and potassium,
silica, and a small amount of sulphureted hydrogen, which soon
passes off. The flow, estimated by Brown at about 10 gallons a
minute, makes a pool some 60 feet in diameter.

These springs belong to ‘Mission’? Indians, who live on several
small reservations in the valley. These people are of the Yuman
family, now greatly diminished in number. Ata place about 1 mile
north of Coachella siding the United States Government has a small
pumping plant to supply well water for irrigation on the Cabazon
Indian Reservation.

The San Jacinto Mountains present steep slopes, especially to the
northeast, Snow Creek, for example, dropping 4,000 feet in 1 mile of
its course; end many other deep canyons head in this slope. The
southwest . de of this range is less steep and is bounded by the San
Jacinto f it, movement on which in 1899 and 1918 caused serious
earthque °s in San Jacinto and Hemet. The east side of the range is
also ver precipitous, for at Palm Springs, which is at an elevation
of 455 _ 2t, steep slopes rise more than 10,000 feet to the summit,
San Manindia Peak, as shown in Plate 42, A. This steep front is largely
due to a great foal trending north, Ey is clearly exposed just west
of Palm Springs Station. Here ie mountain face consists of granite
and gray marble in layers that dip 75° or more to the northeast, and
a prospector’s tunnel shows a fault breccia with slickensides. This

long before a granite was intruded, | classed as granite gneiss, a rock exten-
e been in late Jurassic | sively exposed on the west side of Palm
time. The aadtaiie of their meta- | Canyon and in the region about
morphism is indicated by the fact that | Andreas Canyon. Its thickness may
they are crystalline far away from the | be 4,000 feet. The intrusive nature of
granite contact. Their age may be | the granite is proved by the contact
early Paleozoic, as they resemble rocks | relation and by the presence of included
of that age in the region to the north. | masses of schist (xenoliths) and lime-
Although the great central mass of | stone. The contact line is very irregu-
granite is massive, there is a marginal | lar. (Fraz
phase which is so schistose as to be

264 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

fault probably passes under the settlement at Palm Springs, for it is
well exposed a few miles south of that place, where the planes of
movement are marked by wide bands of crushed and strongly weathered
rock. There are springs along this broken zone, and also tufa deposits
20 feet thick covering several acres, marking the position of ancient
springs. Apparently this fault is now quiescent. There are several
branch and cross faults in the Murray Hill district, on the east side of
the valley about 5 miles southeast of Palm Springs. (Frazer.)

Above Palm Springs Station the Coachella Valley becomes nar-
rower as it rises into San Gorgonio Pass, which separates the San
Jacinto Mountains on the south from the San Bernardino Mountains
on the north. The principal narrowing takes place near the mouth
of Whitewater Canyon, on the west side of a north-south fault on which
a block of the old hard rocks is uplifted. Above this fault the side
slopes become steeper, notably on the south side of the valley, where
they rise 9,500 feet to San Jacinto Peak. On the north side there is
a rise of about 6,000 feet to the crest of a high outlying ridge on the
south slope of the San Bernardino Mountains. This gives a steep-
sided profile, but the valley bottom appears nearly flat in cross section,
and its center is occupied by wide, boulder-filled washes containing
material moved by the occasional freshets.

The streams flowing out of the mountains are building alluvial
fans of large size, one of the most conspicuous of which is at the mouth
of Snow Creek Canyon, south of Fingal siding, not far b= ond Palm
Springs Station.

San Gorgonio Pass is a dropped block of the earth’s surfa carrying
an extensive body of recent sediments and lying between vo great
ranges of crystalline rocks. It is from 2 to 3 miles wide, and. extends
almost due east and west for about 18 miles in the ordinary ap ication
of the name. To the east it merges into the Coachella Valley and to
the west near Beaumont into the wide Beaumont Plain. Many of its
relations have been discussed in detail by Russell, who regards the
south wall as a fault scarp which has been moderately active in
recent time, but the northern side is probably an old denuded thrust
block face. The sediments at the margin of the pass were deposited
under conditions somewhat similar to those now prevailing.

In 1800 to 1850 many American explorers, mostly hunters, came
into the lower Colorado River region. It is stated that in the gold
rush of 1849-50, 10,000 people crossed the Colorado River at Yuma.
The earliest trail ran from Yuma, passing south of the southeast end
of the sand hills through Mexico, thence along the Alamo River, across
the present Imperial Valley, up the valleys of Carrizo and San F elipe
Creeks, and over Warners Pass behind the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto
Mountains to the coast. It was along this route in 1848 that Lieut.
W. H. Emory led a military reconnaissance, and in 1857 it was used

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 42

A. SAN JACINTO MOUNTAIN, CALIF., FROM THE EAST SIDE OF COACHELLA
VALLEY

LI

B. ORANGE TREES IN FRUIT, REDLANDS, CALIF.

U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 43

VIEW EAST UP SAN TIMOTEO CANYON AND ACROSS YUCAIPE BASIN FROM A POINT 1 MILE SOUTH OF REDLANDS, CALIF,

Tilted late Tertiary strata at right; San Bernardino Mountains at left. (Mendenhall.)

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES - 265

by the stage line to San Diego and by the Butterfield stage line the
following year. San Gorgonio Pass was discovered in 1774 by Padre
Francisco Garcés, who went through it on the way to Mission San
Gabriel and named it Puerto de San Carlos. It was traversed again
in 1775 by Juan Bautista de Anza on his expedition to found San
Francisco. The first American exploration was made in 1853 by a
party under Lieut. J. G. Parke, of the United States Engineers,
with W. P. Blake as geologist, members of the expedition sent out to
discover a route for a transcontinental railroad through the great
mountain barrier of California. The party was delighted to find the
fine, low natural gateway of San Gorgonio Pass, which they considered
the best pass in the Coast Range. In it was the ranch of a Mr.
Weaver, who had settled there several years before. The narrative
of this discovery is an interesting record. The expedition descended
the Coachella Valley to the Salton Basin, which was ascertained to
be several hundred feet below sea level. The scarcity of water, how-
ever, made this route too difficult for caravans, and the old route by
way of San Felipe Creek and over the high divide as described above
was preferred until after the railroad was built through in 1879;*
then wells were sunk and water found in the deposits underlying the
valleys. Now there is ample supply at short intervals, especially
along the main highway, which passes up the valley to San Gorgonio
Pass but goes by way of El Centro and along the southwest side of
Salton Sea. Water at Palm Springs, Toro Spring, Agua Dulce, and
Indian Wells has long been utilized by the resident Indians, as well
as by their predecessors the Cajuenches, a tribe of Yuman stock who
were found by Garcés occupying the Colorado Desert region as far
west as San Gorgonio Pass.

/ith increase in elevation the vegetation of the valley floor as well
as that of the mountain slopes changes rapidly, and the desert flora
ceases near the 1,500-foot contour. This, however, is largely due to
the fact that considerable moist air comes through San Gorgonio Pass
at times, and on the mountains there is much more precipitation than
in the desert ranges to the east. The Spanish bayonet (Yucca
mohavensis) is conspicuous near Cabazon siding and for some distance
west. (See pl. 42, A.)

From the vicinity of Cabazon (misspelling of Spanish cabezén, big
head) westward there are very impressive views of the mountains,
especially of the San Bernardino Mountains, to the north. As
shown in Figure 64, there are wide, flat-topped toothills on the north
side of the valley.

Skin’ Pee ae Dos Palmas Spring, east of Mecca,
Colorado River at and thence up the Coachella Valley to
Gorgonio Pass,

miles above Yuma, came by way ao San
-- 1§2109°—33-—18

266 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Banning, near the head of the valley constituting San Gorgonio Pass,
is an agricultural and residential settlement where high elevation and
4 other conditions make it an agreeable summer resort
ham as well as an all-year residence. The mean annual
Elevation 2,320 feet. é oe
Population 2,752. temperature is about 60°, the average humidity ranges
iy Orleans 1,915 from 42 to 53 per cent, and the mean annual precipi-
tation is 18.5 inches. It is claimed that there is an
average of 345 days of sunshine in the year. The views of the moun-
tains to the north and south are very impressive, and roads lead from
into both ranges. The great crest of San Gorgonio Mountain
(elevation 11,485 feet), a few miles north of the pass, is most conspic-
uous, and often its summit remains snow-covered long after the fruit
trees of the lowlands arein blossom. Thisis the highest point in south-
ern California. San Jacinto Peak is also a prominent feature ome far
to the southeast.

The water used for irrigation at Banning is taken from the San
Gorgonio River, which has an average flow of about 16 second-feet.

There are many or-
' chards of peaches,
prunes, almonds, and
other fruits near
Banning, and through
Pershing siding to
Beaumont and be-
FicuRe 64.—Cross section of San Gorgonio Pass near Cabazon sid- yond, almond trees

ing, Calif., looking east. gr, granite; ss, sandstone; sc, schist; Qal, blossoming in early

api February are an
attractive sight. The 28-mile tunnel to carry water from the Colorado
River at Parker to Los Angeles will pass near Beaumont, where it will
be about 800 feet below the surface. This water is to be impounded
by the Boulder Dam.

The San Bernardino Mountains (see fig. 65) consist of a great mass
of schists of various kinds, greatly contorted and invaded by granites,
some of which have also become schistose owing to movement and
great compression. There are excellent exposures of these rocks in
the canyons of Smith Creek and the San Gorgonio River northeast of
Beaumont. On the south side of the San Bernardino Mountains the
schist laminae dip 30° NE., and the peak called San Bernardino
Mountain (10,630 feet above sea level) consists of biotite schist. The
rocks around San Gorgonio Mountain range from biotite granite to
schist, both intruded by granite. From the Whitewater River to
Deep Canyon the schists dip mostly 20° N., with many local varia-
tions. The great offset in the mountain front at the Whitewater
ptakieg sis to above is due to faulting. (Vaughan.)

Snow is conspicuous in winter on the higher ranges in southern
California, put it disappears in summer. Formerly there were small

e
w

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 267

local glaciers on the San Bernardino Mountains, as shown by well-
preserved cirques and moraines. The moraines do not extend far
beyond the cirques, and there are no typical glaciated valleys. The
detritus is angular, and the boulders are not striated. A typical
cirque on the northeast side of San Gorgonio Mountain is about 1,500
feet long, 1,000 feet wide, and 1,200 feet deep. It contains a terminal
moraine 250 feet high and two small recessional moraines that mark
stages in the shrinking of the glacier. Doubtless the last glacial ice
disappeared many centuries ago. Other features of former glaciation
occur at the head of Hathaway Creek, just north of San Bernardino
Mountain, where there was a tongue of ice about a mile long. None
of these glaciers extended below an elevation of 8,500 feet, and they
were all on the northward-facing slopes.”

North of Banning is the Morongo Indian Reservation. Padre
Font, who was the chronicler of Anza’s expedition in 1774, described
some Indians living hereabouts whom they named Danzarines (Span-

ey VANE WAG

FIGURE 65.—Section from Banning, Calif., north to San Bernardino Mountain. After Vaughan

ish danzarin, a fine dancer), because of their habit of gesticulating
constantly while talking.

A short distance east of Beaumont the railroad passes through the
wide saddle between the San Jacinto and San Bernardino Ranges at
an elevation very near 2,600 feet, leaving the drainage basin of the
Gulf of California and entering a region where the streams flow directly
into the Pacific Ocean, which at its nearest point lies 55 miles almost
due southwest of Beaumont.

Beaumont is an agricultural settlement and year-round resort.
From Beaumont west there is a down grade past Nicklin and Hinda
ical sidings into the San Timoteo Canyon, which leads to
ane the Santa Ana River. In the upper part of this can-
Population 1,332. yon there are at intervals fine views of the mountains
New Creans L921 to the north, but finally high banks cut off the view.

Canyon is excavated in a deposit of
loam, sand, gravel, and cobblestones of Pleistocene age. These ma-

8% Cirques are steep-walled semi- 8? Fairbanks, H. W., and Carey,
circular recesses in the high mountain | E. P., Science, new ser., vol. 31, pp-
slopes, produced by glacial erosion, | 32-33, 1910. Vaughan, F. E., Cali-
and moraines are ridges of coarse ice- | fornia Univ. Dept. Geology Bull.,
borne detritus that accumulates along | vol. 13, p. 335, 1922.
the margin of glaciers as the ice melts.

268 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

terials are well exposed in gullies and banks in the adjoining hill
slopes. ‘Together with underlying deposits of Pliocene age they con-
stitute the wide ridge of badlands on the south separating San Timoteo
Canyon and San Jacinto Valley. The materials here are mostly
coarse sand and cobble beds in a matrix of sand, underlain by soft
sandstones and shales of gray-brown, yellow, and reddish tints. The
structure of the ridge is strongly anticlinal, the beds on the north side
and center dipping northeast and those on the south side dipping
southwest into the Moreno-San Jacinto Valley. The axis of the anti-
cline is some distance south of the crest of the ridge. It is covered
by valley fill in slopes 20 miles west of Beaumont, but its extension
to the northwest is shown in Bunker Hill and other outcrops to the
northeast. Some features of the steeply dipping beds are shown in
Plate 43. There are fine exposures of them on the highway that
crosses the ridge 3 miles west of Beaumont. The strata forming this
ridge, especially the lower members, contain many bones of extinct
animals, comprising camels, a large and a medium-sized horse, ground
sloth, tortoise, peccary, antelope, saber-tooth tiger, mastodon, rabbit,
bear, and others—an assemblage of late Pliocene and early Pleistocene
time, creatures mostly very different from the present fauna. (Frick.)

It is believed that in late Phocene time southern California had
somewhat the same configuration as at present. The land was gradu-
ally rising, and on the narrow coastal margin was deposited a thick
succession of marine beds. Much of the material was sand and clay
of local origin. The animals were an assemblage of forms that would
now look strange in this region. In the open meadows were droves
of slender-limbed horses, various kinds of camels, including two of
giant size, and many antelope and deer. In the brush were pigs, the
large boar, and tapirs, and in the forest were saber-toothed tigers,
ground sloths, wolves, and bears larger than the great Kodiak bear
of Alaska. From the time of deposition of the lower sediments to
that of the upper ones, there was considerable change in the fauna
and the horses especially became larger and of a more advanced
type. It is estimated that this was considerably more than a million
years ago. (Frick.)

The Tertiary and overlying formations lying on the granite south
of Beaumont and extending westward nearly to Riverside have a
total thickness of more than 4,000 feet. At the bese is about 1,800
feet of red conglomerate and sandstone, unconformably overlain by
about 1,500 feet of sandstone and shale, all of late Tertiary age. The
lower beds are well exposed along Potrero Creek and its tributaries,

south of Beaumont. (Frick.)
___ The uplift and flexing of the strata in the ridge south of San Timoteo
_ Canyon were geologically recent, probably contemporaneous with

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 269

the early part of the uplift of the San Bernardino Mountains. It is
probable that at the same time the San Bernardino Valley subsided
somewhat, so that its rock floor, sheeted over by silt and sand, stood
at a lower level than at present. Streams cut deep canyons in the
mountains and carried boulders, rocks, and clay out over the plain
until many hundreds of feet of alluvial material was accumulated.
(Mendenhall. )

On approaching El Casco siding there is in view a steep-sided gully
cut in the relatively level valley floor of fill, showing that there have
been two stages of valley development—an earlier one, followed by
some deposition, and the present one of invasion by a stream cutting
rapidly to a lower grade.

A few miles farther down grade San Timoteo Canyon opens into
the eastern part of the San Bernardino Valley, which is traversed
by the Santa Ana River, a large stream draining an area of con-
siderable extent in the San Bernardino Mountains and used exten-
sively for irrigation. Probably no other stream of its size in the
United States is made to serve more varied uses. In its course of
not more than 100 miles from the headwaters to the ocean the same
water is used at least seven times for power and irrigation, by means
‘of artificial storage, diversion into canals, and recovery of seepage
water by pumping.®

The railroad passes through Redlands station 3 miles south of the
fine city of Redlands, which is noted forits oranges (see pl. 42, B)
Sopa and for the beauty of its environment. A park in-

: cluding Smiley Heights, with a notable collection of

Elevation 1,350 feet. . 3
opulation 14,177. fine trees, offers some spectacular drives with charm-
eans 1,94 ing views of great orchards and vistas of the stately
San Bernardino Mountains, their higher peaks capped
by snow for a large part of the year. (See pl. 44, A.) Six miles
northeast of Redlands is the deep canyon of the Santa Ana River,
which is followed by a road that gives access to some of the many
resorts in the higher parts of the San Bernardino Mountains. Near
by are the Urbita Hot Springs, with a | swimming pool and
sulphur and mud baths. The Redlands district is at the eastern
margin of the great orange belt of southern California. The soil is
favorable, being a porous sandy loam that keeps free from alkali
under irrigation, and much of the land is sufficiently high to be safe
from frost, which occasionally occurs in the lower part of the valleys
on chilly mornings. Water for irrigation is both pumped from the
large underflow from the Santa Ana Wash and diverted from the
Santa Ana River and Mill Creek.
8% See U, S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 636, pp. 176-177, 1930,

miles.

270 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

The Santa Ana River is crossed about 7 miles west of Redlands
and the city of Colton is entered. Colton is an important commercial
and railroad center. Among many other industries it

Colton. ni P ;
Ad a has a large plant for icing refrigerator freight cars that
Population 8,014. carry fruits and other perishable products on the long
_ Severs 1,4 trip across the warm Imperial Valley and the deserts
of southern Arizona and New Mexico. In this region
the mean annual precipitation is about 14 inches, varying usually from
10 to 18 inches. The humidity is generally only 30 to 40 per cent, so

that the summer heat is seldom uncomfortable.

Colton has a cement works with a capacity of 3,000 barrels a day,
using the marble that constitutes Slover Mountain, just west of the
city, and there is another large plant near Riverside. Southwest of
the city many small peaks of granite rise above the plain.

Riverside (population 29,696, an increase of more than 50 per cent
from 1920 to 1930), visible 7 miles south of Colton, is one of the greatest
orange-shipping centers in the world, receiving nearly $4,000,000
yearly for its output. (See pl. 45.) The city is famous for its general
beauty, the original navel orange tree, the Mission Hotel, and Mag-
nolia Avenue, with its 10 miles of quadruple rows of eucalyptus, pep-
per, palms, and magnolias. <A portion of this avenue is shown in’
Plate 44, B. The parent of millions of orange trees (which in 1874
came to Riverside as a seedling sent by the Department of Agricul-
ture) now stands protected by a high railing, in a position of honor
in front of Mission Inn, where President Theodoré Roosevelt replanted
it in 1903. The county courthouse and the high school at Riverside
are notable examples of architectural achievement. There is also a
large Indian school. On Mount Rubidoux is a cross dedicated to
the memory of Padre Junipero Serra. This knoll takes its name
from a trapper who owned the Jurupa ranch, the site of Riverside,
which at first was named Jurupa.

The name San Bernardino Valley was given by Garecés in 1774 to
the plains adjacent to the upper portion of the Santa Ana River, but
it is now applied to the continuation of these plains that extend for
90 miles along the south side of the east end of the San Gabriel Moun-
tains to and beyond Pomona, an area of about 1,500 square miles.
This valley is filled with débris of unknown Gack nes: and its surface
is made up of deposits of sand, silt, and gravel, the talus and wash
from the adjacent ranges. The elevntion: along its north side is about
2,000 feet, and the distance from its southern margin to the ocean is
about 50 miles. To the south and west are low ranges, the chief of
which is the Santa Ana Mountains, culminating in Santiago Peak,
= 5,680 feet high, visible on the southwestern horizon.

_ To the northeast are many high peaks of the San Bernardino
tains, See yer shied by the railroad from Whitewater to
peaks ee

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 271

On the south slope of these mountains, near Arrowhead Springs,
there is a remarkable scar, like a huge arrow point. (See pl. 46, A.)
It is not always conspicuous, its distinctness depending on light and
foliage, but it can be easily discerned on close scrutiny. It is due to
a peculiar-shaped area of bare rock ledges and thin vegetation, 1,375
feet long and 449 feet wide, occupying an area of 7% acres. Near
by is an interesting group of hot springs, some of which have tempera-
tures exceeding 180° F.; here buildings have been erected to form a
health resort. The water rises on the fault that defines the south
margin of the range, and the heat is due to the great depth from which
it comes.

Three miles north of Colton is the prosperous city of San Bernar-
dino (population 37,481), the county seat of San Bernardino County.
This is the largest county in the United States, having an area of
slightly more than 20,000 square miles, or almost equal to that of
Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey combined. San Ber-
nardino is built on the plain, about 5 miles south of the foot of the
San Bernardino Mountains, and in the last 30 years or so it has grown
into a large modern city with many industrial interests. About
15,000 acres of land in the surrounding region is under cultivation,
mostly irrigated by water from wells, many of them flowing, which
draw their supply from the gravel and sand that constitute the plain.
San Bernardino was the first Anglo-Saxon settlement in southern
California, established in 1851 by a colony of Mormons sent from
Utah by Brigham Young. They came through Cajon Pass (cah-
hone’) and purchased from Mexicans the cultivated areas of the Ber-
nardino ranch for $7,500. The region had long been occupied by
settlers of Spanish origin. In 1810 a mission was established near
Bunker Hill, but it was destroyed by the Indians. Later a larger one
was begun at old San Bernardino, on the south side of the Santa Ana
River. There the padres in charge dug ditches, beginning between
1820 and 1830 with one from Mill Creek, which is the oldest ditch in
the valley. In 1837 the mission lands were taken by the Mexican
Government and given to Mexican settlers, and it was from one
of these landholders that the Mormons purchased land for their
settlement.

At first the old ditches sufficed for the needs of the settlers, but as
population increased other ditches were dug. In 1870 the Riverside
colony, made up mainly of settlers from New England, began the
first large canal, and in the next 20 years irrigation was extended over
a wide area. The greater part of the running water and considerable
underground water was utilized, mainly for irrigating oranges and
other citrus fruits. Now a large area in the vicinity of San Bernar-
dino, Redlands, and Riverside is under irrigation by water derived
either from surface streams from the San Bernardino Mountams or
from the underflow in the gravel at their foot.

272 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

It was soon found that the best conditions for citrus growth were
on the benches, where there was less liability to the low temperatures
that sometimes kill the trees in the valley bottoms. The first orange
trees were seedlings grown in old San Bernardino, but it was not until
the Riverside colony of 1870 was established that marketing of
oranges began. The Bahia navel orange was first introduced at
Riverside. The original cuttings, from Bahia, Brazil, were sent to
Florida from Washington, but someone, whose identity is unknown,
took two of these cuttings to California. One of these two and all
the cuttings in Florida died, so that the present enormous business in
navel oranges has grown from the slender beginning of a single cut-
ting. The tree that lived may still be seen at Riverside.

The principal factor in the orange business was an outlet to eastern
markets, and after the building of the railroads production increased
rapidly and finally attained the present great proportions. As the
demand for water increased the methods of irrigation were improved,
first by avoiding waste and then by careful application, so that in
ordinary practice the volume used was diminished from 1 miner’s
inch for 3 acres to about half as much.” In part of the region about
San Bernardino artesian water is available. It flows under moderate
pressure from the wells, but the heavy drain on this resource has
reduced the volume and head of the water,so that the area in which
flows are obtainable has greatly diminished. It was decreased tem-
porarily by the dry period before 1900.

Much of the water is used in orange groves, but large tracts of other
fruits, vegetables, and alfalfa are irrigated. Grapes, beans, and bar-
ley, which require less water and need irrigation only in dry seasons,
are regarded as “dry” crops. Sugar beets are a very abundant crop,
the refinery near San Bernardino using 40,000 tons a year. Oranges
are available for a long period, the navels in winter and the Valencias
in spring and summer. Lemons ripen practically throughout the
year. In San Bernardino County vineyards cover 40,000 acres and
give employment to many persons. (Turn to sheet 29.)

Northwest of Colton is Cajon Pass (see fig. 66), a great break
between the San Gabriel Mountains on the west and the San Bernar-
dino Mountains on the east, which is utilized by the Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe Railway and by the highway that crosses the Mohave Desert.
Through it also passed the Mormon trail, much used by the gold seek-
ers of 1849. The pass is due to erosion along several parallel faults,

%9 A miner’s inch (in California) is the | or 1 foot deep over 18.1 acres in a year.
amount of water that flows continu- | (The older miner’s inch was 1/50 second-
ously through an orifice 1 inch square | foot.) Citrus lands require about 1
under a head of 6 inches. It equals | miner’s inch for every 5 acres.

‘11% gallons a minute, 1/40 second-foot,

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

BULLETIN 845 SHEET 28

Sheet 29

a)
Po

L

ey
eh.

dn California
EXPLANATION
A Sand and gravel (valley fill and t deposits, A’) Quaternary
B Sandstone, shale, and conglomerate Pliocene and Miocene
C Granite, schist, dionte, ete. Pre-Jurassic
D Basalt (a Pliocene
—-— Fault

--- Concealed fault

Geol
D.

54.9 By aE

nei? y7he
SN LAE
irae SINS

1
Scale 500,000
| inch=8 miles (approximately)
S 10 15

5 15
Contour interval 200 feet
mn 1s mean sea eve!
The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every
70 miles, and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart
Each quadrangle shown on the ma; i
in th eft corner is m

e lower apped in detail on the U. 8. G. 8.
topographic map of that name
L

20 MILES
20 KILOMETERS

ogy by F. E. Vaughan, G. A. Waring,
M. Frazer, W. J. Miller, and others

N7

Topography: U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps

WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO. WASH. 0 C

U. S&S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 44

A. SAN BERNARDINO PEAK FROM POINT NEAR REDLANDS, CALIF.

The snow-capped mountain overlooks orange trees in fruit.

B. MAGNOLIA AVENUE, RIVERSIDE, CALIF.
This avenue, with its border of palms and pepper trees, is one of the world’s most beautiful

thoroughfares.

o

R4

BULLETIN

Y

GEOLOGICAL SURVE

S.

RSIDE, CALIF

MONS NEAR RIVE

LE

x

PICKING

nt
|

Scared

7

<S NEAR RIVERSIDE

B. ORANGE GROVE

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 46

A. THE GREAT ARROW-SHAPED SCAR IN THE MOUNTAIN SIDE AT ARROW-
HEAD SPRINGS, ON SOUTH SLOPE OF SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS, CALIF.

B. UPTURNED LATE TERTI geri

STRATA IN CAJON PASS, NORTHWEST OF SAN
ERN ARDINO, CALIF.

U. 8S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 47

VTAIN

Looking southwest. Pasadena in middle ground; Los Angeles at right; San Pedro Point in distance.

LOS ANGELES PLAIN, CALIF., FROM ECHO MOU

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

273

of relatively recent age geologically, that cross diagonally the axis of

the general mountain

range extending z 2 mA fl
across southern Cali- Pp e49 2 yk
fornia. These faults de ® a >} fee :
include the southern of 2 8S 85 TKS) |
extension of the San 8 ops Se 25 ; 2
Andreas fault, move- es 9 ge | AA g
ment along which in §& [%- mae e ae g
1906 caused the San Hes as = £
Francisco earthquake eh £ nya) om s
They define the north Vos 2 RRinlk 3 $
side of the San Gabriel 93 s “128 2 s
Mountains, and south- Rarer ot 3 .
east of the pass they SERS S On uber. 2
extend eastward for rahe < 8 2 © 3
many miles along the ines 5 5 = E
south foot of the San aK S & LS "7 8
Bernardino Moun- 2 . at Sull
tains. There are sev- ifs VA, 2 POA ° a 3
eral planes of move- ee g ig a ie | 3
ment, not far apart, wore ule F § 28 Ly = a8 Ghee
F: a oD Vee a oo 1S
with hag slivers, or ee z Ba Yrek|Se | 88) =
narrow blocks, of S61 ° Ge| 8 lt 148
schist and soft sand- ae Fi: 5 33 Wr 37] =]
stone between them. 9 i Br ,., Be Pie
(See pl. 46, B.) The ay 8 B bye 7 i:
erosion of the sand- ae) Y o- 2
uoAUe) Xray aguolog |Z
stone on the down- auigewo fs sh §
thrown blocks is the a2 SS 2 ;
principal cause of the s8eex BEN | FE
pass. (Noble.) oS 1
Near Redlands the % Se== >
faults present many RS3
features indicating SS
recent movement, N y
notably at one place ee ce :
where a ravine has 3 bog ‘
been offset abruptly - aie 2 s
The movement was S(¢<'' § Es
mostly vertical, but © $79 &
in some of the faults & Oe
there has been a hori- x
zontal displacemen .
For on Tales 2) a strip of Tertiary strata lies on one of the slivers

274 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

between the faults, bordered on each side by the old schists. In
general in this vicinity the faults are bordered on the north by sand-
stone of Tertiary age lying on gneiss or schist, and on the south
side is schist more or less heavily covered by young gravel. (Noble.)

Although the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains contain
similar rocks, are separated only by Cajon Pass, present identical
relations to the valley of southern California and to the Mohave
Desert, and are both uplifted fault blocks, they are very dissimilar
in configuration. The San Gabriel Mountains are deeply cut by
canyons containing graded streams and are made up of separate
sharp peaks and knifelike ridges of various heights; no level areas
remain, either about the summits or in the valley bottoms. The
higher part of the San Bernardino Mountains has a very different
character, for its west end, at least, presents a strikingly level sky
line, mostly at elevations from 5,000 to 6,000 feet, and the range
contains many broad valleys, some with meadows and lakes, sepa-
rated by rolling ridges, a topography of an old and well-reduced
type. According to recent observations by Noble this condition is
due largely to the relatively recent removal of Tertiary deposits
from the plain on which they were laid down. Remnants of these
strata remain in places. To the east, where the elevation increases,
San Bernardino Mountain and San Gorgonio Mountain rise con-
siderably above the general level. Along the lower margins of the
range the forms are strikingly new, and several of the streams are not
reduced to grade but after meandering through the broad uplands
plunge over falls into steep canyons in the front of the range. These
differences in the configuration of the two ranges are not related to
rock texture, drainage pattern, or difference in precipitation; it is
suggested that the San Bernardino fault block was uplifted much
later than the block constituting the San Gabriel Range, which has
preserved none of these old forms. (Mendenhall.)

Bloomington, a small place 4 miles west of Colton, is in the midst
of a thriving irrigation district with many groves of oranges and
Bloomington. Olives. To the north is a fine view of the San Gabriel
Elevation 1,000 feet, Mountains, with their imposing high peaks and
New Orleans 1,948 deeply incised canyons. Along the foot of the range

_ is the main fault, but it is everywhere buried under
valley fill. Just south of Bloomington are the Jurupa Mountains,
rising about 1,000 feet above the plain; they consist of quartzite,

% The San Gabriel Mountains con- | rocks, mainly schists, some of which
sist of granite rocks of several kinds were origmally’ ig hales and sandstones
and a variety of other crystalline | (me'

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 275

schists, and crystalline limestones, all metamorphosed sedimentary
deposits, penetrated by granitic and other igneous rocks. Their
length is about 5 miles, and they are surrounded by valley lands.
Beyond the west end of this range is the north end of the high Santa
Ana Mountains,*! which extend southeast from Corona.

From Bloomington to Ontario there are several settlements occu-
pied with the extensive culture of grapes, lemons, peaches, and other
fruits. In this region the San Bernardino Plain is
more than 20 miles wide, extending from the foot of
the San Gabriel Mountains to the Santa Ana River
ge Sa Orleans 1,959 which flows near its southern margin. It is bordered

on the west by the San Jose and Puente Hills, which
make a barrier trending north-northwest, beyond Pomona. To the
north near Guasti are fine views of Cucamonga Peak (elevation 8,911
feet), one of the high summits of the southern ridge of the San Gabriel
Mountains, and the still higher San Antonio Peak (elevation 10,080
feet) is farther back on the northern sky line. Deep canyons lead
out of these mountains at short intervals, and most of them contain
streams whose water, if not diverted by irrigation ditches, sinks at
the mouths of the canyons and passes as a general underflow into the
gravel and sand of the slope beyond. In times of freshet the streams
flow greater or less distances across the slope, carrying much sedi-
ment, which is dropped as the water spreads out on the plain. Occa-
sional great floods cross the plain, but much of the large volume of
water they carry at such times is absorbed by the porous gravel of
the stream beds. The courses of these ephemeral streams across the
plain are marked by dry washes, usually shallow sandy channels,
many of them splitting up irregularly and some of the branches
rejoining. One effective method of conserving water in this region,
where it is so valuable, is to divert flood waters near the canyon
mouth, causing them to spread out widely over the coarse deposits,
where they sink, thus adding to the volume of underflow tapped by
many wells.
by great igneous intrusions and com- | basic lavas and tuffs, and all are cut
pression. It is believed that the range | and altered greatly by masses of
was uplifted in greater part in late andesite, granodiorite, and diorite
Tertiary time. Apparently the uplift | which have been intruded in a molten
consisted of the rise of a huge block of | condition. Next above there is a west-
the earth’s crust along fault lines | ward-dipping succession of Upper Cre-
mostly trending N. 60° W. The main | taceous and ‘Tertiary strata. In

block is traversed by minor faults | general, the mountains consist of a
vhich make complex. | tilted fault block with Soond flexures.

1 In the Santa Ana Movuitaing the There has been a | es of repeated
Idest rocks are i

Guasti.
nae a ant

They
are overlain eerie giz by a| factor. Some of the lower terraces are
_ Coarse conglomerate and in places by | marine, (B, N. Moore.)

276 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Six miles northwest of Ontario is the mouth of San Antonio Canyon,
one of the larger drainage outlets from the San Gabriel Mountains,
Geile: which furnishes considerable water for irrigation. On
gioco the plain the creek bed spreads into half a dozen

ulation 13,583. irregular ‘‘washes,’’ which are crossed by the railroad
uf i iiaaans 1,963 near Ontario. From the gravel and sand under the

lain a large amount of water is pumped for irrigation.
The water is conveyed in canals lined with concrete and is distributed
in underground pipes so as to prevent loss by leakage and evaporation.

Ontario, with its companion settlements, North Ontario, San
Antonio Heights, and Upland, extends widely across the salle slope
and up the foothills of the mountains. The settlement is traversed
by a handsome tree-shaded boulevard, Euclid Avenue, which runs
north to the foot of the mountains. Ontario is surrounded by many
orange and lemon groves and other products of irrigation, and one of
its chief industries is a fruit-canning establishment, claimed to be the
largest in the State.

Pomona is a commercial, residential, and educational center, built
on the western margin of the plain that extends from San Bernardino
Pe to the San Jose and Puente Hills. Itis surrounded by

omona. . «

Elevation 886 fect, °UenSIVe groves of oranges and other fruits and pro-
ulation 20,804. duces large amounts of walnuts and grapes. About
he Orleans 1,967 Pomona were grown the first oranges shipped from
California. The underground water supply is utilized
for irrigation by pumping from hundreds of wells. Much attention
has been given to making the landscape lovely with trees and garden-
ing. At Claremont, not far north, are the Claremont Colleges, one
of the most beautiful and outstanding institutions of learning in the

coast region, and the Greek Theater, which seats 4,000.

Three miles west of Pomona the vailioad passes over a low divide
between the San Jose and Puente Hills and descends the canyon of
San Jose Creek. The San Jose Hills, to the north, consist mainly
of a thick succession of shales and sandstones of the Puente formation
(middle and upper Miocene). At their northeast end, 2 miles north-
west of Pomona, there is granite * overlain by lava flows and volcanic
tuffs and agglomerates at the base of the Tertiary section,
similar succession on the south side of the railroad constitutes the

ular flows, and tuffaceous sandstone
are also found in the area north of San
Jose Creek constituting the east end
of the San Jose Hills. South of Spadra
a few blocks of sandstone are included
in the intrusive rocks, and there is @

vein of coarse calcite traceable for a
| mile or more, which was burned for
plaster by the early Spanish settlers.
| (ee p, 293.)

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 277

northeast corner of the Puente Hills. A section of the San Jose Hills
north of Walnut is given in Figure 67.

The Puente Hills consist of sandstones and shales of the Puente
formation,” 2,600 to 3,400 feet thick (middle and upper Miocene),
with smaller exposures of underlying and interbedded shales, having
the relations shown in Figure 68. The granites and slates of pre-
Cretaceous age at the east end are separated from the sandstone
member of the Puente by tuffs and tuffaceous sandstones, somewhat
as shown in the lowest section in Figure 68. The Puente formation
of this region (regarded as equivalent to the Modelo formation of the
region to the west) is made up of an alternating succession of coarse
and fine materials with many thick members of shale and sandstone.
The upper shale includes beds carrying the remains of minute marine
plants and animals, principally diatoms and Foraminifera; the more
richly diatomaceous portion is nearly white and of chalky texture.

SSE.

andsto NNW,

ict BS: aati Un ceees
Vertical and horizontal scales

° 5,000 10,000 Feet
l iL. i. i. i i

x §

wz

L

FIGURE 67.—Section of San Jose Hills about 7 miles west of Pomona, Calif. After English and Kew.
All Puente formation

At the west end of the hills, south and west of Puente, overlying shales
and sandstones of the Fernando group (Pliocene) are extensively
exposed, and they are dropped by a fault extending along the south
side of the Puente Hills, passing just north of Whittier and along
La Habra, La Brea, and Olinda Canyons. The Fernando group
carries a fauna of marine shells of Pliocene age and is nearly 5,000
feet thick. (English and Kew.)

On the upper slopes of the western part of the Puente Hills, about
5 miles southwest of Walnut, was the old Puente oil field, one of the

% According to the definition of the Sandstone member, 300 to 2,000
Puente formation by the U. S. Geolog- feet. Moderately coarse gray
ical Survey, in the Puente Hills and Los to tawny-yellow thick-bedded
Angles district it comprises the follow- sandstone with beds of shale;
ing members: some conglomeratic bers

Upper shale, 300 to 2,000 feet. containing granite boulders.
hy chalky shale and sandy Lower shale, 2,000 feet. Chiefly
gray shale, weathering pink to rthy shale, mostly gray to
chocolate-brown, with a few black, including thin beds of
beds of fine yellow sandstone. | fine-grained sandstone from top
Is overlain unconformably by to base and lentils of limestone.
Fernando group,

278 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES
earliest fields discovered in California. The first well was completed
in 1880, and at the end of 1912 there were 470 producing wells with
an annual output of 7,000,000 barrels and an aggregate production of
The wells were in the outcrop area of the thick

41,000,000 barrels.
body of shales constituting the lower half of the Puente formation,

N.

WALNUT
SIDING

SK = eee
SSSSSSS SS

ES|SS=——SE==a=EaEEE

——SSS

SS SS

SSS SS — —— ———

——S—_V_ _—»—> SSS
SSS SES SS SSS:

\ = Ss
Nas SSS
Ws SSS —S==-
SssSss== ——
SS een

Toss
M —S
N —S
LoS SS

Fault
N.
Ss. West
é Pomona
REE oe cme
peg a
8257/1 (Granite ',;2
iS en her esr oY
+ 7 he et a * 4
————— ffs
—— See
: SS ae”
Se ee eS re ee
° eee. _ 2 Miles
i. 7 ;

Ficure 68.—Sections across Puente Hills, Pomona to Whittier, Calif. After English and
Kew. Tf, Fernando group (Pliocene and Pleistocene), Tp, Puente formation (Miocene)

and the oil is thought to have migrated from the great oil fields to the

southeast. The depths of the wells were mostly from 1,000 to 2,000
general region now comes from

The large oil production of this
Canyon, Coyote Hills, and other fields

ae the Santa Fe, Whittier, Brea
: along the south slope of the Puente Hills or south of them.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 279

Puente is the center of a great walnut district which produces more
than 13,000,000 pounds of walnuts a year (1929). Near Puente the
railroad leaves the valley of San Jose Creek and the
Puente Hills and passes into the wide basinlike plain
bordering San Gabriel Wash, into which flows the
asi sts aye 1,982 San Gabriel River, a stream that rises in deep canyons

; far back in the San Gabriel Mountains. This wash
is crossed a mile west of Bassett, but there is usually little water in it
here except during rainy seasons. The river water is used for irriga-
tion, but much of it is underground, where it is available for pumping.
Some of this underflow comes out again in Lexington Wash, near El
Monte. In times of freshet a large volume of water passes down San
Gabriel Wash, as may be inferred from the large boulders in its bed.
These boulders are crushed for road material.

From Bassett to San Gabriel the railroad goes northwest across a
broad plain, most of which is in a high state of cultivation, with
numerous fruit and walnut orchards, beautiful gardens, and verdant
fields, all irrigated by water pumped from the underflow.

As the train progresses northwestward the San Gabriel Mountains
are approached and there are fine views, notably of San Gabriel Peak
(elevation 6,152 feet). This great mountain range consists of a huge
block of the earth’s crust uplifted along profound breaks, one of which,
the Sierra Madre fault, follows the south foot of the range, and another,
the San Andreas fault, extends along its northern margin. These are
very recent faults, for the main upheaval was at the end of Tertiary
(Pliocene) time. Doubtless there was a prior mountain range in
front of the site of the present San Gabriel Mountains, which furnished
sediments to the pre-Pliocene formations, but the form and relations
of mountains and plains at that time can hardly be conjectured. An
uplift of this kind may have progressed very slowly. There was not
only the general axial uplift of the range but cross faulting, which
has broken the main block into huge fragments with varying degrees
of tilt and amount of uplift. The planes of the main faults dip steeply
to the south, at least in the west end of the range, so that the granite
and gneiss of the range are relatively thrust over the strata of Tertiary
age, which are considerably flexed and in places also faulted. (M. L.
Hill.) In the portion of the range north of Los Angeles the rocks are
schist, quartzite, and marble, old sediments greatly metamorphosed
and penetrated by a large amount of igneous rocks. Granite invades
the metamorphic rocks very extensively, and there are also large
masses of diorite and granodiorite and some hornblendite. (W. J.
Miller.)

Puente.
Elevation 320 feet.
034.

280 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

The old San Gabriel Mission is a few rods south of the tracks at
San Gabriel station. It was the fourth of the many missions estab-
: lished by the Franciscan friars between San Diego

San Gabriel. : aii ts
sae ha nip and San Francisco and is in an excellent state of
Population 7,224. preservation. It was started by Padres Cambén and
gone » img 1,992 Somera, under the direction of Fray Junfpero Serra,
; September 8, 1771, and the building is typical of the
architecture introduced by the friars. Early in its history a ditch was
built to bring water for irrigation and for horses, cows, pigs, sheep, and
chickens. The region was then inhabited by Indians, who were
stolid, mild mannered, and rather ugly in features. They were not
forcibly Christianized but were treated so well that many desired to
live at the missions and be instructed. As the community prospered
and settlers came in, the poor little hovels of adobe and reeds were
replaced by finer buildings. The present village is in the midst of
groves of oranges, avocados,* and walnuts, with many fine gardens.
In 1850 Roy Bean, later famous as ‘‘the dispenser of the law west of
the Pecos” at Langtry, Tex. (see p. 83), ran a dance hall and gambling
saloon at San Gabriel, at that time a typical frontier town. The his-
tory of the beginnings of California is pictured yearly in the Mission
Play by the poet John Steven McGroarty, done in the beautiful

playhouse adjoining the San Gabriel mission.

Alhambra is an extensive settlement largely devoted to the growing
of fruits, vegetables, and walnuts. There is a branch railroad from
eae Alhambra to Pasadena, a city of 76,086 inhabitants
Elevation 456 feet, & ££W miles to the north. This large and beautiful
Population 29,472. City is a most interesting business, residential, and

495 educational center. In the eastern part is the Cali-

fornia Institute of Technology, founded in 1891, which

now includes among other buildings or departments the Bridge

Laboratory of Physics, the High Potential Research Laboratory, the

Gates Chemical Laboratory, the Guggenheim Aeronautical Labora-

tory, the Seismological Research Laboratory, the Dabney Hall of

Humanities, and the Kerckhoff Biological Laboratories. Near by is

the great Huntington Library and Art Gallery. The observatory on

Mount Wilson, one of the units of the Carnegie Institution of Washing-
ton, is equipped with the world’s largest reflecting telescope

Pasadena lies in a “‘rincén,” or corner, between hills and mountains,
so that it has protection from winds and a slightly greater rainfall
than some of the regions farther east and south. The name is an

“The fruit called aguacate by the | “alligator pear,” which was a decided
Mexicans and other Spanish-speaking | misnomer, as the fruit is not a pear and
people now has the commercial name is in no way associated with alligators.
“avocado” to replace the former

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 281

Indian word meaning crown of the valley. To the north are the high
San Gabriel Mountains, with two conspicuous summits, Mount Lowe
(elevation 5,650 feet) and Mount Wilson (5,750 feet), from both of
which there are extensive views of the Los Angeles Plain. (See pl. 47).

The Repetto Hills west and south of Alhambra consist of sandstone,
conglomerate, soft siltstone, and shale of Miocene, Phocene, and
possibly Pleistocene age, flexed in basins and arches. Part of the
shale of upper Miocene age is diatomaceous. These rocks are of
marine origin and indicate that during the later part of Tertiary time
the region was submerged by the sea at intervals, and sand and mud
were deposited in wide estuaries and along beaches. There was a
long epoch of general subsidence, so that a great thickness of these
materials accumulated. They have since been consolidated, uplifted,
flexed, and faulted, and later terraces and plains have been developed
on their surface. (Reed.)

After passing out of this narrow belt of hilly country the railroad
enters the coastal plain that extends south and west to the Pacific
Ocean. This plain consists of lowlands abruptly margined to the
north by the Santa Monica Mountains, Repetto Hills, Puente Hills,
and Santa Ana Mountains. Much of the region is a plain sloping
gently seaward, but its continuity is interrupted by hills and ridges
of considerable prominence, such as the Baldwin Hills, Dominguez
Hill, and Signal Hill. In general it is floored with alluvium derived
from the adjoining highlands and the mountains to the north. Ina
few places, however, the rocks have not yet been covered by alluvium.
The plain is widest in the Los Angeles region, where it extends 25
miles south from the Santa Monica Mountains and with an area of
nearly 2,000 square miles constitutes the combined delta of the Los
Angeles, San Gabriel, and Santa Ana Rivers. At its inner edge its
elevation is mostly from 200 to 300 feet, and the seaward slope is
10 to 20 feet to the mile. This plain, ith its fertile soil and delight-
ful climate, is covered with settlements, cultivated fields, vineyards,
and vast orchards of oranges, lemons, walnuts, olives, and other fruits.
Shade trees and flowers are_extensively cultivated. To this wealth
of resources on the surface is added a large production of petroleum,
which has been developed most profitably at many places.

The Los Angeles River is crossed in the eastern outskirts of the city
of Los Angeles, and the train proceeds slowly through streets for about
3 miles to the depot. Most of the city is built on low river terraces
and on the inner edge of the coastal plain, but the newer sections
extend onto the hills of folded and faulted Tertiary sandstone and
shale that rise to the north. The Los Angeles River, like many other
streams of the Southwest, is ordinarily of small volume, but during
heavy rains it is considerably swollen, and at times it becomes a deep

: torrent capable of doing considerable damage.

152109°—-33-—_19

282 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Los Angeles is the largest city of the Southwest, in area, population,
and business. Founded in 1781 by a garrison of Mexican soldiers from
Los Angeles. the mission of San Gabriel, in 1831 it had a population
Elevation 253 feet. of 770, and as late as 1880 it was an easy-going semi-
ia Oren 3002 Mexican town of 12,000 inhabitants centered about

mil the old plaza with the mission church of Nuestra Sefiora
la ‘bain de los Angeles (Our Lady the Queen of the Angels), from
which the city takes its name.

At La Mesa battlefield, now the stockyards on Downey Road, there
was on January 9, 1847, a battle between the Americans and Cali-
fornians which resulted in the capture of Los Angeles by the American
forces.

Among many historical episodes in Los Angeles one of the most
important was the truce signed on January 13, 1847, by Gen. Andrés
Pico, which when ratified gave to the United States all of the territory
west of the Rocky Mountains south of Oregon. This event occurred
at Campo de Cahuenga, now 3919 Lankershire Boulevard. At the
southeast corner of Los Angeles and Aliso Streets is the building in
which General Frémont had his headquarters while he was military
governor of California, and here the city of Los Angeles was organized
in 1850.

With the coming of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in
November, 1885, homeseekers began to arrive, and a great increase in
property values and growth of the city followed. The census showed
that Los Angeles made a greater percentage of increase in population
from 1880 to 1900 than any other city in the United States, and there
has been a remarkably rapid increase since that time, amounting to
nearly 115 per cent in the decade 1920-1930. The city is the largest
in area in the United States, comprising within its limits 442.5 square
miles. In addition to the salubrity of its climate, which attracts
citizens from all over the United States, two important factors in its
growth have been the generation of electricity from mountain streams
as far as 226 miles away and the availability of cheap petroleum fuel.
The economical power thus available has developed a very large
manufacturing center.

Los Angeles has had to provide a vast amount of water for its
rapidly growing population. At first local supplies were used, but
later an aqueduct was constructed to bring water from Owens Valley,
226 miles distant, at a cost of about $25,000,000. Its capacity is
250,000,000 gallons a day. As still more water will be required in
the future, it is planned to bring in a supplemental supply from the
Ie er aR River at Parker after the Boulder Dam is completed. (See
Pp. 24h.)

Los Angele: C unty, with an area of only 4,115 square miles, claims
st Sage ey States in value of farm property —
ig to the U United ‘States census

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 283
reports it produces more than one quarter of the oranges, lemons, and
walnuts (nearly 20,000,000 pounds), and more than 10 per cent of
the grapefruit (157,500 bdxes) grown in the State. The milk produc-
tion in 1929 was more than 47,000,000 gallons. The mean annual
temperature of Los Angeles is 62°,

The harbor at San Pedro, called the Port of Los Angeles, on the
ocean 25 miles south of the center of the city, has a large coast and
trans-Pacific trade. Its exports in 1929 were valued at $166,328,683
and the imports at $63,685,483 (U. S. Department of Commerce).
Los Angeles has four large educational institutions—the University
of Southern California, the University of California at Los Angeles,
Loyola College, and Occidental College. The Public Library is a
handsome edifice and, besides the usual material, contains a large
collection of books of reference.

The Museum of History, Science, and Art in Exposition Park has
fine collections in many fields and controls the remarkable fossil bone
deposits in the asphalt springs of Rancho La Brea (pl. 48, B), about
8 miles directly west of the center of the city. These springs of tarry
material due to seepages of petroleum which have oozed up from an
underlying stratum have been for centuries most effective animal
traps. The asphalt has accumulated to depths of 15 to 30 feet and
has preserved the bones of thousands of extinct as well as modern
animals which were caught in its sticky pools.» The skeletons of
elephants, camels, ground sloths, lions, saber-toothed tigers, wolves,
bears, and myriads of smaller animals, including 50 species of birds,
have been dug out and set up in the museum. (See fig. 69.) Carniv-
orous quadrupeds predominated, a fact which indicates that animals
venturing out on the seemingly solid surface were caught in the viscid
asphalt and served as a bait to lure their bloodthirsty neighbors, who
in their turn were also trapped and unable to extricate themselves.
These animals lived mostly during the Pleistocene epoch, when the
northern part of this continent was buried under great fields of ice,
but some of them represent later times. In one pit was found a skull
of a human being, who may have lived 10,000 years or more ago,
- contemporaneously with some of the later animals now extinct, but
is regarded as belonging to a later date than most of the animals.

% According to Stock, the most | mastodon (M ), horse
abundant m s are the saber- | (Equus occidentalis), bison (Bison anti-
toothed tiger (Smilodon californicus) | quus), camel hesternus),
and the dire wolf (Arenocyon dirus), | antelope (Capromeryz minor), and

several kinds of ground sloths (Mylo-

which are represented by thousands of
bones. There were also the great
- jionlike eat (Felis atrox), the coyote
(Canis ochropus orcutti), and the short-

_ faced bear (Tremarctotherium californi-
Among the herbivores were the

= cum). A
Mammoth (Archidiskodon imperator),

don harlanii, Nothrothertum shastense,
and Megalonyx jeffersonii). Among
the great numbers of condors, vultures,

eagles, and hawks is the largest bird of
flight, a condorlike vulture (Teratornis

vaigoone

=

ye wry
aon

PO at Wyo,
oN us A
alli hin, ve

f ch

aflers

\

4" “i
3

pif’
Ly

SA: ‘ee

: SS ese! ih. 4 ite
_— AY ere NS s NZ \, TN a a" hy /p Wy,
ep ne sa SORES, EAN le)
fe SN)

Fiaure 69,—Restoration of saber-toothed tiger, sloth, and dire wolf at La Brea, Calif. By E. Christman

V8S

SHLVLS GHLINO NYALSEM AHL FO WooMAdIny

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 285

The Los Angeles region is underlain by a thick succession of
Tertiary and Cretaceous strata, some of them deeply buried and
others presenting prominent outcrops, especially in the hills and
mountains. They are flexed, tilted, and faulted and vary considerably
in character from place to place. The eastern part of the Santa
Monica Mountains, projecting into the northern part of the city,
contains an extensive uptilted succession of the rocks that underlie
the region. At the base are old slates and schists (Triassic?) cut by
granites and granodiorites, similar to those in some other ranges of
southern California. They are overlain by a thick body of conglom-
erate, sandstone, and shale of Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary age.

Formations in Santa Monica Mountains
[H. W. Hoots]

Formation ea in

Shale, with beds of sandstone and ash non paa ae: PRE ee Pia! 4,500 | Upper Miocene.
Unconformity (folding, faulting, and basalt in : :
eee bag hance ry shale, ceo flows, sare other Voleanic rocks 4,500-7,500 | Middle Miocene,
(Topanga f on). Basal 1,000 feet of conglomerate east of
Cahu uenga peer may be Vaq :
Light-gray and red ccrmiiaaele. (Vaqueros? and Sespe? formations) -/3, 500-4, 000 i oct ag and

Unconformity.
sae ty nd sandstone; some fossiliferous sandstone (Martinez forma- 250+] Lower Eocene.

Conetcmerate, sandstone, and dark shale, fossiliferous (Chico forma- 8, 000+) Upper Cretaceous.

In the hilly region southeast of the Santa Monica Mountains, and
mainly in the east-central part of Los Angeles, younger formations
are also present, notably sandstones, conglomerates, and clays of
Pliocene age, which overlie the Miocene beds. These are in turn
overlain unconformably by the terrace and alluvial deposits of the
Los Angeles Plain, above referred to.

The east end of the Santa Monica Mountains is an open anticline,
the axis of which is in a broad central area of Santa Monica slate
(Triassic?) and plunges westward from the main granite mass just
north of Hollywood. Although the general structure is anticlinal,
the original folding is much complicated by faults, flexures, and
igneous intrusions. Post-Modelo flexing resulted in widespread anti-
clinal uplift. In the Martinez formation, and possibly also in the
Chico formation, are prominent reefs of limestone 50 to 60 feet thick,
the largest one being 500 feet long. (Hoots.) The Santa Monica
Mountains extend to the Pacific Ocean at Santa Monica. (See
pl. 48, A.)

In the ceniral part of Los Angeles are many exposures of Miocene
beds, including shale filled with diatom remains. On Hill and First

286 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Streets above the tunnel are exposures of these shales overlain by
dark, massive sandy shale of Pliocene age. Good sections of the
Topanga formation (middle Miocene) appear on Glendale Boulevard
between the Los Angeles River and Los Angeles, where the formation
is 2,000 feet or more thick and the beds dip to the south. A con-
spicuous Miocene sandstone is exposed in Elysian Park. The general
structure about Los Angeles is that of a syncline or basin bordered in
part on the north and east by faults.

At Elysian Park, along the west side of the Los Angeles River, the
railroad cuts expose sandstones of middle Miocene age overlain by
upper Miocene shales. These beds are on the south limb of an
extensive anticline whose axis lies in the bed of the river farther north.
On Fifth Street, opposite the Public Library, upper Pliocene fossilifer-
ous beds are well exposed. The strata east of the river consist
mainly of highly folded middle and upper Miocene beds. (Kew.)

The hills in northern Los Angeles and western Alhambra consist of
a thick succession of Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene strata com-
prising conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, and shale. In the upper
Miocene are many beds of siliceous and diatomaceous shale. The
total thickness of these strata is apparently 11,000 feet. They lie
on the older granites and metamorphic rocks. The Miocene rocks
are exposed in many street cuts east of Lincoln Park adjacent to
Valley Boulevard. Upper Miocene (Puente) shale and interbedded
sandstones are exposed near City Terrace. (R. D. Reed.)

In the central part of Los Angeles is a belt of petroleum-producing
territory 5% miles long, covering an area of 2 square miles. Here
hundreds of derricks have been erected in close proximity to dwellings.
This field was discovered in 1892 by a 155-foot shaft sunk near a
small deposit of brea or asphalt on Colton Street. The first good
strike of petroleum was made in a well on Second Street, and by the
end of 1894 there were 300 producing wells from 500 to 1,200 feet
deep. The wells have been small producers, averaging 2% barrels a
day each by pumping, and now much of the area is drained of its oil.
The Salt Lake field is also within the city limits, about 4% miles west
of the business center. It was started in 1901 and has been a notable
producer, having 700 wells in 1914. The wells are mostly from 1,200
to 3,000 feet deep, and in most of the area there has been considerable
gas, which caused the wells to gush in the early part of their life.
The average production per well was 23 barrels a day, and the total
_ production from 1894 to the end of 1931 was over 60,000,000 barrels.
_ (Hoots.) The oil has been mainly useful for fuel. The petroleum
in the Los Angeles district is derived largely from the upper 500 feet

3 of the Miocene and the basal beds of the Pliocene. The oil pools —
are thought to be related to slight arching along the younger dis-

U..S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 29

us 17°30" California

pa,
Scale 500,000
linch=8 miles (approximately)
= ie} 15 20 MILES

Q iS 20 KILOMETERS

5 10
Contour interval 200 feet

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every
10 miles, and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart
Each quadrangle shown on the map with a name in parentheses
in the lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. 8. G. S.
opographic map of that name
20 te

Wie
Saae R
~! nf BES
EXPLANATION
A> Sand and gravel (alluvium and ine and str ter ) Quaternary
C Sandy shale; some sand- F Jo group 1 con Pleistocene and
iff) stone and conglomerate is in Pliocene
gn? Cajon Pass
page orsd j(A° BsLava, tuff, and diabase * Miocene }
e pyecun inst ort entails =
Seal Beach D Shale, sandstone, and Puente (Modelo to the west) ] ae
oO conglomerate and contemporaneous beds =
in Cajon Pass ; —
Hl : + Miocene e
a I E Sandstone and clay Topanga and Vaqueros j =
rm ( Miocene) and Sespe | &
ames. S. Jed fault (Oligocene and Eocene) i
ge = Sandstone and shale Tejon and Martinez Eocene
small areas in Cajon Pass are
F< included in D : : : :
Shale, sandstone, and Chico formation Upper Cretaceous
jomerate
G Granite, schist, slate, ete. Pre-Jurassic
H Marble (larger masses only) [i Carboniferous (?)
Geology by W. A. English, W. S. W. Kew, H. W. Hoots, and others a eke |
San Andreas fault-Cajon Pass region by L. F. Noble TORRANCE *... Oil fields of coastal plain |
ue” 11730"

WILLIAMS & HEINTZ CO.. WASH., 0. C

Topography: U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 287

placements. (Eaton.) Faulting has had much to do with the accumu-
lation of the oil. The most productive fields are on anticlines having
the form of elongated domes, but some of the folds are of the plunging
variety, with their upper Side sealed by asphalt or by an overlapping
impervious bed. (Kew.)

YUMA, ARIZ., TO SAN DIEGO, CALIF.

Sleeping cars from several trains continue westward from Yuma to
San Diego over the San Diego & Arizona Railway, which is allied
with the Southern Pacific lines. The distance is 218 miles, across
Imperial Valley and the high sierra of southern California, with two
long detours into Baja California. This railroad was completed in
1919 at a cost of $19,000,000. It has 22 tunnels, one of them about
half a mile long.

The main line is left at Araz Junction, 64 miles west of Yuma, on
Southern Pacific tracks extending to El Centro (40 miles). The
railroad passes around the southeast end of the great
ade belt of sand hills and looping into Mexico reaches
ltkcick basa. Mexicali, Mexico, and the adjoining city of Calexico,
New Orleans 1,830 Calif. El Centro is in the highly productive irrigated

— district of Imperial Valley. (See p. 248.) The New
River, an old channel from the Colorado River, touched by the
railroad at Calexico and crossed a short distance west of Seeley,
occupies a trench in the desert plain much deepened and widened by
the great flood of water that ran through it into Imperial Valley from
the Colorado River in 1905. This stream ate deeply into the adjoin-
ing banks and damaged more than 7,000 acres of the adjacent region.
The Alamo River, 10 miles east of El Centro, was another inlet for
flood waters.

From Seeley westward there are fine views of Signal Mountain,
a knob of old granite and schist not far away in Mexico, and of the
Sierra de las Cocopas, consisting of volcanic rocks, which extend far
to the south. Farther west is dimly outlined the high Sierra Pedro
Martir (mar-teer’), in Baja California, which attains an elevation of
more than 10,000 feet. It consists of light-colored granite. The
northern extension of this range, known as the Laguna Mountains,
is crossed by the railroad near Jacumba, about 50 miles farther on,
where, however, the elevation is much less than in Mexico. The
continuity of its steep eastern front, believed to be a fault scarp, is a
striking feature for many miles. The West Line Canal, just east of
Dixieland, separates the productive irrigated land, with its fine fields
of cotton, alfalfa, barley, and maize, from the original desert, with its
spate outer: of arid-land plants.

El Centro.

288 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Just west of Dixieland sea level is reached on an up slope of the
desert which continues westward to the foot of the mountains.
Three miles west of Dixieland the beach of old Lake Cahuilla is
crossed at about 40 feet above sea level. This lake occupied the
Salton Basin sufficiently long to develop well-marked strand features.
(See p. 253.) At Plaster City is a mill making plaster of paris from
gypsum mined from large deposits in Fish Creek Mountain, 26 miles
northwest, and brought by a branch railroad. The deposit is inter-
bedded in strata of Tertiary age, and near by is a considerable body
of the mineral celestite (strontium sulphate), also included in the
sedimentary succession.

Halfway to Coyote Wells a low ridge is crossed showing tilted clay
and sand of Tertiary age, truncated and capped by a thin mantle
of sand and gravel. This ridge crosses the valley and rises into
Coyote Mountain, which is conspicuous to the north. This mountain
and Fish Creek Mountain, just beyond, consist mainly of a core of

anite and marble and other metamorphic rocks, closely folded and
encircled by Tertiary and later strata. The marble, which may be
of Paleozoic age, is penetrated and metamorphosed by the granite.
. Itis mostly of blue-gray color and has been quarried to a small extent
at the east end of Coyote Mountain. Some portions contain con-

Ss.

Vall
Ally

oO ao Mile

. e oa ) Ke i

Figure 70.—Section across aera Mountain, Calif., near Alverson and Garnett Can-
yons. _ aie Mendenhall. > Limestone (Paleozoic) Pda — a a bid

5

siderable graphite in the form of carbon known as plumbago or black
lead. A section through Coyote Mountain is shown in Figure 70.
Lying on the metamorphic and intrusive rocks is a series of volcanic
tuffs, agglomerates, and dark lavas which carry interbedded sand-
stones in Fish Creek Mountain. Upon these lie marine beds with
corals and oyster reefs, containing many fossils. In Alverson Canyon
on the south side of Coyote Mountain, red vesicular lava is overlain
by green and lavender sandstones and conglomerate containing much
| volcanic matter, in all from 100 to 200 feet thick. Next above are
tawny sandstones and a thick succession of soft greenish-yellow shale
co O clay which forms conspicuous badlands in the slopes between
SS Carrizo Mountain and Fish Creek. Mountain. High-level terrace
leposits lie across the planed-off edges of the shale. The Tertiary
Sect their — hae on described by Mendenhall, Kew,

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 48

A. SHORE OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN AT SANTA MONICA, CALIF.

Oil field in middle ground; Santa Monica Mountains in distance.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 49

CARRIZO GORGE, ON ROUTE FROM YUMA, ARIZ., TO SAN DIEGO, CALIF.

From painting by W. H. Bull.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 289

Tertiary beds also constitute the Yuha Buttes, 8 miles west of
Dixieland. Among many fossils occurring in the sandstones on
these mountains are numerous corals, many of them finely preserved.
According to Vaughan, this coral fauna, which is considered to be of
early Pliocene age, contains forms not found in the Pacific Ocean.
Its Atlantic Ocean affinities indicate that in late Tertiary time there
was an oceanic connection that permitted the Atlantic fauna to
extend to the head of the Gulf of California; this connection, however,
may have been as far south as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Fossils,
especially scallop shells, occur in large numbers about Carrizo
Mountain and near Yuha Wells, 6 miles southwest of Dixieland.

West of Coyote Wells and extending far south and north is the
steep east front of the Laguna Mountains, which form the extension
of the Sierra Pedro Martir of Baja California. The range presents
cliffs and rugged slopes of white granite, which are climbed by the
picturesque main highway to San Diego, an ascent of more than 2,500
feet, passing through Mountain Springs at the foot of the mountains
and Jacumba Springs near the top. At the foot of this slope in places
are hills of old gravel and boulder deposits rising considerably above
the main valley slope and capped by lavas. The railroad ascends the
valley and near Dos Cabezas siding reaches the base of the Laguna
Mountains, in which are exposed marble and schist apparently under-
lying the great mass of granite which rises so abruptly to the westward.
A mile beyond Dos Cabezas foothills of granite are entered and the
low divide into Carrizo Valley is crossed. Thence the railroad swings
southward and ascends this valley and the deep Carrizo Gorge, at its
head. The gorge is about 11 miles long, and there are many deep
cuts, tunnels, and long shelves cut on the precipitous slopes, in places
900 feet above the creek. Thescenery is remarkably impressive. The
rock is mostly a massive light-colored granite, sculptured into many
picturesque forms in the steep canyon walls. (See pl. 49.) The effects
of jointing and erosion are well shown. It is believed that this valley
is developed along a fault. Carrizo is the local name for the grass
growing in the depths of the gorge and used by the Indians in basket
making. Palms also grow in several places near the stream bed.

At the head of the deep canyon the railroad comes out into a park
which extends about 3 miles to Jacumba Springs. This park is due
to a dropped block of lava on tuffs (Tertiary) which caps the granite
in an area of several square miles in this region. The sketch section
in Figure 71 shows some of the features.

At Jacumba Springs (elevation 2,830 feet), where the granite
appears again, there are warm springs with faint sulphureted hydro-
gen emanation and notable mineral contents. Here a resort has been
developed. The water was used by Indians and early aborigines, who
have left many traces of their presence. North of Jacumba there is a

290 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

belt of schists, slates, and other metamorphic rocks which are regarded
as Paleozoic. West of Jacumba there is a long ascent up the granite
slope to the summit at Hipass (elevation 3,660 feet). In this region
the granite is weathered into many grotesque forms, mostly rounded,
with numerous balanced rocks and rugged pinnacles. Pronounced
jointing has had much to do with the development of these features.
The granite of the entire range is mostly light colored, of uniform
grain, and very massive, so that much of it would make a fine building
stone. Itis cut by dikes of darker rocks, and there are zones in which
the jointing is closely spaced and the rock considerably shattered.
The mountain vegetation is very different from that of the desert,
with much manzanita and live oak. The manzanita (Arctostaphylos
patula) is a shrub having a smooth bark of rich chocolate-brown color,
small pale-green roundish leaves, and berries that resemble diminutive
apples. It is this resemblance that gives the shrub its common name,
which in Spanish signifies little apple. Bears are very fond of these
berries. The manzanita covers many of the hills in California with a

al

‘| /

eae - rg
See em ere ae press Calne hs * ~
See eS fe sees “+1, Granite RS a
=) Grarite =) oy os.) mt i green Se
. oe Tie Maite mee OVER Seu eo - eg a ae
X ‘ . ' es | oy ee ae ae \ Se oe hacer! \

Migr ee re as } ee gies ee 2 Ey Sie ae ie aes a Oye ca a

oO tMile
i j

u

FiGuRE 71.—Section about 2 miles north of Jacumba Springs, Calif.

stiff, almost impenetrable growth. Its wood is hard, and the blaze
from an old gnarled root cheers many a western fireplace. The live
oak grows generally in the valleys, for the mountains are mostly
covered by bushes with many bare rocky spots. The summit is broad
and rolling, with parks at intervals. The country near the pass is
not high enough for pine, which occurs on the adjoining highlands.
On the west side of the pass the railroad makes a long tortuous descent
through the Campo Indian Reservation into the valley of Campo
Creek, which is followed to a point considerably below Campo.
Campo is a small settlement in a parklike valley surrounded by
granite hills on which are many great residual boulders of granite.
This granite is the source of fine gems at various places in San Diego
: County, notably tourmalines of red, green, and pink colors. <A rare
_ form of spodumene known as kunzite occurs in crystals of beautiful
purple and violet tints. Garnets and beryls are also obtained, and
some eee beryls are white or pale rose and almost as brilliant as

: crossed in tunnel

ag eg

SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 291

the mountain. For the next 43 miles the track follows the northern
margin of Baja California. A long descent is made in a great S-shaped
course to Redondo, a small village in a wide granite valley with high
ridges on all sides. This valley is followed to the west, finally down
a deep gorge in porphyry (beyond Matanuco) which leads out into the
coastal plain of the west coast of California. This plain is a smooth
high terrace of gravel and sand (Pleistocene or late Tertiary), deeply
trenched by the valley of Tia Juana Creek (tee’a wah’na, Spanish for
Aunt Jane), which the railroad follows to the city of Tia Juana. Two
miles east of the city it passes the picturesque resort of Agua Caliente,
with casino, hotel, race course, and other features, where annual
handicap horse races and golf tournaments are hel

From Tia Juana the railroad turns north into the United States and,
crossing a low coastal terrace plain, reaches San Diego in a distance
of 16 miles.

The beautiful city of San Diego has developed about a fine harbor
in the southwest corner of California. The mild winter climate and
temperate summers have had much to do with attract-
ing a large population. The harbor was discovered
Saudioraeg a by the Portuguese navigator, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo,
New Orleans 1,978 in September, 1542, and was named in 1602 by Don

_ Sebastidn Vizcaino, a Spanish explorer. The first
mission in California was the Mission San Diego de Alcaldé, founded at
a small Indian rancheria (site of present Old Town) by Padre Junipero
Serra in July, 1769; it was moved to the present location in 1774.
Destroyed without warning by the Indians in 1775, it was reestab-
lished in 1776 and flourished until secularized in 1834. Mexican
administration of the settlement was organized in 1822. The city is
built on marine plains and terraces which slope seaward from the
Cuyamaca Mountains (coo-ya-mah’ca) on the east and the Ysidro
Mountains (ee-see’dro) to the south. The harbor is used by many
large ocean vessels, and along its margin are the United States Naval
Station, Fort Rosecrans, and the Army and Navy aviation head-
quarters. Many fine beaches, notably Coronado, with its tent city
and hotel, and Mission Beach, attract large numbers of visitors.
Balboa Park, 1,400 acres in extent and of great beauty, contains
museums of natural history and art, housed in some of the handsome
buildings built for the exposition of 1915. At Old Town, on the north

San Diego.
Roveuee 10 to

edge of the city, are the old mission, old Fort Stockton, the monument

where in 1846 General Frémont first planted the United States flag,
and the marriage place of Helen Hunt Jackson’s “‘Ramona.”

The Point Loma peninsula, which separates the ocean from the bay,
is a residential section and the headquarters of the Theosophical
Society. This peninsula is underlain by soft shales and sandstones,
carrying fossils of Chico (Upper Cretaceous) age capped by cliff-

292 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

making conglomerates of late Tertiary age and to the north passing
under sandstones carrying Eocene fossils. The famous sea cliffs of
La Jolla (hoe’ya) are 14 miles north, and near them is the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography of the Peis onite of California. In these
cliffs and adjacent areas Cretaceous and Eocene strata are exposed.

The temperature of the San Diego region is very rarely below 32° or
above 90°. Myriads of flowers and abundant shade trees are notable
features. Oranges, lemons, and other fruits, besides vegetables in
great variety, are grown in the adjoining region. One large industry
at San Diego is milling lumber brought down the coast from Oregon
in huge rafts.

HISTORY OF THE RAILROAD

The railroad from New Orleans to Los Angeles is part of an extensive system
with many individual members, of which the Southern Pacifie Co. owns all or
very nearly all of the capital stock. The line from Algiers to Lafayette now
known as Morgan’s Louisiana & Texas Railroad & Steamship Co. was incor-
porated in 1852 as the New Orleans, Opelousas & Great Western Railroad Co.
It reached Morgan City (Brashear) in 1857 and Lafayette in 1880. It was
operated by the United States during the Civil War and owned by Charles
Morgan from 1870 to 1878. The Louisiana & Western Railroad Co. was built
from Lafayette to the Sabine River in 1881, and the Texas & New Orleans Rail-

o. was constructed from Orange to Sabine River (Echo) in 1878-81.
The latter was operated as part of the Louisiana Western Railroad until 1900.
The Sabine & Galveston Bay Railroad & Lumber Co., later the Texas & New
Orleans Railroad Co., built a line from Houston to Liberty in 1856-60 and from
Orange to Liberty in 1859-60. It was dismantled by the Confederates in 1865
and restored in 1870. The line from Houston to El Paso, known as the Galveston,

by the bridge across the Colorado River before 1870, including 2% miles of road
to the river built in 1861-65. The line from Columbus to San Antonio w.
constructed mostly in 1873-77, and the line thence to El Paso was built in 1881-82
by a contractor recompensed by bonds and capital stock. From Sierra Blanca
sad El Paso the tracks are used jointly by the Texas & Pacific Railway on a rental
is.
The lines west of El Paso were built in separate portions by pee Southern
¢ organizations, since 1902 combined in the one general company. The
Eeseks were laid from Yuma to El! Paso in 1879-81, and the line froma Los Angeles
to Yuma was built in 1873-77,

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Recent publications describing geology along the Southern Pacific
lines are listed below.

LOUISIANA AND EASTERN TEXAS

Apptin, E. R., Exxisor, A. E., and Knicker, H. T., Subsurface stratigraphy
of the Coastal Plain of Texas and Louisiana: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geol-
ogists Bull., vol. 9, os 79-122, 1925.

Bavernscumipt, A. J., jr., East Hackberry salt dome, Cameron Parish, La.:
dem, vol. 15, pp. 347-256, 1931.

BARTON, D. C., The salt domes of south Texas: Idem, vol. 9, pp. 536-589, 1925.

Paxson, A. B., The Spindletop salt dome and oil field: Idem, vol. 9,

pp. 594-612, 1925.

and Goopricu, R. H., The Jennings oil field, Acadia Parish: Idem, vol. 10,

pp. 72-92, 1926.

Brucks, E. W., Luling oil field, Tex.: Idem, vol. 9, pp. 632-654, pl., 1925.

Geology of the San Marcos quadrangle: Idem, vol. 11, pp. 825-851, 1927.

DrGotyrsr, E. L., Origin of the North American salt domes: Idem, vol. 9,
pp. 831-874, 1925.

DrEvussEN, ALEXANDER, Geology and underground waters of the southeastern part
of the Texas Coastal Plain: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 335,
365 pp., 9 pls., 1914.

Geology of the Coastal Plain of Texas west of the Brazos River: U. 8.
Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 126, 139 pp., 36 pls., 1924

Hager, D. S., and Struus, E., The Blue Ridge salt eee Fort Bend County,
ex: nes Assoc. Pakenlound Geologists Bull., vol. 9, pp. 304-316, 1925.

_ Harris, G. D., Underground waters of southern Louisiana: U. S. Geol. Survey
Water tiiuoly Paper 101, 98 pp., pls., 1904.

Hows, H. V., Geology of Iberia Parish: Louisiana Dept. Conservation, Bur.
Research, "Bull. 1, 187 pp., pls., 1931.

Ketty, P. K., The Sulphur salt dome, La.: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists
Bull., vol. 9, pp. 479-496, 1925.

SS eae L. F., CunnineuaM, C. J., and Burrorp, S. O., Salt Flat oil field,
Caldwell ane Tex.: Idem, vol. 14, pp. 1401-1423, 1930.

Minor, H. E., The Edgerly oil field, La.: Idem, vol. 9, pp. 497-504, 1925.

Strrerinmeyer, R. A., Phases of sedimentation in Gulf coastal prairies of Louisiana:
Idem, vol. 14, pp. 903-916, 1930.

TrowsripcE, A. C., Building of Mississippi Delta: Idem, vol. 14, pp. 867-902,
1930.

Txompson, S. A., and ErcuELBERGER, O. H., Vinton salt dome, Calcasieu Parish,
La.: Idem, wok 12, pp. 385-394, 1928.

VauaGuaN, F. E., The Five Islands, La.: Idem, vol. 9, pp. 756-797, 1925.

WESTERN TEXAS

Baker, C. L., Exploratory geology of a part of southwestern trans-Pecos Texas:
Texas Univ. Bull. 2745, 70 pp., maps, 1927.
BrEDE, J. W., Notes on the geology and oil possibilities of the northern Diablo
u in Texas: Texas Univ. Bull. 1852, 24 pp., 1
Gracin, F. “W., Paleontology of the Malone Jurassic fcaehadion of Texas: U. S.
Geol. Surv vey Bull. 266, 172 pp., 29 pls., 1905. . pe

294 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Darton, N. H., and Kine, P. B., Western Texas and — Caverns: XVI
Internat. Geol. Cong. tfaidebook 13, 38 pp., 4 pls.,

Kina, P. B., Geology of the Glass Mountains, Tex.; Part “ PES geology:
Texas Uhiv. Bur. Econ. Geology Bull. 3938, 1930.

seisusial ie , Report on the rocks of trans-Pecos Texas: Texas Geol. Survey Fourth

aes pp. 121-138, 189

Rrcmanoson, G. B., Report of a reconnaissance of trans-Pecos Texas: Texas

v. Min. Soevey Bull. 9, 119 pp., map, 1904.

“U. 8. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, El Paso folio (No. 166), 1909.
. 8. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, Van Horn folio (No. 194), 1914.

Stanton, T. W., Stratigraphic notes on Malone Mountains and the surrounding
region near Sierra Blanca, Tex.: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 266, pp. 23-33,
1905.

STREERUWwiTz, W. H. von, Geology of trans-Pecos Texas: Texas Geol. Survey

First Ann. Rept., pp. 217-235, 1890; Second Ann. Rept., pp. 665-713, 1891;

Bp Ann. Rept., pp. 381-389, 1892; Fourth Ann. Rept., pt. 1, pp. 139-175,
893.

ee J. A., The ners deposits of El Paso County: Texas Geol. Survey
Second snk: Rept., pp. 714-738, 1891.

VaucuHan, T. W., U. s. "Geol Survey Geol. Atlas, Uvalde folio (No. 64), 1

Huphnhaisaanes i in the Rio Grande coal fields of Texas: U. 8. Geol. Hse

Bull. 164, 100 pp., 11 pls., 1900.

NEW MEXICO

Darton, N. ae Geology and underground water of Luna County, N. Mex.:
tA: 1 Sahrey: Bull. 618, 188 pp., 13 pls., 1916.
A comparison of Paleozoic sections in southern New Mexico: U. 8. Geol.
Carey Prof. Paper 108, pp. 31-55, pls. 13-21, 1918.
‘Red Beds” and associated formations in New w Mexico, with an outline
of the geology of the State: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 794, 350 pp., 62 pls.,
1928.

— Geologie map of New Mexico: U. 8. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, 1928.
Lez, W. T., Afton craters of southern New Mexico: Geol. Soc. America Bull.,
vol. 18, pp. 211-220, 1907.
Scuwennesen, A. T., Ground water in the Animas, Playas, Hachita, and San
Luis Basins, N. Mex: U. 8. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 422, 152 pp.,
9 pls., 1918.
ARIZONA
: Bryan, Kirk, Erosion and sedimentation in the Papago country, Ariz., with a
: sketch of the geology: U. S. Geol. Su urvey Bull. 730, pp. 19-90
The Papago country, Ariz., a geographic, oe and hydritogic recon-

and Grptey, J. W., Vertebrate fossils and their inclosing deposits from
a _the shore of Pleistocene Lake Cochise, Ariz.: Am. Jour. Sci., 5th ser., vol. 11,

spp. 477-488, 1926.
= Darron, N. H., Résumé of ay geology of Arizona: Arizona Univ. Bur. Mines
SEN, Cart, and Warsow, E. D., Geologic map of the State of Arizona,
i 9
e Santa Cetaling: Ri eiaeienes Am. Jour. Bee SO see

, 1931, .
idea : coe ear oe Pedro Bb Aria.:

BIBLIOGRAPHY 295

Les, W. T., Underground waters cf Salt River Valley, Ariz.: U. 8. Geol. Survey
Water-Supply Paper 136, 196 pp., maps, 1905.
E.,

MErnzeEr, O. and Kertron, F. C., Geology and water resources of Sulphur
Sprite Valley, Ariz.: U. 8. Geol. unas Water-Supply Paper 320, 231 pp.,
15 pls., 1913.

RaANSOMB, fe L., The geology and ore deposits of the Bisbee quadrangle, Ariz.:
Geol. Survay Prof. Paper 21, 168 pp., 29 pls., 1904.

U. 8. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, Bisbee folio (No. 112), 1904.

— The copper deposits of Ray and Miami, Ariz.: U. 8. Geol. Survey Prof.
Paper 115, 192 pp., 54 pls., 191

Ore deposits of the Sécthweets XVI Internat. Geol. Cong. Guidebook
14, 67 pp., 13 pls., 1932

Ross, C. P., The lower Gila region, Ariz., a geographic, eeclogy, and hydrologic
reconnaissance, with a guide to desert meio places: U. 8. Geol. Survey
Water-Supply Paper 498, 237 pp., 23 pls., 192

Geology of the lower Gila region, Ariz.: ss s. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper
129, pp. 181-197, 1922.

Saver, Cart, Basin and range forms in the Chiricahua area: California Univ.
Pubs. in Geography, vol. 3, 339 pp., 414 pls., 1930.

Scuraver, F. C., Mineral deposits of the Santa Rita and Patagonia Mountains,
Ariz. (with contributions by J. M. Hill): U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 582
373 pp., 25 pls., 1915

ScHWENNESEN, A. T., Ground water in San Simon Valley, Ariz. and N. Mex.:

. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 425, pp. 1-35, pls. 1-3, 1919.
Geology and water resources of the Gila and San oe Valleys, Ariz.:

U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 450, 27 pp., 4 pls., 1919.

Storanow, A. A., Notes on stratigraphic work in Arizona: ye Jour. Sei., 5th
ser., vol. 12, pp. 311-824, 1926.

Poin C. F., The geology of the be vars * the Tumamoc Hills, Ariz.: Carnegie

i Inst. Wachingian Pub. 113, p. 76,

- Witson, E. D., Geology and ore piace of the Courtland-Gleeson region:
Arizona Bur. Mines Bull. 123, 1927.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

ARNOLD, Ratpu, and Strong, A. M., Some crystalline rocks of the San Gabriel
Mountains, Calif.: Geol. Soe. America Bull., vol. 16, pp. 183-204, 1905.
Brown, J. S., The Salton Sea region, Calif., a geographic, geologic, and hydro-

logie reconnaissance, with a guide to dewort watering places: U. 8. Geol.
Survey Water-Supply Paper 497, 292 pp., 19 pls., 1923.
Fault features of Salton Basin, Calif.: Jour. Geology, vol. 33, pp. 217-226,

map, 1922.

Buwatpa, J. P., and Stanton, W. L., Geological events in the history of the
Indio Hills and the Salton Basin, Calif.: Seience, new ser., vol. 71, pp.
104-106, 1930.

Darron, N. H., and others, Guidebook of the western United States, Part C,
The ta Fe Route: U. 8. Geol. Survey Bull. 613, 200 pp., 42 pls., 1915.

Euprings, G. oe and ARNoup, Raupu, The Santa Clara Valley, Puente Hills,
and Los Angeles oil — southern California: U. 8. Geol. Survey Bull.
309, 266 pp., 41 pls., 1907.

gens nett Ww. A., Geology and oil resources of the Pusnis Hills region, southern

ia< UO. & Geol. Survey Bull. 768, 110 pp., 14 pls., 1

Paonnass, H. W., Geology of San Diego County [ete.]: California State Mineral-

Eleventh Rept., pp. 76-120, map, 1893.

296 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Frep, E. E., Sketch of the geology and _ of the Cahuilla Basin: Carnegie Inst.
Washiivten Pub. 193, pp. 21-83, 19

Frick, Curips, Extinct vertebrate fauna e badlands of Bautista Creek and San
Timoteo Canyon: California Univ. Dept. Geology Bull., vol. 12, pp. 2
424, pls., 1921

Gaz, H. &., Southern California: XVI Internat. Geol. Cong. Guidebook 15,
68 pp., 14 pls., 1932. Contains contributions by H. W. Hoots, R. D. Reed,
W. P. Woodring, L. F. Noble, Chester Stock, and W. 8. W. Ke ew.

Hitt, oF L., Structure of the San Gabriel Mountains, south of Los Angeles,
Cal S aliforuia Univ. Dept. Geology Bull., vol. 19, pp. 137-170, 1930.
Hoots, _ W., Geology of the eastern part of the Santa Monica Mountains, Los

Angeles County, Calif.: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 165, pp. 79-134,
pls., 1931
Kew, W. S. W. , Geology and oil resources of a part of Los Angeles ~~ oo
Counties, Calif. : U. 8S. Geol. Survey Bull. 753, 202 pp., 17 pls.,
MENDENHALL, W. C., sie of San Bernardino Valley, Calif.: [ . Geol.
Survey Water-Supply Paper 142, 83 pp., 5 pls., 1905.
Ground waters and irrigation in the foothill belt, eae California:
U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 129, 180 pp., 9 pls.,
Ground waters of the Indio region, Calif., with a sketch oe the ‘Colctado
Desert: U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply ee 25, 56 pp., 12 pls., 1909.
Notes on the otc of Carrizo Mountain and vicinity: Jour. Geology,
vol. 18, pp. 3386-355, 1900.
Miuter, W. J., Geomorphology of the southwestern San Gabriel Mountains:
California Unie: Dept. Geology Bull., vol. 17, pp. 193-240, pls. 29-35, 1928.
Nosus, L. F., The San Andreas rift aint: some other active faults in the desert
region of southeastern California: Carnegie Inst. Washington Yearbook 25,
pp. 415-428, 1
RusseExL, R. J., tad forms of San Gorgonio Pass, southern California: Cali-
fornia Univ. Dept. Geography Bull., vol. 6, pp. 23-121, map, 1932.
VAUGHAN, 5. i, Geology of the San Barbatdin’ Mountains north of San Gor-
gonio Pass: California Univ. Dept. Geol. Sci. Bull., vol. 13, pp. 319-411,
pls. 17-28, map,1922.
bigenceng T. W., The reef-coral fauna of Carrizo Creek, Imperial County, Calif.,
and to Meaittincnes U. 8S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 98, pp. 353-386, pls.,
1917,
Wooprine, W. P., Distribution and age of the marine Tertiary deposits of the
Colorad 6 Deserk: Carnegie Inst. Washington Pub. 418, pp. 1-25, 1932.

%

INDEX

A Page Sheet
Acadians in Louisiana__....-...-.----- 20-21
Crater, N. Mex 135
Acem siting, NN. Met. ce 135 18
Waonde siding, Arie... oso. ee ZA... BS
rater, N. Mex., giant sloth
found in 135, p af Zo
Afton saan AE Raa oa ie a 18
Agua Ca 1 | Sra eek earl Sti Mal, pa 24
Agua Pricta, gs 4 hs ae ete i le 174 =o 21
ON a ube oo ane 297
Alamo, San Antonio, Tex_---------- 67, pl. 7
Alfalfa crops. a
mipatinin, Cait. ue 280-29
Alleyton, Tex 52 eg
pine, Tex 1. 95-97. 14
Altuda siding, Tex 93-95 14
a siding, Tex. hy 78 il
Amelia sid! Wi 5
Amos, Calif., drifting sands near__..--- pl. 36
o Mountain, Tex......-..-+-- 76-77 il
Anapra siding, N. Mex__------------ 132,163 18
wrung, Tet. on 74 10
Mountains, N. Mex_-_-_------- 168 20
Animas siding, N. Mex._-------------- 168 20
A Siet, NW Met 145, 168
Anse La Butte salt dome, La__-------- 3
Antelope Hill, Arig -.- 25
Antelope siding, N. Mex-------------- 20
Anza’s expedition --_---- 194, 222, 227, 232, 233
A Dik Bh Mae 1
Apache Indians, ie cceaahe _ Aerts pl. 29
Apache Junction, Ariz__..------------- 218
Apache Pass, Ariz....--------------- 146,154 21
Apache tral, Ariz....--.----..-_.-- 28
Avaby siding, Avie = ce 26
Abekou sidiig, 1 O0.-.25..—.- 25-42 15
Ates siding, Calif... -..--------. 2 a 26
Arena siding, N. Mex-.--------------- 19
KTR APES oo eae est 23
io es he ete eS 147-152
desert ions in southern---. 179-181
desert plain in western - ------------ pl. 25
Aviingtew: Apie es 9
Armadillos in central Texas_._._..- 46, pl. 9
Springs, Calff...---------- _ 271
arrow-shaped scar near.----------- Pl. 46
Abbett mibpeisc 2 oct c reo t
Asphalt gree ee ae "4 se
Atchafalaya River, La_..-------------- 2
Athel siding, Ariz. ..--22------------- 24
Austin, 8. Py: so ea aie - 9,48
152109°—33—20

Page Sheet
Avery oma oi bird sanctuary < ey
galt minin@oni SS eee 1-22, Re : 3
A adie « y
Avra siding, Att - soap eescs picicewnad fo 22
Hills 232
Astec siding, Arig. 2. -..<..000--.elh 232 24
B
Badlands in lake beds, Finlay, Tex..... pl. 17
Baker; Cv, citedouc tase, bre aac 16,
109, 111, 112-113, 115, 117, 118 17
Baker Peaks, Aric .....-22.-.-- 2. 233 24
Baker Panks, Ariz....-2i:- -iscesince 233224
Dakiwins bac... 3 ee 18 2
Ratnam. Canto ose 266-267 27
parton, DD; 0. eited 2... ha 42
Bassett: Calitic... csi cc shhh oe gn 29
Ba idt, A. Ji, cited. (2.24550.
Baylor tains, Te snnceer 104, 105,
Sep Lafo boa ta See PA see OE SE: 2
you Queue de Tortue, La_..-------- Ps 3
ec Ba Bis eee 18 2
Bayou. Teche, La..-.-----.-.-.-------- 17 x
ON a eer ee
Beaumont, Calif. se 267-269 28
SS ad Redes cress Sh 40-41 5
Bell Butte, yA, ” Ae even: ae AE ae
mson, ATiZ.......----------------- 160-161 21
Bernardino siding, Ariz__..------------ 1 20
Berry, E, W., cited__..---------.------
aah fig, Call. So 255-256 89-27
pe ae Ore tel pes 17 2
Besa Heights oil field, Tex ----------- 40
Big ate country, Tex., a 85
See lah amar 86, pL 12
Billeaud, ed Shira et astecetdlha sie yutiols avait 25, 26
Bisbee, Aris_--- 2.22. 5------+<------- 175-176 = 2.
Bisbee aah oe 775 AL
Biznaga, water from._-_.-------.------- pl. 20
Black Mountain, N. Mex-_-_--.------- 139,143 19
Blackwelder, Eliot, cited_._----------.
Blaisdell siding, Ariz_-.------------- pea ‘25
Bloomin, CANE ee 24-275 28
Blue Ridge 5 Gouin, Per
Boeuf, La 2
Boling salt bend Tee lek ae
Borden siding; Ter 2302 ae 8
Bése, Emil, cited ated wee eere 131-132
Boulder Dam, Ariz. _..-----.-237, 241, 249
Ce ee in be

esate "18.8 m2
| hacia, bese ons

298 INDEX
Page Sheet Page Sheet
man, W. F 43, 46 Ciudad Juarez, Mexico mm
Brackettvlle 77 11 sine, Tex 76 il
Bray, Shs eountry 80 as a quarry f pl. 10
Brazos ae Tex 48 6 | Clint, T 122 17
Brea Canyon oil field, Calif-........... 278 Coach ela, 259-261 27
meron. Tals es 2 3 Conchelia v soe Oshh. fn Se 251, 253-265 27
Brown, J. 8., cited__....---- 247, 252, 259, 260 26, 27 and cholig in..2.-. <--2.5 pl. 41
B , B bade Mid. oy ee 61 Cochise 15 21
Buckeye, A 218-219 24 | Cochi 146 20
Buckeye neta pt Ge ee aa eee 218-220 24 | Cochise’s sStroniol Arig... 157, 159-160
Burchard, E. F., cited 141 Colfred sidin 233 25
Burger siding, Ari 223 25 cee siding mt 111-112 16
Burro Mountains, N. Meee as 144 Col 9
dat region of, map of____.._----- pl. 35
Cc sei sagen of oN me expedition
ee de Vata_...-------- By OB:G1, 12h, - Colton, Calif. 270
Cajon Pass, Calif. ee Re Saas ms irttree Mane
upturned strata in: 2s. --.---.-.¢ 1. 46 Begae oe hea
r Comstock, Tex
Caliche, occurrence and origin of-.-...-- 62-63 Del Rio clay Serer by Buda
Calumet Dbl eee se, nce 7 2 Wnvastidin Mr ue eas pl. 11
Cambray, N..Mex_....----~-------.-- 136 18 siding, cet . 99 #415
amelback Mountain, Ariz. -.----..-- — Continental Divide.........----- 144, 166,168 19
1 iZ_..----------------- 221 24 | Contour lines, explanation of__-_------- 4
Campo, Cali 290 Cooks Range, N. Mex-.------------- 141-142
Cannon, R. L., cited 10 | Cooli riz
Canyon Lake, Ariz. -..----------- 217, ne = Coronado’s expedition_._--_- 150, 155, 161, 198
Carey, E. P., cited , Ariz 93-1
Cargo Muchacho apart Calif... Cortland, Ariz., rocks of 174
Carlsbad Caverns, N. Me ae ae Pl. w Coulter, J. 1 ro a heehee 37
Carrizalillo Mountain, N. Mex_---___- 19 | Cow Cone, N. Mex..__.--------------- 148 «(19
Carrizo Gorge, Calif_._.------._--- 289 £ ™ Cowden sidmg, Nrigi-s6 ees ass 218 2B
; ee eer 111-112 as "at oil field, Calif peared a 278
Seca heer 197-198, 224, paproe 23 pet eiccting is Oe
Casa Grande Mountains, | ae canhapate 23 Ree ae N. Mex 167
EEGs Se pa oes hy ati 23 | Coyote Wells, Seiaiages YBa RS SEBEL
Castle Canyon, west of Del Rio, Tex.. che oe il rag, Ariz 220 «24
Castle Dome Mountains, Ariz_----..-- 25 | Cragin, J. W., cited 119
Costadvitie, Ties he ge We Ci ae 4 86
Cave Creek, Ait. .3 6 sco. Se a0 Cre ed 21 B
or sidin as ihe age ae Te Sth Cryecal Cave, Arie. 170
Cedar Grove Mountains, N _... 165 19 | Cunningham, C. J., cited 61
Cement plant, El fer Tex. De aah sais 125
ARE SK) fe RE 219-220 3-24
210 Dalberg si Lig | 35
Cerro de eae N. Mex__.____ 131-132, 162 Damon Mound te. dome oil field, =e eo. 7
la, La__. 15 2 | Danube siding, Tex
: gare dons, La. 23 2 | Darst Creek oil field, Tex_.....-__-.-_.
Champ d’ Asile, Tex 43 Date culture__________ 202, 257, 261, pls. 26, 37
Chandler, Ariz 201 23 | Davis Mountains, Tex....___.. 97-98, 99, 101
_ Chappel siding, N. Mex_-..._....... 135,136 18 lava ss a apages sltpa eh aes pl. 14
Charleston, Ariz 178 21 | Dayton, 6
Chatfield Hill, Tex 73. 30 Deel te goer ogee eee anenaeaeeg" 73-79 «12
; China, Tex_-- : 5 | Deming, N. M 137-143 19
_ Chiricahua Mountains, Ariz_..___..... 146, 20,21 | Des Allemands, 4 Pama dns ae i
pel ease 147, 153-154, 169-170 Desert life 1-192, 255
_ Chiricahua siding, ccteepienas Ate... Oo | Devers, Tex. a 5
° Obiepe siding, Tex. |. 08 15,26 ils River, 2
_ Chiu-Chiusehu, eee emery De Walt oil field, Tex 47-48 = «6
_ Christman, E., restoration of La B: *Hanis, Tex 10
animals. cae i Seger Sea eT
219. A
. B35 6

INDEX 299
Page Sheet Page Sheet
Dona siding, N. Mex 135, 136 18 | Fort Bliss, Tex 125 17,18
Donner, La 15 2.) Hort Bowig, Arig__--.-..-..---255 154, 155
Dorso siding, 82 13 | Fort Clark, Tex 77 ll
Dos Cabezas M: ap. | Seer 154 21 | Fort Davis, Tex 97
Dos Palmas Spring, Calif.._....-.---.. 256 27 ancoc ex 121 17
Douglas, A. E., 1 Fort Hudson, Tex 20 ee)
Douglas, Ariz 173-175 21 | Fort rraasracrs Tex
D Z 158-160 21 Poet Tawell, Avie soe oe ale 189, 190
Dragoon Mountains, Ariz_----...-.- 157-158 =. 21_~'| ~Fort Peta Cota, iN. een sae 14
Dryden, Tex 13 | Fort 1)
Dumble, E. T., cited 79 Fort Pewsey Re 91, 96, 97
Dunlay, Tex 70-71 10 | Fort Thomas, Ariz 210
Duson siding, La 26 3 | Fort piding; ATi® = 9's... 2 uses 935... 25
Fowler siding, A 218
E Franklin 3
Eagle <uEee 51-52 7 | Franklin Peseta Tet sa 126-128 17,18
Eagle Mi isi, Tex 112-114 16°} Brankiinal et. 2202 os eee 124
Eagle soning, 113 Frasch method of sulphur mining----. 32, 49
aunts near r Brawl Ca ae 260 Frazer,’ D. M., cited....------=2 260, 262,264 28
Franklin, 18 Frick, Childs, ited ‘Ags ane
near gale gr Seek: WAL 3 cw coe, eee Frink siding, Ca = (258
near Valentine, Tex. _.--------.---- 100
|, Lex 51 7
East Potrillo Mountains, Tex_-------- 163 18 | Gadsden Purchase. -~.------ 150-151, 199, 201
Echo, Tex 39 4) Gage, Dis Mee 2 es ate 143. «19
Edgerly, La. ce 4 | Galveston, Te: .- 45, pls. 5, 6 6
Edgerly oil field, La.--....--------.--- 4 | Gamio, Manuel, wt Rae pigtail Ce
Edwards Plateau, Tex_-_------ 2, 38, 69, 74, Z ; tions in Arizona__.------
Eichelberger, O. H., cited___.-..-.---- 187-188, 194, te 0, 0, 222, 226, 227,
Casco sidi 11 spay SR ane sc ap 8 Bs 28 229, 240, 245
entro, Calif 287 26 | Garden reesig te Ya: Bee ire. eee noe 18
Elephant Butte Reservoir, N. Mex___.- 120, Li at. (2 pimples be Myer Re 50 $10
128, 130, 133 Geophys Punlortgg. 7 cae 42, 43
Elevations explained ___..------------- CeerOnitnine ft no ae ee 147, 160
Eloy siding, Ariz...-.-.---------- Be te 23 capace, “aos cee ee
El Paso, Tex.. 123-128, i 17,18 | Gidley, J. W., cited zig cg 100
edge of lava west of____------------ pl. 1 (is Mond, Asig.. ae 227. 24
smelter at pl. a Gila Bend Mountains, Ariz. 220, 227,228,229 24
t trail, Calif 264 Hie Ciby, Alig oe
Empire Moun' ORE Mine itiateteaagitaty§ Iss. "22 4 Gity meengter ee ee 192, pL 23
Engle siding, Tex on 54 8 | Gila Mountains, Rental 210, 234, 26 065
English, W.-A., cited___.....---.-.-- cuba 2 | Gils Rive, Ane 222! 152, 197, 199-200, 23
Esperton dome, Tex. 6 208, 218, 219, 222, 223, 228-—
iespinead Plain, Arig oo) coc 17, i from pee te a B12 Silat accra ota rsh
Pe OLS nies keene es 3 | Gila Ri Indian Reservation, Ariz_ 197, 20
ibe Are eee
16 | Gillespie Dam, Ariz-._...----------- 219, a
Ces Ce re 26
Glass a Tex., features of___-- 91-93 «14
ke 7
Globe, Ariz. _. 211-213
17 | Golden Rule mine, Be tigucc iene’ Siege |: Gag
21 | Gol Arie = oo cc Be Be
Gold Hill, N. Mex... _---------------- 145 (20
16 | Goliad, Tex = 48
Goodsight Mountains, N. Mex-_---..--
17 randmo' Viountai Mi 143~—C«aD
17 1 Greed Bilver, Elis ose ee aT oS
WR Mets iteeatee 169
os ae PrP erg ee or 2 25
§ | Gretna, La__------2--.------------- 14 os
23 Growler sig Anno noson aoe 222 25
19 | G Mountains, Tex. ..-------- 108
17 Geadehinne Point, Tex. eee 108-109, pl. 15 :
Guadalupe River, Tex_--------------- = Soe
| Guasti, Calif_-~.------------------ ae 28
a Gg ‘Basin, Mexico. ------------ a

300 INDEX
H Page Sheet Page Sheet
WBE W. Cited sce 277, 278, 287, 288
Hachita, N. Mex 166-167 19, . Kilbourne Hole, N. Mex___._.__. 134, pl.18 18
Hacienda siding, T: 76 B., cit 87-9
B and Eagle Ford contact , 94, 95, 106-108, 110-111, 115 16, 17
west of2 3 2-822 pl. 10 Kingsbury, Tex
berry — oil field, La._cal. 30 4 | Kino’s expl 150, 161, 176,
Hado siding, Ari 156 21 187, ~ 198, 199, 227, 229, 237, 244
Hager, D. S., ced. en taneteete etd ll, 47 Klotho’s diene Ari 25
Hammond terrace, La------..----.--- 24-25 Knippa, T 73-74 (10
Hankamer oil field, os sucenewsl blue 42 5 Mis Sager rere basalt near. 73, pl. 9
FIBRO A, eee ee Lg 220, 221 24 | Knob siding, Calif. 246 26
on ngs 59 Kofa, Ariz 225°! 95
ee cianienaaite Le ane 219° 2
Hatclat seh N. Mex. 2G Ass 167 L
Hawtot, E..M.; etted... j2 oi... 8
Hayes Mountain, Ariz___..-_..---._ 210-211 La Brea, Calif., asphalt pits at___ 283, pl. 48
d siding, Tex 1 14 | Lacassine siding, La___..-.---__--.____ 29 4
Hereford, Ari 177 1 Lacoste, Tex 70 10
emote OLS 165-166 19 | Ladim siding, N. Mex 144 19
Hilda station, Tex 6 9 fayette, La eo. 8
Hill, M. L., eh haew sukivas Meld a 279 Lafourche, I 14 1
Hill, R. T., cited 129 , Tex. 53 8
i Rio er i. 23 | Lagung Dany Arigcs ce 238, 239 25, 26
Hipass, Calif 290 Laguna Mountains, oie B setalie} 3 235-236 = «26
odge, F. W., cited 147 Laguna Mountains, Calif___..._____- —
Hondo, Tex 71-72-10 | Lake Cahuilla, Calif., aot a Si ie
ts, H. W., cited , 256, 2, 8, pl.
Horn, Ariz 25 | Lake Charles, La --- 30-31 4
Horse Mesa Dam, MBAS S85 SP es 216 Lake deponita; w ‘estern Texas._..__.____ 120
Horse Mountain, 8 Lake Fau: usse Pointe salt meni pipe 23 2
Hot Wells, Tex 112-113-116 " , Tex 70
Houma, La. 1 Lanark, N. Me a oe
Houston, Tex 6 ry, Tex 92-83 i
Howe, H. V., cited 19, 28/98 siding, Tex 1716
Huachuca Mountains, Ariz_...--.....- 1 21 | Las aa: pees, i. ste eae agus
Hueco Mountains, Tex_____._______ 122, 128 24
Hunts Hole, N. Mex 8 | Lech LAL Desc ES B4 2
55 Ariz Lee siding, Ar 173 21
l we to. ret 203, 206
cane Ae “4
Imperial Valley, Calif..... 248-250, 287, ae 26 wis Spri eee ge Wi 2k
Indian Hot Springs, Tex_--..-......_- Li Ariz a
in T on Liberty, Tex 43 5
Indio, Calif. 1-262 R. A., cited 10
Intracoastal Waterway -__......-..- 17, 39, 41 Litchfield, Ariz ames Baty
crepe mgm, Arie ei Little Dragoon Mountains, spr eee 158-159 21
Sree ee ee 121-17 | Little Florida Mountains, N vo wae
Ives expedition. Little Hatchet Mountains, N z practi 167 20
Ivy siding, Tex. oe | ik te 105 16
J Faerow, Ten. 8% 613
Lords Pe POM 45. 20
Bee 289-290 Los Angeles, Calif 282-291 29
Janice siding, 7 eben ee eee 8 | Los Angeles Plain, Calif.__._.____ a “s ped
Sennen 2S a 2 | Los Angeles River, Calif... 29
Jolistams intend, La., nell DANO Rice pag RR 2S PNG oan NEST
_ Jennings, La_-______.. 3 Tertiary formations of southern___ i,
_ Jennings oil field, La eagles 3
Johnson, Ariz. 0-2 21 dland i a 3
Johnstone siding, Tex.____.__...._____ 12 | Loziers: Ek ee 83
J Mountains, Calif_. 274 28 | Lucas, F. A 41
bos K suling, Tex- 59-62 «8
Being 0b Sete, Tee 8 59-60
31 Lull, R. §.. cited : 135
: | Luzena siding. Ariz 155 21

INDEX
M Page Sheet
gaa ani Bets birge: of sulphur at_-_- ee 6
teers Tex 69 ® | sulphur tine st. 0 ee 49
wae egy D. T., cited 253 feo ‘Teck: 7 20-21
pl. 22 ase River ont pee ee 19
Malone Acceeroroee Pex cats ce ms 7: Newman Peak, A 196
urned syncline of_.....---.-.. New iio 128-131
alps als o Mo untain, Ariz. ---.-------.- P00 southwestern, geologic formations
Malvado siding, Tex 83 13 of 137
Manvoro siding, Ariz... 22. 20-2 cil. 157s 21 ' | New OMeant Tas ee 5-9
Marano, Ariz 195 22 Nicklin siding, Ont. ee eae 267
M: , Tex., features of..__ 87: Niland, Calif 248
sinuous ridges of herd beds in_____- pl. 13 mud vi oleanoes southwest of. __ — pl. 38
Marathon, 1-93 14 Noble Fe elite ce 9, 260, 3
Marfa, Te 99 15 me,
Maricopa, Ariz 25 68 North Dayton Geld, Per Sasi a
Maricopa Indians.© soso. 200, 229 218
Maricopa Mountains, Ariz_-.--------- 2264 ea Pie: Tex 76
Marion, Tex 64 9 | Nufiez siding, Ari 225
Mastodon siding, N. Mex. ------------ 163 = «18
Maxon siding, Tex 8 864 O
Mazatzal ee aka y's | Sadrcetneoeny ater 216
McCullum. 61 Oatiman masteore- 0 oo eS 229
MeNary, T 120-121. 17 | Oeapos siding, Ariz_..-...-.-----_---_- 226
oceenma* Tex 63 91 Ogilby siding, Calif...........---.--- 246-247
M Calif. 257-258 27 | Olberg siding, Ariz_._.--------.------- 200
rtiary strat: t of. pl. 40 Ontario, Calif 276
Meceg Sills; Oat c250 canes Oran field, Tex 40
Meinzer, 0. E., cited.._-.-..--- 77, 79, 206 Orange, ‘Tex 3940
Mendenhall, Ww. C., cited... 258, 268, 274, 288 oil field, Tex 51
oza e: tion....--------------- 96-97 Organ Mountains, Tex 133
Mermentau, La. ---------------------- 28 31 Orocopia Mountains, Calif.__..- 255-256, 257
Mesa, Ariz 202 23
Mescal, Ariz 178 22 Pp
Mesquite, uses 0! 56-57
Mexicans in New Mexico 129 Painted Rock Mountains, Ariz____-- 229-230
iami, Ariz 212 Paisano Pass, ey Mountains, Tex-- pl. 14
Midland, La 23 3 Paisano siding, T
er, W. J., cited. 279 Palm Canyon, Calif, Washington
Mimbres siding, N. Mex-_------------- 16519 [Snurg | Sepatiig: Sane iaerceii 255, pl. 41
Valley, N. Mex..---------- 136, 138 Palm sag Se as Sees 263-266
AM, AEE See es sree wrt rie 25 | Palomas Valley, N. Mex____---.----.- 164
Miso — baat oy ae v sete 8, 12, 16 1 | Palo Verde wip Aria od 226
issouri City, T 4 6 | Pantano siding, Ariz.........---------- 181
ni Peak, near ae. TOE eras pl. 13 Papago Indians___._.---.-_- 189-190, 224, 227
Mofeta siding, Tex---..-.--------+-~--+ 8 13 | Papago siding, Ariz__...-.-.-..-------- 221
Mohawk Meee Ariz__.. 232-233, pl. 32 Dicscccieaiite: 196
Mohawk Vall a t Poeapeoe: Onlit... 250 230-281
Montezuma Face, Ariz_..--------- 221, pl. 32 Pass Mountain, Ariz___._..-_._-_-.-_- 222
Montezuma siding, Ariz...----.------- 221 abtein Se oe a 17
Moore, B. N., cit --- 183,275 Bupk ailing, Ari 197
Morgan City, La_.....-.-----s94--4-+- MOSER IN sels ase 2 157
M Mint, Avis. ......2.>.--5-. > 217 Pearson i deen ae ry
Mormon settlements ---.---- 208, 271 Poros: River, Tex. ..<-.--.0 35. 81-82
Morongo Indian Reservation, Calif... 267 bridge over avenins ot Pe Eons OMeg pl. i2
Mortmar siding, Calif.-_.----------- 256 7 Ariz.-N. Mex... 146,
Mount Graham, Ariz___..----.-------- 155 169, 171
Mount ey.” Po peas 164 18 | Pefia Colorada 6
Mud voleano near Niland, Calif... 253, pl. 38 Porilla siding, Ariz. oe
Muggins M Aries. 234 25] Pershing siding, Calif......-.-.-..----
Moun' Aveo as, AS; 21) Phillips Holy BE, Mex... 134
Mundo siding, Calif..----. 27 | Phoenix, Ariz 204
Muskrat ranch, 31 Picacho; Avi.<.:-.-------_. 197, pl. 22
Picacho Peak, Ariz_..---------------
N ERLE aa oi ph 2
176 ~=s«21: |: Piedra, Ariz. 229
Naviska siding, Ariz_....__......--... 195 22 | Pierce Junction oil field, Tex-..------- 45

301

‘age Sheet

27-29
5

BRR

B RF BREN

RSEEBw

8

o8 BRBSENS

mae

302 INDEX
Page Sheet
Pima, Ariz 21 Riverside, Calif
Pi MOR ae Coes 189, 200, 201, pl. 24 Rock disint ti 19,
Pimple mounds , 40 od y N. 169-171
Pinal Mountains, Arig... a 211, 213 Roemer, Bie. c scl oss ad 50
Pinalefio Mountains, Ariz..--....----- 155 21 | Rogers, A. F., cited 254
aes City, Calif. 288 oll, Ariz 223
ter of paris 118 Roosevelt Dam, Ariz....-. 205, 213-216, pl. 28
sone de los Pinos, sf Mex ii sicscce 145 20 | Rosenberg, Tex 49
Pisyas siding, N. Mex... 2. 2. occu 168 20 | Rosenfeld siding, Tex 86
Playas Valley, N Sua 168 oss, C. P., cited 220, 231
oint Loma, Calif 291 Ross, C. S., cited 98, 115, 169
Polvo sidin 121 17 | Ross sidin ng, T 121
Pomona, Cal 276 29 Rutter siding, Mex 133
Population +5
Portal, 170-20 8
Port ‘ex. 41 5 .
Ss Sabinal, Tex
Poston siding, sletalenenglonr ee Raat 27 3 200 = Sabine River 33, 37, 40
Potrillo siding, N. Mex_-__.--.--_-.--: 163 «IB | ri
Po Butte, Ari 219 «24 ‘ibis AOL Aer be pl. 25
oN. Mers.-.s8---:------- 169 20 | Sacaton Mountains, Ariz...-..-----. 200, 225
in Southwest, map show- tain; Ariens of ees
ing z 3
Prickly pear cactus, blossoms of.-----ph 81 | Sahnaro.n a2 oi, 1 6 nn
nto siding, ry, enna ee che
Providence Cone, N. Mex..----------- oe aig Bngeesit Sina Monument, Ati
Puente, cage 276, 29 5
aa hn Oe ws ste Martinsv oe se Rie ga lg gy afi
Puente oil ane 277 s 4 Tex 60-61
Pumpville sine, softs eaten sa Pitot fel _ 11, 21, 47, 252
Pyramid sides tie, Nw 2 See ree 145 20 Baltnetedy oriebe ofsese ida: a8c0h 8 153
Salt River Mountains, Ariz__..--.----
Q Salt River Valley, Ariz 201,
204-207; 213, 214-217, 218
bec siding, Tex 15 cotton field and dates in_....-.._-. pl. 26
Quitman Mountains, Tex__-_-...-.- 116-117. 16 views in es! 27
see Basin, Calif 251-
R alif. 250-251, caine
on "Andres nae 252, 259-260, 273, pl. 39
Racelaad, L 13-14 1 Fd
Railroad Pass, Arie...0o0cs ys aeee 56 the es palace of Span-
Rameby siding, Tex. -..0204 2 i ish governor in_.._-..-----
‘Rancho La Brea, Calif_.-..1--..---- | San Bernardino, Calif. _.-.-.....--.---
Randolph field, 9 | San Bernardino Mountains, Calif... 266-267,
Randolph siding, 23
—,- i cited. 135,177, fia a0 21 | San Bernardino Peak, Calif__..__....- pl.
Raso siding, Ariz 21 | San Bernardino Valley, Ariz__.______ 172-173

ea Tg

Felipe
San Felipe, Tex

Page Sheet
27 2

20

wy

8

S

ae aa

Re 8 &EBS

INDEX 303
Page Sheet Page Sheet
San Jacinto Mountain, Calif....... 262-263, Span, moss 15
266, pl. 42 i: Bid > ead Rome aE 41-42 5
San Jacinto River, Tex 6 Sp pofford, Tex 7 ll
San Jacin eae sho ge ce ae 37, 44 Squaw Mountain, Ariz_............... 171
San Jos 276-277 29 | Stafford, Tex 47 6
San Mar rag te 62 9 | Standart siding, Tex ll
San Pear, Cali f 283 29 | Stanton, T. W., cite sity 163
ae ley Ariz 21 | Stanwix sidi Ariz 24
San pn ec ater nla ean ans 152-1 20 | Steins 20
San pee “iene Ariz.-N. Mex... 152-153, hephiline, L. W., cited_. 64, 65, 68, 70, 71, 7 9, 10
20, 21 Stiles, E., cit
Santa Ana Mountains, Calif___...__- 270, 275 Stock, bai cited tu
Santa Ana River, Calif-_........___- 269,276 28 | Stoval, Ariz 232 «(25
Santa Catalina Mountains, Ariz______. 183 22 | Stoyanow, A. A., cited............... ee 183
Santa Cruz River, ote 193, 225 Strauss siding, N ‘sien ati | ye" 32-133. 18
Santa Fe oil Lien 278 Strobel siding, Tex 04 14
Santa Moni Call pia of Pacific Sugar Land, Tex = ies 6
pl. 48 Sulphur, La -32 4
Santa Bi cas Boutin Galifs..:-. 285 Sulph PA, COs rosa ae 31-32, 34, = i :
Santan Mountains, Ariz_.........____- 201 23 | Sulphur Spring Valley, Ariz 21
Bantaneciding, Ariz. ee 201 23 | Sul Ross College, ing se a a ne
Santa Rosa Mountains, Calif.___.._._- 254 27 | Superstition Mo’ » Ariz_. 202, 217, pl. a
— Timoteo Canyon, Calif... 267-269, pl. 43 Superstition mtbantane alt. 2.52 c
an Xavier AD ac, Ariz., mission of.. pl. 21
io. rai 2 20 T
au M ec pia, OPE eter are 227
Savoya siding, N. Mex__.......-.--.-- 166 ©6119 kp “ioe oe cg arta mcgme ee v0 95
Pesta yy oe Ariz_---.-_.-.-.- 224 nA Tanque Verde Mountains, Afigzsc: 182,185 22
Schertz “és > Tartron stag Ariz ~ 2
? . ‘ex
pebrader, F. C., cited 200 22 * abana 202-204
oa 14,15 11 Pemperatures, underground_....2---- 61, 113
Schulenbarg, a, 8 Terlingua, Tex., cule er mines at. 91
Scnwainiene k. A. T., cited 152-153 Tesnus si 14
Scott siding, L 26 3 re che bt coh on tilted
Seeley, Cali “a Pennsylvanian strata near_ pl 18 1B
Segu 62-63 9 | ‘Texas
Segura, a 3 central, formations in__... 64-65,7 aoe 7
Seilards, » Cited ...--.--.--------- ° ntral, reertigey Minsaiiongit 50, 61
Sentinel siding, Ariz aon ee nenen nen nn ee 230024 eastern, fossil animals in___-
— oe ea ae leis He SE 144 20 geo Oe
siding, Ariz... ._2.._.5._.....5 20L 23 map of, by Austin 39
Shatto Soe es 54 8 | —_ western, geology of......._.---_- All
Shaver Canyon, Calif. 257,259 = 27 hesineiad formations
Sheeks dome, Tex 5 in 100-101
Sheldon siding, T 44 6 | Texas Hill, Ariz 22
Shu: ending, TOR oss ee SE Tey ree Ae 210
Sierra Aneha, Ariz... ...--- sec ascs imerene, ORM oe elo 29 «2
Blanca, Tex. ears Me Ja Mid ip ics cl © Soa Dae a a 4 1
Steere. Dishle; Tessie 107-108 Theieen: B, A. eied. 2c 33
Sierra Estre _aaRnER OM Re ete 226 23 | Thousand Palms Canyon, Calif....... %2
Sierra Pedro Martir, Mexico_....------ 287 Three Peaks, Ariz 224
Sierra Rica zap egg rg has Gicaes 166 «19 iding, 84
iia Ari. cool. 233 «= 25'|| ~‘Tierfa Vieja Mountains, Tex____.___.- 101
Silver Bell, aa SOAR SOP e csee ashe a 306 22) Winelen Altes, Avie 0 oo 234
Slate Mountains, Ariz....-.-.--------- 224 Tolleson, Ariz 218
Sons 8S, pl. 20 Tolman, ©. ¥., cited... 1S
Small siding, Tex 118 17) Tembetoms, Arie a
Snake N. Mex bok -- 14 vi ‘National M« t, Ariz., cliff
Snow Creek Canyon, Calif-.......... 264 27 at........-. 233, pL. 28
mines: Calif. = co05 6c. 255 Toomey, La. 33 4
Sotol country, vegetation of.......-.-.. 80 Topas siding, Ariz..__-..-............ &% 2%
South College Peak, Shee et sebeNr egy Ff Saget t siding, Tex 14 «616
South Liberty salt dome and oil f Torcer siding, Tex Be.
tan 5 | Tornillo, Tex 22 6

304 INDEX
Page Sheet Ww Page Sheet
Toronto os be eS
ortolita Mountains, Ariz............_ 194 22 | Waelder, Tex 57 8
iat ire rake Cais Calif_.._._ pl. 38 Walker Butte, Ariz 200
Tres Hermanas Mountains, N. Mex. 164-165 19 | W »G.A., cit 28
Tubac, rey Watkins siding, ‘Tex 13
Tucson, Ariz 185-193 22 savers Needle, Ariz 217
Tucson Mountains, Ariz.___________- 192-193 Weeks Island, La 18, 21 2
Tumacacori Mission, Ariz___________.- 190 Weimar, 53-54 8
Tumamoc Hills, Ariz_....____....____. 193 Wellton, Ari 223-224, 234-235 25
Tants shimeo NN, Mer oo 143 19 | Welsh, La 29-3 3
Turquoise 144, 174 elsh oi
yson siding, Ariz 25 | Wendell sidi x 100 15, 16
West Potrillo Mountains, N. Mex_..-. 163 8
U Whetstone Mountains, Ariz_-.-.__--_. 162 21, 22
White Tank Mountains, Ariz_________
Uvalde Plain, Tex., depositsof_ 62, 69, 70, 72, 74 Whitewater River, Cali 27
Uvalde, Tex 74-75 ll te, W. aitnd 138
Whittier oil field, Calif 278
¥ illeox, Ariz = 21
Vail, Ariz 182-184 22 Heading; IN, Mero: 6 ees 19
Vv: i 99,100 15 | Wilson, E. D., ci ies 24, 25
Van Horn Moun Tex_. 102, 18% 105, 112 Woodring, w. Py cited__-------- 259, 263,
Van ene, Tex., formations in. 106-108 Woolsey Penk, Aris. 00 cuccic oS 220, 24
Van Horn, T 105 16 | Woolsey Well, Ariz 221.2298 24
Vaughan, F. z , cited 260, 266,267 28 | Wylie Mountains, Tex_------_--___- 109, 110
Vaughan, T. W.., cited 75, 101, 288 10,11 | Wymola, Ariz
Vekol Mountains, APiseOs esd L
113, 147 ¥
Victorio Mountains, is Meso es 1 1 Yavapai Indian
aN, NAGS os 2 ae 166 19 | Yellow Medicine Eames RAB os 221,220 34
Vinto' 33 a.) Yellow Peak Are oo oie
Vinton oil field, La 33 4 | Ysleta, Tex 123 17, 18
WN Piles io: 25 oat 20 | Yuha on Calif 289
Ininhop ype sc sss esis out Yuma, 236-239, pl, 34 26
111, 135, 163-164, pes: 172 pe ee Gistrict ter oo pl. 34
Wobomnoes, Theis. oo Bees ah Yuma Desert, Ar 236 25
Vulture Mountains, Ariz....-..------ 219 Yuma Indians 237, 245