UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Harold L. Ickes, Secretary I I!»*r. .T*" J*«»* 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ' * I'll \* f* o \\ *|

W. C. Mendenhall, Director

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 

WASHINGTON : 1933

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

i» » » » 

 

Principal divisions of geologic time °

Era

Cenozoic (recent 

life).

Mesozoic (intermediate life) .

Paleozoic (old 

life).

Proterozoic (primordial life).

Period

Quaternary.

Tertiary.

Cretaceous.

Jurassic.

Triassic.

Carboniferous.

Devonian.

Silurian.

Ordovician.

Cambrian.

Algonkian.

Archean.

Epoch

Recent. 

Pleistocene (great 

ice age).

Pliocene. 

Miocene. 

Oligocene. 

Eocene.

(<)

(')

(°)

Permian. 

Pennsylvanian. 

Mississippian.

(«)

( >

(")

(«)

(«)

Crystalline rocks.

Characteristic life

"Age of man." Animals and plants of 

modern types.

"Age of mammals." Possible first appearance of man. Rise and development of highest orders of plants.

" Age of reptiles. ' ' Rise and culmination 

of huge land reptiles (dinosaurs), of 

shellfish with complexly partitioned 

coiled shells (ammonites), and of great 

flying reptiles. First appearance of 

birds and mammals (in Jurassic); of 

cycads, an order of palmlike plants 

(in Triassic); and of angiospermous 

plants, among which are palms and 

hardwood trees (in Cretaceous).

"Age of amphibians." Dominance of 

club mosses (lycopods) and plants of 

horsetail and fern types. Primitive 

flowering plants and earliest conebearing trees. Beginnings of backboned land animals (land vertebrates) . 

Insects. Animals with nautiluslike 

coiled shells (ammonites) and sharks 

abundant.

"Age of fishes." Shellfish (mollusks) 

also abundant. Rise of amphibians 

and land plants.

Shell-forming sea animals dominant, 

especially those related to the nautilus 

(cephalopods) . Rise and culmination 

of the marine animals sometimes 

known as sea lilies (crinoids) and of 

giant scorpionlike crustaceans (eurypterids) . Rise of fishes and of reef-building corals.

Shell-forming sea animals, especially 

cephalopods and mollusklike brachiopods, abundant. Culmination of the 

buglike marine crustaceans known as 

trilobites. First trace of insect life.

Trilobites and brachiopods most characteristic animals. Seaweeds (algae) 

abundant. No trace of land animals 

found.

First life that has left distinct record. 

Crustaceans, brachiopods, and seaweeds.

No fossils found.

Duration,i> 

millions 

of years

60

120

120

90

30

90

60

1, 200±

0 The geologic record consists mainly of sedimentary beds (beds deposited in water). Over large arOftS 

long periods of uplift and erosion intervened between periods of deposition. Every such interruption in 

deposition in any area produces there what geologists term an unconformity. Many of the time divisions 

shown above are separated by such unconformities; that is, the dividing lines in the table represent local or 

widespread uplifts or depressions of the earth's surface.

' Ages interpolated from Holmes, Age of the Earth, New York, Harper & Bros., 1927.

' Epoch names omitted; in less common use than those given.

NOTE. Total estimated age of earth, 1,800± million years. 

II
CONTENTS

	Page

Introduction. _...____________-__-_-__-__-__--_--_--_____-______--- 1

Itinerary _x_ _______________________________________________________ 5

New Orleans, La., to Lobo, Tex._______________________________ 5

Side trip to Carlsbad Caverns, N. Mex. _________________________ 105

Lobo to El Paso, Tex.._...__..._.___.______.______._____..-_ 109

North line from El Paso, Tex., to Mescal, Ariz ___________________ 131

South line from El Paso, Tex., to Mescal, Ariz____________--__-- 162

Mescal to Tucson, Ariz_____.__________-_-_-_-_---_-- __________ 178

Tiicson to Picacho, Ariz_______________-_-__-_-_______.----_- 185

Main line, Picacho to Phoenix and Wellton, Ariz___________________ 197

Detour by the Apache Trail_____...___._________.___-_._ 207

Main line, Phoenix to Wellton, Ariz.__-__-----__---_-___.-_----- 218

Old main line, Picacho to Wellton, Ariz____________ .________.__._ 224

Wellton to Yuma, Ariz_______________________ _____________ 234

Yuma, Ariz., to Los Angeles, Calif.___------__----__-__--_------ 239

Yuma, Ariz., to San Diego, Calif-_-_-___---__-----__-__--_----_- 287

Bibliography. _._______-_________-___--__-----_-_-__---_.__--__ 293

Index_______________.__._-__---.----_-_--.-_-.-_--_--.__ 297

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page 

SHEET!. New Orleans to Schriever, La_--_---------_---__-_____--_-_ 14

2. Chacahoula to Segura, La___---_-_--_------____-_____--_-- 24

3. Burke to Welsh, La._.___.___._.-_____..__.._._____.___.._ 28

4. Lacassine, La., to Orange, Tex.____________________________ 40

5. Terry to Liberty, Tex____-------------_-----_---_-_._--_ 42

6. Liberty to Richmond, Tex___-_-__--__-__-__________--__- 48

7. Rosenberg to Borden, Tex_-_-_--_---_---__-_-___________ 54

* 8. Weimar to Luling, Tex__----__--_--__-__-_._______.--__. 62

9. Sullivan to Macdona, Tex--------------___.__.__.___._ 68

10. Idlewild to Ange, Tex____..________...___.___..._ 74

11. Uvalde to Amanda, Tex__-_---_-__--_--___-_-_-________- 78

12. Johnstone to Hijito, Tex__-------------_---------_-_---__- 82

13. PumpviUe to Longfellow, Tex-.-_------..-__-__.___.-___. 86

14. Rosenfeld to Alpine, Tex.----------_------_----_-_.__--_.- 96

15. Toronto to Chispa, Tex_._-_------_----_--_-._____.__. 102

16. Wendel to Lasca, Tex...___._-.___.._._____.____ 116

17. Torcer to El Paso, Tex._______..._.___._.____..._ 124

18. Ysleta, Tex., to Cambray, N. Mex. (north line), and Malpais,

" N. Mex. (south line)..________.._.___._._________ 136

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

N. Mex. (south line)__.._-__-_..___..________ 144

20. Separ, N. Mex., to Olga, Ariz. (north line), and Minero, N. Mex.,

to Perilla, Ariz. (south line)___________________________ 154

ui
IV ILLUSTRATIONS

Page 

SHEET 21. Holt to Chamiso, Ariz. (north line), and Silver Creek to San

Juan, Ariz. (south line)_____--__-----___-_--_---__---__- 160

22. Mescal to Wymola, Ariz___________________________ 196

23. Ocatilla to Norton (north line),and Estrella, Ariz. (southline). 206

24. Liberty to Athel, Ariz. (new line), andShawmut toAztec, Ariz.

(oldline)_---_----____- ._-_________________________ 222

25. Horn (new line) and Musina (old line) to Fortuna, Ariz.______ 236

26. Araby, Ariz., toNiland, Calif_----_----_------------_--__-_ 254

27. Mundo to Garnet, Calif_____________________________ 262

28. Hugo to Colton, Calif _______________________ _ 272

29. Colton to Los Angeles, Calif.___________._____ 286

PLATE 1. Map showing precipitation in the Southwest______________ 8

2. Relief map showing larger features of the Southwest and the

location of areas covered by sheets 1 to 29________________ 8

3. A, Old French market in Vieux Carre", New Orleans; B, Typical

graveyardin New Orleans_________________________ 8

4. A, Woodland scene, south-central Louisiana; B, Salt mining,

Avery Island, La_____________________________ 8

5. A, Oil field near Jennings, La.; B, Galveston, Tex______---__ 32

6. A, Cotton ready for shipment, Galveston, Tex.; B, Block of

sulphur at New Gulf, Tex____....______._______ 32

7. A, The Alamo, San Antonio, Tex.; B, Palace of Spanish governor, San Antonio, Tex___________________________ 72

8. A, Austin chalk, San Antonio, Tex.; B, Quaternary and Eocene

deposits, San Antonio, Tex___ _______________________ 72

9. A, Armadillos in central Texas; B, Fault in Buda limestone 

northwest of Hondo, Tex.; C, Columnar structure in basalt 

near Knippa,Tex_-__-__-_____--__-_________--__--__--- 72

10. A, Asphalt quarry southeast of Cline, Tex.; B, Eagle Ford and

Buda contact northwest of Hacienda siding, Tex_ _ _________ 72

11. A, Anacacho limestone north of Hondo, Tex.; B, Del Rio clay 

capped by Buda limestone, Comstock, Tex.; C, Recesses and 

buttresses, Castle Canyon, west of Del Rio, Tex___________ 72

12. A, Bridge over canyon of Pecos River, Tex.; B, Brahma cattle. 72

13. A, Comanche limestone on tilted Pennsylvanian strata, Tesnus, 

Tex.; B, Sinuous ridges of hard beds in Marathon Basin, Tex.; 

C, Mitre Peak, near Alpine, Tex_________________________ 88

14. A, Lava and tuff of Da vis Mountains, west of Alpine, Tex.; B,

Paisano Pass, Da vis Mountains, Tex _.__ _______________ 88

15. A, Permian limestone on El Paso limestone north of Van Horn,

Tex.; B, Guadalupe Point, Tex_________________ 104

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

N.Mex_-__-______-______.__ _.. _______ 104

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

Mountains, Tex__________________ 120

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

of El Paso, Tex.______.____._..____.___ ___ -___ 120

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

sloth_____ ________________-__-_____------------------ 136

20. A, "Lilies of the desert"; B, Water from the biznaga 136

21. Mission of San Xavier de Bac, near Tucson; Ariz.. _ 184

22. A, Maguey; B, Picacho, near Wymola, Ariz_____-_-_____---_ 184

23. A, Rattlesnake, common in the Southwest; B, Gila monster. _ 192

24. A, Casa Grande, Ariz.; B, TypicalPimahome.___-__-___-_- 192
ILLUSTRATIONS V

PLATE 25. A, Desert plain, western Arizona; B, Pictographs near Sacaton,

Ariz____________________-__-_--_-_-______ 200

26. A, Dates in Salt River Valley, Ariz.; B, Cotton field, Salt

River Valley____________________________ 200

27. A, Desert of Salt River Valley, Ariz.; B, Irrigating in Salt

River Valley..__________________________ 208

28. A, Cliff dwellings, Tonto National Monument, Ariz.; B,

Roosevelt Dam, Ariz. ___________________________ 208

29. A, Encampment of Apache Indians; B, View across Canyon

Lake, Ariz____-__._____._.._______._ _______________ 216

30. Canyon of Fish Creek, Ariz_.._____.___._________. 216

31. A, Blossoms of prickly pear cactus; B, Superstition Mountain, Ariz____________-__-___-_----__--______----_-___ 216

32. A, Montezuma Face, near Hyder, Ariz.; B, Northern part of

Mohawk Mountains, Ariz______________________________ 216

33. A, The Explorer, of the Ives expedition; B, Gila River from

Antelope HiU, Ariz_______________________ - 232

34. A, Part of Yuma, Ariz.; B, Irrigated district near Yuma___.. 232

35. Map of the Colorado River delta region, below Yuma, Ariz._ 240

36. A, Drifting sands near Amos, Calif.; B, Salton Sea, Calif____ 248

37. A, Irrigating date palms, Imperial Valley, Calif.; B, Cotton

in Imperial Valley__________________________________ 248

38. A, Mud volcanoes southwest of Niland, Calif.; B, Travertine of

Lake CahuiUa, Calif._______________________ 256

39. -4, B, San Andreas fault northwest of Indio, Calif ___________ 256

40. A, Tertiary strata east of Mecca, Calif.; _3, Tilted late Tertiary beds in Indio Hills, Calif__________________ 256

41. A, Ocotillo and cholla, Coachella Valley, Calif.; B, Washington palms in Palm Canyon, Calif___________.___________ 256

42. _4, San Jacinto Mountain, Calif.; B, Orange trees in fruit,

Redlands, Calif ________ _ _ _______________ _ 264

43. View up San Timoteo Valley, Calif_____________.__ 264

44. A, San Bernardino Peak from point near Redlands, Calif.; B,

Magnolia Avenue, Riverside, Calif._____________________ 272

45. A, Picking lemons near Riverside, Calif.; B, Orange groves

near Riverside___---_----------_----------_--__-----__ 272

46. A, The great arrow-shaped scar near Arrowhead Springs,

Calif.; B, Upturned strata in Cajon Pass, Calif____-_-__ 272

47. Los Angeles Plain, Calif________________________ 272

48. A, Shore of the Pacific Ocean at Santa Monica, Calif.; B,

Asphalt pits at La Brea, Calif_______________________ 288.

49. Carrizo Gorge, Calif...___________________----- 288 

FIGURE 1. Hypothetical section of salt dome at A very Island, La___-_- 22

2. Section across dome near Sulphur, La__--____-__-____-__ 31

3. Section through Spindletop salt dome, Tex________________ 42

4. Section through Columbus and Glidden, Tex_____________ 53

5. Section across Salt Flat oil field, Tex_.__-------____-____ 60

6. Diagram showing changes in stratigraphy, Spofford to San

Antonio, Tex.______________________________________ 71

7. Sketch section from Turkey Mountain through Anacacho

Mountain, Tex_____________________________________ 76

8. Section at Langtry, Tex_____.___-_____________ 83

9. Section near Maxon. Tex___ 86
VI ILLUSTRATION'S

	Page 

FIGUBE 10. Section through House Mountain, Tex----_-----_-_----_-- 89

11. Section showing lithologic variations in the Permian of Glass

Mountains, Tex____________:_________________________ 94

12. Section southeast of Dugout Mountain, 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 Bay lor Mountains, Tex-____ 108

20. Sections across Guadalupe Mountains at El Capitan, Tex., and

Carlsbad Caverns, N. Mex____________________________ 109

21. Section across western part of Wylie Mountains, Tex__---__- 110

22. Section from Diablo Plateau to Eagle Flat, Tex ____________ 115

23. Section from Quitman Mountains to Sierra Blanca, Tex_____ 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 Dragoon Mountains, Ariz________________ 158

38. Section through Johnson mining district, Ariz__--_--_--_--- 159

39. Section across northwest end of Whetstone Mountains, Ariz_. 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, N. Mex____ 167

43. Section of Chiricahua Mountains near Portal, Ariz_____---- 170

44. Section across explosion crater southeast of Chiricahua, Ariz__ 172

45. Section across Bisbee region, Ariz_____--____---_--------- 176

46. Section north of Helvetia mining camp, Ariz______--_--_--- 182

47. Geologic map and sections east of Vail, Ariz_-_-_---------- 184

48. Section at Picacho de la Calera, northwest of Tucson, Ariz__ 192

49. Section of west side of Tucson Mountains, Ariz______--_-_- 193

50. Section through Tempe Butte and Tempe Well, Ariz. ___ 203

51. Map showing route of Apache Trail, Ariz____---___-------- 209

52. Section across Hayes Mountain, southwest of San Carlos,

Ariz._________-_____-______-______-__----_-_-_------ 211

53. Section of region near Globe, Ariz__-_-------_----_------- 212

54. Outline geologic map of Globe-Miami region, Ariz.--------- 212

55. Section northwest of Miami, Ariz___________-______--_--_ 213

56. Section through Sierra Ancha, Ariz___-____----_---------- 214

57. Section at Roosevelt Darn, Ariz-_______-_-__--___------_- 215

58. Section 15 miles southwest of Roosevelt Dam, Ariz_________ 216
ILLUSTRATIONS VII

FIGURE 59. Section at Gillespie Dam, Ariz___________________________ 220

60. Section in Yellow Medicine Butte, Ariz____.__-_____._ 221

61. Section of north end of Gila Mountains, Ariz._____________ 235

62. Diagrammatic section across Coachella Valley through

Mecca, Calif._-_-___---______-____________-_---_--___ 258

63. Section through San Jacinto Mountains, Calif_-_--------__- 262

64. Cross section of San Gorgonio Pass near Cabazon, Calif....___ 266

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

Mountain ______-__-__--___-____-__-____--_-_-_______ 267

66. Sections northwest of San Bernardino, Calif_______________ 273

67. Section of San Jose Hills, Calif___-_---____.______________ 277

68. Sections across Puente Hills, Calif________________________ 278

69. Restoration of saber-toothed tiger, sloth, and dire wolf at La

Brea, Calif____-__.________.___ i ___.__.________..._._ 284

70. Section across Coyote Mountain, Calif._______--__-_______ 288

71. Section north of Jacumba Springs, Calif. 290

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 pi. 1.)

The low Coastal Plain of southern Louisiana and eastern Texas, 

with ample rainfall and thick rich soils, is a province distinct in configuration, 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 conditions 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 in the 

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

1
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 conditions 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 Mountain 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 volcanic 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 

volcanic 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 6

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 metamorphic 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 precipitation 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 relations 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 n. 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 accumulation 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, sandstone, or volcanic rocks. Fossil shells, bones, and other parts of 

organisms throw light on the succession of sedimentary rocks, for 

they mark the progress of life development through geologic time; 

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 

or plain. 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 Department 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 m-vii.

Figures given on mileposts in Louisiana indicate miles from Algiers, a Southern 

Pacific freight terminal on the south bank of the Mississippi River opposite New 

Orleans; they are about \% miles less than the distance from the Union Station, 

New Orleans. West of Houston the mileposts give distances from Harrisburg, 

an old 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 

shortening or lengthening of the line. Most of the elevations at stations given in 

this guidebook are those furnished by the railroad company, but others are derived 

from precise levels of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey or the United 

States Geological Survey.

The statistics given in this guidebook are taken mainly from official Government 

sources, such as the United States Census and the United States Bureau of Mines. 

Some have been derived from local sources that are believed to be reliable, and 

these are credited to the respective authors. Statistics not otherwise credited 

are to be understood as obtained from official Government records, whether so 

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

New Orleans. economic relations. Founded in 1718 by Capt.

Elevation e feet j de Bienville, as a nucleus of a French settlement

Population 468,762.1 . ..' i i p i -r^ t f

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 customs 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 

Carr6"; 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 converted 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 government. Adjoining the cathedral is the Presbytere, formerly the house 

of the Capuchin priests, used later for the civil courts of the city.

1 The figures given in this book for 

population of incorporated places are 

those of the United States Census for 

1930. For some of the small places the

population has been estimated, and 

such figures are marked with an 

asterisk (*),
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 pi. 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 tne 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 cemeteries 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 pi. 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'Orleans" (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.3 The first levee, built

8 The land slopes down from the 

river bank into two basins 1 foot or 

more below sea level one north of 

Claiborne Avenue and another in the 

neighborhood of Earigny and Elysian 

Field Avenues. North of these basins 

there is a ridge with crest 3 to 5 feet 

above sea level that was probably built 

by Bayou Sauvage and later cut 

through by Bayou St. John. North 

of this ridge the land is less than 1 foot 

above sea level and slopes gently to 

Lake Pohtchartrain. The sediments

under New Orleans are sand, silt, and 

clay, probably of the overflow or levee 

deposits, though they may have been 

deposited in the Gulf in front of an offshore bar. In the sediments are undecayed 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.
SOUTHEBN PACIFIC LINES

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 and Lake Pontchartrain. At 

times of heavy downpours the volume of water to be handled is very 

great,4 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, hi some places 80 

feet long, office buildings and hotels of considerable height have been 

erected.5 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 

festival.

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 Central 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 dreaded scourges of yellow fever and 

bubonic plague have been eliminated, and malaria has been made

4 One night in April, 1927, a fall of 13 

inches of rain caused such an inundation 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 damages. Now a spillway 35 miles above 

the city serves to divert water into Lake 

Pontchartrain in times of river flood.

5 In 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 sustain heavy buildings. One high building with a foundation of this character 

has settled a few inches, but the subsidence 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.6 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 hi 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 statements 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 Elver through the 

great passes at its mouth. This river at New Orleans is 2,000 feet 

wide and hi places 200 feet deep. Although there is provision for 

many vessels on the city's long water front, additional space to accommodate 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 deepseated 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 

hi the maui 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

6 In the summers of 1853 to 1855 

there were 37,000 deaths from yellow 

fever, at times at the rate of 300 a day. 

In 1889 the death rate from malaria was 

156 per 100,000; now it is 1. Since the

present water supply has been established the death rate from typhoid fever 

is only 2 per 100,000. (Data from New 

Orleans Association of Commerce.)
tJ. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 1

27-

MAP SHOWING PRECIPITATION IN THE SOUTHWEST
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE

119°

CONTOUR MAP OF THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES

Areas shown on the route maps are outlined in red

WILLIAMS ft HEINTZ CO., WASH.. D C.
tl. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 3

A. OLD FHENCH MARKET IN VIEUX CARRE, NEW ORLEANS 

Ix>oking out a typical stroet 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

A. \VDO1M.AM) SCKiSE, HOUTll-CKlVl'HAL LOUISIANA 

Showing the parasitic Spanish moss.

B. GALLl^UES 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.

Louisiana. 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. Shreveport, 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 1929,7 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 bushels, 1,945,354 acres of cotton yielded 798,828 bales, and 205,394 acres 

of cane yielded 208,000 short tons of sugar.8 Com 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

7 Statistics are taken from United 

States Census reports except as otherwise 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 

profitable. Louisiana grows about 95 

per cent of the sugarcane raised in the 

United States and also imports considerable 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 substitution of cane imported from Java, which not only resists the disease but is more hardy in

152109° 33 2

general, has a higher sugar content and 

tougher fiber, and requires replanting 

only every second or third year, instead of annually. According to data 

furnished by the New Orleans Association 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 138 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 WESTEEN 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 refineries 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, reforestation 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 sanctuary 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 manufacture of sodium carbonate, soda ash, caustic soda, and sodium sulphite, 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, Panfilo de Narv&ez 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 Marquette 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 

River, and in 1682 Rene Robert de La Salle sailed to its mouth, 

taking possession of the region under the name of Louisiana, in honor 

of 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'lberville, 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 colonists. 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 Mississippi 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 organized 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 9 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. 10 It has a 

drainage area of 1,231,492 square miles, and it flows across nearly 

the entire width of the United States.

9 This ferry is regarded as a temporary expedient, as a $20,000,000 bridge 

is projected.

10 It is estimated by the Mississippi 

River Commission that the Mississippi 

River carries ^nnually 500,000,000 tons 

of sediment. The average flow at New

Orleans is from 135,000 to 1,360,000 

cubic feet a second. There is a 

mean flow of 800,000 cubic feet a second 

at Old River, 130 miles above New 

Orleans, equivalent to a total annual 

discharge of 25,228,800,000,000 cubic 

feet.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 13

Avondale.

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 f Q|. freignt Tne land is low behind the levee, and 

most °* ^ *s to° swanW f°r 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, A.

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 AUemands, where 

Des Allemands. Bayou des AUemands is crossed. This name is deEievation 9 feet. 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 resources 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. 11 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

11 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 

Sea were preying upon the vessels of 

countries that were hostile to the 

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 

of licensed privateersmen and established a fortified post on Barataria

Bay. He trafficked extensively in 

slaves, at one time selling 450 negroes 

at public auction. The proceeds of 

these sales and his piratical booty buried 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 earlier outlawry 

was overlooked. He resumed his piracy 

in 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 Raceland 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 Mississippi 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 exLafourche. tensively utilized by freight boats, but to avoid the

Elevation 25 feet. floods that occasionally came down the bavou, the

Population 60.* ,. , _ - . .,, , , . New Orleans 53 miles, connection at Donaldsonvule 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 

across the lowlands, some distance south of the Southern Pacific 

lines.

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

Schriever. 0\^ town there is a large sugar refinery and an extenEievation 17 feet. sjve business in oysters and other gulf products.

Population 50.* . J . . , / T 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-
IT. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 1

PO NTCHARTR.

ST JOHN

TIHE BAPTI ST

DesAllemands

 t,*'>

(6

Scale 500~000

I inch- 8 miles (approximately) 

^_5 IP

10__ _ 15_____20 KIUDMETERS

J5______ .___|p MILES

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every 

JO miles, and the ci'osstias 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. S. 

topographic map of that name ~^3 

VILLIAMS a HEINTZ CO., WASH.. D. C.
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 Raceland 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 Dormer 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.)

Dormer 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. Tne flooded district extended far to the north and

Elevation 11 feet. northwest over the lake region and the country traPopulation 900.* , ,-, T TII^T -IT mi New Orleans 65 miles, 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 thousands 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 importance. A quaint old church is about the only feature of special 

interest. Gibson was formerly an extensive lumberGibson. milling community, drawing on the rich supplies, now 

Elevation 11 feet. mostly depleted, of cypress and other trees in the Population 60.* J ^ ' J * .

New Orleans 67 miles, great swamp country to the north. I his swamp vegetation is still a picturesque feature along the railroad

in places, especially the drapery of Spanish moss on many of the

trees. 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

Elevation is feet. alluvium built up by overflows. In this general region

Population 300.* . . . *, . . , -, New Orleans 74 miles, the deposition oi 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

12 Spanish moss is extensively utilized 

for making mattresses and other cushions at moss "gins" at many places. 

The moss is cured by moistening and

airing to decompose the living portion, 

then dried, carefully worked to remove 

dirt, sticks, and other undesirable materials, 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 utilized 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, is a commercial and lumber center of considerable

importance, as it has waterways of moderate depth

Morgan City. m^0 many parts of the cypress swamps as well as into

Elevation is feet. fae SUgarcane country. The wide river here is the outPopulation 5,985. ° . , J ,

New Orleans soHmiies.let oi a series oi large shallow lakes and numerous 

bayous occupying the area known as the Atchafalaya 

Basin. It receives the water of the Red River 13 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 Morgan 14 ) 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 during the 

Civil War. Charles Morgan, who had controlled most of the boat 

lines, purchased the railroad in 1869; it was extended west to Lafayette 

in 1880. Formerly the city's lumber business was extensive, but

13 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 

Red River flowed into the Mississippi 

River originally, but the gradual growth 

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 Atchafalaya River. This river and the Grand 

River have long been thoroughfares, 

and in earlier times many flatboats were 

used for freight transportation, going 

mostly by way of Plaquemine Bayou 

and locks to the Mississippi.

14 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 

dredged a steamboat channel through 

Atchafalaya Bay. In 1836 he founded 

a great iron works in New York, and in 

the 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

Berwick.

Elevation 14 feet.

now the principal occupations are agriculture, shipping crabs, and 

preparing 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 commerce 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. 15

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. 

^ 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 

Atchafalaya 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 originates 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 extensively 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 handsome live oaks and pecan trees, it is one of the most interesting features 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 the 

Acadians and other settlers, who built their houses overlooking them.

Patterson.

Elevation 8 feet. 

Population 2,206. 

New Orleans 88 miles

15 This waterway is being built by the 

Government to provide an inside channel 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 

of water. Many natural water bodies 

are to be utilized, some of them, however, requiring deepening and straightening. 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 transporting 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 regimes, 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 operation, 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 disconFranklin. tinued, as the supply of cypress became exhausted

Elevation 10 feet. or tOO remote.

NewU orieans' MB miks. Louisiana 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

highway lead southwestward to the Cypremort sugar Elevation 13 feet. ° J 'J ^ &- population 822. refinery and the great salt mine at Weeks Island (or 

Neworieansioemiles. Qrande Cote). (See p. 21.)

In traveling across central-southern Louisiana the only visible 

features of geologic interest are the delta and bayou deposits, especially 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 recognized are listed in the following table:
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 19

Formations of Quaternary and Tertiary age underlying southern Louisiana

Age

Pleistocene.

Pliocene.

Miocene.

Eocene.

Formation

Beaumont clay.

Lissie gravel.

Citronelle formation.

Pascagoula clay.

Hattiesburg clay.

Catahoula sandstone.

Jackson formation.

Cockfleld formation.

Character

Clay and sand.

Sand and gravel.

Nonmarine; yellow and red sand and 

clay.

Marine in part; blue-green and gray 

clay, some sand.

Nonmarine; blue and gray clay, thin 

sand, and sandstone.

Nonmarine; gray sand, sandstone, fine 

conglomerate, clay.

Marine; gray sand and dark calcareous 

clay.

Palustrine; gypsiferous sand and clay 

with lignite.

Thickness 

(feet)

1,500+

50-400+

250-1,400(?)

300-350

600-800

100-600

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 Cretaceous possibly as much as 8,000 feet. This great succession of sediments 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 distribution of deposits. Near New Iberia there are small areas of characteristic 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. J * i i. v * New Orleans 115 miles, ceased because the sources oi 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; one 

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. Among 

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 Pre, 

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. j£ nas water communication with many places. It

Elevation20feet. was incorporated as a town in 1839, and it is said that

Population 8,003. r '

New Orleans 127 miles, lully 80 per cent oi the people are descendants of the

Acadians.

These people originally were French settlers in Grand Pre", 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 Spam had just acquired control of that territory. But they were cordially welcomed, and many established 

themselves hi the moist, fertile lands along the bayous, an environment 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 subsistence; 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 of land. Trappers, traders, and ranchers 

were scattered sparsely through the Teche country, and under the 

Spanish regime 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 atmosphere, 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 "Evangeline," 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 sufferings, their romance, and their faith. 16

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 consists 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, 17 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 promise to 

another. Demented by the blow, she 

wandered through the Teche region 

and finally died and was buried in the 

churchyard at St. Martinsville.

17 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 A very Island there are small exposures of 

sandstone, clay, and lignite which may be of Pliocene or Miocene age.

Recent 

Pleistocene

Pliocene

Miocene

and 

Oligocene (?)

Comanche 

(Lower Cretaceous)

FIGURE 1. Hypothetical section of salt dome at Avery Island, La. 

By H. V. 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 considerably larger, the salt core extending under Lake Peigneur; the depression 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 seismograph, 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. 18 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 typical 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 penetrated 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 Megalonyx, all of 

which have been extinct for a long tune (Howe). These deposits have 

been correlated with the Sangamon or third interglacial stage, indicat18 A deeply buried salt mass has been 

discovered on the western margin of 

Lake Fausse Pointe, about 11 miles 

east-northeast of New Iberia. The 

only surface manifestations of the uplift were some gas emanations and 

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.

The field attained a production of 

16,800 barrels in 1927. 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 underlies a small area about 6 miles east 

of New Iberia afforded a small production of petroleum in 1916-1920. Several borings in this dome that reached 

a depth of more than 3,000 feet are 

thought to have entered beds of Miocene 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 characteristics 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 material 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 BULLETIN 845 SHEET 2

Scale 500,000 

I inch-8 miles (approximately)

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. S. G. S. 

topographic map of that name

Plattenville

"Napoleonville

v / Chacahoula 

/ salt dome

W E S T

COTE BLANCH 

B A Y

EAST

COTE, BLANCHE 

BA Y

MARSH 

IS LAN D
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 terrace 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

a e* St. Martinsville, above referred to in connection with

New o'rieaS mmiies. the leSend 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. Broussard is an old town sustained in large part by the

Broussard. sugar industry and surrounding farms. It was

Elevation 37 feet. named for a French captain by one of his descendants

New Orleans MO 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
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 Vermilion River near the place where the first settlement was made in 

this region. It was located at the head of navigation 

Lafayette. an(j was Of considerable importance as a trading post 

Elevation 3914 feet, under the successive names of Little Manchac, 

New Orleans HO miles. Pinhook, Vermilionville, and Lafayette. Here also 

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 population. 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 Lafayette, 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.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 27

The village of Rayne is in an important agricultural community, 

with its chief interest in rice, which is raised over a wide area in the 

Rayne. vicinity. The fields are irrigated by water pumped 

Elevation 36 feet from bayous and wells. The Southern Pacific Railroad here crosses a branch of the Texas & Pacific 

s. 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 3QQ niiles of canals and water from 125 wells. 

Elevation 24 feet. The principal supply of underground water here is

Population 7,656. , i nn f , , i f i -i New Orleans 168miles, lound about 300 leet below the suriace, and considerable 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 Commerce. Rice is milled to cull out broken and small material and 

remove the hull and the several thin layers that surround the gram, 

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 talc in glucose. 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. Fortunately, 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 introduced 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 

Estherwood. water for the irrigation of the extensive rice fields 

Elevation 19^ feet. m tne neighborhood. Most of the prairie land is 

population 40.* utilized for this crop, but narrow wooded strips

NewOrleansmmiles. 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 graveMidland. yard on its main street, is built on the east bank of

Elevation is feet. the Mermentau River. This stream, resulting from

Population 80.* , . i r\ J V> New Orleans 176 miles, the confluence ol Bayou des Cannes and Bayou 

Nezpique, is bordered by swamps hi 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 

Mermentau. anc^ geese and for fishing. There is a local tradition 

Elevation 17 feet. *na* *ne vessels °f the pirate Lafitte (see p. 13) 

Population 394. made a practice of ascending this river to sell stolen

New Orleans 181 miles, i

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

headquarters for rice and other agricultural products. The rice crop in

this parish was 4,717,628 bushels in 1929, according to

Jennings. the census returns, which showed also 182,439 bushels

Elevation 29 feet. of corn QJ^ 4,185 bales of cotton. A very special

Population 4,036. . . ' . . . j

New Orleans 186 miles, industry is the extensive cultivation oi 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

92 Louisiana

E R S'O N ° lfi S|

/Welsh Roanole 

-«LJ

Duchamp

£L 36

C

Thornwell Lake

ArthJr

Scale 500,000 

I inch-8 miles (approximately)

The distances from Hew Orleans, La., are shown euery 

W miles, and the crosstios are drawn / mile apart

WILLIAMS ft HEINTZ CO . WASH . D C
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 29

Welsh.

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 

feet. 19 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 elevation of 20 feet. While many parts of the region are 

Elevation 23 feet. under cultivation for rice, other crops are raised, inPopulation 1,514. -,11 mi i New Orleans 197 miles, cluduig considerable cotton. I here are many cattle 

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 irrigation; 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 

and Hattiesburg(?), 1,100 to 2,800 

feet; and sand (Catahoula), 2,800 feet 

to an unknown depth. Probably Jackson 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 abandoned in hard blue shale regarded by 

some geologists as Oligocene.
30 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Lake Charles.

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 Louisiana (formerly called the Rio Hondo). The name

Elevation 16 feet. Calcasieu is derived from that of an Indian tribe

Population 15,791. . . New Orleans 220miles, which once occupied the region and is now represented 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 20 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 Jackson (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

20 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 silty sand, clay, bluegreen shale, and some clean sand,

mostly fine grained, representing the 

Pliocene and Miocene, 5,000 feet or 

more; older Tertiary gray silty sand, 

sandy shale, and hard gray shale, 500 

feet or more. These beds are underlain by heavy shale believed to be O/ 

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, southwest 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.

Mars7i Mound Narsh

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

To most persons it may be surprising to learn that our largest supplies 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 

Elevation 19 feet. was ^ miles northwest of Sulphur and only a short

Population 1,888. ' r \

New Orleans 230miles, distance north oi the Southern Pacific tracks. Ine 

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 2.21 The sulphur was discovered in

21 The overlying material consists of 

about 250 feet of yellow and red clay 

alternating with sandy clay and sand 

(Beaumont clay) and gravel (Citronelle 

formation) to the cap rock. The sulphur is thought to have been derived

from the reduction of the calcium 

sulphate of the anhydrite, an origin 

indicated by the fact that the volume of 

sulphur and limestone (calcium carbonate) was found to increase in proportion 

to the decrease in calcium &ulphate.
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 company, 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 22 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 pi. 6, B.) 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. Recent drilling on the Sulphur 

dome has developed an oil field which in 1930 had a production of 

1,351,195 barrels from 33 wells.23

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 

Edgerly. ^s piace were noted at an early time, but drilling did 

not Degm ° ^^ ± 997 ^he first holes were not success- Elevation 23 feet.

population 150. , , New Orleans 238 miles. iul> but alter repeated attempts considerable oil was

obtained at depths of 2,300 to 3,100 feet from beds of 

supposed Pliocene age. Salt found at a depth of 4,000 feet shows that 

a salt dome is present far underground. The oil is heavy (19° to 

22^° Baum6) 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.

22 This ingenious method of obtaining 

sulphur from deep underground deposits 

was perfected by Hermann Frasch in 

1891 after many years of experimentation. A hole is drilled deep into the 

deposit, which is mostly a mass of 

honeycombed limestone filled with 

sulphur. Into the hole three concentric pipes are placed with perforations 

at their ends; through the outside pipe 

superheated steam (300°) is supplied, 

which melts the sulphur. The central

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,

23 South Louisiana Oil Scouts Assoc. 

Bull. 1, 1930.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL StTRVEY 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.
TT. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 6

A. COTTON READY FOR SHIPMENT, GALVESTON, TEX. 

19,000 bales.

B. BLOCK OF SULPHUR AT Mi\V GULF, TEX. 

Ready to be broken up for shipment.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 33

About 3K 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

VintoiK with a lake in the center and has a salt core about a

Elevation is feet. jj^g m diameter. It was looked upon as a likely

Population 1,989. <j,.i n -4. 1 j 'i J

New Orleans 243 miles, source oi petroleum, especially as it had oil and gas 

seepages on its summit, and some oil had been 

obtained in shallow wells near by. Drilling began in 1901, resulting 

in finding traces of oil, but it was not until 1910 that a large production 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 production 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.24 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° Baume", 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 southwestward 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

24 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 grams 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 subdivided, the number of cattle in the State in 1930 was 6,602,702 head, 

and of sheep and goats, 10,163,655 head.25 In 1929 the wool and mohair 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, according 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

25 Many of the goats are Angoras, 

which yield a clip of 3 to 8 pounds each.

The first ones were introduced in 1849, 

a gift from the Sultan of Turkey.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 35

County, is, according to Ashley,26 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. Considerable 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 construction 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 various 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.27

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 precipitation exceeds 50 inches. (See pi. 1.) There is a gradual diminution 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 portions of which are decidedly arid. The rain in eastern Texas comes 

largely from the Gulf of Mexico and falls most abundantly in the 

whiter; 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 P&nfilo Narvaez, who sailed from Spain in 1527 

to occupy a royal grant in Florida but, disappointed in its character,

28 Ashley, G. H., U. S. Geol. Survey 

Bull. 691, p. 251, 1919.

27 A vara is an old Spanish unit 

measuring 33% inches. The old

league of 5,000 varas is very nearly 

2% miles. A square league is called a 

sitio (4,428.04 acres), and 5 sitios make 

an hacienda.
36 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

set out for Mexico and in 1528 was shipwrecked on the coast somewhere 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 Castano 

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 Ren6 Robert La Salle in 1685 near Matagorda Bay, 

which he mistook for the mouth of the Mississippi. The first missions 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 Le6n 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 provisions, 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 presidio in 1718, primarily as a bulwark against the French. The missions 

near by were begun soon thereafter, some of them having been transferred 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 confederation of friendly Indian tribes which occupied part of the eastern 

section of the State. Texas is the old Spanish spelling of Tejas, but 

the pronunciation has been anglicized. After Mexico won its independence many colonists from the United States were admitted under 

the leadership of "empresarios," of whom the most famous and most 

successful was Stephen F. Austin. Owing largely to this fact, Texas
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 37

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 L6pez 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), 28 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; bottomland forests with magnolias, bays, pecans, hollies, oaks, gums, and

28 Most of the botanic terminology 

in this section is taken from the Botany

of Texas, by J. M. Coulter, Contr. U. S. 

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 sandysoil 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 

madrono (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 

growth with plants more widely spaced than in the region to the 

east. The average height of woody growth also is much reduced. 

Mesquite predominates, but there are many other plants characteristic 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 Sanderson 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, 

yucca, the allthorn (Koeberlinia), ephedra, many cacti, maguey, 

ocotillo (Fouguieria 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, 

pinons, 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 diminished 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 complex 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 station of Echo, about 6 miles north of Orange. Apparently this somewhat inconvenient location was necessary to obtain 

Echo- suitable conditions for a railroad bridge across the 

Elevation 16 feet. river. Along the east side of the river is a wide strip

Population 30.* & j i New Orleans 252 miles, ol marsh and on the west side pine-covered plains

from 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 Mexican 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 w when arranging to establish his colony of 300 families at 

San Felipe de Austin on the lower Brazos River.

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

Until recently it had a lucrative lumber industry, with several sawmills cutting logs brought from the great long leaf 

Orange. pjne region to the north.30 Much of the product 

Elevation is feet. found a water outlet by way of the ship canal, 26

Population 7,913. ,,, f t. i. u xJJ xi-OU- New Orleans 258 miles. ±eet deep, which has been excavated down the Sabine

River and Sabine Lake through Sabine Pass to the

Gulf of Mexico. The projected Intracoastal Waterway will reach the

Sabine River just below Orange and accommodate small vessels,

26 The first notable map of Texas was 

prepared by Stephen F. Austin in 1829 

and published in Philadelphia the following year. Reproductions of this 

map and an earlier one by Austin and 

also of a map of Mexican origin dated 

1826 have been recently issued in Austin.

30 There is also a large amount of 

other timber in the forests of southwestern Louisiana and southeastern 

Texas, including gums and oaks and 

some cypress. Much so-called mahogany is made from gum lumber.
40 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

which will carry freight east and wes^. 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 great 

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.31 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 Beaumont 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 navigating 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

Elevation 22 feet. dredged out as a ship canal (opened in 1917), 26 feet

Population 57,732. to .? ui * 1 t

New Orleans 279 miles, deep and 150 feet wide, capable 01 carrying vessels 01 

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 Beaumont, 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

81 These figures and some other totals 

for the other oil fields in Texas are 

taken from Texas Gulf Coast Oil Scouts

Assoc. Bull. 1,1930. The yearly figures 

are those published by the U. S. Bureau 

of Mines.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 4

Scale 500,000 

I inch-8 miles (approximately)

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every 

10 miles, and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart

WILLIAMS a HEINTZ CO . WASH . 0 C.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 41

head of the ship canal serves as harbor and turning basin. According 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 annually. 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 railroads 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 southeast 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 barrels. 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 sedimentary 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 Paxton.) 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.

Clay, sand, and gravel

FIGURE 3. Section through Spindletop salt dome, Texas. 

Fenneman

Partly after

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. 

Elevation45 feet. (Barton.) From Nome to Raywood, a distance of

Population 150.* ^ ' J ' ,

New Orleans 299 miles. 22 miles, there are many ridges composed 01 sand 

deposited by streams which formerly crossed the 

region.

Seven miles south of Devers is the Hankamer oil field in a dome 

Devers discovered in 1929 by torsion-balance exploration. It 

Elevation eo feet yielded 546,000 barrels in 1930 from 13 wells. At 

Population 250.* Devers the railroad crosses the pipe line of the Pure

New Orleans 309 miles. Q^ ^ Qne Qf ^ many pipe lines which C(m_

vey petroleum from tke oil fields to the refineries at Port Arthur.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 5

9430 Texas

'',...' ^/ lix^r'ii Anahuac

j6£, H A.,/ M B /

-,!

1 inch0 5

O 5

^E R S ^

A O \

^^

^-\~~^\ ^Bi^Hill

1 ^

Scale 500,000 N

3 miles (approximately) s3 cC

10 15 20 MILES ( ^f-\ -T

' l/^^^aM IO 15 20 KILOMETERS %«l

The distances from New Orleans. La. , are shown euery

 Salt domes '° mi/es' anti the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart

Sabine

GULF

9430'

OF MEXICO

30
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. port Worth and flows into Galveston Bay 20 miles

Elevation 33 feet. below Liberty. This valley extends nearly to Dayton,

Population 2,187. J. ? / J . .' 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 Oligocene(?) 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 colonists who had moved from an unsatisfactory settlement in Alabama 

established themselves on Spanish soil in 1818. They were soon 

ousted by the authorities and 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

Elevation 84 feet. pme timber remains, and there are numerous farms,

Population 1,207. r n A ^ x n -i ^ 4. c New Orleans 327 miles, 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.) One 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 iust

Population 417. r. 'b J

New Orleans341 miles, south oi the junction oi these two streams that the 

Battle of San Jacinto, which gave Texas her independence 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

Elevation 47 feet. Congress, who was elected the first constitutional

Population 292,352. ? ' .

New Orleans 363 miles. President oi 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 southcentral 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 pis. 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 hi 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 shallow 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 Oligocene. 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 elevation 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 Barnard 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 continents. 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 contemporaneous 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

feet above the general plain. There is also a shaft

Missouri City. gunk for ^ gfllt ^^ constitutes faQ core of the

NlwOriea^SinUes. UPlift bel°W a dePth °f 45° feet and is at least 85°

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 production 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 probably 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 

Stiles.)

The smooth plain of the Houston region extends widely with its 

thick cover of clay and loam. Much land is under cultivation with

large fields of cotton and other crops. Many figs are 

Stafford. raised, an industry which is growing rapidly. A few 

Elevation 87 feet. scattered oaks are noticeable, and Spanish moss is

Population 89. . ' *. New Orleans 383 miles, present on trees in some oi 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

Elevation 82 feet. sojis deposited by the overflow of the Brazos River.

Population 2,019. T j * t ' J * T* New Orleans 388 miles, ougar Land is a center oi 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 excellent 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 company 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

Elevation 87 feet. Mountain Forks, which rise in the Llano Estacado.

Population 1,432. . . .

New Orleans 387 miles. Its deposits are oi 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-ee'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.

Goliad, one of the oldest of the Spanish settlements in Texas and 

an important post throughout colonial and Revolutionary times, is 

now one of the shrines of the State. Here the first pronouncement of 

Texas independence was made by 91 citizens on December 20, 1835. 

The formal declaration by the convention on March 2, 1836, was 

made in the town of Washington, on the Brazos, some 50 miles northnorthwest of Richmond. Halfway to Washington on the Brazos is 

San Felipe (fay-lee'pay) at the site of San Felipe de Austin, the 

colony organized by Stephen F. Austin in 1821, which was the predominant Anglo-American settlement until the revolution of 1836. 

Here in 1832 was held the first convention of the people of Texas, 

which established the committee of vigilance and safety that had 

charge of the earlier endeavors to preserve the constitutional rights 

of Texas as a department of a Mexican State. It was superseded as 

the capital by the younger city of Houston and later by the purposely 

founded city of Austin, on the Colorado River, (Turn to sheet 7.)
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 8

Mont Belvieu

ers

Indepiendence

ihts Dewes

'- s BelaireJct 

rrVay 5 ' --AliefJ -' ' ' M

S\)Pasade 

rkPlIce 

SoCith Ho

Al meda

. "

Pearland

GALVESTON

DeWalt

DeWaH.

\P "

Duke . /A'rcola

A Z O R I \ A

Manvel

igCreek Thompsons ^

^ T$

Scale 500,000 

inch-8 miles (approximately)

Contour interval 25 feet

Datum /s mean sea /eve/

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every 

10 miles, anil the orossties are drawn 1 mile apart Salt dome GALVESTON
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 

Elevation ice feet. an enormous body of sulphur.02 The town of New 

New Orleans 400iniies. Gulf (population 1,700*) has been established here,

and the sulphur is being melted by steam and pumped 

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 elevation of 140 feet. It is due to a typical salt dome in which a steepsided plug of almost pure rock salt is capped by gypsum, anhydrite, 

and limestone. The salt mass penetrates and uplifts Tertiary formations, 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 barrels. 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 important headquarters for the Karankawan Indians, as shown by the 

presence of many fragments of pottery, burial grounds, stone implements, 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 solutions, which are usually present about a salt mound.

32 About 58 miles to the south there 

is another large sulphur mine at Big 

Hill (Gulf), which has been producing 

since 1919, and other deposits occur at 

Hoskin Mound, Bryan Heights, and 

Longpoint. The Boling oil field produced 378,000 barrels a day in 1930,

the amount having been gradually 

diminishing since 1926. The first sulphur mined in Texas was obtained at 

Bryan Mound in 1913; now Texas 

produces 97 per cent of the output of 

the United States and 85 per cent or 

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. 

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

Antonio was the frontier, said, "It is only where civilization ceases 

and the wilderness commences that the geological 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 sandstone * * * 

exposed on the steep banks of some of the river; * * * the surface is covered with loose materials." However, later studies have 

brought to light in this region the following very interesting succession:

Formations of east-central Texas exposed near the Southern Pacific lines 

[Most of the information regarding the Tertiary formations has been supplied by Julia Gardner]

Age

Quaternary.

Pleistocene and 

Pliocene(?).

Pliocene.

Miocene.

Eocene.

Group

Jackson.

Claiborne.

Wilcox.

Formation

Alluvium and terrace deposits.

Lissie and Reynosa formations.

Lagarto clay.

Oakville sandstone.

Catahoula sandstone.

Fayette sandstone.

Yegua ("Cockfleld") formation.

Cook Mountain

Mount Selman 

formation.

formation.

Weches greensand member.

Queen City 

sand.

Reklaw member.

Carrizo sand.

Indio formation.

Midway formation.

Principal materials

Gravel, sand, and loam. Nonmarine.

Gravel, sand, and clay. Nonmarine.

Massive green, gray, and brown clays 

stained purple and red toward the top, 

with abundant calcareous nodules and 

a few thin sandstones. Nonmarine.

Massive, in part cross-bedded yellowish 

or grayish indurated sandstones and 

brown calcareous clays. Nonmarine.

Light-colored sands and loosely indurated 

sandstones and clays, many of them 

ashy. Mostly nonmarine.

Thin-bedded light-gray pepper and salt 

sandstone with interstratified leafbearing clays and thin beds of 

volcanic ash. Mostly nonmarine.

Dark-brownish, gray, and greenish-gray 

clays and clayey sands, many of them 

carbonaceous. Mostly nonmarine.

Glauconitic fossiliferous sands and 

sandstones, marls, and clays. The 

basal member (Sparta sand) a loose 

or loosely indurated nonmarine sand.

Glauconitic and oolitic sandstones indurated with an iron cement; glauconitic clays; marine and sparsely 

fossiliferous.

Rather fine light-gray or iron-stained 

sands with thin interstratified lightgray clays. Nonmarine.

Glauconitic fossiliferous sands and 

clays, in large part stained and indurated with iron oxide.

Very coarse and pure quartz sand, loose 

or packed with little or no cementing 

material. Nonmarine.

Bedded yellowish-brown and red sands 

- and sandstones and dark-colored 

clays, for the most part nonmarine. 

A few concretionary beds, the concretions carrying a few marine fossils.

Dark-gray clay with concretions and 

sandy clays; rarely a thin fossiliferous 

ferruginous sandstone near the top.
SOTTTHEKN PACIFIC LINES 51

East Bernard.

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 33 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

Eagle Lake. as a reservoir for water pumped from the river and

Elevation 174 feet. then mto a canal for irrigating rice fields to the east.

Population 2,343. to b . 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 interbeddeil clay, 

and is part of the great eastward-dipping succession of formations of 

Tertiary and Cretaceous age which come to the surface in isgular 

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 

valley expose gray sandy clays, regarded (by Deussen) as the basal member of the Beaumont clay, which are

underlain by Lissie sand and gravel 

(not exposed here). At the top is reddish sandy clay, probably alluvium.
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 (Ilex vomitoria),hawthorn, buckthorn, and other 

small trees are widespread. Spanish moss festoons many of the trees 

in the lower lands, where also there are a few palmettos. Large " sycamores," or buttonwoods (Platanus occidentalis), live oaks, white oaks, 

pecans, black walnuts, cedars, and soapberry trees are widely scattered. 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 fremonti) appear along the larger watercourses, a feature which is characteristic in central and western 

Texas. There are also many willows 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

from an alluvial deposit of a terrace built by the ColoAlleyton. rado River at a time geologically not very remote.

Elevation igg feet. The gravei pits are marked by great mounds of

Population 40.* /> 

New Orleans 445 miles. TCIUSe stripping.

About 3 miles west of Alleyton the Colorado River 

is crossed; Columbus lies on its west bank. Nearby at Beason'sford 

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

raising and dairying. On the edge of the town is a

Columbus. flowing well of excellent water in small volume said

Elevation 201 feet. to come from a depth of 1,400 feet. In the west bank

Population 2,054. . ^ ' .

New Orleans 448 miles, oi the river hall a mile below the railroad bridge are 

conspicuous ledges of moderately compact gray sandstone overlain by softer gray sandstone, all of the Lagarto formation,34

34 The Lagarto formation is largely 

a calcareous clay with a few soft, thin, 

irregularly bedded light-colored sandstones loosely held together by a calcareous cement. The clays are unstratified, plastic, and usually jointed, and 

their cleavage surfaces are stained with 

manganese oxide. They are commonly mottled in pastel tints of green, gray, 

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 formation. 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.

Horizontal scale

Vertical scale

300 eoo Feet

F.TGXJRK !. 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.

they are possibly stained by the iron 

oxide leached from the Lissie, in pastel 

purples and reds. Calcareous nodules 

are abundant in places. Limy conglomerate and limestone near the top 

may represent the overlying Reynosa 

formation. A few vertebrate remains, 

mostly of horses, and chara stems, together with reworked Cretaceous fossils, locally abundant, have been found 

in the Lagarto beds and in the deep 

wells near the Gulf a marine microfauna 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 50 

feet to the mile.
54 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTEEN UNITED STATES

Through Weimar and Schulenburg and halfway to Engle siding 

the rolling surface of the Lagarto clay is traversed, but about Weimar 

Weimar. there is an extensive flat or terrace. Good outcrops 

Elevation 410 feet. are rare > especially near the railroad, but there are 

Population 1,256. shallow cuts in the western part of Weimar and there 

New oneans 463 miles. are exposures at mtervals along the streams, especially 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, Protokippus perditus, and other bones were 

found in the Lagarto formation at Dripping Springs, IK miles northeast 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 develops into a drainageway of considerable size in the region farther 

south.

Schulenburg is a rural center for a prosperous agricultural district. 

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

at a large plant making evaporated milk, on the westSchulenburg. ern edge of the town. Near by is a mill which proElevation 345 feet, duces a nonstarchy flour from cottonseed. Just west

Population 1,604. roiii ± r n i J j ^ New Orleans 471 miles, ot Scnulenburg 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 nearly 

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 35 

is passed just beyond the west branch of the Navidad, whence the 

railroad follows the low divide between Rock Creek and Mulberry 

Creek.

38 The Oakville sandstone is characteristically a massive light-gray or 

yellow rock, in part cross-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 calcareous cement, commonly crystalline, or, more rarely, it 

is firmly indurated. The sand grains 

are, as a rule, fairly coarse and subangular. Light-colored greenish or 

yellowish limy clays make up an 

appreciable part of the upper Oakville 

section, closely resembling in appearance some of the Lagarto clays. For 

this reason, the Oakville-Lagarto contact is less obvious than might be 

expected from the characteristic materials of the two formations. However, volcanic ash, both in its original
u. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET

Scale 50O.OOO 

I inch-8 miles (approximately)

Contour interval 5O feet

Datum is mean sea 

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown euery 

JO miles, and the crossties are drawn / mile apart

Topography mostJy from U.S.Army maps WIl.UAMS ft HFINTZ CO WASH , D C
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

The landscape of the Oakville outcrop zone along the Southern 

Pacific Railroad is more subdued than it is from Lagrange northward 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 

not visible in the lowland of the badly drained area at the headwaters of Mulberry Creek.

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

which is a long, rolling slope to Flatonia, a thriving town in a comFlatonia munity part German and part Bohemian, situated 

Elevation 457 feet. on the outcrop of the lower beds of the Catahoula 

Population gee. sandstone.36 Flatonia was named from J. Flato,

New Orleans 484 miles. . . . .

who kept a store at the original site ot the town, 

2 miles south of the present one. It has an interesting position

form and altered to bentonite, is apparently restricted to the Oakville 

sandstone, and the dendrites (plant" 

like forms due to a deposit of manganese oxide) that so commonly occur 

on the cleavage planes of the Lagarto 

clays have not been observed in the 

Oakville clays. Reworked Cretaceous 

fossils occur as pebbles in both formations. The Oakville contains few 

marine fossils in place but many 

remains of vertebrates have been 

found in it, including primitive horses 

of several kinds, rhinoceroses, crocodiles, and tortoises, and it is classed 

as late, middle, and early upper Miocene in age. It is underlain unconformably by the Catahoula sandstone, 

although the rate of dip of both formations is about the same.

39 The Catahoula consists of soft 

bluish massive sandstone and interbedded clays, but the sand grains, 

unlike those of the Oakville, are dominantly rounded and poorly sorted and 

probably in part of dune origin. The 

formation is about 200 feet thick and 

lies conformably on the Fayette sandstone. Near Flatonia the sands are 

loosely cemented by a calcareous 

matrix, but elsewhere a blue 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 

less abundant in Fayette County 

than they are to the north, toward 

the Sabine River, where on the outcrop 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 inland types 

and may be regarded as a strictly 

coastal assemblage made up of groups 

comparable with those found along 

the strand in the present-day Tropics. 

To the south the formation contains 

deposits of volcanic materials ejected 

from vents located possibly in southern 

McMullen and Duval Counties. Volcanic activity during the Catahoula 

deposition was not, however, restricted 

to southwest Texas, for most of the 

larger fuller's-earth deposits of this 

region, notably that near Corrigan, 

in Polk.County, are in the Catahoula. 

The Catahoula outcrop zone in Fayette 

County is largely overgrown with post 

oak, and the relief is relatively low 

compared with that of the Oakville 

sandstone. The clays weather to a 

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 Flatonia and 

rising more than 100 feet above 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.37 

The varied lithology of the Fayette sandstone is expressed in the diversity 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 

part, 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 

with gentle slopes. Generally the soil is dark and loamy with scattered 

mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) and prickly pear (mostly Opuntia engelmanni) ; more rarely it is 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 formations 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 kaolinitic shales and concretionary sands and sandstones at the 

top of the Fayette are overlain by the 

sandy clays filled with clay balls that 

characterize the basal Catahoula. The

Fayette formation consists of light-gray 

thin-bedded sands, dark-gray and chocolate-brown clays and lignites, and, in 

its upper part, thin beds of volcanic 

ash. The thickness is about 65 feet. 

The basal Fayette in this general section 

commonly carries cylindrical concretions of iron oxide an inch or so in diameter oriented at a high angle to the 

bedding planes.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 57

plant in many parts of the region to the west across Texas, New Mexico, 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 

2K 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 moderate prominence that extends far to the north and south of the railroad. 

The formation includes sands and glauconitic marls 

Waelder. an(j c} ays,38 some Of them lignitic but for the most 

Elevation 378 feet. part of marme origin. The higher beds are locally

Population 1,048. £ & & . /

New Orleans 495 miics. lossuiferous, and many oi 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 westnorthwest 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 indurated, irony beds, so that the hills and ridges are higher and the soil 

a more intense red. The soil is productive and well adapted to truck 

farming, and a large part of the 25,000 acres planted in tomatoes in

38 The mineral glauconite, also called 

greensand, is a silicate of iron and

152109° 33 5

alumina deposited in the sea through 

organic and chemical agencies.
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 consists of ferruginous sands and brownish and grayish 

Harwood. glauconitic micaceous clays of marine origin, possibly 

Elevation 461 feet. \&ss tnan IQQ fat thick. The railroad crosses the outNew Orleans 508 miles, crop 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 much rougher roads. The hilly 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, blowing 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
SC-TJTHEKN PACIFIC LINES 5

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 Mountain, one of the higher hills, consisting largely of hard brown sandstone, 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 formation. 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 containing 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

Lulmg. mostly covered by alluvium, especially in the flat

p^^&m' that extends west to the San Marcos River. 

New orieans'si?'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 southward deflection of the tracks west of that place. Most of this outcrop 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. The soils of the Indio formation vary with 

the lithology. Some of them are almost as sandy, though not so coarse, 

as the Carrizo sand; others 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, easygoing 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 resources and status of the community and of its individual members, 

but opened new possibilities of finding deep productive sands throughout 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.

FIGURE 5. Section across Salt Flat oil field, Caldwell County, Tex. Tertiary: 

Ti, Indio formation; Tm, Midway formation. Cretaceous: Knt, Navarre and 

Taylor clays; Ka, Austin chalk; Kw, Georgetown limestone overlain by Del Kio 

day 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.39 The field is about 2,000 feet wide at most 

and 6 miles long, extending along the main fault, which trends northeast. The surface beds are sands and shale of the Indio formation,

89 Southwest Texas Oil Scouts Assoc.,Bu11. 1, 1930.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 61

which is 700 feet thick in this vicinity.40 The relations are shown in 

Figure 5.

A few miles southwest of Luling is the Darst Creek oil field, discovered in 1929 and also drawing from the Edwards limestone, 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 limestone, here sealed off by a fault that has brought it up against impervious 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 nearly 8 miles long and half a mile wide, 

the oil occurs in the upper part of the Edwards limestone, at an average depth of about 2,100 feet. This field reached a peak production 

of about 11,134,000 barrels in 1924, with 567 wells, but in 1928 it had 

diminished to half that amount, and 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° Baume1 . 41

Some interesting data have been obtained from borings in the 

Luling field as to underground temperatures. In general the temper40 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; Buda limestone, 60 feet; 

Del Rio clay, 40 feet; and Georgetown 

limestone, 60 to 110 feet, lying on the 

Edwards limestone. (McCullum and 

Cunningham.) See also table, p. 65.

41 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 compact 

limestone, 50 feet. The normal dip of 

the strata in this region is only l°-2° 

SE. Deep test borings seeking oilbearing beds at lower horizons show 

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 schist at a 

depth of about 4,790 feet. (See table, 

p. 65.) Into this schist drilling was 

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 average 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 hole 146 0 . 42

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 sheet 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

Elevation 605 feet. covered and preserved by a compact deposit of gravel

Population 200.* . ^ . J r r , . !?

New Orleans 528 miles, and sand carrying much chert evidently denved 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.43 In the descent off this terrace west of Kingsbury 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 underlain by lower shaly beds of the Indio formation. It is a prosperous 

town, with cotton mill, sugar refinery, and various 

Seguin. other industries. Water power is generated from the 

Elevation 551 feet. Guadalupe River a short distance north of the town.

Population 5,225. a-^JJUMT UT J New Orleans 538 miles. Seguin was lounded 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

42 Hawtof, E. M., Am. Petroleum 

Inst. Bull. 205, pp. 62-108, 1930.

43 Most of the interstream divides 

on the higher portion of the Coastal

Plain are capped by gravel deposits 

Of this character. They are remnants

of an old surface, called the Uvaide

plain because it is very extensive in the 

Uvaide region. This plain has been

largely removed by streams, which in 

general have cut valleys 200 feet or more 

deep, many of them along courses 

differing materially from the drainage

ways that crossed the old Uvaide surface. Notable remnants of this plain 

remain about San Antonio and south

and east of New Brauflfelfl, San Marcos,

and Austin.
SECTION FKOM WEIMAR THROUGH I.ULING
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 ordinarily 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,44 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 considerable prominence in the Mill Creek Hills, west of Seguin, which, however, are gravel-capped, and in the hills that extend southwestward 

to San Antonio.

The contact between the Indio and Midway formations on the 

northwestern margin of Seguin and that between the Midway formation and the Cretaceous 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 2% 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

44 The Midway consists, for the most 

part, of dark-gray joint clays with associated cannon-ball, turtle-back, or 

cone-in-cone concretions and locally 

carries a microfauna. No large fossils 

have been recorded from the upper 

Midway clays of this area. The thickness is between 250 and 300 feet. In 

Guadalupe County the lower Midway 

strata crop out characteristically only 

along a slender faulted tongue southwest 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 indistinguishable from the river silts, and the

usual vegetation is stunted mesquite. 

Guadalupe and Bexar Counties must 

have formed a synclinal basin during 

the early Eocene, for marine conditions 

apparently persisted, at least intermittently, well into Indio time. The 

waters were for the most part shallow, 

for Ostrea and Cerithium are the most 

common species at the lower Indio outcrops. Even these, however, record 

the continuance of the general marine 

conditions of Midway time and indicate 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 sandstone and impure limestone. In this general region the Navarro 

formation dips somewhat less than 1° E. The clay is quarried extensively 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 suitable composition to withstand the requisite heating in the kilns. The 

exposure comprises a bank about 100 feet high and a pit 50 feet deep. 

Fossils 45 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 southEievation 644 feet. eas£ Outcrops are few and small, for soil and superPopulation 640.* * i ,. f ru t j u £ New Orleans 548miles, ticial materials cover most oi 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.

45 A few of the better-known fossils 

that occur in the Navarro formation in 

this area are Leda longifrons, Gryphaea 

mutabilis, Exogyra costata (variety with 

narrow costae), Gryphaeostrea vomer, 

Pecten argillensis, Lima acutilineata,

Pulvinites argentea, Crenella serica, 

Liopistha protexta, Veniella conradi, 

Cyprimeria alia, Legumen ellipticum, 

Gyrodes petrosus, and Sphenodiscus (two 

or more species). (L. W. Stephenson.)
SOUTHEEN PACIFIC LINES 

Cretaceous formations of the Coastal Plain in central Texas

65

Age

Upper Cretaceous

(Gulf series).

Lower Cretaceous

(Comanche

series) .

Group

Wochitn

Trinity.

Formation

Taylor. ..........

Del Rio 

Walnut. 

Character

Shale and marl; some sandy layers..

Clay, buff-...----.-........-...--....

Thickness 

(feet)

400-500

475+

300

25

60

50-70

75±

400-500

50±

50-70

700+

New Orleans554miles.

Schertz.

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 

Cibolo great aviation establishment of the United States 

Elevation 704 feet -^rmy> known as Randolph Field. It was completed 

Population 262. in 1931, with an area of 2,320 acres. Its capacity is

Q men The j^ t()we]. Qf itg central administra.

^on building is conspicuous from afar, as are also the 

Elevation 7i5 feet. great hangars with checkerboard roofs. This estabPopuiation sis. lishment cost $25,000,000; the site was presented to 

New0rieans557mues. the Federal Government by the city of San Antonio. 

The smooth, broad plain at this place has been developed 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.

San Antonio is a metropolitan center for a wide area in southcentral Texas and until a few years ago was the largest city in the 

State. Its growth in population from 1920 to 1930 

was 43.5 per cent. It has numerous manufactures, 

large educational institutions, and a variety of busiSan Antonio.

Elevation 675 feet.

Population 231,542. . .

New Orleans 573miles, ness interests. It is an old settlement dating back to

Spanish mission days and, as San Antonio de Bexar,

was long the capital of Tejas in New Spain under Spanish and

Mexican rule, with a history 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. Excellent water for domestic use and for many manufacturing establishments 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 irrigation 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 humidity 

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,47 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

46 This river, the outlet for the drainage of an extensive hilly area northwest 

of the city, sometimes has freshets 

which on some occasions have done 

considerable damage. To prevent

these floods the great Olffios Dam has

been built across the valley. Occasionally there are cloudbursts in this region 

and other parts of the West in which a

large amount of rain falls in a very short 

time. There is a record of a succession 

of these at Taylor, Tex., on Sept. 9-10, 

1921, in which 23.11 inches of rain fell. 

47 See Meinzer, 0. E., Large springs

in the United States; U. S. Geoi. Survey Water-Supply Paper 557, pp. 37-35, 

1927.
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 settlement 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, including the Alamo, the 200-year-old palace of the Spanish governor on the 

west side of Military Plaza (pi. 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 Carnino 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 

(pi. 7, A), where 182 heroes, nearly all of them volunteers from different 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 hi 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 cry "Remember the 

Alamo " that spurred the Texans to victory at San Jacinto a few 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 48 was apparently first a chapel (established on a new site in 

1744) of the mission of San Antonio de Valero (1718), the first of several missions established by Franciscan friars in the general vicinity.

Mission San Jose de Aguayo, founded in 1720 by Padre Antonio 

Margil and named in honor of the Marquis Miguel de Aguayo,

48 The word alamo is Spanish for cottonwood tree, but it is considered likely 

that the name was applied to the chapel

after its occupation by a company of 

Mexican troops known as the "Alamo 

de Parras."
68 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTEKN 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 Purlsima Concepci6n de 

Acuna, 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 deposits, 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 49 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 surfaces. To the west this formation dips beneath the clays of the 

Taylor formation,50 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 Midway formation of Tertiary age.

49 This chalky material contains many 

shells of Foraminifera, minute organisms that lived in the sea water that 

covered this area during most of Cretaceous time. There are also many 

shells, including Gryphaea aucella, Mortoniceras texanum, Inoceramus undulatoplicatus, Exogyra ponderosa (upper 

beds), and other marine species. A

1-foot layer composed of the shells of 

Gryphaea and Aucella is conspicuous 

along the north edge of San Pedro 

Park. (See pi. 8, A.)

50 This formation, which is about 475 

feet thick, contains many fossils including various oysters such as Exogyra 

ponderosa, E. laeviuscula, and Ostrea aff. 

0. diluviana.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 9

9830 Texas

A Sand, gravel, and clay (alluvium and terrace deposits) 

(only the larger areas shown)

B Sandstone 80-400'

600-800'

0- 300'

500'+

400-500'

300-400'

10-30'

55-65' 

50-70' 

80'<-

400-600' 

50' 

800'+

Indio

Midway

Navarro

Taylor

Austin

Eagle Ford

Upper Cretaceous 

(Gulf series)

Washita group 

Frederieksbure

Georgetown

Edwards 

Comanche Peak 

Walnut

Lower Cretaceous 

(Comanche series)

Limestone, impure, yellowish Glen Rose V Trinity group

Geology by L. W. Stephenson. Julia Gardner, E. H. Sellards, 

R ' L Cann°n ' N ' H ' Dart°n ' 3nd °therS

 Fault

 Concealed fault

Sema

V Cibolo

Scale SOO.OOO 

inch-8 miles (approximately)

[5 _ ____ 20 MILES

Contour interval SO feet

Datum /s mean sea 

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every 

10 mites, and the crossties are drawn 1 mite 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. S. 

topographic map of that name

98° 30'

Topography in part from maps bv U. S. Army Corps of Engineers 

and by U. S. Geological Survey, and in part by N. H. Darton
SOUTHEKN PACIFIC LINES 69

The most notable physiographic features in the San Antonio region 

are the wide plains and terraces which have been developed by erosion 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 southeastern 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 deposited 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. 51

A mile west of Leon Creek the railroad bends around the south 

end of a ridge, showing ledges of buff sandstone of the Midway formation, which with low dip to the west passes under 

Macdona. ^he Indio formation at Medio Creek. All the lower 

Elevation 628 feet. lands from this point westward past Macdona and

Population 110.* T , ii.in.-i New Orleans 590miles. 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 

a mile north of the railroad is an excellent exposure of the unconf ormable contact of the Midway on Navarro sandy

clay or Escondido (p. 71), a relation 

which is revealed at intervals up the 

creek to the fault that crosses the 

stream about 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

Lacoste. Lake Medina, a large storage reservoir and an attracEievation 718 feet, tive resort. The dam is 164 feet high and 1,580 feet

Population 300.* . , ,. , . , '

New Orleans 597 miles, long. The water diverted into a canal some distance 

below the dam is carried along the ridge west of Castro ville 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 irrigation 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 impure 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,62 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 (Midway) 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.53

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. ^g plateau remnants of moderate height in which the

Elevation 994 feet. Escondido beds are overlain by the Midway group,

Population 30.* . J / j i_ 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.

62 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 sloping roofs, small windows, and batten 

blinds.

63 In the region between San Antonio 

and Del Rio, although some of the 

Upper Cretaceous formations continue

unchanged in character and relations,

others show decided change. One of 

the most notable features is the development of the Anacacho limestone, 300 

feet or more thick, replacing the Taylor

shale, and merging westward into the 

Upson clay and the San Miguel formation. The Navarro shale also merges 

laterally to the west into the Escondido 

formation, which may be 700 feet thick 

in the Uvalde region. These changes 

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

unconformably on the Escondido formation (western extension of the Navarro shale) with but little discordance 

of dip.
71

The gravel and sand cap of the plateau, 

caliche, is well exposed on State highway 3 a short distance south of the 

railway. West of the divide the railroad descends into a wide alluvial plain 

comprising the valleys of Quihi, Hondo, Seco, and other creeks and mostly 

floored with gravel and sand which 

hide the underlying clay of the Escondido formation. This formation, however, appears in a few hills that rise 

out of the plain and extend along part 

of its southern margin. A few miles 

north of the railroad the underlying 

formations appear in succession, for 

there is a general rise of the strata to 

the north and considerable faulting, in 

part with uplift on the north side. In 

about 15 miles the Georgetown and 

Edwards limestones come to the surface, constituting the Edwards Plateau, 

which is in view far to the north as 

the railroad crosses the divide northwest of Dunlay. A cross section of this 

region is shown on sheet 10, opposite 

page 69.

At Hondo (own'do; Spanish, deep) 

the railroad is on an alluvial plain out 

of which rise several low ridges of 

Escondido clay and sandstone. There 

are instructive expoHondo, sures of the various 

Elevation 889 feet. formations in the shalPopulation 2,500.*

New Orleans 622 miles. 10W Valleys 01 Hondo

and Verde Creeks.34 

An old Comanche Indian village was 

situated near Hondo, and the flint for 

arrowheads was obtained from pebbles, 

which are abundant in the neighborhood, brought by streams from the 

plateau of Edwards limestone to the 

north.

In the Hondo region and westward 

to Uvalde most of the land is under

in large part filled with

54 On Verde Creek, 4 miles northeast 

of Hondo, ledges of limestone at the

base of "the Tertiary are exposed, with 

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 

dairying 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.55 To the west and south

D'Hanis. are high banks of clay of the Escondido formation,

Elevation 882 feet. which is worked for brick and tile. Two principal

Population2,513.* 11-111 , j -i_- i 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 (Escondido) 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 

north 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 11% miles west of D'Hanis.

by a fault that crosses the region 

from northeast to southwest a short 

distance to the north. In slopes just 

north of this fault are exposures of 

Austin chalk, beyond which to the 

north are outcrops of the usual succession of Eagle Ford, Buda, Del Rio, 

Georgetown, and Edwards limestones, 

coming up in order on the moderate 

south dip, as shown in the cross section 

on sheet 10. (See table on p. 75.) 

Another outcrop of Midway limestone, 

similarly down-faulted, is reported near 

Quihi Creek, 9 miles northeast of 

Hondo. At King's water hole on

Hondo Creek, 3 miles north by west of 

Hondo, are exposures of Anacacho 

limestone and overlying shale, as shown 

in Plate 11, A, and farther up the creek

Austin chalk, Eagle Ford limestone, and 

Del Rio clay crop out. The Del Rio in 

this region is yellow clay carrying many 

Exogyra arietina, named from its shape, 

like a ram's horn (Latin aries, ram). 

The beds are considerably faulted; one 

fault crossing Hondo Creek about 7 

miles north of Hondo between Buda 

limestones and Eagle Ford beds is 

shown in Plate 9, B.

65 Seco Creek, about 3 miles north of 

D'Hanis, has moderately high banks of 

Anacacho limestone, and a short distance farther north the Austin chalk is 

well exposed. The beds are considerably faulted. Farther north are fooihills of Austin chalk, a zone of Buda 

and Del Rio outcrop, and long slopes of 

Georgetown limestone.
TT. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 7

A. 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

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

The thick hard layer in the middle consists largely of Gryphaea aucella, an oyster reef of Comanche 

lime (Lower Cretaceous). (Stephenson.)

B. QUATERNARY AND EOCENE DEPOSITS IN CUT OF 

MISSOURI-KANSAS-TEXAS RAILROAD, IN SOUTHEASTERN PART OF SAN ANTONIO, TEX.

White caliche, 10 feet, underlain by gravel, 10 feet, and Midway shaly 

clay, 8 feet. (Stephenson.)
TT. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 9

A. ARMADILLOS, ABUNDANT IN CEiNTRAL TEXAS

B. FAULT IN BUDA LIMESTONE ON HONDO CREEK, 1 MILES NORTH-NORTHWEST OF HONDO, TEX.

Eagle Ford beds which abutted against the fault are soft and therefore have been removed by 

erosion. (Stephenson.)

C. COLUMNAR STRUCTURE 1 :N BASALT l\ CHATFIELD HILL, WEST OF

KNIPPA, TEX. 

(Stephenson.)
TJ. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 10

A. QUARRY IN POROUS AlNACAC.IlO LIYIKSTONE IMPREGNATED WITH ASPHALT, 

-. : : .: .- SOUTHEASTOFCLINE.TEX.

..1

B. EAGLE FORD SLABBY LIMESTONE LYING UNCONFORMABLY ON MASSIVE BUDA LIMESTONE ON BANK 

OF NUECES RIVER, 4 MILES NORTHWEST OF HACIENDA 

SIDING, TEX.

(Stephenson.)
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 11

A. AISACACHO LIMESTONE AT KING'S WATER HOLE, 3 MILES NORTH OF

HONDO, TEX.

Capped by 10 foef. of gravel. (Stephenson.)

B. DEL RIO CLAY CAI'PKD BY BUDA LIMESTONE (6) IN RAILROAD CUT HALF

A MILE WEST OF COMSTOCK, TEX

Looking north.

C RECESSES AND BUTTRESSES IN GEORGETOWN LIMESTONE, CASTLE CANYON, 

DEVILS RIVER WEST OF DEL RIO, TEX.
tf. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIX 845 PLATE 12

A. RAILROAD BRIDGE OVER CANYON OF PECOS RIVER, 12 MILES WEST OF

COMSTOCK, TEX. 

The walls are Georgetown limeslone lying nearly horizon Lal. - :

B. BRAHMA CATTLE

Bred and crossbred extensively in southern Texas because of their ability to withstand scarcity

of water and 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 railroad a mile west of the station. On this stream there 

Sabinal. js an almost continuous succession of exposures of the 

Elevation 9se feet. strata of Upper Cretaceous age, beginning with low

Population 1,686. .. i_ v , .1 . x i -i JAB New Orleans 643miles, clifts ol Anacacho limestone south of the rauroad.58 

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 Chatfield 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 topoEievation 985 feet. graphic features in the surrounding region and for a

Population 150.* i j- , . mi i i. New Orleans6Mmiles, long distance west. Ihese igneous rocks have come 

in a molten condition through cracks from a deepseated 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 

by shrinkage in cooling, both in intrusive masses and in many lava 

flows. A portion of one of the quarries is shown in 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 Georgetown limestone. In the adjoining foothills are extensive outcrops of

56 The Anacacho limestone crops out 

at intervals to the north for 4 miles, 

with a short interruption caused by a 

low arch and fault that reveal the 

underlying Austin chalk. This chalk 

also appears in the river banks and on 

152109° 33 6

adjoining slopes 4 miles north of Sabinal and above. At a point 8 miles 

north of Sabinal faults bring up Eagle 

Ford, Buda, and Del Eio beds, and 

finally the Georgetown and underlying 

limestones come to the surface,
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 tram 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

Elevation 929 feet. mostly a smooth alluvial plain in which rise manv

Population 9,286. ,, ., , . , fr~ * New Orleans664miles, small ndges and knobs oi 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,57 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 southeast 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 formation (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:

57 The Edwards Plateau constitutes 

a large part of central Texas and near 

Big Spring is overlapped by the High 

Plains without much topographic break. 

The late Tertiary deposits of the High 

Plains were spread on a plain of the 

limestones of the Edwards Plateau but 

did not cover the portion south of 

latitude 31°. The Edwards Plateau 

extends west to the Marathon uplift 

and east to the vicinity of San Antonio 

and Austin. In larger part it is capped 

by 100 feet or more of Georgetown 

limestone (Washita group), the Edwards limestone appearing in the 

slopes of the valleys and on some of the

areas from which the younger limestone has been removed.

The sharp rise at the eastern and 

southern edge of the Edwards Plateau, 

usually referred to as the Balcones 

escarpment, owes its prominence to the 

presence of the hard limestone, in 

places uplifted by faults but generally 

rising rapidly on the dip. Parts of 

the plateau are so deeply trenched as 

to present many isolated mesas and 

buttes. (Mesa (may'sah), a Spanish 

word meaning table, is applied to a flattopped butte or hill; one that has a 

sloping tabular surface is called a 

cuesta (kways'tah).)
^Washita feroup 

<*x--85IAte^ J^"X f° *t'°" ^-Midway formation

DIAGRAMMATIC SECTION ACROSS MEDINA COUNTY NEAR LONGITUDE 99° ISAYRE>

Quaternary gravels and sands hot shown

Sheet tl

HP

O 

W OO 

> fG 50
SOUTHEKN PACIFIC LINES 75

Formations of central Texas 

[Vaughan and others]

T^fiPfiTlA fftflhlv

Tertiary).

Gulf series 

(Upper Cretaceous) .

Cretaceous).

Formation

1VI Id w&v

Buda........ ......

Del Rio- .... ..

Comanche Peak ...

Character and notable fossils

Sand and gravel; terraces along streams _ _ ... _ ..

Gravel with much chert; caps hills and old terraces _ .....

colored clays, for the most part nonmarine and in places 

carbonaceous; Ostrea muUmrata. Of \Vilcox age.

fossils, in ujjper 10 to 20 feet, followed below by glauconitic sands, in places loosely indurated, with a calcareous 

cement and fine yellow calcareous pack sand containing 

Cucuttaea, Venericardia, TurrUella, and Enclimatoceras.

cortex, Sphenodiscus pleurlsepta.

ponderosa, Lioplstha bella, Baculites asper, Scaphites hip~ 

pocrepis. Carries asphalt in places.

undulato-plicatus, Mortonicetas texttnum.

labiatus.

places.

Thickness (feet)

0-70

0-80

800-850

10-120

700

0-350

350-400

160(?)

60-75

30

60-150

6004

60

There is considerable agriculture about Uvalde, but the climate 

approaches the semiarid, with an annual rainfall of approximately 

25 inches. Although there is usually a short rainy season in the spring 

or early summer and another in the autumn, most of the streams are 

dry for the greater part of the year. Extensive pastures sustain many 

cattle, sheep, and goats. In places there is an extensive growth of 

"prickly pear," or nopal (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 

hills and sloping ridges of Austin chalk and Eagle Ford and other 

limestones, and many buttes or knobs of hard, igneous rocks project 

prominently above the general surface.
76 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

*no/

(D/

o

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

the Nueces River, the railroad is on a smooth plain of 

alluvium. There is a notable exposure of the unconformable 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 

H Tamaulipas and Coahuila, both of which straddled 

I the Rio Grande; on the west Texas adjoined the 

| States of Chihuahua (che-wah'wa) and Nuevo Mejico 

^ as far as the Red River. The available geographic 

I 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 

I no man's land, roamed over by Comanche and 

J> 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. 

1 Lewis Hill to the north and Obi 

| Clme. jjyj to ^ sou^1 are igneous, intru- 

| Elevation997feet. sive masses (basalt), and larger bod1 Population40.* . . ,-, , ... , , ,, 

«!: New Orleans 683 miles. les <>f tn6Se TOCks Constitute buttes

g farther south. The chalk is covered

2 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 extensive quarries in the Anacacho limestone, which there 

carries a large proportion of asphalt. (See pi. 10, 

A) This material is used for paving, and asphalt 

melted out of the rock is used for paint and other purposes. It is brought to Cline by a branch railroad. 

Southwest of Cline rises the prominent Anacacho

Mountain, which is formed by the hard Anacacho

limestone dipping south, as shown in Figure 7. 

In its eastern part here, as in the region farther east, the Anacacho
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 77

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 several miles. At Chacon Creek (cha-cone'), southwest of Anacacho 

siding, Anacacho Mountain ends through a rapid thinning of the limestone 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. Austm chalk, overlain by a thick deposit of sand and 

New'orieans 705 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 Brackettville, 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 Bullis, 

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 Mountain, 10 miles northwest of Pavo siding, and Pinto Mountain, 10 miles 

northwest of Brackettville.

In the region between Spofford and Del Rio the formations traversed are as follows:

Formation

Buda. --_.__.._-_-...__-.._-_.

Del Kio---------.-- ...........

Character

Thickness 

(feet)

350

150

60

60

200+

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.68

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 hi 

a small cut \% 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 

district of stock, sheep, and goat raising, wool, mohair, 

and agricultural interests, and a port of entry from 

Elevation 963 feet. Mexico by way of Villa Acuna (vee'ya a-coon'ya) on 

s. 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 by irrigation,

Del Rio.

58 A 2,800-foot boring 3 miles east of 

Amanda siding is thought to have 

reached the base of the Edwards limestone at a depth of about 2,000 feet. 

A boring 6 miles north of Del Rio

started in Del Rio clay and penetrated 

shale and gray limestone of supposed

Pennsylvanian age below 2,175 feet. 

This indicates a thickness of about 2,235 

feet for the Comanche series, which 

thickens to the west from the UvaldeBrackettville region. Water-bearing

beds were found in both holes (Stephenson),
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 11

w 

a

 t

M

B:

s! il

c

X

d

en

u

as

EXPLANATION

A Gravel and panel (alluvium and high terrace deposits) 90'+ Quaternary 

Tertiary 

(Eocene) Indio 

(underlain to SE. by Midway in places)

Escondido . 100-200' 

to

B Sandstone ; some clay, 

coal, and limestone

C Sandstone and clay

Upper Cretaceous 

'((' iilf scries)

-300-400' 

Shale (west of longitude 100° 15') Upson

E Chalk Austin

F Limestone, slabhy Eagle Ford

Unconformity

Limestone Buda

Clay Del Rio Washita group 

H Limestone, massive, blue Georgetown

Limestone, massive, partly cherty Edwards | Fraderiekslmrg group 

J Igneous rocks (intrusive)

60-75^

50-60 ijOWPr Cretacoous 

1 50'+ I (Comanche series)

500

Geology: East of longitude 100" 30' by T. W. Vaughan, 1896 1899

Scale 5CWXJO 

nch-8 miles (approximately)

Contour interval IOO feet

Datum is mean sea

The distances from New Orleans, La. , fire shown every 

JO mites, and the crossties are drawn / mite 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. S. 

topographic map of that name

Topography: U S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps 

and Del Rio sheet 423, Engineer Corps. U. S. Army
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 79

for the climate is too arid for dry farming. Some of the water is obtained 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 location 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 Plateau 

province as the hard limestones of the Comanche, series rise to the 

surface. For the first few miles the railroad crosses 

^ alluvial river flat, reaching the bank of the Rio 

Grande at McKees siding. Here the valley develops 

m*° a snan<ow 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 59 

presenting a variety of picturesque erosional forms, some of which are 

shown in Plate 11, C. The" fluted columns and recesses in the limestone are especially impressive, and there are many caves which 

afforded shelter and hiding places for the Indians who formerly inhabited 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 exposed. A conspicuous feature at Devils 

River station is the power plant that generates power for Del Rio and

Devils River.

Elevation 955 feet.

59 According to Dumble there is at the 

base of the Devils River section a sandy 

water-bearing limestone which is tapped 

by wells on surrounding plateaus. The 

overlying massive limestones making 

the great cliffs carry Pecten texanus 

Roemer (at base), Pervinquieria leonensis 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 rnassiye 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 cliff.

The Devils River is a remarkably clear and constant 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.60

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; trees cease on the upland, and the bushes 

are smaller and more widely spaced. The principal plants that continue are mesquite, huisache, and yucca. Sage, palofierro, Spanish 

bayonet, lechuguilla, covillea, beargrass (Nolina), sotol, ocotillo, and 

maguey begin to be noticeable.61 There are also many annuals, most 

of which flower conspicuously when there i°s ram. Large numbers of 

sheep, goats, and cattle are raised.

60 In this ascent the top of the Georgetown limestone is reached near Feely 

Biding, 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 

abrupt contact of slabby tan-colored 

Eagle Ford limestone on massive lightcolored Buda limestone. The plane of

contact represents an unconformity

with a considerable hiatus in time, but

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 limestone prominently into view, and these 

beds are also exposed in many cuts to 

and beyond Comstock (nearly to milepost 416). The exposures near this 

town present another low dome which 

has the massive limestone at the top of 

the Georgetown bared in its center.

61 This flora is described by W. L. 

Bray (Vegetation of the Sotol country 

in Texas; Texas Univ. Bull. 60, 1905).
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 81

There 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. c} ay a£ an places contains thin layers of hard, dark 

Elevation 1,546 feet, limestone carrying an abundance of Exogyra arietina, 

STSS^mitaB. 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 pi. 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 height (321 feet) 

and the view that it affords. The railroad 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 2% 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 Highway 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 christened 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 organized 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 

lolled 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 limestone 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 exposure (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 displayed. Their slabby bedding and pale-reddish tint are very characteristic. 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 smooth 

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 ^n *ne sl°Pes above and along the railroad are excellent 

Elevation 'i,305 feet, exposures of Buda limestone capped by Eagle Ford

population 165.* beds. A short distance west are large springs from

New Orleans 807 miles. {g pumped for T&fco&& use.

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

Scale 500,000 

I inch-8 miles (approximately)

Contour interval IOO feet

Datum 15 mean sea 

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every 

JO miles, and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart

A Gravol and sand (alluvium and liiiili terrace deposits)

[Upper ('retac(;oiii 

f (Gulf series)

B Limestone, clialky 

Limestone, impure, s

Austin chalk 

Eacle Fore

C Limestone, massive

Clay, yellow (absent west 

of longitude 101° 22')

Georgetown 

Fredericksbui'g group

Geology by N. H. Darton

Topography from sheets 403 and 423, Progressive 

Military Map. Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army
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 dispensed 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 activity 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 exposures of the Eagle Ford 

buff slabby limestone at 

frequent intervals nearly 

to Pumpville. Near that 

place the route traverses

higher beds Of Chal ky lime- FIGURE S Section at Langtry, Tex. Kef, Eagle Ford limestone;

stone (basal Austin) con- Kb' Budalimestone: x**«w* v *»»W cretaceous) 

stituting a rolling plain of considerable extent. (Turn to sheet 13.) 

Pumpville siding, a section house and pump station, is on the summit 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. 

Elevation 1,817 feet. Tne rapid descent west from Pumpville reveals 

New Orleans 822 miles. Eagle Ford buff slabby limestones and then the Buda

limestone, all lying nearly horizontal. Lozier Canyon, 

reached just beyond Lozier 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 WESTEEN 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 contains chert, sandstone with Pennsylvanian fossils, and novaculite, 

from the Marathon uplift, and lavas from the Davis Mountains.

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

Population 60.* 1 r . r *. u

New Orleans 854 miles. Buda consists of two massive limestone members separated 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 limestone but in places including some thin members of a more marly 

nature hi which Washita fossils are found. In this area the beds rise 

to the west on the beginning of a large dome-shaped uplift which culminates 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 underlying black shales of Pennsylvanian age, but obtained no petroleum. 

Another deep hole near Emerson, 10 miles west, had a similar result. 

Sanderson 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 

Sanderson. flat-bottomed canyon of Sanderson Creek, which is 

Elevation 2,775 feet, bordered by cliffs consisting of a massive bed of 

Population 1,254. Edwards limestone lying on slabby beds of Comanche 

New oneans875miies. Peak ^g^g and overlain by a succession of massive

and softer beds representing the Georgetown limestone, about 200
SOUTHEKN PACIFIC LINES 85

feet in all. West of Sanderson the canyon is ascended on a moderate 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 sidings. 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 succession 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, notably 

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 a 

pale-pink flower in the early summer which develops into a greenish 

berry 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 

(EcMmjocer&u& stframme-Ms), 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 pi. 

12, B.) The great "open 

range," however, is mostly 

a feature of the past, and 

now, although there are 

some very large pastures, 

all are inclosed by barbedwire fences. The old 

"round-up" is no longer 

the great event in ranch 

life, and most of the branding is done at the home 

corral. (Turn to sheet 14.) 

A few miles beyond 

Longfellow the tracks deflect to the south. Highway 3 continues west up the Dry Creek Valley to a divide somewhat higher than the one utilized by the railroad. 

The railroad follows a wide valley, which is drained 

m ' part by Sanderson Creek and beyond Rosenfeld 

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 01 wnicn rise 

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

Marathon Basin. A short distance east of Tesnus siding the railroad

FIGURE 9. Section near Maxon, Tex. Cretaceous: Kg, 

Georgetown limestone; Ke, Edwards limestone; Kwc, 

Walnut and Comanche Peak limestones; Kss, sandstone; 

Kgr, Glen Rose formation. Peansylvanian: Ct, Tesnos 

formation

Longfellow.

Elevation 3,379 feet.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 13

Scale 500,000

nch-8 miles (approximately) 

5 10 15

Contour interval 20O feel

Datum /s mean sea 

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every 

10 miles, and the crossties are drawn / mile apart

Sand and gravel 

estone and clay Upper Cretaceous 

(Gulf series)

Ford 

(overlain by Austin chalk)

Buda

Del Rio } Washita group

(ieorgetowi

Limestone

ay, yellow 

Limestone

200 I Lower Cretaceous 

(Comanehe series) 

rredcncksburg group 700

Geology by N. H. Darton, 1927

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 ft HEINTZ CO.. WASH.. D C.
SOUTHEKN PACIFIC LINES 87

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

shales of the Trinity group. The Paleozoic rocks exposed near 

Tesnus siding are sandstones and shales of the Tesmis formation, of 

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

to 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.62 It is surrounded on all 

sides by escarpments of the limestones of Cretaceous 

age which formerly extended entirely across the region 

but have been removed by erosion from the area of 

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

62 The following table and description of the Paleozoic formations exposed in 

the Marathon Basin are furnished by P. B. King:

Tesnus.

Age

Pennsylvanian 

series.

Devonian (?) 

system.

Ordovician system.

Cambrian system.

Formation

Qaptank formation.

Haymond formation.

Dimple limestone.

Tesnus formation.

Caballos novaculite.

Maravillas chert.

Woods Hollow shale.

Fort Pefia formation.

Alsate shale.

Marathon limestone.

Dagger Flat sandstone.

Thickness 

(feet)

1,800

2,500

400-1,000

7,500

200-600

100-400

500

150

50

500-800

300+

Character

Limestone, interbedded with shale, sandstone, and 

conglomerate. Exposed only on north side of 

Marathon Basin, where it is overlain by the 

Permian.

Thin-bedded sandstone and shale, with thick beds 

of arkose and boulder conglomerate in upper part 

near Haymond siding.

Limestone and interbedded shale, cropping out in 

low, narrow ridges.

Thick-bedded brown sandstone, with some interbedded shale, with a member of dark shale at the 

base several thousand feet thick.

Novaculite and chert, which crop out in prominent 

ridges.

Black chert and limestone.

Drab shale, with interbedded flaggy brown sandstone and limestone.

Massive limestone, bedded reddish chert, and some 

conglomerate.

Shale and thin limestone beds.

Flaggy gray limestone, with a thin medial member 

of cherty dolomite; much shale and some conglomerate.

Shale with thin brown limestone and sandstone 

beds, passing down into massive sandstone.

The Cambrian and Ordovician rocks 

differ considerably from those in the 

region of Van Horn and El Paso, only a 

few hundred miles away, where the 

basal sandstone is overlain by several 

thousand feet of Ordovician and Silurian limestones. Near Marathon there 

is much sandstone, shale, and conglomerate in addition to limestone. The

fossils are also different. The Ordovician rocks at Marathon contain 

chiefly graptolites and linguloid brachiopods, animals which lived in an environment of turbid water; the Ordovician strata at El Paso and Van Horn 

contain cephalopods, gastropods, and 

sponges, which lived in a clear sea 

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. 63

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 Marathon region in Paleozoic time. They 

are very thick and consist almost 

entirely of shale and sandstone, with 

some beds of conglomerate. Marine 

fossils are not very abundant, except in 

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. The three older Pennsylvanian 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.

63 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

ehale of the Tesnus formation (Pennsylvanian), which dips about 45° SE. 

The strata of the two series thus present

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 Paleozoic 

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

in places. Some of the faults dip at low

angles to the southeast and are planes 

along which blocks of the Paleozoic 

rocks have been displaced for many 

miles to the northwest. The folds in 

these Paleozoic rocks are like those in 

the Ouachita and Appalachian Mountains and were formed at about the 

same time. After Paleozoic time the 

folded rocks of the Marathon Basin 

were beveled by running streams and 

the general processes of weathering, 

and in later Mesozoic time the Lower 

Cretaceous sediments were deposited 

on their upturned edges. The deformation of the Cretaceous sediments and

the development of the Marathon uplift occurred long afterward.
tl. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BtfLLETtN 845 PLATE 13

A. CONTACT OF OVERLAP OF COMANCIIE LIMESTONE ON TILTED STRATA

OF PENNSYLVANIAN ACE 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 ALPINE, TEX. 

A mass of igneous rock, probably an outlet for lavas in the surrounding region.
TJ. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 14

A. LAVA AND TUFF OF DAVIS MOUlNTAirvS, WEST OF ALPUNE, TKX. 

Typical herd of Hereford cattle in foreground.

B. APPROACHING PA1SANO 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

NW. 

Haymond fo

"&* 

g<n JBoulder bed, 

scality 4

SE.

... . . \ < H tqc^Vx Haymond ) DimpleJ^vV* T\^ _^L."''^j?JTH.. r

,House Mtn. 

_ ComanchgJ3.. i

'A'^V 

ftto^^^t^&y

Dimple " Devonian (?) novaculite' 

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. 64

Within the Marathon Basin the 

Paleozoic rocks constitute low, sharp 

ridges far inferior in magnitude to the 

mountains that must have existed when 

the folding of later Paleozoic time took 

place. The present low ridges were 

produced by erosion in post-Cretaceous 

time, after the , Marathon dome was 

uplifted and the Cretaceous rocks were 

eroded from the area of the Marathon 

Basin.

152109° 33 7

64 A few miles beyond Tesnus the 

railroad crosses a fault, not visible from 

the tracks but well exposed some miles 

to the north and south, which brings 

the Tesnus strata against the higher 

part of the Haymond formation occupying a syncline. The highest exposed 

member of this formation, also concealed by gravel near the railroad but 

well exposed in slopes not far away, is 

a remarkable conglomerate containing
90 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Beyond the edge of the gravel plain 5 miles west of Tesnus thinbedded 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,

aymon . QQ j^^ ^Q fa& north, when that was an important 

N^SaSSies-^ontier^ 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 (Devonian?), 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. Novaculite is of rare occurrence in this country, in comparison to such other 

sedimentary rocks as sandstone, shale, and limestone. The novacurounded 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 

matrix of arkosic mud and consist of 

cobbles of pre-Cambrian gneiss, granite, 

schist, aplite, and pegmatite, large 

angular blocks of Upper Ordovician 

limestone, Devonian chert and novaculite, Tesnus quartzite, Dimple limestone, gray limestone with fossils of 

middle Pennsylvanian age, and siliceous 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 Carboniferous ingredients in this conglomerate indicate that there was a near-by 

area of upturned older strata in upper 

Haymond time. Probably it was situated south of the present uplift and is 

now deeply buried beneath younger 

strata. It is difficult to understand 

how the coarse materials were transported to their present position, for the 

larger masses could not have been carried by ordinary streams) they may

have been overthrust a condition that 

might account for the presence of the 

blocks of fault breccia.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 91

lite that crops out in ridges northwest of Raymond, here about 300 

feet thick, lies on the northeast end of a great anticlinorium (an anticlinal arch with subordinate flexures) which brings pre-Pennsylvanian 

rocks to the surface over a wide area in the central part of the Marathon 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 

railroad 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

Elevation 4,045 feet, quicksilver produced at the mines of Terlingua, 70

Population 826. ^ ., -i . i u

New Orleans 935 miles, miles to the southwest. These mmes 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 railroad, 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 conspicuous 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,65 however, the name Glass Mountains was first used for the 

novaculite ridges of the Marathon Basin and was later transferred

65 R. T. Hill, a pioneer in the geologic 

exploration of Texas, established the 

classification of the Cretaceous rocks 

in that State and mapped them over a 

wide area. His work on the physiography of Texas gave the first clear 

conception of the relations of the 

Edwards Plateau and of many other 

important topographic features of the

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, limestones, and shales, tilted northwest. These beds are overlain unconformably by the Lower Cretaceous strata and lie unconformably on 

the Pennsylvanian strata.66

Six miles southwest of Marathon is old Fort Pena 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.

66 The following table, by P. B. King, shows the Permian formations of the 

Glass Mountains:

Formation

Bissett conglomerate.

Capitan limestone.

Word formation.

Leonard and Hess formations.

Wolfcamp formation.

Thickness 

(feet)

700

3,000

1,200

2,000

700

Character

Conglomerate of limestone fragments, with some red beds and limestone.

Massive, dolomitic limestone, probably of reef origin, which grades 

eastward in part into thin-bedded limestone and westward in part 

into sandy limestone.

Sandstone and siliceous shale, with thick beds of limestone. Changes 

eastward into cherty limestone.

Sandstone and siliceous shale (Leonard), which change eastward 

into thin-bedded limestone (Hess). Basal conglomerate.

Shale and limestone; rests on strata of Pennsylvanian age, locally 

with great unconformity.

These formations show complex 

changes in lithologic character along 

the strike of the mountains. In the 

eastern half of the range nearly all the 

strata are limestone; in the western 

half there are also thick beds of sandstone and shale. These changes in 

lithology are shown in Figure 11. 

With the exception of the Bissett conglomerate, the Permian rocks of the

Glass Mountains are all of marine 

origin. They contain a great variety 

of marine invertebrate fossils comprising foraminifers, sponges, corals, crinoids, ammonoids, gastropods, pelecypods, bryozoans, and a great number 

of brachiopods in which the Productus 

group greatly predominate. The brachiopods include several aberrant types, 

such as Leptodus and Richthofenia. A 

feature of the fossils in the Glass Mountains is their almost universal preservation by silicification. This replacement of the original shell material has 

proceeded in a most delicate manner, 

so that fine external ornaments and
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 Pennsylvanian 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 passes 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 

there are excellent views of both ranges, which are

very ru^ed 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

Altuda.

spines and minute internal structures 

are preserved. These are revealed by 

solution of the inclosing limestone by 

acid, which leaves the fossils in excellent condition. Eroded surfaces of 

these limestones are usually a tangled 

silicified mat of shells which accumulated on the sea bottom in Permian time. 

The faunas of the Glass Mountains

are of the type known as the Guadalupian, which in North America is 

almost wholly confined to the west 

Texas Permian but in Europe and Asia 

is found in the typical Permian area. 

In the higher parts of the Glass Mountains section most of the limestones 

appear to have been built up of reefmaking algae.
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

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 

from an intrusive mass of 

syenite, which forms a darkcolored 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 adjoining mountain slopes. 

From this plain rise several 

knolls of the underlying rocks, 

which indicate faulted structure, though the details are 

hidden by sand and gravel. 

Near Strobel siding the north 

end of the Del Norte Mountains is passed and the structural relations are well exposed. 

Here heavy ledges of Edwards 

and Georgetown limestones, 

dipping west and cut by two 

faults, pass beneath Upper Cretaceous rocks, and these in turn 

under the great volcanic succession (Tertiary) which extends far west in the Davis 

Mountain region. In the valley just south of Strobel are 

ledges of chalky limestone of Upper Cretaceous age which pass under 

the lower sheet of the lava succession. Beyond Strobel, as the 

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

^
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 95

views of t he rugged peaks of the volcanic region, notably of Mitre 

Peak, (see pi. 13, (7), which lies several miles northwest. There is 

a downgrade into Alpine over volcanic rocks of various kinds.67

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 volcanic rocks of the Tertiary sucAlpine. cession. It is an exceptionally beautiful location,

Elevation 4,884 feet. an(j fae views in all directions are very attractive.

Population 3,495. _ . . ,, n i A/r i -n AI i

New Orleans 966 miles. Originally called Murphysville, Alpine came into existence with the railroad, Texas rangers being established there to protect the builders from the Indians, who hotly re-

(Dottedline is &

K 

-^

SE..&'- i // , (Dotted/me is (o/a or^ 

.- '' o >( '"'&' ''{' Devonianprqjecteaj^,

crff? y. '^^!§~it°.^;~^£'&.'^/§'Lf'''T-3-A^:' "nT '% -

, '*«p 

<^^-=-^

NW.

FIGURE 12. Section southeast of Dugout Mountain, Tex., showing relations of the Dugout 

Creek overthrust. By P. B. King. , Cambrian; 0, Ordovician; D, Devonian; TS, 

Tesnus formation; HM, Haymond formation; GT, Gaptank formation

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.

Altuda Mtn.

FIGTJKE 13. Section of Altuda Mountain, northwest of Altuda siding, Tex. By P. B. King, a, Altuda 

limestone; d, massive dolomite (Capitan); K, limestone of Comanche age; 1, Leonard formation; w, 

Word formation; ig, intrusive dikes; s, syenite mass

The Sul Ross Teachers College, established in 1920, is built on the side 

of a hill east of the town. This hill is composed of lava (trachyte) of

67 In western Texas the later formations of the Upper Cretaceous are 

largely sandstones which carry local coal 

beds and contain bones of land animals. 

Much volcanic ash and tuff erupted 

from near-by volcanoes is intermixed 

and interbedded in places. These 

strata are overlain by a great succession 

of lava flows, tuff, and agglomerate of 

volcanic origin, most of which is regarded as of Tertiary age. Sedimentary beds IB this, succession contain 

leaves of Eocene age (Berry), and bones 

of Miocene animals occur in higher 

beds (Baker). In eastern Texas marine conditions persisted long into the 

Tertiary period, but western Texas 

from late Cretaceous time was an upland with local basins of deposition 

and many volcanic vents, from which 

there were vast eruptions of lava and 

fragmental material. Prior to these 

eruptions the Cretaceous strata were, 

flexed and faulted, and in areas of most 

pronounced! wplift there was consider-, 

able erosion, for locally the volcani<j 

rocks lie on deeply eroded surfaces of 

the deformed strata. These volcanic 

rocks present the record of various 

episodes of igneous activity continuing
96 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTEKN 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 Pena 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 expectation 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

FIGURE 14. Section across the Alpine Basin just north of Alpine, Tex. 1, Lava (Tertiary); ag, 

agglomerate; Kc, limestone (Comanche) J

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. They came 

from far below the surface through 

cracks and craters in the older sedimentary rocks and spread widely as 

lavas, varying considerably in composition, extent, and sequence. Apparently the largest eruptions were in early 

or middle Tertiary time. A vast 

amount of fragmental material was 

also thrown 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 finegrained volcanic ash. Most of this 

ejected matter piled up in sheets as it 

fell, but in some places water had a 

part in its distribution, and from some 

of the vents there also came extensive 

mud flows. At intervals and from 

place to place there were great outflows 

of lavas of various kinds that extended 

far over the surface of the deposits of

fragmental material and were in places

buried beneath later eruptions of breccia, tuff, and ash.

The lavas in this region are mostly 

of the varieties known as rhyolite and 

trachyte, with a small amount of basalt, 

but there is much local variation and 

great difference in the extent of individual flows. At the beginning of volcanic 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. Several ridges of older rocks protruded, 

however, some of which were not 

covered by volcanic materials. After 

the main period of volcanic action in 

Tertiary time the region was uplifted 

and the sheets of lava and associated 

deposits were flexed, tilted, and broken. 

It is from the erosion of this irregular 

surface by streams and other agencies 

that most of the present land forms are 

derived. In places, especially where 

there has been great uplift, the volcanic rocks have been removed, laying

bare the underlying older rocks.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 14

Scale 5OO,OOO

I inch-8 miles (approximately) 

IO 15

Contour interval 2OO feet

Datum is me&n sea 

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown euery 

JO miles, and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart

Each quadrangle shown on the map with a name in parentheses 

in the lower left comer is mapped in detail on the U. S. G, S. 

topographic inap of that name

i HIGHIV* Yj°.3- -

' ~ "

EXPLANATION

A Sand and gravel

B Lava, tuff, and other volcanic rocks

Eagle rord 

Austin, etc. 

Washita

Shale, chalk, sandstone, etc.

250' 

300' 

400' 

700' 

1,400'

1,500'

Limestone

Limestone and basal sandstone

e.r Cretaceous 

(Comanche series)

Red sandstone 

Limestone (dolomite)

Sandstone and shale; some 

limestone

Leonard 

Hess

Wolf camp

Limestones, shale, sandstone, and conglomerates Gaptank 

Conglomerate, arkose, sandstone, etc. Raymond

Dimple

Tesnus

Shale, sandstone, limestones, 

and conglomerate

4,300'

400-900'

7,000'

200-600'

Limestone 

Sandstone and shale 

Novaculite

T . , , , j f Maravillas Maravillas chertrt,\Voo<ls .WoodHollow shale,Fort stiaie,fort Pena ren 

Lnnestone and shale |fonnationiAlsttte Hhale,and Marathon limestone 1 ,600'± 

Sandstone Dagger Flat 300+ 

Porphyry and other intrusive rocks

Ordovician 

Upper Cambrian

Post-Cretaceous

- - - Concealed fault

Topography from U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps 

east of longitude 103' by N. H. Darton
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 97

Cruzate, of the province of Nuevo Mejico, 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 satisfactory 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 depredations 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 hue 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 traveler $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 volcanic 

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 pi. 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.68 Several dikes of 

dark-colored igneous rock crossed by the railroad Vest of this peak 

represent cracks up which lava welled to feed some of the later outflows. 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 instruction and recreation. Another great camp-meeting ground, nondenominational 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,69 in the divide on the Davis Mountains, the railroad reaches its highest elevation, near the western margin of the 

older volcanic lavas, which in this vicinity are mostly 

trachyte, as in the region about Alpine. Just west 

°^ ^e siding the railroad descends 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

Paisano.

88 These rocks are all in extensive 

sheets which have been tilted, flexed, 

and faulted to some extent and considerably eroded. The materials are 

mostly soda trachyte, in places underlain by soda rhyolite and agglomerate. 

Soda rhyolite, conspicuous on Sunny 

Brook and at the foot of Twin Mountains west of Alpine, consists of phenocrysts of orthoclase in a groundmass of 

albite and quartz, as determined by 

C. S. Ross, of the United States Geological Survey.

69 A dike near Paisano consists of a 

peculiar fine-grained dacite which has 

been named "paisanite" by Osann. 

Its components are mainly feldspar,

hornblende, and quartz, with a tendency to granophyric structure. Apparently 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 

is limestone of Comanche age altered 

to marble by the heat of a large intrusive mass, which constitutes most of 

the mountain. This mass is a soda 

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

Elevation 4,692 feet. 573 men m([ 37 Of£cers is garrisoned. An important

Population 3,909. . .- -r, *. t -i New Orleans992miles, lunction oi this station is military training for recruits. 

The Chihuahua Trail, which crossed the Rio Grande, 

at Presidio, came up Alamito Creek, passed 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

v . . the region, for the annual rainfall averages only about

11 inches. The village is on the wide alluvial plain of Elevation 4,330 feet. . ° . _ . f .

Population 314. Chispa Creek, which flows northwest into Salt Basin. 

New oneans 1,027 About 12 miles to the east are the Davis Mountains, 

and to the west is the high wall of the Tierra Vieja 

Range (ve-ay'ha), 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 herd 

of thoroughbred Hereford cattle. It was raided by Mexican outlaws 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 

then- antiquity.

In 1931 Valentine experienced a severe earthquake, which demolished or damaged many buildings and twisted chimneys and gravestones. Apparently the settlement was near the center of the disturbance, 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. 70 

The alteration from limestone to marble has been caused by the intrusion of an igneous mass.

70 In the region west 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

Washita.

Trinity.

Formation

Georgetown limestone _ --

 Character

and local conglomerate.

Thickness 

(feet)

30

100-300

100-550

80+

400

500-2, 000

250-800

The coarse sandstones and conglomerates (Campagrande formation) at the 

base of the Trinity lie unconformably 

on the Malone formation (Upper Jurassic), and are at least 250 feet thick on 

the northern flank of the Quitman 

Mountains. The Cox sandstone, which

makes up many of the high ridges near

the railroad, is 1,500 feet thick in the 

eastern part of the Van Horn Mountains, about 2,000 feet thick in the 

southern part of the Quitman Mountains, and about 1,000 feet thick in the 

northern part of the Eagle Mountains. 

It consists largely of brown sandstone 

but includes beds of limestone and shale 

and local members of conglomerate.

The overlying Finlay limestone is conspicuous about the Sierra Blanca and 

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,71 

and those to the north and east the higher summits of the Davis Mountains. The highest point of the Davis Mountains is Livermore Peak, 

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 volcanic rocks in this region has not yet been determined, 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 formation of the Trinity group on the 

evidence of the fossils Exogyra quitmanensis and Orbitulina texana. The 

Edwards limestone is only 25 feet thick 

in the Van Horn Mountains and about 

Sierra Blanca but thickens greatly toward the south in the canyons along the 

Rio Grande. The overlying Georgetown 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 limestone representing the Eagle Ford. 

These beds are well exposed in the 

southern and western parts of the Van 

Horn Mountains, at the southeast end 

of the Quitman Mountains, and northwest of the Eagle Mountains. Representatives of the overlying Austin and 

Taylor beds are also present, overlain 

by deposits of fresh-water origin in 

which local coal beds are included. The 

later part of the Cretaceous system, as 

explained above, is represented by 

sandstones and shales with interbedded 

volcanic tuffs and flows, the beginning 

of the great volcanic succession.

71 The Tierra Vieja Mountains consist of a succession of lavas and volcanic 

tuffs and breccias with interbedded 

conglomerates, sandstones, and clays, 

more than 2,000 feet thick, of Tertiary 

age. The lavas range from obsidian to 

a rock of porphyritic character. One

flow about 300 feet thick of the very 

rare volcanic rock quartz pantellerite 

constitutes a cliff or "rim rock," at the 

crest of the mountains, which presents 

a steep front to the west. The strata 

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___--__-______-__ 40

Clay or red sandstone_______ 100

Rhyolite?__--_-__----.___._ 20±

Conglomerate and clays.____ 80

Rhyolite breccia, light colors, 

hard at base_____________ 130

Conglomeratic sandstone and 

clay__________________ 50

Rhyolite breccia.._________ 50

Basalt (black)__________ 65

Rhyolite and basalt breccia. _ 6 

Fine-grained material (tuff?) _ 60 

Conglomerate and clay______ 80

Conglomerate, coarse_____ 50

Rhyolite, massive, reddish.__ 20 

Sands and clays, some conglomerate______________ 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 Mountains are underlain by shales of Cretaceous age which include thin beds of 

coal of considerable extent. According 

to T. W. Stanton, the fossils in the 

strata just below the coal-bearing beds 

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.

Elevation 4,088 feet. 

Population 18.* 

New Orleans 1,043 

miles.

Tierra Vieja Mts

Chispa Summii

Horizontal seal

 2 Miles

Igneous plug

Vertical scale

i.ooo 2,000 Feet

FIGUBE 15. Profile of the northern part of the Tierra Vieja Mountains south of Chispa siding, Tex. 

Tl, Tertiary lava; Tt, Tertiary tuff; Ks, Upper Cretaceous shale; Kef, Eagle Ford formation 

(Upper Cretaceous); Kg, Georgetown limestone (Lower 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 Figure 15. The hard beds give rise to tables and cliffs and the softer 

strata to the intervening slopes. North of Chispa is Chispa Mountain, 

a sharp peak of volcanic rocks.

The Van Horn Mountains, 72 which lie north of the gap west of 

Chispa siding, cause a long northward deflection of the railroad.

72 The Van Horn Mountains present 

a wide area of strata of Lower Cretaceous (Comanche) age, overlain in the 

high central part and the northeast end 

by Tertiary volcanic rocks. The Cretaceous strata are about 2,000 feet 

thick, with a coarser conglomerate at 

the base, a thick mass of Cox sandstone 

above, and then representatives of the 

Finlay limestone and limestones of the 

Fredericksburg group. In the eastern 

part of the range the strata lie nearly 

horizontal, with a steplike outcrop of 

the harder beds. At its north end

limestones of Permian age rise to the

surface in the high uplift of the Van 

Horn region. To the south, near the

gap west of Chispa, there is a strong 

downward pitch and downfaulting of a 

block consisting of a thick succession 

of the Upper Cretaceous rocks that 

make up the north end of the Tierra 

Vieja Mountains.

The main ridge of the Van Horn 

Mountains is an anticline of considerable prominence. Crossed by a fault 

(west to east) with drop on the north 

side, 8 miles northwest of Chispa, the 

anticline rises to the north so that the 

limestone of Permian age finally appears, overlapped by Trinity beds in

the north end of the Mge. The Knlay limestone in this range consists of 

about 400 feet of gray earthy limestone
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 15

10430' 104 Texas

A Sand, gravel, etc. (valley fill)

B Lavas and other rocks of 

volcanic origin

0-500' Quaternary 

100-1,200' Tertiary

Q Sandstone, volcanic tuffs, 

shale and coal Upper Cretaceous 

(Gulf series)

Lower Cretaceous 

(Comanche series)

300'+ Permian

eology: reconnaissance by N. H. Darton

Scale 500,000 

inch-8 miles (approximately)

Contour interval 2OO feet

Datum /s mean sea /eve/ 

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every

JO 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. S. 

topographic map of that name

30

30°

10430

Topography. U.S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps
SOUTHEEN 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

Horizontal scale

Vertical scale

O 5OO 1,500 Feet

FIGURE 16. Section across the Van Horn Mountains near their north end. Kts, sandstone 

Cox);Cpl, Permian limestone; sch, Carrizo Mountain schist; Qal, alluvium; Ti, igneous rock

showers, or "cloudbursts," which quickly flood the drainageways 

with a swiftly moving body of water sufficiently powerful to roll

containing, according to Baker, Enallaster texanus, Exogyra quitmanensis, 

Gryphaea marcoui, Requienia, and Tylostoma. 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 

Peak and Walnut clay. The representative 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 limestone, in all about 500 feet. In exposures 9 miles southwest of Lobo siding 

there have been collected from this 

formation, according to Baker, Pervinquieria graysonensis, P. wintoni, Holaster simplex, and Plolectypus limitis. At 

the fault 3 miles west of Chispa Summit the sandstone noted above lies on 

Edwards limestone and is overlain by 

nodular impure blue-gray limestone of 

Georgetown age, which carries Enallaster texanus, E. bravoensis, Hemiaster 

calvini, Holectypus planatus, Kingena 

wacoensis, Neithea texana, Cypricardia 

texana, and Gryphaea corrugata. These 

beds are overlain by slabby limestones 

and shales of the Eagle Ford formation, 

which are highly fossiliferous at Chispa 

Summit, where besides the characteris1

tic Inoceramus labiatus many fine ammonites have been collected. These 

include, according to Adkins, Mantelliceras aff. M. couloni (D'Orbigny), Romaniceras cumminsi Adkins, R. loboense 

Adkins, Coilopoceras eaglefordense Adkins, C. chispaense Adkins, Pseudoaspidoceras? chispaense Adkins, Fagesia 

texana Adkins, Thomasites sp., Neoptychites aff. N. gourguechoni Pervinquiere, 

Hoplitoides? mirabilis Bose, Neocardioceras septem-seriatim (Cragin), Scaphites 

aff. S. africanus Pervinquiere, S. aff. S. 

aequalis Sowerby, and Metaptychoceras 

aff. M. smithi (Woods).

These fossiliferous strata pass under 

shales with thin limestone layers equivalent to the Austin chalk, and these in 

turn are overlain by shales of Taylor 

age, which are exposed far to the south 

along the west side of Tierra Vieja 

Mountains to and beyond the San Carlos coal mine. At this mine, according 

to Dumble, they carry Nautilus dekayi?, 

Schloenbachia delawarensis, Baculites asper, B. ovalus, Placenticeras guadalupae, 

Ostrea elegantula, Exogyra costata var., 

Trigonia thoradca, Cardium alabamense, 

and many others a fauna which is regarded by Stanton as lying between the 

Navarro and the Austin limestone. A 

good specimen of a tooth of Ptychodus 

mortoni Agassiz was found.
104 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

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Peak $$ 

X' 4 X - ^^ %> IA^ -» \ Z ^*

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20 Miles

FIGURE 17. Map showing route from Lobo, Tex., to Carlsbad Caverns, 

N. Mex.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL STJRVBY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 15

A. PERMIAN LIMESTONE LYING UNCONFORMABLY ON EL PASO LIMESTONE AT SOUTH END OF BAYLOR MOUNTAINS, 12 MILES NORTH OF 

VAN HORN, TEX.

a. Contact of Van Horn sandstone.

B. GUADALUPE POINT, TKX.

The south end of a great promontory of Capitan limestone on Delaware Mountain beds. 

El Capitan, the highest peak in Texas, at the right.
IT. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 16

A. FINBACK LIZARDS OF PEKMIAN TIME

Restoration from bones of Dimetrodfin incisivus and Nuosaurus cluviger found in the "Red Reds" 

of Texas. They range in length from 3 to 10 feet and are among the earliest forms of saurian 

life.

B. CARLSRAD 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 railroad 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,

however, and is now used as a ranch house. The

Elevation 3,943 feet. .' u * >7 '1 * * T U

population so.* prominent mountam about 7 miles east of Lobo conNew Orleans i.oM gjg^g 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 transportation 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 southeast 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 pi. 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 pre-Cambrian sandstones, 

limestones, and schists exposed to the south. 73

73 The principal features of the formations in this region are given in the 

following table:

Formations in the Van Horn region

Age

Cretaceous.

Permian.

Pennsylvania!!.

Devonian?.

Silurian.

Ordovician.

Upper Cambrian.

Pre-Cambrian.

Formation

Fusselman.

Montoya.

El Paso.

Van Horn.

Millican.

Carrizo Mountain.

Character

Sandstone and limestone.

Limestone, mostly massive, light to dark, many 

reefs. (Lies unconformably on older strata down 

to pre-Cambrian.)

Limestone, massive, on dark shale.

Chert and dark slabby shale.

Dolomite, massive, light.

Limestone, cherty, with basal brown sandstone 

member.

Limestone, massive, mottled, lower part sandy.

Sandstone, red arkose conglomerate lenses and 

basal member. (Lies unconformably on preCambrian.)

Limestone, massive, thinly banded with chert; 

carries masses of Cryntozoon. 

Sandstone, red, hi part argillaceous and conglomeratic. 

Conglomerate, including schist fragments. Cut 

by sills of diabase and carries interbedded lava 

flows.

Schist and gneiss cut by igneous rocks and veins of 

quartz and pegmatite.

Thickness (feet)

1,800+

2,800

800

150

100 +

400

1,000

50-700

3,000±

The pre-Cambrian schist constitutes 

the Carrizo Mountains, which lie between the Texas & Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads west of Van Horn. 

It is also exposed in a few small areas 

in the adjacent region. The Millican 

formation, which contains much red 

shale and cherty limestone, resembles 

the Grand Canyon series and Apache 

group of Arizona. It constitutes an 

area of foothills northwest of Van Horn. 

Although undoubtedly it is younger 

than the schist, the two formations are 

separated by faults, a feature well exposed a short distance north of Eagle 

Flat station on the Texas & Pacific 

Railway, where the limestone of Permian age overlaps both. The presence 

of schist fragments in the conglomerate 

and the lesser degree of metamorphism 

of the Millican beds indicate that they 

are younger than the schists, doubtless 

of Algonkian age. The Van Horn sandstone lies on an irregularly eroded surface of the pre-Cambrian rocks. It is 

several hundred feet thick in the ridges 

northwest of Van Horri, but it thins 

out in places, together with the overlying old limestones, so that the limestone of Permian age lies directly on 

the Millican formation or on schist. 

In part of the area the Permian limestone lies directly on El Paso limestone, 

as shown in Plate 15, A. In places the 

Van Horn beds, especially the lower 

ones, consist largely of coarse material 

including fragments of red granite and 

porphyry of pre-Cambrian age which 

probably formed a shore near by, now 

covered by later sediments. Much of 

the Van Horn material is of red color. 

The succession of El Paso to Fusselman 

limestone which largely constitutes 

Beach Mountain and some of the foothills about the Baylor Mountains,

north of Van Horn, is very similar t/o

the formations in the Franklin Mountains north of El Paso and contains the
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 107

Victorip Peak

6432

ME.

Horizontal scale

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 summit, Victorio Peak, is 

6,432 feet above sea 

level. It is due to an 

uplift by which the 

strata were raised several thousand feet by a 

long south to north

 fonlf /-.f rr/vno nf -fonlfo lault or zone ol laults

that extends along its

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.

3 Miles

Vertical scale _ ^ 

o 3ppo Feet

FIGURE 18. Section of east front of Sierra Diablo at Victorio 

18 miles north of Van Horn, Tex. By P. B. King

same fossils. Some of them can also be 

correlated with strata in the Marathon 

uplift. These limestones thin out to 

the south and west. They also 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 Montoya contains Columnaria, Halysites, 

Streptelasma, Rhyncholrema, and Rafinesquina of the Upper Ordovician; 

and the El Paso limestone contains 

Piloceras, Eccyliomphalus, Hormotoma, 

and Ophileta of the Lower Ordovician. 

The Permian succession that constitutes the great mountain block of the 

Sierra Diablo, the Baylor and Wylie 

Mountains, and some minor ridges consists mostly of limestones of various 

kinds presenting considerable variety 

of fossil assemblages. The thickness 

remaining in the high eastern front 

of the Sierra Diablo is 2,700 feet. 

During Permian time there was nearly 

continuous subsidence and deposition 

in the region, uninterrupted by uplift 

or extensive incursions of coarse sediments. Evidently there were long 

reefs which persisted during the deposition 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 

Leptodus. Behind the reefs were 

lagoons in which were deposited sediments now represented by thinly stratified 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 Mountains, including Omphalotrochus, Bellerophon, Productus peruvianus, and 

Spirifer condor. The reefs consist of 

very massive limestones or dolomites, 

built of the remains of algae, bryozoans, 

sponges, crinoids, and other fossils 

adapted to reef environment.

The Permian of the Wylie and Baylor 

Mountains consists of limestones laid 

down behind the reefs. In the Sierra 

Diablo a thick body of lagoon limestone 

constituting the lower third of the 

series is succeeded by black limestone 

and other open-sea deposits cropping 

out in rounded slopes, which are surmounted by great cliffs of the reef 

limestone. Some of the relations of 

these strata are shown in Figure 18. 

In places in the escarpment there is.an 

abrupt transition from black limestone 

to reef limestone. 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 Mountains, fault blocks both, the 

latter having the relations shown in Figure 19.74

About 35 miles north of Van Horn, not far beyond 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 succession 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 pi. 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 limestones) of Permian age which extends to the Carlsbad Caverns. It

w.

Sierra Diablo 

C

Baylor Mts.

u u v,

6 MILES

FIGURE 19. Section across the escarpment of the Sierra Diablo and Baylor Mountains, 15 miles 

north of Van Horn, Tex. By P. B. King. Am, Millican formation; "Cvh, Van Horn sandstone; Oep, El Paso limestone; Om, Montoya limestone; Sf, Fusselman limestone; Cp, 

limestones of Permian age

lies on limestones and sandstones of the Delaware Mountain formation, 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 formation, a remnant of the 

thick succession of pre-Capitan strata 

well developed in the Delaware and 

Apache Mountains, on the east side of 

Salt Basin. (P. B. King.)

74 In these mountains the Permian 

limestones are separated from the Millican beds (pre-Cambrian) by Fusselman, Montoya, and El Paso limestones 

and Van Horn sandstone, occupying a

local basin of moderate size. There 

are overlaps of the various formations. 

Several faults trending northwest cross 

the southern part of the Sierra Diablo

region and it is through a gap along one 

of these breaks that the Texas & 

Pacific Railway crosses the range west 

of Van Horn. In this gap the Permian 

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 

thin layers of limestone. At the base 

is a 1-foot bed of conglomerate overlain 

by 10 to 20 feet of impure limestone.

About 400 feet remains, an unknown

amount of overlying strata having been 

removed by 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 limestone. 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 at dawn. Many visitors linger in the evening to see the exodus.

GUADALUPE MT3. '& C

member

Carlsbad

limestone Carlsbad S3 

Caverns §%

_0ldjterrace deposits R uat)er limestone

-;?-_:---3fcV^'- ast'e «v 

ne^^^fe^Tf --..".fypeum

"' ' *3.09*' "" ----.

probably 

 Pennsylvanian

IB "Miles

FIGURE 20. Sections across the Ouadalupe Mountains at El 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,75 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

75 The limestone of this range is the 

same as that which caps the Sierra 

Diablo north of Van Horn. The 

schist exposed on the west face of the 

Wylie Mountains is composed of lightpink quartz-muscovite schist, quartzbiotite-muscovite schist, chlorite schist, 

and amphibolite schist, with quartz 

veins and lenses. The strike is nearly 

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 deposits 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

SW. Wvlie Mts. NE.

Horizontal scale

i 2 M i les

Vertical scale _ . ^ 

o 1,000 Fee-t

FIGURE 21. Section across the western part of the Wylie Mountains 

north of Lobo siding, Tex. Cp, Permian limestone; Cvh, Van Horn 

sandstone (Cambrian)

Pennsylvanian time, when arching and considerable crustal fracturing 

occurred in many if not all parts of the general region. The erosion 

that ensued removed considerable material and reduced the surface to 

a rolling and in places rugged upland, in which rocks of pre-Paleozoic 

to Pennsylvanian age were exposed. Some of this old upland surface 

is revealed in the Marathon and Van Horn regions. In widespread 

and long-continued marine submergence in Permian time southwestern Texas and the adjoining regions were covered with limy 

sediments, which in part of the area had a thickness of 5,000 feet or 

more. In places the deposition was long continued, subsidence keeping pace with the accumulation of the fine sediments. Local conditions varied greatly. In some places there were extensive barrier 

reefs near the borders of the sea and persisting throughout the deposition of thousands of feet of strata. These reefs consist of massive 

limestones or dolomites, such as those in the Guadalupe, Diablo, 

Apache, and Glass Mountains, and contain remains of algae, bryozoans, sponges, crinoids, and other fossils of reef habitat. Behind 

the reefs were 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 subject 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 Jurassic 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 tune and is therefore in high favor for pasture. This 

wide valley was a favorite rendezvous for Apache Indians and outlaws, 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.76

78 These mountains consist mainly 

of Carrizo Mountain schist (preCambrian), with small overlapping 

areas of Van Horn sandstone (Upper 

Cambrian), capped by limestone of 

Permian age. The Van Horn sandstone varies in thickness but in places 

is more than 200 feet thick, consisting of red micaceous sandstone with a

basal conglomerate of schist and 

quartz. The Carrizo Mountain schist 

extends north to the gap in which the 

Texas & Pacific Railway crosses the 

range west of Van Horn. According 

to Baker, the schist is well exposed in 

Bass Canyon, north of Dalberg siding, 

where it strikes northwest and includes 

mica schist, quartz schist, and chlorite
112 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

From Collado siding there is a branch railroad south to the Microlithic quarry, 5 miles distant, where mica and feldspars of various 

colors are obtained from a coarse pegmatitic rock in Carrizo 

Mountain schist of pre-Cambrian age in the northwestern slope of the 

Van Horn Mountains.77 The occurrence of this old rock at this 

place is due to a north-northwesterly 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 at a 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,78 in which the highest point is 7,510

schist, with lenses and veins of quartz 

and dikes of dark-green basic intrusive. 

Some of the schists contain garnet. 

The Carrizo Mountains are near the 

center of a large, irregular uplift in 

which the strata and underlying crystalline rocks are raised to their maximum 

elevation in Texas. In Hackett Peak, 

near the center of these mountains, the 

Carrizo Mountain schist has an elevation of 5,280 feet in an area that has 

been considerably denuded by erosion. 

The uplift is traversed by many large 

faults, some crossing nearly north and 

south and others east and west, and on 

its southwest side there is an overthrust 

of considerable amplitude. The movements have taken place at intervals 

from late Cretaceous to middle Tertiary 

time. A fault of 300 or 400 feet displacement along the west side of the 

Wylie Mountains (see fig. 21) and the 

fault at the mica mine south of Dalberg 

siding are good examples of north-south 

displacements, and there are several 

transverse faults west and southwest 

of Van Horn. The south slope of the 

uplift is well exhibited in the northern 

part of the Van Horn Mountains, in 

which limestones of Permian age and 

the overlying Cox sandstone rise gradually to the north.

77 The pegmatites at this place present great variety in color and composition, and some of the dikes are 100 

feet wide. They range from graphic 

granite, an intimate intergrowth of 

feldspar and quartz, to crystals of feldspar and mica a foot or more in size. 

The feldspar varies in shade from fleshcolor 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 aggregate of muscovite and flesh-colored 

or white feldspar, but some carry feldspar, biotite, and garnet. The average general dip of the foliation appears 

to be east, but it swings in various 

directions. There is considerable vein 

quartz, mostly milky white. (Baker.) 

The various minerals are separated at 

this quarry and used for facing concrete blocks and other construction 

materials.

78 The volcanic rocks of Eagle Mountain lie on an irregular platform of sandstone and limestone of Trinity age 

(Comanche) with Permian limestone 

and pre-Cambrian schist in the lower

northeasterly slopes. According to 

Baker, these pre-Cambrian rocks are 

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 Victorio 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. 

The water must come from a considerable depth, 

probably along a fault plane under the valley fill, 

which is thick in this valley.79 Eagle Spring, at the 

foot of Eagle Mountain, about 5 miles west-southwest 

of Hot Wells, is a noted watering place for cattle, and 

in earlier days for travelers on the old trail.80

Hot Wells.

Elevation 4,285 feet. 

Population 50.* 

New Orleans 1,073 

miles.

ites, and a very basic dark-green intrusive cut by quartz veins, one of which 

contains some copper minerals. The 

strike is N. 70° E., and the dip is steep 

to the south and southeast. A cross 

fault, trending west-southwest, cuts 

off the strata to the north. On the 

north foot of the mountain are exposed 

a considerable body of Trinity strata 

overlain by Washita and Upper Cretaceous beds.

79 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, however, may greatly 

increase the rate, which is found to 

vary somewhat from place to place.

80 Eagle Spring is on a fault between 

the Campagrande formation and Finlay 

limestone. The Campagrande beds at 

this place, according to Baker, comprise about 800 feet of strata, mainly 

sandstones with a minor amount of 

conglomerate and several thin beds of 

limestone, one of which near the base 

contains the Trinity fossil Porocystis 

pruniformis. (For table of these formations see p. 100.) Several sills of 

intrusive rock are present, and a great 

dike of rhyolite half a mile north of 

Eagle Spring has changed the limestone 

(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 Mountain schist. The Finlay limestone 

here forms a great platform on which is 

piled the thick succession of volcanic 

rocks constituting the upper part of 

Eagle Mountain. These rocks are 

mostly rhyolite, with some interbedded 

tuffs and conglomerates lying on a great 

thickness of tuff breccias. Bones of 

land tortoises occur here in rhyolite 

tuffs.

A sandy limestone weathering brown, 

about 500 feet above the base of the 

succession, is regarded as Finlay. It 

carries Exogyra quitmanensis and includes some conglomeratic sandstone 

and some sandy shale members. In 

the anticline between the overturned 

strata at the north end of the mountain 

there are ledges of dove-colored cherty 

limestone, then a d<§bris-covered interval 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 

main Devil Ridge. Most of these 

ridges are conspicuous from the .railroad. The Cox sandstone appears to 

be absent here, or perhaps is faulted 

down. (Baker.)

A thin bed of coal occurs in sandstone 

and shale members of the Finlay lime-
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.81

Sierra Blanca is at the junction of the Southern Pacific and Texas & 

Pacific lines (p. 293) and on State Highway 1, which crosses southwest 

Texas. In the vicinity are extensive cattle ranches, 

and considerable prospecting has been done on the 

adjoining mountains, but without very encouraging 

results. 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 a viscous mass from a fissure in the earth's 

crust. The rhyolite lies on a platform of limestone of Washita age, 

which on the west side is penetrated 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

Sierra Blanca.

Elevation 4,518 feet. 

Population 723. 

New Orleans 1,095 

miles.

stone 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 distance up the arroyo, above the old coal 

pit, heavy beds of limestone carry 

Exogyra quitmanensis and Orbitulina 

texana. Farther up is the tuff breccia 

of the great volcanic mass. A mile 

to the northwest are exposures of shale, 

sandstone, and Orbitulina-bearing limestone, which crop out at intervals for 

3 miles west along the south side of the 

fault.

At the north end of Eagle Mountain 

there are exposures of about 550 feet 

of limestones regarded as Georgetown, 

overlain by 100 feet of hard brown 

sandstone, probably Del Rio. This 

is capped by fine-grained chalky limestone referred to the Buda, and dark 

blue-gray and drab shale with some 

sandy and limy layers, the latter containing Inoceramus labiatus and other 

fossils of the Eagle Ford formation.

At Carpenter Spring, 4 miles southsouthwest of Eagle Spring, considerably 

below the volcanic materials and probably on the other limb of a syncline, 

is several hundred feet of shale underlain by limestone, all believed to be 

Finlay. This limestone also occurs 

on the northeast side of Eagle Mountain, where it contains some brown 

sandstone and shale and has yielded, 

according to Baker, the fossils Orbitulina texana, Enallaster texanus, Pecten 

subalpina, and Tylostoma sp.

81 Just south of these cliffs is a long 

west-east fault south of which is exposed a thick succession of limestones 

and red shales of Algonkian(?) age 

(Millican formation) dipping steeply 

in various directions. Some of the 

relations are shown in Figure 22. This 

formation is believed to overlie the 

Carrizo Mountain schist, and it is overlain unconformably by the Van Horn 

sandstone (Cambrian) and the Permian 

limestones. These limestones also cap 

high mesas and buttes north of Bola 

siding, one of the most prominent of 

which is Eagle Flat Butte, just north 

of the Texas & Pacific Railway. Southwest of Bola siding are ridges of strata 

of Comanche age, mostly limestone and 

sandstone of the Trinity group, constituting the Devil Ridge, which parallels the railroad for 15 miles or more..
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.82

Just north of Sierra Blanca is a long ridge of limestones and sandstones of Trinity age penetrated by small bodies of intrusive rocks and 

apparently cut off on the east side by a fault. This ridge extends 

north to Triple Hill.

South of Sierra Blanca are other high ridges of the same limestones 

and sandstones.83

FIGURE 22. Section from the southern edge of the Diablo Plateau to Eagle Flat, east of the Sierra 

Blanca, Tex. By P. B. King. K, Sandstone and limestone (Cretaceous); Cp, limestone 

(Permian); Cvh, Van Horn sandstone (Cambrian); Am, Millican formation (Algonkian), including breccia (br) and diabase (b); Ac, Carrizo Mountain schist; Q, Quaternary sand and gravel

There has been difficulty 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

82 The rock of Sierra Blanca and the 

similar smaller cones is classed as 

rhyolite, as it is composed mainly of 

quartz, orthoclase, and sodic plagioclase. The phenocrysts are orthoclase, 

oligoclase, and small amounts of quartz 

and hornblende. The intrusive trachyte is a porphyritic rock composed 

mainly of sodic plagioclase and hornblende with phenocrysts of oligoclase 

and hornblende in a groundmass of 

essentially the same minerals. These 

rocks were determined by C. S. Ross, 

of the United States Geological Survey.

83 High on the ridge 3 miles southwest 

of Sierra Blanca the limestones contain 

an abundance of Orbitolina texana, a 

a small disk-shaped fossil characteristic 

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 

(Finlay) in the hogback ridges in this 

vicinity are light green-brown mediumgrained sandstones with thin limestone

members at intervals, passing into 

medium-bedded gray limestones with 

interbedded greenish sandstones, in 

all 750 feet thick. In the large ridge 

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 northeast base of the ridge just south of 

Sierra Blanca are sandstones with a 

few interbedded limestones, all Cox. 

(Baker.)

The large mesa 5 miles south of 

Etholen is capped by massive limestone 

(Finlay) containing Orbitolina texana, 

and about 200 feet above the base of 

this limestone is an interbedded brown 

sandstone with green chert and silicified 

wood near its base. Bluff Mesa, to 

the east of this feature, is also capped 

by heavy limestone (basal Finlay) 

about 200 feet thick, with a thick 

breccia at the top containing Exogyra 

quitmanensis. Other fossils in this 

limestone, according to Baker, are 

Orbitolina texana, Pecten, Pholadomya 

and Alectryonia.
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

Eth | 2,200 feet above the adjoining valley. Near its south

slope passes a west-northwest fault, on the south or

population 28.* * upthrown side of which limestone of Permian age

New Orleans 1,100 abuts against strata of the Washita group, which

1111 es' 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 vesuvianite 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 Quitman 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 molybdenum have been reported.

In the small ridge west of Etholen are limestones and shales of 

upper Washita age (probably Del Rio) carrying "Nodosaria" texana. 

Southwest of the siding is a high rough ridge of a syenitic intrusive 

rock that also constitutes the north end of the Quitman Mountains, 

just beyond. In these ranges are the Bonanza and Alice Ray mines, 

formerly productive. Nearly all the surfaces in this general region 

are bare and rocky, and the vegetation has the wide spacing characteristic of arid regions. 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. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 16

Quaternary

Tertiary

upper ( retaceous 

((iulf series)

Washi t a group 

Frederickshurg group

Lower Cretaceous 

(Comanche series)

1,500'+ 

1,300' 

75-700' 

3.000'-1

Permian 

Ordovician 

Cambrian 

Algonkian (?)

Montoya < Van Horn 

Millican

Algonkian (?) 

Post-Cretaceous

Geology by C. L Baker, G. B. Richardson, 

P B. King and N. H. Darton

Scale 500,000 

miles (approximately) 

15

Contour interval ZOO feet

Datum /s mean sea /ere/

The distances from New Orleans. La., are shown euery 

JO 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. S. 

topographic map of that name

Topography: U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps

WILLIAMS ft HEINTZ CO.. WASH., D. C
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 117

basal formation of the Comanche series), and this rock also occurs in 

near-by hills south of the railroad, in the

oj

small hill three-quarters of a mile east of the t £ V I'E' 

siding, and at some other localities in the *" m 

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 JRio Grande. To 

the northwest of this divide the railroad 

descends a steep grade past Lasca and 

Torcer sidings. In this vicinity the railroad 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 tortuous 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 M alone Mountains, 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 M alone Mountains, to the southwest, and the Finlay Mountains, to the 

northwest. The Finlay Mountains consist of a dome-shaped uplift of the strata, 

truncated at the top, so that a considerable area of underlying limestone and 

shale of Permian age is exposed. The 

surrounding ridges consist of sandstones 

and limestones of the Trinity group 

(Comanche series), of which about 800 feet 

is exposed, These strata are intruded by igneous rocks at several places.

0J
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 iy2 miles beyond Small and at intervals to Finlay there are fine 

views of the Malone Mountains 84 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.85 The quarry is 

south of the tracks. Near the quarry the gypsum is overlain by 200 

feet of conglomerate and light-brown conglomera 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 overlying limestone, exposed half a mile east of Torcer siding, carries the 

characteristic fossil Richthofenia. Next above this are Jurassic beds.

sw.

Horizontal scale

2 Miles

Vertical ecale 

o 1,000 Feet

FIGURE 24. Section across the Malone Mountains, Tex. After 0. L. Baker (personal communication). Jm, Malone limestone (Jurassic). Cp, Limestone, etc.; 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 Mountains. In the foothills of the Malone Mountains it is overlain by

84 According to Baker, the dominant 

structure in these mountains is a 

syncline overturned on its southwestern flank, a feature which is conspicuous from afar along the summit of the 

main ridge. The valley southwest of 

this ridge follows the axis of an anticline overturned to the northeast and 

so truncated by erosion as to expose 

the gypsum (Permian) that lies not far 

below the base of the Malone formation. The northwestern part of the 

mountain mass on the southwest side 

of this overturned syncline is anticlinal 

in structure, with the axis pitching 

southeastward. The main anticlinal

axis passes near the gypsum quarry on 

the railroad. On the southeast side 

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.

85 Gypsum consists of calcium sulphate 

with about 20 per cent of combined 

water. Plaster of paris, which is used 

extensively in the arts, is made from it 

by "cooking" the gypsum at a moderately high temperature to drive off part 

of the combined water and grinding the 

resulting mass to fine powder.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 119

conglomerate (basal M alone) of limestone and chert, including boulders 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 sandstone layers, all of Jurassic age (Malone formation). On the east 

side of this area the gypsum is apparently overlain by brown sandstone and blue limestone of the Malone formation, dipping southwest.88 

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 limestone, some of them Jurassic, and some Cretaceous 

(Finlay), with members of conglomeratic sandstone. 

About 12 miles due south, near the Rio Grande, are 

the ruins of Fort Quitman, once an important army 

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 compact 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

Finlay.

Elevation 3,951 feet. 

Population 60.* 

New Orleans 1,118 

miles.

88 The Jurassic rocks of the Malone 

Mountains (Malone formation) consist 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 conglomerate member, in places 50 feet 

thick, containing many limestone boulders. Some of the strata contain molluscan 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

base of the formation. The intricate 

folding and complex faulting in these 

mountains renders it difficult to determine the thickness and succession of 

the rocks. Owing to overturning of 

the folds some of the older beds lie on 

younger ones; this is likewise the case 

with the Cretaceous strata in the Quitman Mountains, to the southeast. 

Some of the most distinctive fossils 

found in the Malone formation are 

ammonites and gastropods in considerable variety, but there are also many 

other forms. (Described by Cragin.)
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 deposited 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 developed. 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. 

McNary, formerly known as Nulo, has developed into a small town 

for local trade in the irrigated district along the Rio Grande. This 

valley, with rich bottom-land soils, mild climate, wide 

areas of level surface, and a large water supply from 

the river now controlled by the Elephant Butte Reservoir, has developed rapidly in recent years. Much of 

the land from McNary to El Paso is under irrigation 

and is yielding large crops of cotton, alfalfa 87 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 irrigated area in Hudspeth County was about 14,000 acres and in El

McNary.

Elevation 3,571 feet. 

Population 50.* 

New Orleans 1,131 

miles.

87 Alfalfa (lucern in Europe) has long 

been cultivated as forage, for historians 

record its introduction into Greece from 

Persia as early as the fifth century before Christ. Its cultivation was attempted by early colonists in America, 

but not until 1854, when a variety from 

Chile was introduced into California, 

did its development proceed rapidly. 

Alfalfa is best adapted to semiarid 

regions, for it does not require a moist 

climate and does not suffer from extreme heat or from relatively severe 

cold. It thrives best under irrigation, 

an occasional flooding being necessary 

for its growth. It has been found by 

the Arizona Agricultural Experiment 

Station that 600 gallons of water is required to raise 1 pound of alfalfa.

Besides being highly nutritive and palatable, alfalfa, when well rooted, is of 

rank growth, long lived, and hardy. 

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 

a year and therefore produces a larger 

yield than any other forage plant in the 

western United States. In some localities the plant is allowed to ripen in 

order to develop the seed, which is in 

considerable demand.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 17

/ a

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.)
tr. S. GEOLOGICAL SUKVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 18

A. SMELTER AT EL PASO, TICK.

Receives large amounts of gold, silver, copper, and other ores mined in the Southwest. The 

mountains in the background are in Mexico.

(<* 

*l *'<£«

B. klLBtlUK.Nh HoI.E, A GHKAT CRATER liN Tllli '1 ERRACK l'LAli\ l.N iNEW 

MEXICO WEST OF EL I'ASO, TEX.

Believed to be a result of steam explosion. Looking south. There is a ranch near center of hole.
SOUTHEKN 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 picturesque 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 algod6n, cotton), on which most of the water is pumped 

from shallow wells by electric power.

Among the many frontier military posts established by the Government 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 3,595 feet, far as Fort Quitman, 20 miles away. The ruins of 

*i 136 some °f the old buildings are still visible a short distance 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,

FIGURE 25. Section through the south end of the Hueco Mountains, 20 miles north-northeast of Fabens, 

Tex. Cp, Limestone (Permian); Cm, limestone (Pennsylvanian and Mississippian); Sf, Fusselman 

limestone; Om, Montoya limestone; Oe, El Paso limestone; -Cb, 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 crops raised by 

irrigation, partly by water pumped from the valley fill.

The course of the Rio Grande is very sinuous, and some of the

larger bends bring it near the railroad. On the opposite side in

Mexico are irrigated areas and in places large mountains, which

seem close. There are many cottonwood trees along the valley,

152109° 33 9
122 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

and for a while in the summer the air is filled with their seeds wafted

by fluffy tufts of cotton.

Tornillo 88 (tore-nee'yo) is a small village sustained by cotton

Tornillo. 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 sandhill and desert country of the terrace just north 

and the fertile irrigated district in the bottom lands. 

About 20 miles north of Fabens, in places visible 

from the railroad, is the south end of the Hueco 

Mountains (way'co).89 

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, 

gardens, and orchards. One of the large ditches here 

parallels the railroad for several miles. Most of the 

roads in this district are " alamedas " (ah-lah-may'das) 

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 rancherlas of their own. They were of

the Pueblo type and known as the Tiguas (Teguas or Turcervas).

Of the many Indians formerly 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

Mexico. The viceregal residence is still standing opposite the old

church and jail. The place is famous also as the center of the "salt

Elevation 3,586 feet. 

Population 60.* 

New Orleans 1,153 

miles.

Fabens.

Elevation 3,620 feet. 

Population 1,623. 

New Orleans 1,159 

miles.

Clint.

Elevation 3,635 feet. 

Population 70.* 

New Orleans 1,166 

miles.

88 This name is used for a "screw 

bean" plant (Strombocarpa pubescens), 

common in the alluvial valleys of this 

region. The plant is similar to mesquite but bears a twisted bean that 

contains considerable sugar.

89 This range presents a succession of 

strata from Permian limestone at the 

top through limestones of Pennsylvanian and Mississippian age, Silurian 

(Fusselman limestone), Ordovician 

(Montoya and El Paso limestones), 

and Upper Cambrian (Bliss sandstone). A coarse pink granite crops

out in places, apparently underlying 

the Bliss sandstone. In the south 

edge of the area the limestone of

Permian age lies directly on Montoya 

limestone. A typical section is shown 

in Figure 25. Farther north, in the 

western portion of the mountains, 

there are extensive exposures of Carboniferous, Silurian, and Ordovician 

strata. Here in places the Permian 

has a red conglomeratic member at 

the base lying unconformably on limestones of Pennsylvanian age. These 

relations are well exposed in Powwow 

Canyon on the highway from El Paso 

to Carlsbad. The lower beds of the

limestones regarded as Permian carry

abundant remains of the foraminifer 

Schwagerina ud4$ri,i,
SOtJTHEKN 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

originally Indian. Its cathedral is the old Spanish

Elevation 3,670 feet. . to . » AT , o j r\ £ J J '

population 2,025.* mission of Nuestra Senora de Carmen, founded in 

New Orleans 1,175 i6g2 shortly after the Indian rebellion of 1680.

rni]ftS _ "

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

center, an important port of entry from Mexico, and

Elevation 3,725 feet. ,111 , < xi i A ± e -r* ± Population 102,421. *ne headquarters of the large Army post of Fort 

Nmiies0rleans MSB Bliss. Its original site was determined by the gateway cut by the Rio Grande and a good ford 

crossing into Mexico. It is on "El Camino Real" (ca-mee'no rayahl'), now Highway 85, the oldest highway on the continent, which 

passes through the city as San Francisco 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 

S&nchez 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 Onate 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 H of Spain, calling it Nuevo Mexico. Onate 

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 fled down the valley to the mission 

of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, started by the Franciscans in 1659 

on the south side of the river, at the present Ciudad Juarez (seeyoudahd' hwah'race).90 This incident led to the establishing of a presidio 

(fort)a and supply station at the mission, which was the beginning of 

settlement in the general El 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 territory 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 

Le6n. 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 Magofnn, 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).

90 Named for the liberator Benito Judrez, first President of Mexico, who at 

one time had the capital there
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 17

Scale 500,000

I inch-8 miles (approximately) 

5 IO 15

Contour interval 2OO feet

Datum rs meen sea 

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 parenthese 

in the lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. S. 

topographic map of that name

Alfalfa

s-*\ 

10 \ 

Franklin

Soc

Zaragoza*

\-Tormlfo7

EL 3586 

50

2,000'* Quaternary 

300' Upper Cretaceous

Lower Cretaceous 

(Comanehe series)

Sand, gravel, etc. (valley fill and alluvium) 

Shale Colorado 

Limestone Wash it a group 

Fredericksburg group

Limestone, sandstone, etc. Trinity group 1.900'

1,000' Jurassic

1.500' Permian 

0-- 1,800' Pennsylvanian 

0- 500' Mississippian

1,000M Silurian 

200 400'

Limestone

Limestone, shal

Limestone

Limestone

Limestone

Limestone

] ji

Sandstone

Hhyolite porpliyry

CjuartzitR

Granite

Fussolman 

Montoya 

El Paso 

Bliss

1,000'i

0 300' Cambrian 

1.500'+

Post-Carboniferous

(probably in part pro-Cambrian)

Porphyry, etc. (igneous intrusions) Post-Cretaceous

Fault

Concealed fault Geology by G. B Richardson, P. B. King, R. E, King, 

L. C. Baker and N. H. Darton

Topography. U.S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps

E1NTZ 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 hi fact, there was no settlement 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 Tip ton, 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 pi. 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.91 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.

91 Cement is made by roasting a mixture of ground limestone and shale and 

grinding the resulting "clinker" to a 

fine powder. In some places clay is 

used instead of shale. Some limestones contain naturally a suitable 

admixture of the clay element for the 

manufacture of hydraulic cement. 

Most limestones could be utilized for

cement manufacture, but there is a 

limit to the demand, and it is difficult 

to introduce a new brand of cement in 

competition with cements of established 

reputation which have proved their 

uniformity and reliability by many 

tests. The items of cheap fuel and 

local market are important considerations in making cement.
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 

ram 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 6K 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 grass, 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 rockwalled 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 range 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, irregular lower crests, and buttes; 

deeply cut by canyons. The range is a typical tilted block of
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 127

the basin-range type, which predominates in a large part of the 

Southwest.92

The huge "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

92 The Franklin Mountains present a fine succession of strata from pre-Cambrian to Permian, all so bare and free from talus that the various formations are 

easily studied. They have been described by Richardson. The section in Figure 

26 shows the principal features of the range, and the formations are listed in the 

following table:

Formations exposed in the Franklin Mountain area

Age

Lower Cretaceous 

(Comanche).

Permian.

Pennsylvanian.

Devonian.

Silurian.

Ordovician.

Cambrian. 

AlgonMan(7).

Formation

Hueco.

Magdalena.

Percha.

Fusselman.

Montoya.

El Paso.

Bliss.

Lanoria.

Limestone, shale, and sandstone.

Limestone.

Limestone.

Limestone, dark, impure.

Limestone, massive, light and dark.

Limestone, massive, magnesian.

Limestone, gray, largely slabby; weathers light.

Sandstone, brown and gray, locally conglomeratic at base.

Khyolite porphyry, mostly red, with agglomerate at base.

Quartzite, light and dark, cut by diabase dikes and sills.

Thickness 

(feet)

300

1,500

0-100

40

1,000

20-400

1,000±

1, 500±

1,800+

OmFIGURE 26. Section across the Franklin Mountains north of El Paso, Tex. After Richardson. In, Lanoria 

quartzite; rhp, rhyolite porphyry; -eb, Bliss sandstone; Oep, El Paso limestone; Om, Montoya limestone; 

Sf, Fusselman limestone; Ch, limestone, mostly Permian, underlain by Devonian and Pennsylvanian 

to the north; Kcm, Comanche series; gr, granite; Tap, andesite porphyry; Qb, bolson deposits

Granite similar to the pre-Cambrian 

basement of other regions also underlies the Bliss sandstone, but as some of 

it cuts the Algonkian(?) and Paleozoic 

strata all has been classed as postPaleozoic.

The Lanoria quartzite, with its sills 

of diabase, strongly suggests the Apache 

group of Arizona and is somewhat like 

part of the Millican formation near Van 

Horn. The El Paso limestone 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 preCambrian rocks, but at most places it 

is underlain by the Bliss sandstone.

There are fine exposures of this limestone on and near the roads at the south 

end of the Franklin Mountains. The 

Montoya limestone, which contains 

fossils of the Richmond fauna, is 

separated from the El Paso limestone 

by a hiatus representing much of late 

Ordovician time. The Fusselman limestone, containing a characteristic Pentamerus of Niagaran age, represents but 

small part of Silurian time. It is 1,000 

feet thick and constitutes some of the 

highest summits in the Franklin Mountains. A small wedge of Devonian 

strata occurs in the northern portion of 

the range and also limestone containing 

Pennsylvanian fossils. The main mass
128 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

is a noticeable feature on the south end of the mountain. The mountains 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, Eguus complicatus, and 

Tapirus haysiif, 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 hi 

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 Ju&rez 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 hi red pigment, and at the foot of the range near the New 

Mexico State line are the ruins of a pueblo of considerable size.

The Southern Pacific lines enter New Mexico on crossing the Rio

Grande just west of El Paso, the State line being at midstream.

This is actually in the western half of the State, the

New Mexico. east boundary being meridian 103°, which is crossed

by the railroad east of Alpine. The width of New

Mexico is nearly 352 miles, and its greatest length from north to south

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 

is, however, of Permian age.

Formations of Cretaceous age crop 

out near the south end of the range and 

on its western slope east of Montoya 

siding. The most extensive exposures 

are in the quarries that supply the 

cement works, where about 90 feet of 

hard massive gray limestone of the

Comanche series is exposed. Higher 

Cretaceous beds appear on the opposite 

side of the Rip Grande. These strata

are invaded by masses of porphyry 

which have been intruded in a molten 

condition. At several localities in the 

western part of the city there were 

formerly small outcrops of dark fissile 

shale that carried remains of Inoceramus 

labiatus, a characteristic Colorado fossil 

(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.
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 93 by Friar Marcos de Niza, 

accompanied by the negro slave Estevan, in 1539, in their trip to the 

vicinity of the Indian pueblo of Zufii, 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 

the Rio Chama in 1598, and later at Santa Fe, by Juan de Ofiate. 

(See p. 124.) It was terminated by the great pueblo rebellion of 1680, 

however, which forced the settlers (to the number of 1,000) to flee 

to El Paso, on the south bank of the Rio Grande, where a Franciscan 

mission had been started in 1659. Here their leader, Antonio Otermln, was successful in having a presidio, or fort, established. The 

reconquest of the region to the north was begun in 1692 by Diego de 

Vargas, and the next year recolonizing was again in progress. The 

region around Santa Fe became an important trading center. 

Each summer a fair was held at Taos at which furs and other products 

were obtained from the Indians by the traders in exchange for goods 

brought from the great annual winter fair in Chihuahua, where 

Indian products were in great demand. The main line of travel was 

along the Rio Grande, but after the winning of independence by 

Texas and the Mexican War great caravans came from the east over 

the Santa Fe trail.

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.94

93 It seems probable that Cabeza de 

Vaca may have reached the general 

locality of El Paso late in 1535, but he 

ascended the Rio Grande and crossed 

southwestern New Mexico on the way 

to Culiacan, in Mexico (Bolton, Sauer, 

and R. T. Hill).

64 Gamio, Manuel, Sources and distribution of Mexican immigration into 

the United States, Mexico, 1930. 

Hoover, G. E., Our Mexican immigrants: Foreign Affairs, vol. 8, pp. 

99-107, 1929,
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, aggregating 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. Irrigation 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 is impounded. 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 buildings, 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 livestock. Cattle in 1930 numbered 1,060,327, and goats and sheep 

numbered 2,587,600 and yielded wooland mohair valued at $3,392,114. 

A large part of the public land in New Mexico is not suitable for agriculture 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, ah1 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. According to the Bureau of Mines the values of metals produced in 1929 

were, copper, $18,000,000; zinc, $4,520,000; lead, $1,397,000; silver, 

$582,000; and gold, $707,000 in aU, $25,206,000. The yield of petroleum in 1929 was 1,830,000 barrels; in 1931 it was 10,300,383 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 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. December 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 ME8CAL, 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 (pi. 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 Franklin 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 boundary, and one of the monuments is plainly visible on a hill near by.96

The Cerro de Muleros consists of a mass of limestone, shale, and 

sandstone of Cretaceous age penetrated and tilted by a large intrusive stock of porphyry.96 The lower or quarry limestone in this 

succession (of Fredericksburg, Lower Cretaceous age) is well exposed

85 The monument marking the beginning of the boundary between New 

Mexico and Mexico is on the south 

bank of the Rio Grande a short distance 

south of the west end of the south-line 

railroad bridge across the river. It indicates 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. (See 

p. 152.)

98 In his description of the Cerro de 

Muleros, Bose gives the following section of the Comanche stratigraphy:

1. Limestone, hard, white and

light gray, with Exogyra Feet 

whitneyi. _..__.________ 30-65

2. Marl, yellow, with Exogyra 

whitneyi and Hemiaster 

calvini--..------------ 30-65

3. Sandstone, red-brown, thick 

bedded, with Exogyra 

whitneyi--------------- 65-320
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, etc., on the 

west bank of the river a short distance below the two railroad bridges. 97 

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, 

the railroad grade ascends the terrace of valley fill, 

the edge of which margins the Rio Grande Valley in 

a long line of steep slopes. The top is attained near 

Strauss siding. Along the upgrade are many fine 

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 

and another high range to the south and emptied 

into the Guzman Basin in Chihuahua, Mexico. This 

was before its present course was developed through 

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

Anapra.

Elevation 3,869 feet. 

Population 27.* 

New Orleans 1,195 

miles.

Strauss.

Elevation 4,104 feet. 

Population 32.* 

New Orleans 1,204 

miles.

4. Marl, brown, shaly; sandstone and limestone with Feet 

Alectryonia quadriplicata- 30-65

5. Marl, sandy, with shales 

and beds of limestone 

with Pervinquieria trinodosa------------------ 100-165

6. Shale, marl, and limestone,

Pervinquieria nodosa,--.- 100-165

7. Limestone, sandy, thick 

bedded, calcareous gray 

sandstone, yellow and 

brown marl, and black 

shale with Oxytropidoceras cf. 0. belknapi______ 30

8. Marl, brown, with beds of 

limestone and limy sandstone; Oxytropidoceras 

bravoense------- _______ 30-65

9. Limestone, hard, thin bedded, gray, with Turritella 

vibrayeana.------------ 65-85

Bose suggests that No. 3 represents

the Del Rio of Texas, No. 4 the Weno,

No. 5 the Fort Worth and Denton, No. 

6 the Kiamichi, and Nos. 7, 8, and 9 

the upper Fredericksburg.

97 In the upper part of the shale are 

sandy layers containing "Nodosaria"

and other fossils indicative of the Del 

Rio horizon of the upper part of the 

Washita group (Comanche, Lower Cretaceous age). The shale is overlain by 

brown sandstone (possibly equivalent to 

Eagle Ford or the basal formation of the 

Upper Cretaceous), which is well exposed 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 

massive oyster with oddly curved beak, 

the species present here being peculiar 

to the later part of the Cretaceous period. In this area the railroad traverses 

a shallow syncline or basin, in which 

the sandstone underlying this limestone rises in the ridge to the west. 

Along the north line of the railroad, 

however, the relations are obscured in 

large part by the margin of the highlevel deposits of the Eio Grande Valley,

here consisting mostly of boulders of 

porphyry 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 minerals 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,98 115 miles above 

El 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 (pi. 20, A) with shaggy trunk and a cluster of white 

flowers, which finds the sandy soil favorable for its growth. This 

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 

to be valley fill but possibly including some underlying Tertiary or Cretaceous strata. It found water 

which rises approximately to the level of the water in 

the Rio Grande Valley, 15 miles east. A boring at 

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 southwest, and near Afton and Kenzin sidings the tracks skirt the edge 

of a fresh recent-looking lava flow (pi. 19, A), which came from two 

conical craters plainly visible to the south and southwest.

Lanark.

Elevation 4,168 feet. 

Population 40.* 

New Orleans 1,214 

miles.

98 According to the United States 

Bureau of Reclamation the Elephant 

Butte Dam is 1,162 feet long, 306 feet 

high, and 154 feet wide at the base and 

contains 618,850 cubic yards of masonry. The reservoir extends 41 miles 

up the valley with an average width of

\% 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 Mexico, western Texas, and Mexico.
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 material 50 to 150 feet high, so that at many places it has a total depth 

of 450 feet, with a maximum of 463 feet. The diameter is nearly

sw.

Is

2 MILES

FIGUKE 27. Section southwest from cement quarry 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 material 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

Vertical scale 

0 500 i.OOO Feet

FIGUKE 28. Cross section of Kilbourne Hole, 8 miles west of Lanark, N. Mex. 

By W. T. Lee. 1, Lava; d, ejected material; Qss, sand

cross-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 ?o

feet, possibly in material that had caved from the sides of the We. 

At the bottom of the boring a large amount of warm sulphur water 

was found.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 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 1% 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 fauna, 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 

run. 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 pi. 19, J5.)

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

99 Along or near the railroad in 

many parts of southwestern New 

Mexico there are thick accumulations 

of volcanic rocks which, like those in 

the Da vis Mountains and other parts 

of western Texas, are the product of 

eruptions that continued for a large 

part of Tertiary time. They consist 

of alternating lava flows of various 

kinds, mainly of the varieties known as 

rhyolite, andesite, and latite, which 

differ in character and order from 

place to place and are locally separated 

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 

extent. They are much older than the 

recent basalt flows that occur in some 

of the valleys. Undoubtedly these 

older lavas were originally much more 

extensive and continuous than at present, for they have been uplifted, tilted,

and in large part removed or cut back 

by erosion. They were erupted from 

cracks or craters, some of which are still 

recognizable by their character or 

configuration. The tuff is fine grained, 

is mostly of light color, and consists 

mainly of ash and small grains of 

pumice. It was blown out of vents by 

steam and deposited by wind or water 

in great sheets over the lava flows or 

other surfaces; in most places it was 

covered by later lava flows, the eruptions generally consisting of alternations of lava outflows and ejections of 

fragmental materials. There were also 

mud flows, 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 thickness of 50 feet or more. (See p. 164.) 

1 Lull, R. S., A remarkable ground 

sloth: Yale Univ. Peabody Mus. Mem., 

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 surrounding 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

FIGURE 29. Section through Goodsight Peak, 15 miles northwest of Cambray, 

N. Mex. Tb, lava (basalt); Tss, gray sandstone; Teg, 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 

from El Paso by way of Las Cruces, passing through 

a country better suited for tourists than the sandy 

and desolate region traversed by the railroad.

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 

rises again in the mountains farther east. 2

Cambray.

Elevation 4,229 feet. 

Population 40.* 

New Orleans 1,250 

miles.

2 The agglomerate in the east slope 

is a very massive rock and consists 

mostly of large and angular fragments 

of andesite in a more or less crystalline 

matrix. This rock appears again in 

many other parts of the region and is 

the product of a widespread eruption 

of late Cretaceous or early Tertiary 

age. It is overlain unconformably by 

gray conglomerate and 40 feet of soft

gray sandstone, both consisting largely 

of volcanic materials and probably of 

Pleistocene age. The basalt is in three 

sheets, representing three effusions of 

lava. Much of it is vesicular or full 

of small holes due to steam in the lava

when it was poured out. Evidently

the agglomerate was tilted and planed 

off by erosion prior to the deposition of 

the overlying beds.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 18

New Mexico-Texas

EXPLANATION

Sand and grave 2,000'' Quaternary

(valley fill;

Lavas and other rocks 

of volcanic origin

Shale, limestone, and 

sandstone

Carboniferous {and 

Devonian to north) 

XWrra 1.000'+ Silurian Ma&dalena

Montoya and 

E! Paso

Post-Carbonferous 

(possibly in part 

J Rhyolite porphyry pre-Cambrian)

K Quartzite (Lanoria)

L Andcsite porphyry

-f A|S""kia"

1 Post-Cretaceou

Geology of Franklin Mtn. 

by G- B. Richardson

ATton,.,/~\ 126a

\

Q Phillips 

Hole 

EL

East Potrillo 

Mts

MtRney ^^

3 ?UNITED STATES

^ I inch-8 miles (approximately) P

EL 3725 \

Juarez

Contour interval 2OO feet

Datum /s mean sea /eve/

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. 5. G. 5. 

topographic map of that name

Topography: U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 19

A. TYPICAL EDGE OF A RECENT LA\A FLOVi IN SOUTHWESTERN NEW MEXICO 

The ropy rounded surfaces and the broken variety at the left are characteristic. (Hill.)

H. RESTORATION OF GIANT SLOTH 

From remains found in Af ton Crater, N. Mex,
TJ. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 20

A. "LILIES OF THE DESERT"

Yucca in blossom in the region west of Deming, N, Mcx.

li. OBTAINING A QUENCH OF WATER FROM THE BIZNAGA CACTUS 

Somelimes a life saver 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

Eecent.

Pleistocene and 

Tertiary.

Upper Cretaceous.

Lower Cretaceous

(Comanche).

Triassic?

Permian.

Pennsylvanian.

Mississippian.

Devonian.

Silurian.

Ordovician.

Cambrian.

Pre-Cambrian.

Group and formation

Alluvium.

Volcanic rocks and associated deposits.

Colorado shale.

Sarten sandstone.

Limestone of Comanche 

age.

Lobo formation.

Gym limestone.

Magdalena formation.

Lake Valley limestone.

Percha shale.

Fusselman limestone.

Montoya limestone.

El Paso limestone.

Bliss sandstone.

Character and general relations

Sand, gravel, and silt of river bottom, 

desert floors, and fans.

Lavas, ash, tuff, agglomerate, conglomerate, and sandstone.

Dark shale.

Gray sandstone.

Limestone.

Shale, conglomerate, and sandstone, partly 

red.

Limestone, massive and slabby.

Limestone, with some shale.

Limestone.

Black shale.

Limestone, massive.

Limestone with cherty member above, 

sandy below.

Limestone, slabby; weathers light gray.

Sandstone, massive to slabby, glauconitic.

Granite and schist.

Thickness 

(feet)

0-1,000

700-1, 400

(?)

0-350

30-1,000

(MO

0-700

0-175

100-300

0-300

500-800

30-200

Deming.

Elevation 4,337 feet. 

Population 3,377.

Deming is a long-established commercial center, railroad junction, 

and headquarters for mining and irrigation interests. Here the 

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway from Albuquerque passes on the way to Silver City, and there 

is a 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, 

notably fluorite (calcium fluoride) from mines 10 miles northeast, and 

manganese ore from a mine in the north end of the Little Florida 

Mountains, 12 miles southeast. There are extensive mines at Silver 

City and near Santa Rita, about 50 miles northwest of Deming.

However, the underground 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 BuU. 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 Florida 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,4 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 industry, 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 irrigate 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, 

4 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 Goodsight Mountains, to the east; and Cooks Range 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.

SECTION A

NW.

3 Miles

FIGURE 30. Sections across Florida Mountains, Luna County, N. Mex. A, Through 

Capitol Dome, near the north end; B, through Gym Peak. 6, Bliss sandstone; e, El Paso 

limestone; m, Montoya and Fusselman limestones; I, Lobo formation; g, Gym limestone; 

k, keratophyre dikes; Agr, granite; ag, volcanic agglomerate

The northern half of the range, like the outlying Little Florida Mountains, 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

6 In general the range is a tilted 

block of pre-Cambrian granite capped 

by sedimentary strata in an eastwarddipping monocline that is possibly the 

eastern limb of an anticline whose axis 

lies under the bolson on the west, or 

the uplift may be bounded on that 

side by a fault. At Capitol Dome, at 

the north end of the range, the Paleozoic rocks and agglomerate deposits all 

dip to the east-northeast, and the

underlying granite is exposed at the 

foot of the western slope. This easterly 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, 

northeast with an upthrow that lifts 

the granite 2,000 feet or more- in the 

south end of the range. Gym Peak 

consists of 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 prevail along the greater part of the ridge and section B shows features

Scale 

1,000 3,000 Feet

SECTION A

SWS

SECTION B

FIGURE 31. Sections across the Little Florida Mountains, N. Mex. A, Across center of range; 

B, 1^ miles farther south, ag, Agglomerate; r, felsitic rhyolite; o, obsidian; 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 Derning 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 extends westward over the 

uneven edges of the underlying Fusselman (Silurian), Montoya (Ordovician), 

and El Paso (Ordovician) limestone for 

some distance. There may be an overthrust at this place. Possibly also 

Percha beds of Devonian age are buried 

here, for black shale appears along a 

cross fault southwest of Gym Peak. 

The Gym limestone is about 1,000 feet 

thick, but its upper surface is eroded. 

The Lobo formation, which occurs 

in the northern part of the Florida

Mountains, with a thickness of about

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 a 

plain before the deposition of the Lobo 

beds, and therefore their age is believed 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.6

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 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 

per cent pure. For several years this material found a ready market 

at Pueblo, Colo., and other places, and the annual production averaged about 5,000 tons, but cheaper sources of supply were found and 

the workings are now abandoned.7

The Cooks Range, lying north of Fluorite Ridge and a very conspicuous feature from Deming, is an irregular dome due to a great

FIGURE 32. Section across Fluorite Ridge, N. Mex. Tag, Agglomerate; Ks, Sarten sandstone; 1, 

Lobo formation; Civ, Lake Valley limestone; Om, Montoya limestone overlain in part by limestone of undetermined age; Oe, El Paso limestone- -Cb, Bliss sandstone, gr, granite and diorite; p, 

porphyry; b, diabase dike

central intrusion of porphyry which brings into, view a floor of preCambrian granite and the succession of Bliss sandstone, El Paso,

6 Red granite and diorite (preCambrian) are exposed in the lower 

southern slopes and also a breccia of 

mica schist fragments. The Bliss sandstone is overlain by a regular succession 

of strata to and including the lower 

portion of the Lake Valley limestone. 

Some of the beds are greatly squeezed, 

notably the El Paso limestone, which 

presents a thickness of only 400 feet. 

Some huge masses of white siliceous 

rock at the east end of the range have 

undoubtedly replaced limestone, probably of both Lake Valley and Montoya 

age. A profound fault that extends 

along the east side of the ridge appears 

to lift porphyry, although it is possible 

that this igneous rock was intruded 

after the faulting, and there is some 

suggestion that it is younger than the 

agglomerate which is exposed in the 

slopes on the east side of the ridge. 

The west end of Fluorite Ridge consists

largely of Sarten sandstone penetrated 

by porphyry, and overlain by Tertiary 

agglomerate. A small exposure of 

granite in the locality indicates either 

faulting or overlap, for in places the 

Sarten sandstone lies directly on 

granite. Goat Ridge, a short distance 

to the west, is an elongated dome with 

axis trending northwest that exposes 

Sarten sandstone. The underlying 

Lobo formation (Triassic?) is revealed 

in part of the area, and granite appears 

on the northwestern slope of the ridge. 

The Pony Hills, a small group of knobs 

just north of Fluorite Ridge, consist of 

irregular outcrops of granite and 

Sarten sandstone in juxtaposition, 

owing either to overlap or to faulting.

7 Darton, N. H., and Burchard, E. F., 

Fluorspar near Deming, N. Mex.: 

U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 570, pp. 533-- 

545- 1911,
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 relations to the central and southern parts of the range are shown in 

Figure 33.

Cooks Peak consists of a large laccolithic mass of granodiorite 

porphyry which was intruded in a molten condition into the Lake

Kco

Vertical scale 

o 4oo Feet

FIGURE 33. Sections across Cooks Range, N. Mex. Upper section, through 

Cooks Peak; lower, about 3 miles south of Cooks Peak. Base of sections, 

5,000 feet above sea level. P, Porphyry; Tag, agglomerate; Qbd, valley 

fill; Kco, Colorado shale; Ks, Sarten sandstone; "El ,Lobo formation; Cg, 

Gym limestone and Magdalena formation; Civ, Lake Valley limestone; Dp, 

Percha shale; SOf, Fusselman and Montoya limestones on 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 sandstone is underlain 

by the Lobo formation, the Gym and Lake Valley limestones,8 and a 

small amount "of Percha shale.

8 The Lake Valley limestone (early 

Mississippian), which crops out in 

several places in the Cooks Range, is 

overlain by about 40 feet of dark-gray 

shale with limy layers of the Magdalena formation, and this in turn by 

Gym limestone, here only 20 to 30

feet thick, which is believed to be a

representative of part of the Cbupadera

formation of New Mexico. In this 

region it is overlain by the Lobo formation, about 100 feet thick, consisting 

principally of reddish or brown sandstone or shale. The Lobo beds are 

also exposed on Goat Ridge and in the 

deep hollow near the south end of

Sarten Ridge,
SOUTHEEN 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 extending 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 limestone 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 

extruded at the same time. Other buttes farther 

north include Cow Cone, which also is part of a large 

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 Mis just south of this 

ridge there are, in succession, the El Paso, Montoya, Fusselman, and 

Gym limestones.9 Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian time 

apparently is not represented. Figure 34 shows the principal features 

in both parts of the uplift.

Gage.

Elevation 4,590 feet. 

Population 20.* 

New Orleans 1,296 

miles.

9 The Gym limestone, about 300 feet 

thick, crops out in a zone about 2,000 

feet wide marked by knobs on the 

south side of the range. It appears to 

lie on the Montoya limestone, but 

possibly there is a separating fault. 

It contains several distinctive fossils. 

The Gym is overlain unconformably by 

700 feet of shale and sandstone, mostly 

reddish, which resembles the Lobo formation (Triassic?) but may be much 

younger. Dark purplish-brown finegrained massive shale and sandstone 

predominate, but several beds of coasee 

conglomerate are included which contain boulders of andesite and near the 

top some greenish quartzite carrying 

pebbles of fossiliferous Paleozoic limestone. There are various unconformities in the succession, but all the strata 

have practically the same attitude. 

There are several faults and some 

obvious overlaps. The Fusselman 

limestone carries an interesting fauna 

of Niagaran corals and lies on cherty 

beds of Montoya limestone with Richmond fossils. The Montoya includes 

a prominent sandstone member. There 

are several intruded dikes, mostly of 

porphyry. A small amount of mineralization has occurred along the fault in 

the west side of Mine Hill, but the 

mining operations on this zone apparently did not yield a return sufficiently satisfactory to warrant extensive 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 unknown 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 consisting 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 locomotives. It is contained in gravel and sand in the thick deposit of 

alluvial fill which underlies this valley. About 12 miles north of

Cff Victorio Peak

SECTION A

Vertical scale

750 1.500 Feet

SECTION B

Horizontal scale 

0 1,500 3,000 Feet

FIGURE 34. Sections across Victorio Mountains, south of Gage, Luna County, N. Mex. 

a, Andesite; Tag, agglomerate, shale, and sandstone; Cg, Gym limestone (Permian); Sf, 

Fusselman 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 

(according to the annual growth rings in some of the timbers) probably date 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 mineral 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 prominent. The yucca (see pi, 20, A),
S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 19

107 30 New Mexico

 t I 

Scale 500.OOO

I inch = 8 miles (approximately) 

5_______.JO .____.___15

A Sand and gravel

B Lavas, tuff, agglomerate, 

	and other volcanic products

C Shale

D Sandstone and limestone

 E Sandstone, mostly red

F Limestone ^^

32

EXPLANATION

Colorado 

Sarten sandstone 

Loho

___1 Gym

Lake Valley and Vusselniii 

G Limestones and sandstone Montoya and El Paso

Bliss 

H Granite

I Porphyry m| 

-- Fault

1,665" 

2,000'

300' 

350' 

95-500' 

30 1,000' 

1,200'

Quaternary 

Tertiary

I'pper Cretaceous 

Lower Cretaceous 

Triassic? 

Permian

O 10 15 20 KILOMETERS

Cooks .-, Peak"-

EL 3603

Contour interval 2OO feet

Datum /s mean sea /eve/

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every 

10 miles, and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart 

Eaeh quadrangle shown on the map with a name in parentheses 

S|t v- in the lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. S. 

^ \ typographic map of that name

si

30

, Silurian 

Ordovician 

Upper Cambrian 

Pre-Cambrian

Springs Arrqyo 

Tunis

Luxor £L '"?\,.

Mlesse

Conti nentA

47O7

O o PaimcLS Lakes

32

108 107 30

Topography: U S Geological Survey quadrangle maps
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 145

Lordsburg.

Elevation 4,248 feet. 

Population 2,069. 

New Orleans 1,336 

miles.

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 community of Clifton, Ariz., and another branch goes 

southeast to Hachita, on the south line of the railroad. 

Lordsburg lies just north of the north end of the 

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 Lordsburg. 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 crystalline rocks. The Pyramid Mountains consist of an extensive succession 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 10 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 surface 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.

10 One of these hills a mile west of 

Lordsburg, south of the railroad, consists of quartzite faulted against igneous 

rocks and probably of Lower Cretaceous age. The hills just northwest of

Pyra siding are due to a sheet of lava 

capping volcanic tuff (Tertiary). This 

rock is a latite carrying phenocrysts of 

plagioclase and hornblende in'a finegrained groundmass rich in or^hoclase.
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 Stems. .-.,.. been considerable mining at several places north and Elevation 4,352 feet. . . ._, ° .

Population 40.* south oi Steins. Ihe Carbonate mine, about 3 miles 

New Orleans i(355 south, is on the eastern slope of the Peloncillo Mountains. 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 pe!6n (Spanish for a cone of 

raw sugar). Peloncillo (pay-lone-see'yo) is the diminutive form of 

pe!6n.

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 injeolor. 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 recognized; 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 persons were killed. The Apache Indians raided

ranches, mines, and trayelers, sallying forth from hiding places inaccessible to riders less skilled than themselves, where a few Indians 

could resist many times their number, They were difficult to fight.
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 abducted 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. 

0. 0. 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, Ger6nimo, Nachi,Loco, and Victorio were notorious chiefs. On his last 

escape from the reservation in the White Mountains, Ger6nimo and 

his band, slaughtering people as he went, traveled south along the 

New Mexico-Arizona line as far as Steins 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. 11

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 by law

when the Federal Government was attempting to

establish an initial meridian passing through the National Capital.

Most of its western boundary is formed by the Colorado River, and

its average width is about 315 miles. With an area of 113,956 square

miles, it is the fifth State in size in the Union, being nearly as large as

11 Victorio, after various raids and 

atrocities in Mexico, Texas, and Arizona, was killed in 1880, when with 98 

of his band he was attacked by Mexican 

troops at Tres Castillos, Mexico. It 

is said that his scalp was exhibited in 

Mexico City. Nachi was Cochise's son.

Ger6nimo (Spanish for Jerome), who 

was particularly notorious, was born 

about 1834 on the San Francisco, a 

branch of the Gila River in western 

New Mexico, and died in captivity 

February 17, 1909. His real name was 

Goyathlay ("one who yawns"). In 

1876 he and other Apaches fled to 

Mexico to avoid being moved to San

Carlos, Ariz., but he was recaptured. 

In 1882 he left San Carlos on a raid into 

Sonora but surrendered to Gen. G. H. 

Crook in the Sierra Madre and settled 

on his fine farm at San Carlos. In 

1884-85 he made a bloody raid through 

southern Arizona and New Mexico into 

Mexico, where in August, 1886, he and 

Nachi (his chief, son of Cochise) and 

their band of 340 were captured by 

General Miles and sent to Florida and 

finally to Fort Sill in Oklahoma. He 

died there Feb. 17, 1909 (Hodge, 

F. W., Handbook of American Indians: 

Bur. Am. Ethnology Bull. 30, p. 491, 

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, numerous 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, 12 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, which 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 Department of Agriculture about 1900.

Arizona is second to California in the production of lettuce, especially the "Iceberg" variety, which yields two crops a year. Timber 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 growth estimated by the United States Forest Service at over 14,000,000,000 

board feet, is mostly in national forests, where it is cut under supervision 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 this industry. The total output up to 1929 had a value of about

12 These figures and the following

statistics as to farming, livestock, and 

timber are taken from the reports of

the Fifteenth Census of the United

States.
SOUTHEKN PACIFIC LINES 149

$2,500,000,000, and $37,000,000 has been paid in dividends by certain 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, 13 silver $3,875,000, copper (833,525,000 

pounds) $149,200,000, lead $984,250, and zinc $156,800. The year 

1929 was the most prosperous since 1918, and the sum paid in dividends 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 valuation 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 reservations 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 aborigines 

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 Franciscan friars, Juan de la Asuncion, 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 Zufii. 

A year later De Niza led Francisco Vasquez de Coronado to Zufii. 

Coronado had an advance escort of 50 horsemen, some natives and a 

group of friars, followed by his main army of 250 adventurers, including 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 Alarc6n explored the Gulf of California and lower Colorado River 

in 1540, and Juan de Ofiate visited part of the same region in 1604-5. 

It was (Mate who in 1598 took possession of "all of the country north 

of New Spain" and called it Nuevo Mejico. In 1691 Eusebio Kino, 

a Jesuit priest, began his missionary work in Arizona, visiting settlements 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 expedition 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 Garces, a Franciscan who labored for 12 years as a missionary 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 18.27 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 

in the territory. Most of the early visitors were prospectors, thousands 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

FIGUEE 35. Map showing the Gadsden Purchase (shaded area) acquired from Mexico in 1864 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.

Originally Arizona was part of New Mexico, but on February 24, 

1863, it was made a separate Territory of the United States and formally organized at Navajo Springs. Until 1871 it included the 

triangular area now constituting the south end of Nevada, named 

Pah-Ute County, which was separated by act of Congress in 1865.
152 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

The name Arizona is supposed to have been taken from Pap ago 

words that signify place of small springs. According to Cavat and 

Mora, however, it is derived from an ancient Puna name first applied 

to a mining camp in Sonora. It was used by the Spaniards as early 

as 1736. The capital has been successively 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 pcotiUp (o-co-tee'yo), Fouquieria 

splendens (see pi. 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

 0. bottom of the wide San Simon Valley, which lies San Simon. , , _ . .,, - _ . J '

between the Peloncillo Mountains on the east, the

Elevation 3,613 feet. . . , JT\/HI, T> /j I./N Population 3oo.* (Jhmcahua and Dos Cabezas Range (dose ca-bay sas) 

New Orleans 1,370 on the southwest, and the Pinaleno Mountains 

(pe-na-lane'yo) on the northwest. It is drained by 

San Simon Creek (usually dry), which empties into the Gila River 

50 miles to the northwest. All the watercourses crossed by the north 

line of the Southern Pacific in Arizona empty into the Gila. This 

stream is one of the largest rivers of the Southwest and was the 

southern boundary of the United States before the Gadsden Purchase. 

Where not irrigated the San Simon Valley is mostly a smooth 

plain covered with a sparse desert vegetation. It is underlain by a 

thick deposit of sand and gravel, which fortunately contains water

available for wells. According to a report by A. T. ScLwennesen 

the area in which artesian flows are obtained extends about 18 miles 

along 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 Cienega (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 secondfeet, 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 

mean annual precipitation of less than 7 inches at San Simon; at 

Bowie, however, it is nearly 14 inches, a difference probably due to 

the proximity of the Dos Cabezas Mountains, in which the precipitation 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 northeast 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 impregnation 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. 

1$2109° 33 11
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 sandstones and limestones, in part overlain by sandstone, limestone, and 

shale of Lower Cretaceous age (Comanche series.) 14 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 includes 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 California 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. 15

14 The succession of strata in the 

Chiricahua Mountains is as follows: 

Sandstones and limestones (Comanche 

series); limestones of Carboniferous and 

Devonian age; slabby limestone (Abrigo) of Upper Cambrian age; and sandstone, in part quartzitic (Bolsa) of 

Upper Cambrian age. (See p. 175.) 

The general structure is anticlinal, but 

the arch is broken by faults. Porphyritic rocks of igneous origin cut some of 

the strata.

15 The Dos Cabezas Mountains are a 

northwesterly continuation of the Chiricahua Mountains, from which they

are separated by Apache Pass. They 

present the same Paleozoic strata as are 

exposed in the Chiricahua Mountains,

but the amount of uplift increases to

the northwest, and the pre-Cambrian 

granite and schist rise gradually and 

constitute the summits and higher

slopes of the Dos Cabezas Range. The 

limestone under the Martin limestone 

(Devonian) has the character of the 

Abrigo beds at Bisbee, but Ordovician 

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 markings of a supposed seaweed on many of 

the bedding planes. In these peculiarities it resembles the El Paso limestone 

of southwestern New Mexico. It is 

underlain by 200 feet of slabby limestone and sandstone on 150 feet of 

Bolsa quartzite (Cambrian), and the

Bolsa lies on the pre-Cambrian schist 

and granite. Volcanic rocks such as 

cap the Chiricahua Mountains occur

only in a small area of the southwest

slope. The general structure is shown 

in Figure 36,
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 20

10830 Arizona-New Mexico

A Sand and gravel 

B Lava (basalt)

Lavas and other rocks 

of volcanic origin

Sandstone, limestone, 

and shale 

E Limestones

Lower Cretareou- 

(Comanche series)

Arizona New Mexico 

\aeo and Kscabrosa Magdalena 

Martin

Abrigo

Bolsa

3500' ('jirboniferous

400' Devonian

600' Cafiibrian

Pre-Cambrian 

Post-Cretaceous

p Limestone 

Sandstone

G Schist and granite

H Porphyry, etc. (intrusive)

Geology by N. H. Darton and C. J. Sarle

Scale 500,000

I inch-8 miles (approximate]/) 

15

Contour interval 2OO feet

Datum /s mean sea 

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. S. G. S, 

topographic map of that name

4 -

10830

NUWM1CXICO

MKXJCO 109

Topography: U. S Geological Survey quadrangle maps
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 

thence down the valley of the Gila River, past the 

. Coolidge Reservoir, and over a low divide to Globe 

population400.* (124 miles). This is the route of the Apache Trail 

1>386 triP to Pnoenix 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 Zufii 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

sw.

Sulphur Spi 

Valley

FIGURE 36. Section of Dos Cabezas Mountains, Ariz. Ce, Escabrosa limestone; Dm, Martin limestone; -Ca, Abrigo limestone; -Cb, Bolsa sandstone; Or, 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 Pinaleno 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 Pinaleno 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 

Pinaleno 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 attained. 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

Mountains are visible. Sulphur Spring Valley was

named from a sulphur spring at the foot of a small

pSa«on4 8o666feet' butte 20 miles south of Wfflcox. Established in 

New Orleans 1,410 1880, Willcox was named for Gen. O. B. Willcox, at 

mileS: 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 continued for 

many centuries considerable saline matter has accumulated. Sediments 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

to the south rising as islands.

Pits dug in the valley floor near Willcox and Cochise have revealed 

bones of horses, elephants, camels, and bisons of early Pleistocene age.
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 indicate that they had plenty of vessels for the storage of food and water.

Cochise is a small village sustained mainly by ranches in the adjoining valley, and it is the junction point of the Arizona Eastern Railroad, 

which goes south through Sulphur Spring Valley to 

00 lse' the mining settlements of Pearce (15 miles), Courtland> and Gleeson and the city of Douglas. (See 

New Orleans 1,420 p. 173.) At Pearce is the Commonwealth mine, which

miles' 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 Willcox, 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 Dragoon Mountains, which lie south of the railroad, is the celebrated canyon known as Cochise's Stronghold, where the wily Apache band 

under the leadership of Cochise took refuge when pursued. This 

handsome canyon, eroded out of red granite, has so narrow a mouth 

that it was easily defended and never taken. Gen. O. 0. 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 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 Gleeson and contain many small mines and prospects. The general strucsw.

Pinal schist

ne Carboniferous NE.

P*%T^;

Horizontal scale 

o i 2 Miles

Vertical scale 

o 1,000 Feet

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. 16

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 quarried in small amount in the slopes 3 miles southeast of 

Dragoon. In the higher part of the limestone succession in the north end of the Dragoon Mountains 

is a member of red sandstone and much coarse limestone 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

Dragoon.

Elevation 4,614 feet. 

Population 83.* 

New Orleans 1,430 

miles.

16 The Dragoon Mountains consist 

largely of post-Cretaceous granite, 

which cuts across the Pinal schist 

(Archean), Bolsa quartzite (Cambrian), 

Abrigo limestone (Cambrian), Martin

limestone (Devonian), limestone of 

Carboniferous age, and sandstone and 

shale of Lower Cretaceous age. Small

areas of Tertiary volcanic rocks occur

among the ridges and on the flanks of 

the range. The strata are considerably hardened and mineralized by the 

heat of the igneous intrusions, and

many large detached masses of the 

limestone are included in the granite. 

The eastward-dipping limestone succession 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 exposed in elopes 3 miles

southeast of Dragoon station, with the 

relations shown in the upper section in 

Figure 37.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 159

grain, possibly of pre-Cambrian age, although it resembles the 

younger intrusive granite of the Dragoon Mountains. This picturesque 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. 17 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

Horizontal scale

i Mile

Vertical scale 

o 1,000 2,000 Feet

FIGURE 38. Sketch section through the Johnson mining district, north of Dragoon station, Ariz.

in the Bisbee region. An outlier of this formation caps the ridge 

which is skirted by the railroad 4 miles southwest of Dragoon.

From Dragoon west there is a steep down grade into the deep 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 

filament in electric lights and for hardening steel, especially tool steel. A 

large proportion of the ore now used 

comes from China and Burma and only

one-seventh from the United States. 

Tungsten ore also occurs in veins in 

granite on the east slope of the Whetstone Mountains southwest of Benson.
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. Ger6nimo 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 the valley 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 Glyptotherium, 

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 f aunal 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 Mormon 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

Tombstone and Patagonia. The Southern Pacific

south line (by way of Douglas) is on the bench 3

Elevation 3,681 feet. v J J T ru a r> J XT n

Population926. nules west oi JBenson. In the ban redro Valley are

New Orleans 1,462 many ruins of dwellings and pottery and implements

681 of aborigines who long antedated the advent of the

Spanish explorers from Mexico. According to Sauer and Brand I8 

some of the settlements were of considerable extent.

18 California Univ. Pubs, in Geography, vol. 3, No. 7, 1930.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 21

Scale 500,OOO 

inch-8 miles (approximately)

Contour interval 2OO feet

Datum is mean sea 

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every 

10 miles, and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart

Each quadrangle shown on me map with a name in parentheses 

in the lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. S,

Topography: U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps

WILLIAMS ft HE1NTZ CO.. I
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 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 Zuni 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 hundred and fifty years later Padre Kino made an exploration with 

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 19 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 southwest. The Rincon Mountains consist of pre-Cambrian schist with

19 The Whetstone Mountains consist 

of an uplifted block of pre-Cambrian 

granite overlain by Paleozoic limestones 

and Cretaceous rocks, but as in most 

mountains of this character rising out 

of alluvial valleys, the structural relations at the sides and ends are not 

revealed. Granite constitutes the foothills and peaks on the northeast end of 

the range except in a small skirting 

ridge of Lower Cretaceous (Comanche) 

sandstone and shale lying about 5 miles 

south of the railroad. A small area of 

Final schist appears on the east slope, 

faulted against Carboniferous limestone, and a thick mass of Cretaceous 

strata constitutes the southern third of 

the range, which is not visible from the 

railroad. Figure 39 shows the principal features in the 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 limestone (Cambrian) which closely resembles the El Paso and Longfellow 

limestones. The Abrigo weathers to a 

light gray-blue color with brown reticulating stains on the slabs, probably 

due to a seaweed of early Paleozoic 

time. In the lower part are many 

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 representatives of the Escabrosa and Naco carrying many fossils of Carboniferous age. 

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.

i^S^?iv??w >

^f^\?^;^j c,%\x^f

Horizontal scale

i ' 2 Miles

Vertical scale 

o 500 1,000 Feet

FIGURE 39. Sketch section across the northwest 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 Muleros, which makes the south or Mexican side of the "pass" from which 

El Paso is named. The strata exposed are mostly dark shale of upper 

Washita age in which there are long cuts, beginning a few rods beyond 

*ne west enc^ °^ tne bridge and extending west to and 

beyond Bowen, a siding at the west end of a tunnel

J ' -,-, , through the shale. Below the shale are limestones of 

Nnuies°rleanS 1>193 Washita and Fredericksburg age (Comanche series),

the latter extensively exposed in the cement quarries a 

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. It is overlain by 

a hard 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

Bowen

_. . ' A , A Elevation 3,845 feet.

population 20.*
SOUTHEKN 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 abundant over a large part of the present United States, and his remains,

SEL.

CerrodeMuleros 

L -f\_

NW.

Limestone 

UpperCretaceous

J^t-l-1 < > «**>. #£*,'>$?

_______7 <.^^

nOut

Horizontal scale

i Mile

Vertical scale 

o sooFeet

FIGURE 40.^Section through Bowen siding, New Mexico

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.20

From Potrillo siding west there is a down grade to Mount Riley 

siding, which lies south of Mount Riley. This very prominent volcanic mass, just west of the north end of the East 

Potrillo Mountains, was apparently a vent from which 

lavas were ejected in Tertiary time. To the west are 

broad recent lava fields of the West Potrillo Mountains, 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

Mount Riley.

Elevation 4,109 feet. 

Population 40.* 

New Orleans 1,226 

miles.

20 This limestone contains Caprina 

occidentalis, Trigonia sp., and Actaeonella dolium, a Fredericksburg fauna 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 lavas in both periods. At numerous 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 activity of the volcano, 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.

Columbus is a commercial center for agricultural and stock interests 

in the southern part of Luna County. A considerable area in the 

c . , Palomas Valley north of Columbus is irrigated from 

m ' wells which draw water from a widespread underflow Elevation 4,058 feet. . r ITT population 391. contained in the gravel and sand that underlie the 

New Orleans 1,262 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 

noted raid by the Mexican outlaw Pancho Villa in 1915 and has

witnessed many border episodes of greater or less importance.

About 20 miles north of Columbus are the Florida Mountains, the

south end of which is plainly visible. This range is described on

page 139. To the northwest are the Tres Hermanas Mountains 

(trace air-mah'nas, Spanish for three sisters), named from the three 

prominent conical peaks in the north end. The main feature of this
SOUTHEEN PACIFIC LINES 165

range is a large intrusion of quartz monzonite porphyry which uplifts 

limestones of Permian age. There are also some masses of eruptive 

rocks of Tertiary age. Zinc ore has been produced in considerable 

amount from mines in the altered limestone near the porphyry contacts. 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 continues 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

sw. g

Horizontal scale

2 Miles

Vertical scale

s,ooo Feet

FIGURE 41. Section across Tres Hermanas Mountains, Luna County, N. Mex. Cg, Gym limestone 

(Permian); p, porphyry; r, rhyolite; b, basalt; q, quartzite; k, keratophyre

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 Mountains, a ridge which extends southeastward across 

the southwest corner of Luna County.21 Two miles 

beyond Hermanas are the Carrizalillo Springs, a very 

good example of underflow water brought to the 

surface by a ledge of hard volcanic rock which here

crosses the valley. To the west is a wide desert valley draining south

into the great basin of Lake Guzman, in Mexico. The international

Hermanas.

Elevation 4,453 feet. 

Population 80.* 

New Orleans 1,281 

miles.

21 This ridge consists mainly of a 

succession of thin sheets of latite and 

other volcanic rocks of Tertiary age, 

dipping to the northeast at low angles. 

A basal agglomerate crops out along 

the southern foot of the summit. The 

latite continues past Carrizalillo Springs 

and also constitutes an outlying front 

ridge south of Hermanas station. 

Locally it is underlain by andesite. 

Next above the latite is 600 feet or 

more of agglomerate with included 

sheets of coarse pink rhyolite and minor 

flows of other high-colored lavas 

(andesite, trachyte, and latite) overlain locally by a thin sheet of finegrained dark-gray keratophyre, a lava 

rich in soda and carrying little or no ,

quartz. A ridge parallel to the main 

Cedar Grove Mountains, extending 

northwest from Hermanas for about 

16 miles, consists of a thick sheet of 

dark lava (basalt) dipping northeast 

and lying on tuffs and other fragmental 

volcanic deposits. Basalt also occurs 

at other points in the vicinity of the 

mountains, where it appears to have 

been the product of the latest eruption. 

The southeastern part of the Carrizalillo 

Hills shows sheets of rhyolite tuff and 

agglomerate, dipping east and somewhat faulted. This complex succession 

of volcanic products indicates a remarkable variation in sources of eruption in a 

relatively short period of geologic time.
166 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Victorio.

Elevation 4,576 feet. 

New Orleans 1,294 

miles.

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.22 About \% 

miles west of Continental siding there is a sign reading "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 protected 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, is a small settlement, railroad 

junction, and headquarters for mining interests in the adjoining 

mountains. Several Of the mines in the general 

region have had prosperity, and some are believed to 

hold considerable promise. The most productive 

mines are in the Sylvanite district, in the Little 

Hatchet Mountains, about 10 miles southwest of 

(See sheet 20.)

Hachita.

Elevation 4,515 feet. 

Population 200.* 

New Orleans 1,305 

miles.

Hachita.

22 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 to the south 

they bend over a low anticline with 

west-east axis which passes through a

small gap a quarter of a mile north ol

boundary stone 39. These rocks contain Trinity fossils, but ledges in outlying buttes to the east and probably 

separated by a fault contain Exogyras 

of Washita age. The western part of 

the Sierra Rica consists of limestone of 

Pennsylvanian (Magdalena) age, which 

in outlying buttes to the west is overlain by gray quartzite of Comanche age;

tnis rock is also conspicuous in a PflJl

ridge 10 miles due south of Hachita. 

A mile east of boundary stone 39 there
SOUTHEEN PACIFIC LINES 167

South of the Little Hatchet Mountains 23 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 Carboniferous to Cambrian lying on a floor of pre-Cambrian granite. 

The section in Figure 42 shows some of the relations. In the southwestern 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 railroad there are scattered exposures of dark shale of Comanche age. 

The ridge north of the railroad, of which Coyote Peak is the culminating summit, appears to consist mainly of Tertiary eruptive rocks.

N.

FIGURE 42. Section across the north end of the Hatchet Mountains 20 miles south of Hachita, N. 

Mex. -Cb, Bliss sandstone (Cambrian); Oe, El Paso limestone (Ordovician); Om, Montoya limestone (Ordovician); Sf, Fusselman limestone (Silurian); Dp, Percha shale (Devonian); Civ, Lake 

Valley limestone? (probably Mississippian); Cm, limestones of Magdalena group (Pennsylvanian)

At its north end is a westward-trending ridge known as Quartzite 

Mountain, consisting of quartzites of Comanche age. A 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 

quartzite (probably of Trinity 

which yielded considerable silver-lead 

ore at the International mine, long since 

abandoned.

23 The Little Hatchet Mountains 

present a considerable variety of rocks 

and complex geologic relations. The 

south end of the range is granite, 

which, however, may be of post-Carboniferous age, and this rock is exposed 

prominently in Granite Pass, 15 miles 

southwest of Hachita. Next north of 

that gap are ledges of sandy shale of

Comanche age cut by a large granite 

dike. The higher central part of the 

range consists of a thick succession of 

limestones of the Magdalena group 

(Pennsylvanian) dipping southwestward and cut off to the north by a large 

mass of porphyry. In the northern 

part of the range are many prominent 

buttes and ridges of sandstone, shale, 

and limestone of Comanche age and 

several large masses of intrusive rock; 

in the vicinity of the Old Hachita camp 

limestone of the Magdalena group is 

exposed.
168 GUIDEBOOK: OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Playas.

Elevation 4,311 feet. 

Population 20.* 

New Orleans 1,325 

miles.

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 configuration 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. At a ranch about 25 miles south of the railroad there is an 

artesian well yielding about 5 gallons a minute from a depth of 102 

feet.

Southwest of the Playas Valley are the Animas Mountains,24 a long 

rugged ridge consisting largely of lavas of Tertiary age in widespread 

sheets considerably flexed and faulted. In their 

higher parts is an extensive pine forest included in the 

Coronado National Forest. The Continental Divide 

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 

Biver, 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 

Animas. views of the distant mountains, notably the Hatchet 

Elevation 4,405 feet. Mountains, 25 miles southeast. To the north are 

New Orleans 1,336 the Pyramid Mountains, which end just south of 

m es' Lordsburg, on the north line of the Southern Pacific 

Railroad. According to Sauer and Brand 25 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.

24 On the central eastern slope of this 

range, southeast of a peak called Gillespie Mountain, limestone with Comanche

fossils (possibly reworked) is extensively 

exposed; much if not all of it, however,

is a conglomerate, and the materials may 

have been derived from near-by ledges 

of Comanche age. The ridges constituting the north end of the range 10 miles

southwest of Playas siding consist 

largely of limestone of the Magdalena 

group (Carboniferous) and quartzite 

and shale of Comanche age. These 

strata are cut by large masses of porphyry which have been forced up in a

molten condition.

25 California Univ. Pubs, in Geography, vol. 73, No. 7, 1930.
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 

Elevation 4,425 feet. the lava reached the surface. About 2 miles west of 

New Orleans 1,341 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 northwest 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 drams into the Gila River. This mountain 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, in a 

thick succession which is considerably flexed- and faulted. Heavy 

beds of massive lava 26 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 succession are revealed rising in a 

large mound in the center of the range.27

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 

Population, i6o.* is made up of a thick succession of lava flows which 

New Orleans, 1,363 \{e on an irregular floor of Paleozoic and Mesozoic

rnjlfig _

limestones, sandstones, and shales. There are many 

faults, flexures, overlaps, and other features that have not been mapped

Rodeo.

Elevation, 4,119 feet.

28 Rhyolite with phenocrysts of 

quartz and orthoclase, as determined 

by C. S. Ross, of the U. S. Geological 

Survey.

27 The El Paso limestone, here exposed, presents the same features as in 

the Franklin Mountains, near El Paso, 

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, probably Percha 

(Devonian), which is capped by limestones similar to the Escabrosa (Mississippian) of southeastern Arizona. The 

Magdalena group is well represented by 

overlying limestone, the outcrop of 

which extends far to the north. The 

granite is exposed in an area of about 

1 square mile,
170 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

in detail. A very interesting section of the strata -8 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 

Yosernite 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 divisions 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.

NW.

Horizontal scale 2 Miles

Vertical scale

o 1,000 Feet

FIGURE 43. Section of northeastern foothills of Chiricahua Mountains near Portal, Ariz. -Cb, quartzite with sills of rhyolite (Cambrian); -Ca, thin-bedded limestone and shale (Abrigo); Ce, limestone 

(Devonian and Carboniferous); K, sandstone, limestone, and shale (Comanche, Lower Cretaceous); 

TV, lava (latite, Tertiary), dipping south at a low angle; 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 

Mountains east of Rodeo and in the upper part of San Simon Valley. 

Evidently there was an aboriginal population of considerable size in

28 The limestones of Carboniferous 

age include the Escabrosa (lower 

Mississippian), overlain by about 134 

feet of beds in which, near the abandoned mining camp of Paradise, StoyanOW MS discovered an interesting 

assemblage! of upper Mississippian 

fossils; next occur about 3,500 feet of 

Naco limestone, largely of Pennsylvanian age, but at its top, overlying a 

100-foot quartzite member, are 500 

feet of limestones in which Stoyanow 

has collected Productus ivesi, P. occidentalis, Meekella pyramidalis, Squamularia guadalupensis, and Aviculopecten

colomdoensis, a typical Kaibab fauna

of Permian age,
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 extensively utilized by wells and the water applied to irrigation with excellent 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 S. 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 occupies a wide area in the valley and extends south to the international 

boundary.29 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 Bernardino siding. The relations of the scoria, bombs, and lapillae in

29 The lava is black and cellular, and 

although the sheet is not very thick it 

presents a surface of extreme irregularity, 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

the valley. As its area widened the 

surface congealed and the hot lava 

broke out from underneath, causing 

tunnels and irregular 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

New Orleans 1,374 mies'

one of these cones are well exposed by a quarry and cut a few miles 

Chiricahua. beyond Chiricahua siding. Between two cones 5 

Elevation 4,671 feet. miles southeast of Chiricahua siding is a very remarkable crater closely similar in character to the Kilbourne 

Hole and Hunts Hole, southwest of Lanark. (See p. 

134.) Its rim 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 constitutes 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 fragments of limestone containing Comanche fossils from strata that underlie the valley and crop out in it not many miles southeast of the crater. (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 Bernardino 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 

place in 1846 and, passing near Douglas, followed down the San

FIGURE 44. Section across explosion crater 5 miles southeast of 

Chiricahua siding, Cochise County, Ariz.

Many of the details of flow are clearly 

shown by the surfaces, which in some 

places are ropy, as the lava puckered 

in congealing, and in others are glassy 

and smooth like slag from a blast 

furnace. Many of the tunnels are 

extensive, and there are also innumerable huge bubbles or blisters more or 

less cracked by deep fissures due to the 

contraction caused by cooling. Some 

flows also have deep crevices due to 

great emissions or explosions of steam. 

The margin of the flow presents an 

irregular edge of low cliffs, such as is 

shown in Plate 19, A, consisting largely 

of great masses of broken fragments, 

formed as the congealing lava was 

pushed along by the advance of the 

flow. In places a cinder cone was 

built up at the end of the eruption, 

undoubtedly marking the location of

an orifice. In its last stages the action 

was mainly a violent escape of steam, 

which blew out a large amount of cindery 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 building a cone. The 

recent date of these eruptions is indicated by the fact that the piles of loose 

material have not been affected by the 

powerful erosional processes of the region, and there is no perceptible oxidation of the rocks or cinders; the lava 

still shows the jagged edges due to 

accidents of flow, and there are many 

minute stalactites of lava hanging in 

the roofs of the tunnels. Also, the lava 

and cinders lie on sand deposits that 

are of Recent age,
BOUTHEKN PACIFIC LINES 173

Pedro River to Benson. This road became part of the great emigrant 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 considerable 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 volcanic 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 

Lee rocks, and enters the southern portion of Sulphur 

Elevation 4,411 feet. sPring Valley. In this vicinity this valley is drained 

New Orleans 1,396 by Whitewater Creek, flowing southeast into Mexico, 

miles' where it finally empties into the Rio Bavispe", 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

ores from Bisbee and other places are treated. DouerElevation 3,980 feet. , .. . f . . °

Population 9,828. las lies near the middle of the wide plain of the south1>4°5 em extension of Suiphur Spring Valley. The valley 

plain here is about 20 miles wide and extends northward 60 miles to and beyond the main line of the Southern Pacific 

Railroad in the Willcox region. (See p. 156.) It is deeply covered by 

sand and gravel washed from the adjoining mountain slopes and known 

to be nearly 1,000 feet thick. The configuration of these intermontane valleys is highly characteristic, the smooth surface sloping 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 

volcanic 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 $8,000,000.30

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 &ny 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

30 The rocks exposed in this vicinity 

comprise the Final schist (Archean),

Bolsa quartzite and Abrigo limestone

(Cambrian), limestone of Carboniferous

age, sandstones of Cretaceous age, and 

porphyries, granite, and rhyolites of 

post-Carboniferous age. The rocks are

flexed and faulted and also displaced 

by a remarkable overthrust by which

schist and Cambrian strata are carried 

onto Carboniferous limestone. The ores

were formed principally by replacement 

of the limestone. (E. D. Wilson.)
SOUTHEKN 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 limestone), outliers of the large mass of Comanche strata which constitute 

the east side of the Mule Mountains.31 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 

Queen Co. Bisbee,32 a prosperous city in the Mule 

Bisbee Junction. Mountains, is built in a most picturesque fashion in 

the narrow crooked canyon and along the precipitous 

slopes of Mule Gulch. It began as a lead camp with 

small production. The rich Copper Queen ore body 

was discovered in 1878 and for a few years yielded ore averaging 23

Elevation 4,676 feet. 

New Orleans 1,427 

miles.

31 In the Mule Mountains the Comanche series comprises the following 

formations: Feet

Cintura formation; red, nodular shales with 

cross-bedded buff, tawny, and red sandstone; a few layers of impure limestone 

near base (surface eroded).. ________ 1,800

Mural limestone; upper member massive 

hard gray limestone; lower member thin 

bedded and sandy.-..___________ 650

Morita formation; buff, tawny, and red 

sandstone, some hard, alternating with 

dark-red shale; a few thin layers of impure 

limestone near top.. _________.. 1,800

Glance conglomerate; bedded conglomerate 

with rather angular pebbles, chiefly schist, 

chert, and limestone of local origin (unconformably on older rocks)__________ 50-75

32 The formations at Bisbee comprise 

Final schist, Bolsa quartzite, Abrigo, 

Martin, Escabrosa, and Naco limestones, Comanche series, and igneous 

granites. The Final schists, which are 

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 

quartz porphyry, which were intruded 

in a molten condition. The basal 

Paleozoic formation, lying unconformably on the schist, is the Bolsa quartzite. It is from 400 to 500 feet thick 

and is overlain by about 750 feet of 

slabby Abrigo limestone, which has 

many intercalated cherty layers and is 

in turn overlain by white limestone, in 

which Stoyanow has recently discovered many trilobites of Upper Cambrian age. The Martin limestone, 300 

to 350 feet thick, is of later Devonian 

age. Ordovician, Silurian, early Devonian, and later Mississippian time 

are not represented. The early Mississippian is represented by the Escabrosa limestone, 700 feet thick, and the 

Pennsylvanian and Permian by the 

Naco limestone, about 3,000 feet thick. 

These rocks are overlain unconformably by a thick succession of Lower 

Cretaceous (Comanche) rocks comprising, at the base the Glance conglomerate, 25 to 500 feet; Morita formation of sandstones and shales, 1,800 

feet; Mural limestone, massive above 

and thin-bedded and in part sandy below, 650 feet; and at the top the Cintura formation, shales and sandstones, 

1,800 feet or more. There has been 

general uplift of the strata with considerable faulting at two or more 

periods, and erosion has bared the 

various rocks, in places down to the 

basement of Final schist. The Lower 

Cretaceous beds were deposited on an 

unevenly eroded surface of the uplifted 

rocks, and they in turn have been 

uplifted, faulted, and eroded. Prior to 

this epoch of disturbance considerable 

granite and porphyry were intruded 

and had much to do with the beginning 

of mineralization, which progressed at 

later times, (Ransome.)
176 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

per cent of copper. When this ore was worked out new bodies of lowergrade ores were found which have continued to produce a large tonnage, 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 production of the several mines in 1929 was 186,130,352 pounds, which, together with considerable gold, silver, and lead as by-products, had a 

value of $35,504,798. The most extensive ores are sulphides, oxides,

MtMartin Brewery 

Gulch

Horizontal scale

o i 2 Miles Vertical scale

5000 10,000 Feet

FIGURE 45. Section across the Bisbee region, Ariz. Kc, Limestones, sandstones, shales, and conglomerate of Lower Cretaceous age (Comanche); Cn, Naco limestone; Ce, Escabrosa limestone; D, 

Martin limestone (Devonian); -Ca, Abrigo limestone; Cb, Bolsa quartzite (Cambrian); sc, schist; 

gp, granite porphyry. After Kansome

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 33 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, 

flows north, and finally empties into the Gila River. 

The San Pedro Valley has had an interesting history, 

having long been a natural passageway for explorers, 

travelers, and Indians, including De Niza and Coronado. (See p. 150.)

In 1692, on his first visit, Padre Kino (see pp. 161, 186) named the 

river Quiburi (kee-bo6-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 Indians dancing about some Apache scalps they had 

just obtained. Later American ancE Mexican settlers in the valley 

were greatly harassed by hostile Indians, until the final subjugation

of the Apaches in 1886. The earliest American settlers were four

Mormon families from the colony established near Mesa, Ariz., by

Naco.

Elevation 4,578 feet. 

Population 422. 

New Orleans 1,431 

miles.

33 In March, 1929, Naco, Mexico,

just across the boundary from Naco, 

Ariz., was the scene of a severe battle 

between Mexican troops and revolutionists, in which the latter, by the aid

of bombs dropped Iroffl BJ

attacks by tanks, were victorious.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 177

Hereford.

Elevation 4,189 feet. 

Population 221. 

New Orleans 1,443 

miles.

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 Hereford and follows it northward to Benson. Near Hereford and for 

some miles north the prominent Huachuca Mountains 

(wah-choo'ca) form the west side of the valley, 

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

Lewis Springs *s verv different in character from the basinlike

Sulphur Spring Valley, which lies a few miles east.

Elevation 4,027 feet. 5 ,. F 5 . , J ' ,, . ,

New Orleans 1,453 This difference is due to the erosion 01 a vigorous 

miles- river which trenches deeply into the thick valley fill, 

especially in the region below Lewis Springs. 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, overlooking the San Pedro Valley. The ore deposits 34 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 Tombstone because someone predicted to Schieffelin that his prospecting

34 According to Ransome the Tombstone mining district presents a local 

uplift of Paleozoic rocks lying on a basement of pre-Cambrian schist and granite and overlain by sandstone, shale, 

and limestone of Lower Cretaceous 

(Comanche) age. There are also larger 

masses of'granitic rocks and porphyry 

that cut all the strata, causing considerable metamorphism, which apparently had much to do with the deposition of the rich silver ores in the limestone. The basal strata are 440 feet of 

Bolsa quartzite and 700 feet of Abrigo 

limestone (both Cambrian). Next 

above are 340 feet $f Martin limestone

(Devonian), 500 feet of Escabrosa limestone (Mississippian), and 2,000 to 

3,000 feet of Naco limestone (Pennsylvanian 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 

and partly in fissures. Some ore 

occurred in altered porphyry dikes. 

The largest replacement ore bodies 

were mostly in the anticlines in the 

vicinity of dikes or fissures. The 

manganese ore occurs as a replacement 

deposit in the Naco limestone.
178 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

would yield only a tombstone. The Silver King was a famous producer 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 company 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

Charleston. ., , ,. , T-. -n i i ^ -, -, wild frontier town. Jrom lairbank the railroad

JSSSn'E*"*' ascends the west side of the San Pedro Valley and

New Orleans 1,457 passes northwestward around the northeast side of

miles' the Whetstone Mountains (p. 161). (Turn to sheet

Fairbank. 22.) At Mescal it crosses (on a bridge) the old

Elevation 3,853 feet. main line of the Southern Pacific, now used for eastPopuiation 197. bound traffic between Tucson and Mescal, and is

Nm1ies°rleanS 1>464 J°ined by the line from E1 Paso by way of Deming, 

Lordsburg, and Bowie.

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

(formerly the El Paso & Southwestern Railroad from El

Paso to Tucson), which comes by way of Douglas (pp.

Elevation 4,064 feet 1 gg.j 78) The two lines are closely parallel from Mescal

New Orleans 1,461 ' 11 i < miles by north line, nearly to Tucson, and practically the same features 

8 by 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 

Mescal, the north track with its westbound traffic is bridged across 

the eastbound 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 necessity 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 pulp, 

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 coyered with large 

spines and contain considerable water which is protected from evaporation by the thick skin of the plant. The desert rats, however, gnaw 

into some of them and clean out their watery pulp, leaving an empty 

shell. The yellow-looking, very spiny, branching cactus (mostly 

Opuntiafulgida) 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. Garce"s 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 uropygialis), 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 ladderstriped 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 southward-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 investigations 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 

transpiration 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 protected 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 pi. 31, A.) 

Some open by day; others, such as the night-blooming cereus, by 

night. Many of the species bear edible fruits, several of them delicious, and some of them yield seeds used bj IM MiftHS for food, 

In Arizona the cacti and some other desert plants are legally protected from removal, with a fine of $50 to $300 for each offense.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 181

The maguey (niah-gay') (Agave parryi) and sotol (Dasylirion 

wheeleri) are scattered on many slopes, the former greatly preferring 

the rocky limestone areas. (See pi. 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. baccala), 

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. Beargrass (Nolina\ is a different plant but also contains an excellent 

fiber.

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 ironwood (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, "unas 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 pinon (Pinus edulis) with its delicious 

nuts, and many oaks.

Three miles west of Mescal, in the headwaters of Pantano Wash, 

there are outcrops and cuts in sandstone of Lower Cretaceous (Comanche) 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 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 Mountains,35 culminating in Mount Fagan (elevation 6,175 

feet). In these mountains there are many small mining prospects, mostly of silver ores; mines about Helvetia, on the western slope, have produced ore in 

moderate amount. This range extends south to the 

Santa Rita Mountains, in which there are several small mines, notably

Pantano.

Elevation 3,547 feet. 

Population 30.* 

New Orleans 1,472 

miles.

Dikes

-eoo'-

2,000 Feet

FIGURE 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 Eincon Mountains 

merge into the Tanque Verde Mountains (tahn'kay vare'day), which 

vaii. in turn merge into the Santa Catalina Mountains, to 

Elevation, 3,233 feet. *^e northwest. The ranges are separated by saddles, 

New Orleans, 1,480 and each one has a prominent projection to the west. 

m es' The prevailing rock in these ranges is a hard massive 

schist, but the Santa 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 ridges which

35 In the various ridges of the Empire 

Mountains are exposed Bolsa quartzite, Abrigo limestone, Martin and overlying Carboniferous limestones, sandstones and shales of Lower Cretaceous 

age, granites, and small areas of volcanic materials. The principal structural feature is an overthrust of a 

block of Carboniferous and Devonian 

limestone on pre-Cambrian granite 

that constitutes part of the summit

and the northwestern slopes, To the

southwest these limestones are overthrust onto Lower Cretaceous strata.

Bolsa quartzite (Cambrian) is exposed in 

Davidson Canyon. The outer slopes 

of the mountains consist of sandstone, 

shale, and conglomerate of Lower Creta- 

.ceous age, which toward the east lie 

unconformably on the Paleozoic limestones, in places with a basal conglomerate consisting of pebbles and 

cobbles of various colored limestone, 

quartz, and other materials. This 

unconformity indicates a time break 

of many millions of years represented

elsewhere by late Paleozoic, Mesozoic, 

and Jurassic strata,
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 183

approach the railroad between Pantano and Vail.36 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 47.

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 Catalina Mountains, and west to the ragged peaks of the Tucson Mountains. It slopes west into the wide arroyo of the Santa Cruz River.

The prominent Santa Catalina Mountains, just north of Tucson, 

present a formidable array of rugged cliffs, separated by high-walled 

canyons heading deep in the range. These mountains consist of a 

large central mass of very coarse pegmatite 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 mountains the rocks are dominantly 

gneisses, which are well 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 Dripping Spring quartzite, and the Mescal limestone, which is here a shale. 

These have been greatly metamorphosed by the later granites of postPaleozoic age, which have also changed the overlying Cambrian, 

Devonian, and Carboniferous strata. (B. N. Moore, personal 

communication.)

36 The larger ridges consist of massive 

gray-blue limestone, Martin (Devonian) and Escabrosa (Mississippian), 

but in places this limestone is replaced 

by silica in large bodies which might 

easily be mistaken for quartzite. 

Under the Martin limestone is the 

Abrigo limestone, mostly very impure 

and sandy, carrying fragments of 

trilobites, lingulas, and other fossils 

characteristic of Upper Cambrian time. 

This is underlain by hard sandstone, 

which has been found by Stoyanow to 

contain Middle Cambrian fossils. Next 

below is hard reddish bedded quartzite 

with intrusive sills of diabase, which 

resembles the Dripping Spring quartzite 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

group, lying on granite. The diabase 

closely resembles in character and relations the diabase in the Apache group 

farther north in Arizona. The beds 

are broken by many faults, and the 

higher limestones are pushed northeastward over the gneiss of the Rincon 

Mountains along the plane of a great 

overthrust. The movement on this 

thrust is measurable in miles. The 

thrust is well exposed on the northeast 

end of the larger limestone ridge, as 

shown in section A, Figure 47. Here 

the plane of displacement slopes to the 

southwest at a low angle. In this portion of the area a 38-foot bed of quartzite of unknown age overlies the Abrigo 

and apparently separates it from the 

Martin limestone, as in the 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

Gila cgl. Limestone Abri^o QuarLzite, Granite Diabase sills Faults Strikeanddip

 . _ j T fs"-.-L. r\ n ..\ i: _ _ _j. _ _ _ _A -. /!_ __ x»_ _ L .1 and Ten- (Carb.-Dev) limestone etc. (pre-Cambria/} 

tiaryagl. on sandstone xx Much silica in limestone

SECTION A

Ct

SECTION B

FIGURE 47. Geologic map and cross sections in the vicinity of Colossal Cave, 3 miles east of Vail, Ariz.

strongly marked bedded structure of the schists dipping to the west 

is abruptly cut off on those sides. The upper part of the range
TJ. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

THE OLD MISSION OF SAN XAVIER DE 

Ten miles south of Tucson, Ariz.
TJ. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 22

,1. MM;I KY (A(:\\K PARRYI)

Abundant on many limestone hills in the Southwest. About 7 years 

is required for development, after which it dies. Allied species are 

the source of the Mexican drinks mescal and pulque.

B. PICACHO, A NOTABLE LANDMARK NEAR WYMOLA, ARIZ. 

A mass of volcanic rock of Tertiary age. Looking southeast.
SOUTHEKN PACIFIC LINES 185

appears to be the remains of an old erosion surface, now deeply dissected, 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 Mountains, 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. A/r . . ' , 6,. , ' * M * Elevation 2 389 feet Mexican in population and appearance. Now it 

population 32,606. is a well-ordered city containing the State University, 

New Orleans 1,499 ^^ an enrollment of more than 3,000 students, miles. . J . . '

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 Geodetic Survey.

152109° 33 13
186 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTEKN 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 Kiver, 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 Baboquivari 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 journeying, often entirely alone, throughout the Indian region as far west 

as the Colorado River. -He left Mexico City in 1687 and, after founding several missions in northern Mexico, reached the Indian rancherias 

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 settlement on the San Pedro River, He visited this place again hi 1697 and
187

followed the San Pedro and the Gila to and beyond Casa Grande. He 

returned by Bac,37 9 miles south of Tucson, where he laid the foundation 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 convinced 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 Misi6n Dolores in 

Mexico inl710or!711, 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 Garces, 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, 38 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, circling 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 Hi-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 encountered, means house, adobe house, 

or a ruined house,"

38 GarceY travels have been described 

in detail by Coues (Diary and Itinerary 

of Francisco Garc6s, 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. The church 

is still hi 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," 39 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 Garces 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, mining was 

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 resumed 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 banished to reservations. Fort Lowell, the old United States Army post,

of which the ruins still stand 7 miles northeast) of Tucson, was estab38 The name Tucson means "the foot 

of a black hill," from the Papago Indian words tjuik, meaning black, and

son, meaning foot of, or "the place of 

dark springs," from the Sobaipuri 

name "Stookzonac." (Lockwood.)
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 189

lished 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 Americans began to arrive, 

not a few being encouraged to journey thither by sheriffs and 

vigilance committees of neighboring States. With these came sturdier 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 proud 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 reservation in the desert southwest of Tucson (4,914); on the Gila Bend 

Reservation, west of Phoenix (224); and in the Chiu-Chiuschu Reservation, 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 "Punas" 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 Papagos 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 utilization 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, 

Encarnaci6n 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 "Earth 

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 Government protection.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 191

Westward from Tucson the railroad crosses the southwestern portion 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 features 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 Cretaceous 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 limes tones of this age at many places. 

Outliers of Apache rocks indicate that there was deposition of sediments in the region during part of Algonkian tune, 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 conditions similar to those of the present time. The lavas came to the 

surface through craters and cracks at various places and spread widely, 

probably filling broad valleys and desert fiats. Doubtless 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 yaries considerably 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 destitute 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 pi. 23, A), including the variety known as the "sidewinder" (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 th? Sonoran coral snake (Elaps 

euryxanthus) is occasionally found. The Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) (see pi. 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 chuckwaUaOScraromaZus ater) occurs near the Colorado River, 

and the Indians find him as palatable as chicken. Jack rabbits and 

w. E. cottontail rabbits are

plentiful, especially 

in the vicinity of the 

arroyos, and there 

remain a few of the

Horizontal scale .... , i ,

i Mi| e rare antelope jack

vertical scale _ . rabbits, a taller,more 100 Feet

1_ i t I I I 11 

FIGURE 48 Section at Picacho de la Calera, 16 miles northwest of Tuc- slender SpeClCS tnan 

son, Ariz. -cq, Cambrian quartzite; -Ca, Abrigo limestone; Dm, Mar- the Common one. A

tin limestone; Co, Carboniferous limestone; d, dike f fiw antelopeS)

wild sheep, and lions remain in the mountains; formerly these animals 

were abundant, especially the antelope, but vigorous huntinghas 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. It 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.

The Tucson Mountains, west of Tucson, are the Frente Negra, or 

Black Face Mountains, of Garces. The range is of moderate height
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 23

A. RATTLESNAKE 

Common throughout western Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

B. GILA MONSTERS 

Found in many places in southwestern Arizona.
TJ. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 24

A. CASA GRANDE, ARIZ. 

The ruins of a communal house of the aborigines, now under a protecting shed.

B, TYPICAL HOME OF PIMA INDIANS ON RESERVATION SOOTH OF PHOENIX,

AHIZ.
SOTJTHEKN PACIFIC LINES 193

Cortaro.

Elevation 2,166 feet. 

Population 80.* 

New Orleans 1,611 

miles.

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.40 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 probably 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 

aggregated 57,200 acre-feet in 1914 and 24,700 acrefeet in 1915. The Santa Cruz is an affluent of the 

Gila, which its channel reaches in the neighborhood of Phoenix, but 

even in Garces' time it sank into the sands near Picacho Peak, and at 

present it rarely 

flows even that far. 

However, there is 

considerable underflow in the sand and 

gravel of the valley 

fill, especially below 

the mouths of Rillito 

Creek and Canada 

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 experimental farm; it continues with some interruptions nearly to Naviska.

w.

Tertiary

E.

Tucson Mt'n.

Tertiary

. Mile

FIGURE 49. Section of the westside of the Tucson Mountains, Ariz., about 

3 miles south of the A jo road, or 2 miles south of Amole Peak, a, Agglomerate; rs, red sandy shale

40 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 intrusive rhyolite. Granite and granodiorite, apparently intrusive, occur on 

the west side of the north end of the 

range. Picacho de la Calera, an outlying butte to the northwest, consists 

of limestones of Carboniferous and 

Devonian age (Escabrosa and Martin) 

with abundant fossils. These limestones are underlain by 300 feet of 

typical Abrigo limestone with trilobites 

and other fossils of Upper Cambrian 

age, and at the base, lying on preCambrian schist, is 200 feet of Bolsa 

quartzite. The section in Figure 48 

shows the relations at this place. 

Along the foot of the southwest side 

of the Tucson Mountains are extensive 

exposures of sandstone and shale believed to be of Lower Cretaceous age. 

They He nearly level and are overlain 

by the Tertiary volcanic succession to 

the east and by a sheet of rhyolite to 

the west. Farther north they are 

faulted against a thick body of red 

sandy shale and arkosic sandstone with 

an included bed of agglomerate with 

much volcanic material of Tertiary age. 

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

pre-Cambrian granite and schist and rise abruptly

from long slopes of gravel, sand, and other detritus.

Elevation 2,069 feet. & ^ & ' ' .

Population 32.* On the south edge ol the range are volcanic rocks. 

New 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 (elevation 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 Garces 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 Garces 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 to 

modem Gila Bend, a route which later became the emigrant trail. 

Near Gila Bend they found an Indian village, called by Padre Garc6s 

the Pueblo de los Santos Apostoles San Simon y Judas.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 195

Marana.

Elevation 1>994 feet. 

Population 75.* 

New Orleans 1,520 

miles.

Red Rock.

Elevation 1,868 feet. 

Population 40.* 

New Orleans 1,531 

miles.

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. 

Occasional sahuaros are in sight from Avra siding and 

westward nearly to Picacho. The village of Red 

Rock is on this wide desert plain, which extends north 

to and beyond Phoenix and far to the west. This 

plain is floored with sand and gravel, in most places 

very deep, and the subsurface geology is not known. 

The embankments at intervals along the railroad in 

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 outlines indicating rapid disintegration. 411 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 workings are in a group of high ridges, consisting in part of rhyolite and 

tuff of volcanic 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 asPicacho or Saddlerock Picacho (see

41 Rock disintegration proceeds rapidly in the desert regions of the Southwest. The great difference of temperature between hot afternoons and chilly 

dawns is an important agent, causing 

great expansion and contraction, and 

the frosts of midwinter are potent in aiding disintegration. Leaching of limestones and decomposition of minerals 

in crystalline rocks are factors which 

produce large results in a few centuries. 

Most rocks are traversed by joints or 

cracks, and along these disintegration 

progresses. It finally isolates spalls 

or blocks of the rock, and these fall and 

eventually crumb] e into detritus, which 

is worked down the slopes and becomes 

valley fill or is carried by freshets into

and along the larger streams. Running 

water containing sediment in suspension is a powerful erosive agent, and 

wind-blown sand is especially effective 

in removing decomposed or soft rock.

Joints in rocks are cracks, generally 

not of great length, due to shrinkage in 

cooling if the rocks are of igneous origin, 

or to strains of various kinds, especially 

earth movements. They may run in 

various directions or may be arranged 

in sets of nearly parallel cracks which 

intersect other sets at approximately 

constant angles. Joints differ from 

faults in being much smaller fractures 

that show little or no slipping or vertical 

displacement of the rock along the 

break,
196 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

pi. 22, E] y which becomes conspicuous near Avra siding and is a landmark for many miles in all directions. Its elevation is 3,374 feet. 

It consists of lavas steeply tilted to the north, and it may also include 

the neck or vent of an old volcano. The railroad passes very near 

this peak at Montrose and Wymola sidings. According to Garces, 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. ^^ April 15, 1862, in the only battle of the Civil

NrnToSiTiSi War m A"20118" Erected by the Arizona Historical 

miles. ' Society and Southern Pacific Railway, April 15,1928." 

These men and a few others, members of the California 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 Colorado 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 Papagueria (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 

few other desert plants, has a very long tap root that penetrates to
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 22

EXPLANATION

Sand, gravel (valley fill)

Lava, tuffs, anil oilier volcanic products

Sandstone and shale

800' Quaternary 

900' Tertiary

Lower Cretaceous

Carbonifeous

Devonian

Cambrian

VVymola 

* EL irstr

Tornado

Martin

Limestone and shale Abrigo

(underlain in places by Bolsa quartzite)

Quartzite, conglomerate and diabase

Schist

Granite

Algonkian

Pre-Cam Brian 

Prr-Cambrian and later

Red Rock

EL. 1863

Porphyry, granite, and other 

intrusive rocks

Post-<. retaceous 

(in greater part)

Geology by N. H. Darton, F. C. Schrader, and C. F. Tolman

SanXaviL/MissionB

Scale 500,000 

I Inch-8 miles (approximately)

Contour in-terval 2OO feet

Datum is mean sea /eve/

The distances from New Orleans, La., are snown every 

10 miles, and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart

Each quadrangle shown on the map with a name in parentheses 

in the tower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. S. 

topographic map of that name

Topography: U.S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps

WILLIAMS ft MEINIZ CO . '
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 1,621 feet. 0\^ jme |Dut nas foe advantages of better grades, fewer

New Orleans 1,545 . , ,.-, . miles. curves, 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

r ... Gila River, 20 miles distant. It passes through the

. * sidings of Peak, Topaz, and Randolph and the town Elevation 1,425 feet. & . ' . ' r

Population 1,100. oi (Joolidge in this interval and also crosses the great

>564 ditcil that carries water from tne Gila River to Casa 

Grande and other irrigation settlements to the westward. 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 raising 

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 ho protection 

against the weather, but finally after some restorations a roof was 

erected to protect the ruins from rain and in some measure from windblown sand, a powerful erosive agent in regions of dry climate. (See 

pi. 24, A)
198 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Casa Grande,42 as the name indicates, is the "large house" mentioned 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 Garcse and Font in 1775 and minutely described 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 openings in the upper part of the chambers. The framework of the building 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 ceremonies.

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. (See p. 201.) It seems 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 "Hohdkam." 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 hostile faction from the east drove these agriculturists from their settle42 It has been suggested that this may 

be the ruined house called "Chichiltidcale" (red house), where Coronado 

changed his course from north to northeast on his way to the Seven Cities of 

Cibola (Zuni) in 1540, but many authorities believe that his route was farther 

east. (See p. 161.)
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

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 treatment roused hatred that prevailed for a long time. The Pima Indians, 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 caUed Rio del Nombre 

de Jesus by (Mate 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 Final County, the railroad deflects northwestward 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 consists of lavas and tuff ^ capping granite which appears also in ridges 

and detached buttes to the east; it also constitutes Santan and Goldmine 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 Reservation. 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 Garces' 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.

48 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

microiithsj it contains some orthoclase,

albite, biotite, and olivine.
TJ. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 25

"<>*> 

A. TYl'ICAL DESlillT 1'LALN Wl'l'll UIIXJKS 

Saliuaros in foreground.

B. INDIAN PICTOGRAPHS NEAR SACATON, ARIZ. 

Crude figures of animals, snakes, birds, etc., depicting records or messages. Probably very old.
TJ. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 26

A. DATES IN SALT RIVER VALLEY NEAR MESA, AHIZ.

H. 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 pi. 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.44 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 investigating 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 conspicuous feature from the wide desert plain to the north. This 

mountain and the surrounding ridges consist of pre-Cambrian 

granite and schist cut by younger granite.

Near the Maricopa-Pinal county line the 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, utilizing 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 considerable 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 began 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 irrigation district, is an attractive rural settlement founded in 1912 by 

r, Dr. A. J. Chandler. It is also a noted pleasure and 

health resort with an artistic winter hotel. From 

pciStlonS66* Chandler and northward there are fine views of 

New Orleans 1,597 Four Peaks, the high summit of the Mazatzal Range, 

mlles' and of the bold west front of Superstition Mountain.

44 The Pima agency also administers 

the Gila Bend and Chiu-Chiuschu Reservations, occupied by small groups of 

Papagos. Many of the Indians are engaged in farming or serve as laborers 

152109° 33 14

on ranches in the adjoining regions. 

About one-quarter of them speak 

English, and many speak or understand 

Spanish.
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 

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 

nules' irrigation and many crops are produced, including 

dates (pi. 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 1 1,000. 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 pi. 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 calif ornica, 

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. 

_ At Tempe is the State experimental date farm, the 

United States Entomological Laboratory, a large

normal school, and a condensed-milk factory which 

New Orleans 1,611 utilizes much of the product of dairying, now a great 

nules' 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 other dams. Now its 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 Garces Rio de la Asunci6n.
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 sandstone 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 IK 

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,45 rise out of the valley a short distance southwest of Tempe.

Horizontal scale

soo 1,000 Feet

Vertical scale 

o 1,000 Feet

FIGUEE 60. Section through Tempe Butte and Tempe Well, Ariz. After Lee

Just north of the river north of Tempe sedimentary rocks of Tertiary age form a small group of picturesque hills included in the 

Sahuaro National Monument. Here the material is an arkosic conglomerate 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

45 The rock of BeU Butte under the 

microscope proves to be a hornblendepyroxene andesite showing phenocrysts

of hornblende and feldspar of the sodalime group. The groundmass is glassy, 

in part microlithic. (Lee.)
204 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

adjoining regions indicate that deformation was widespread in southwestern Arizona.

In the Sahuaro National Monument are many fine sahuaros and 

other plants of the desert flora which will be preserved under Government 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 Phoenix. , . . , . °

the midst 01 a desert, the city has developed great

landscape beauty and many cultural and educational 

New Orleans 1,620 resources. It was established by Jack Swilling in 1867 

miles' 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 

Barrel 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, in great contrast to adjoining unirrigated lands that remain 

in their original desert condition, as shown in Plate 27, A. (See also 

pis. 26, B, and 27, #,) In 1929, according to the United States
SOUTHEKN 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 46 reorganized 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 long-staple 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,

46 This bureau of the Government 

was an outgrowth of plans of Maj. J. W. 

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.

Up to June 30, 1929, the Government 

had invested about $186,000,000 in reclamation 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. S. 

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 individual 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.47 The amount of 

underground water available varies from place to place with the thickness 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.48 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 

spread by local "cloudbursts" and by the rare long-continued rains. 

The coarser boulders and gravel reflect the character of the country 

drained, the rivers bringing materials from distant regions, the smaller 

streams transporting them from near-by localities. The side streams, 

such as Queen Creek and Cave Creek, build up broad flat fans or 

deltas containing a large amount of sand, gravel, and boulders, the 

accumulation of many freshets. (Lee.)

The thickness of the valley fill is great, at least in part of the area, 

for a boring 1,305 feet deep at Mesa failed to reach the bedrock that 

constitutes the bottom of the old valley. Doubtless much time was 

required for the deposition of all this material, and some of the lower 

finer deposits may have been deposited by lakes in late Tertiary time. 

It is believed that during its early stages the Salt River joined the 

Gila River east of the Salt River Mountains, as indicated by great

47 The rate of underflow of waters in 

valley fill and other permeable material 

varies mainly with size of grains and 

head of the water. In sandstone a rate 

of a mile a year, or one-eighth of an 

inch a minute, is a fair average; in the 

sands of the rivers and wash deposits a

rate of 2 to 3 miles a year has been 

estimated. (Meinzer.)

48 A detailed study of these underground water resources was made by 

the U. S. Geological Survey in 1900- 

1903. (See Water-Supply Paper 136, 

by W. T. Lee.)
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHKET 23

EXPLANATION

A Rand, gravel (valley fill) Quaternary 

Tertiary B Lavas and other volcanic products

B' Brra-ia, conglomerate and sandstone^

C Schist, mostly 

D (Iraniti-, niHst

Prc-( 'ambrian 

Geology by N. H. Darton and others

Scale 500,000

I inch-8 miles (approximately) 

!Q

20 KILOMETERS

n

Each quadrangle shown on the map with a name in parenth Contour interval 2OO feet

Datum is mean sea 

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown euery 

JO miles, and the crossties are drawn / mile apart

in the lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. S. 

topographic map of that name

Topography: U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps

WILLIAMS ft HEINTZ CO.. WASH.. D. C.
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 up thrust 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. According to the records of the United States Weather Bureau, the mean 

annual precipitation is about 8 inches, most of which falls in midsummer 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 possible, 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 kiUing 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 expense are well justified, however, by the superb scenery and the thrilling character of the trip.
208 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Westbound passengers diverge from the main line at Bowie, proceeding 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 especially 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 Reservoir, 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.

From Bowie the branch railroad descends the broad alluvial plain 

of the San Simon Valley to the prosperous old Mormon settlements 

about Safford, Solomonsville, and Thatcher. On the west is the high 

granite range of the Pinaleno Mountains with their culminating peak, 

Mount Graham, rising about 6,000 feet above the valley. On the east 

are the Peloncillo Mountains, consisting of a great succession of lavas 

and volcanic tuffs of Tertiary age lying nearly horizontal or tilted to 

various low angles and presenting steplike cliffs and rounded summits.

Near Solomonsville the Gila River is reached. This large stream 

occupies the center of a broad alluvial valley from Solomonsville 

to a point 75 miles northwest, where it enters a deep canyon at 

the Coolidge Dam. In the upper part of the valley the river water is 

extensively utilized for irrigation so that about Safford 49 there are 

Safford wide areas of verdant fields of alfalfa, corn, and other 

crops, and numerous orchards and shade trees.

Elevation 2,923 feet. -nr , -, i i < n IP »* -i i

Population 1,706. Water is also derived from wells and from Merijilda 

New oneans 1,425 Canyon, south of Safford. Much honey is produced. 

681 The early developments in the. region were made by 

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 

settlers.

49 Named for A. P. K. Safford, governor of the Territory from 1869 to 1877.
V. 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 and other desert plants and margined by bare rocky mountain slopes. 

Note sahuaros in fruit, also cholla at right.

li. IHKIGATLV; L\ SALT IUVEU VALLEY 

The water is derived from the Salt River and from wells.
IT. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE

A. CLIFF DWELLINGS, TONTO NATIONAL MONUMENT, 

2 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ROOSEVELT, ARIZ.

B. ROOSEVELT DAM AM) UKSKRVOIR, AH1Z.

Apache Trail at right; Sierra Ancha in distance; ledges of Mescal limestone and overlying strata

at left.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 209
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 volcanic tuff, agglomerate, and ash extending north to the White Mountains, which were the center of eruption of a vast amount of volcanic 

matter in Tertiary time. To the west are many high mountains consisting 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 construction, consists of three domes supported by two buttresses, is 250 feet 

high and 920 feet long, and has a spillway capacity of 120,000 secondfeet. 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. This amount 

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 GrandeGila Reservation region. Below the dam is a power plant using two 

7,500-horsepower turbines. This dam is barely visible from the railroad, which now skirts the north and east margins of the reservoir, 

but it is crossed by the highway from Bowie to Globe. At its abutments are fine exposures of eastward-dipping limestones of Carboniferous 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

to the San Carlos Reservoir. On both sides of the

valley here are lava-capped mesas, and a short disElevation 2,623 feet. , J ,, 11 i , i *.\_ Population 48. tance east is the old volcanic vent known as the 

New Orleans 1,489 Triplets. From San Carlos the valley of Aliso Creek 

is ascended. To the south are the high granite 

ridges of Hayes Mountain, capped in part by an extensive succession 

of strata of the Apache group. (See fig. 52./
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 

Final Mountains (pee-nahl'), consisting of granite and schist and 

culminating in Final 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. 

The old mining town of Globe owes its existence

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 indicated by the great terrace of black slag near the mine.50 The ore is

Globe.

Elevation 3,509 feet. 

Population 7,157. 

New Orleans 1,510 

miles.

WSW. ENE.

Horizontal scale 

O i 2 Miles

Vertical scale 

o 500 i.oooFeet

FIGURE 52. Section across the center 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 

Mines the production of ore at this 

mine to 1929 was 415,890 tons, averaging 2.65 per cent of copper and 

yielding about 18,943,000 pounds of 

copper, together with considerable gold

and silver. Most of the ore is now 

mined from 2,400 to 2,600 feet below 

the surface. According to the Mines 

Handbook for 1931 this mine paid 

dividends of $14,405,260 from 1905 to 

1918 and $2,477,750 from 1919 to 1929.
212

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.

Copper Hill

NE.

Apache Mtn.

Dripping Spr.quartzito 

Pioneer shale and 

Barnes conglomerate

3 Miles

FIGURE 53. Section of region near Globe, Ariz. By Eansome and Barton

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 conspicuous feature. According to the United States Bureau of Mines,

Whitetail conglomerate Granite porphyry

Tornado and Martin 

limestones

Faults

FIGURE 54. Outline geologic map of Globe-Miami mining region, Ariz. By F. L. Eansome

in 1929 this camp produced 166,357,360 pounds of copper from 

10,817,567 tons of ore in which the copper content ranged from 0.83 

to 1.1 per cent. The ore here is predominantly chalcocite; that at 

the Old Dominion mine in Globe contains also chalcopyrite, bornite,
213

and pyrite. The road descends the valley of Final 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 Final 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 margined with valley fill consisting mostly of gravel and sand, part of 

it bedded, and some fine sediments probably deposited in a lake. 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

NE.

Barnes Peak

Mescal limestone

Dripping Spring quartzite "~ er division)

division]

Spring quartzite 

ision)

at p.

./ l i=

1,000 Feet

FIGURE 55. Section showing relations of Apache strata 7 miles northwest of Miami, Ariz. By F. L.

Ransome

2 miles southwest of the road. (See pi. 28, A.) One of them is a 

three-storied building, and there are also smaller 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 ridges 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 (pi. 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 STATE&

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 pi. 29, A.} The dam was completed in 1911 and dedicated by ex-President Theodore Roosevelt on

Mescal 

Jimestone

Dripping Spring ^.A

Horizontal scale i i Miles

Vertical scale 500 1.000 Feet

FIGURE 56. Section through Sierra Ancha, 15 miles northeast of Koosevelt, Ariz.; d, Dripping 

Spring quartzitc; 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 

45,000 volts and with a capacity of about 21,000 horsepower. The 

total cost of the dam and power plant was $3,890,187. The reservoir 

has a capacity of 1,637,000 acre-feet. Other dams farther down the 

river, at Horse Mesa, Mormon Flat, and Stewart Mountain, add about 

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 

these dams water is let out as needed, and the supply is sufficient for 

the irrigation of 242,000 acres. The canals and laterals aggregate

1,020 miles. About 800 rural homes in the valley are supplied with 

electricity. The total cost of the Salt River Valley project has been 

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 

present course.51 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 Koosevelt Dam the road descends the Salt Kiver Canyon 

along its south side, crossing a wide area of the old granite that undersw.

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

51 The section begins a short distance 

below the dam and extends to the 

quarries southeast of the dam. The 

contact of the pre-Cambrian granite 

and the Scanlan conglomerate, the 

basal formation of the Apache group, 

is clearly exposed on the road as well 

as in the north wall of the canyon, a 

short distance below the dam. The 

Dripping Spring formation, next above, 

is a reddish quartzite, in part slabby, 

but so hard and compact that it makes 

the mountain crests to the north and 

south on both sides of the dam. It is 

invaded by thick sills of Algonkian 

diabase of a type distinctive of the 

Apache group in central Arizona and 

of the Unkar group in the Grand 

Canyon. The dam is built mainly in 

the Mescal limestone, which here 

attains its maximum thickness of 350

feet. Much of this limestone is purei 

but some beds contain considerable 

interbedded chert in thin layers, possibly of algal origin. On the Mescal 

lies a sheet of lava (basalt), vesicular 

in large part, especially at the top and 

bottom, and apparently conformable. 

This was a surface lava flow in late 

Apache time. The overlying sandstone (Cambrian), about 200 feet 

thick, contains at the base pebbles of 

the lava and other rocks, and though 

conformable in attitude it is separated 

from the Apache group by a great 

interval of geologic time. It is overlain by limestones and sandstones 

(Martin limestone) with Devonian 

fossils, and this in turn by limestone 

and sandstone of Carboniferous age, 

which are well exposed in ledges and 

quarries above the dam.
216 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTEEN 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

Horizontal scale

4 Miles

Vertical scale 

soo tsoo Feet

FIGURE 58. Section showing relations of Tertiary volcanic succession 15 miles southwest of 

Roosevelt Dam, Ariz. Tr, Rhyolite tuff; Ta, andesite; Agr, granite

ridges capped by Apache or volcanic 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 qualit}7 

but of considerable extent which may prove to be of economic importance. They are in schists of pre-Cambrian age.52

About 14 miles below the Roosevelt Dam the highway crosses a 

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 massive that they present huge cliffs. These are especially prominent on 

Fish Creek, as shown in Plate 30, and in the canyon of the Salt River,

«2 Ransome, F. L., U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 620, pp. 111-128, 1916.
tJ. S. GEOLOGICAL StTRVlJ-? BULLETIN §45 PLATE 28

A. ENCAMPMENT OF APACHE INDIANS ON BANK OF ROOSEVELT RESERVOIR

These Indians did much of Ihe construction work on the dam and the Apache Trail. Sierra

Ancha in distance.

B. VIKW ACROSS CANYOJN LAkK INTO CAiNYON Ob' SALT HIVEH, ;J5 MILES EAST

OF PHOENIX, ARIZ.

Apache Trail In foreground; Four Peaks (Mazatzal Mountains) in distance. The cliffs are volcaiiic tuff.
TT. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 30

VIEW UP CANYON OF FISH CREEK AT CIIOSSI.NG OF APACHE TRAIL, 40 MILES 

EAST OF PHOENIX, AHIZ.

Cliffs of volcanic tuff.
tl. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 31

A. BLOSSOMS OF PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS (NOPAL), SALT RIVER VALLEY NEAR

PHOENIX, ARIZ.

R. SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN, ARIZ.

From point, near Apache Trail, 28 miles east of Phoenix, looking east. Ocotillo on right; giant 

cactus (sahuaro) iu center, with cholla and other typical desert plants.
TJ. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BITLLETIN 845 PLATE 32

A. MONTEZUMA FACE, NORTHEAST OF HYDER SIDING, ARIZ. 

A remarkable profile on the mountain slope.

B. NORTHERN PART OF MOHAWK MOUNTAINS, ARIZ.

Consisting of sandstone, shale, and conglomerate of Tertiary age, steeply lilted. Looking souf " '" ~ «»,._.. >and conglomerate of Tertiary 

uth-southeast. (E. D. Wilson.)
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 217

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 traverses 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 S3mcline, which is plainly visible along the road 

for a long distance west. Tortilla Creek exposes the dark basal member 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 (pi. 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 pi. 31, B.) The precipitous west front of this 

mountain is started by the highway to and beyond the old Goldfield 

mining 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 volcanic rock. 

In this vicinity was the Lost Dutchman mine, rep.orted to have had 

wonderful richness. Many futile attempts have been made to find it. 

1$2109° 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,

m Cowden, and Cashion sidings and the town of Tolle- Tolleson. ' . fo

son.5d At Cashion is a large power plant made

conspicuous by its high stacks. In this district 

New Orleans 1,631 alfalfa, cantaloupes, head lettuce, and cotton are 

ml es' 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 

. hfieid region of volcanic rocks, schists, etc., to the north 

in which considerable mining is done. Southeast of 

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), 

miles' 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

 , the Gila near the mouth of the Agua Fria. Alfalfa Buckeye. , . . , , J _1 ° . . _ n ., seed is an important product. Ihe canal is 20 miles

lon£ and Proves water for nearly 20,000 acres. 

New Orleans 1,651 Considerable water also is pumped from the undermUes- flow from the Gila River, some of the wells yielding 

200 gallons a minute. An irrigation district on the south side of 

the vaUey 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 pegmatite, diabase, and other igneous rocks. A few remnants of lava have 

been reported 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 

constituting an extensive land surface that probably persisted

63 Incorporated in 1929; named for W. G. Tolleson, one 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 irrigation. Just beyond H ass ay amp a 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 thirst 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.54 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 Arlington 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,55 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 reservation that occupies a long strip of bottom lands northwest of the town. 

The geologic relations at this dam are shown in Figure 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

54 The Vulture Mountains consist of 

volcanic rocks of Tertiary age lying on 

pre-Cambrian schists cut by granites 

and other igneous rocks.

65 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. Indistinct terraces in the Arlington 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 the small 

stream now heading in the pass. The 

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 

Buckeye Hills is composed of thin sheets 

of andesitic lava interbedded in sandy 

shales and conglomerate of Tertiary 

age. The conglomerate carries angular 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.56 

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.

Gila Bend Mis.

NEL.

Buckeye 

Hills

01

Mile

FIGURE 59. Section across the valley of the Gila Eiver 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-Cambrian 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 paloverde and mesquite, the last named being most conspicuous along the 

dry washes. The volcanic succession has great thickness in the prominent flat-topped Woolsey Peak,57 which is conspicuous to the south at 

intervals from Crag to Gillespie. Cimmerian Peak is the highest point

66 According to C. P. Ross the rocks 

in Saddle Mountain consist of finegrained reddish latites, hornblendic 

felsites, and gray vesicular basalts. 

There are also considerable thicknesses 

of fragmental rocks, mostly volcanic 

agglomerates and breccias. Some of 

the rounded forms and hollows appear 

to be due to a disposition to curved 

exfoliation and not the result of solution or erosion. The Palo Verde Hills,

which lie just east of Saddle Mountain, 

consist mostly of the younger basalt, 

but a butte hear the Palo Verde mine 

is a fine-grained hornblende granite.

57 Named from King Woolsey, the 

pioneer settler on the Gila River who 

engineered the "Pinole treaty," in 

which many Indians, invited to come 

unarmed to a feast and council, were

treacherously set upon and slaughtered

by their host and his friends.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 221

Oil 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 

Peak, where some interesting geologic features are exposed. The 

basement lavas are overlain by conglomerate and sandstone of Tertiary 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 porphyry that was probably intruded in Tertiary time.

FIGURE 60. Section in Yellow Medicine Butte and adjoining mountains, 

Arizona. Tb, basalt; Tc, 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 

Elevation 1,078 feet. Wash. To the north from a point near Saddle siding

miles. reanS ' 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, 

ibreaking 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 

 , 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 oi these mesas. At the south end oi these mesas

New Orleans 1,704 are ^he 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 Garces 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 nearly to Athel siding, 

together with widely spaced bushes, mainly Covillea.

At Athel siding the sharp peaks of Pass Mountain, a group of 

volcanic buttes 8 miles to the north, are seen, and northwest of Athel 

and north from Horn to Kof a (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 granite that constitutes the western range of the mountains.

From Horn to Growler siding and beyond the desert plain is covered with low sand dunes. In this vicinity the railroad approaches 

the north bank of the Gila River in the midst of a 

wide desert plain into which the river has cut a broad Elevation 468 feet. . , , , _, population 25.* inner trench about 50 feet deep. The stream meNew Orleans 1,714 anciers 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 rainfall and where drinking water is provided the stock business has 

prospered. The river is one good source of supply, and in the adjoining 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-Garce's 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 character. In this vicinity the 

Mohawk Mountains (p. 232) are a prominent feature to the south. 

About 30 miles to the north the steep western front of the Kofa 

Mountains is conspicuous. At its foot were the King of Arizona,
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET

'(WHITE 'V/kNkJf

A Sand, jrravcl.aml clay (valley fill)

B I.ava and other rocks of volcanic origin

C Schist (not everywhere separated)

D (iranilr

Quaternary 

Terliarv to Recent

Geology by N. H. Darton C Lausen, 

E. D. Wilson, and C P. Ross jBuckeye EL aae -^

Montezuma 

r°2Xl

S^ 

amell

Scale 500,000 

I inch-8 miles (approximately)

fac/i quadrangle shown on the map with a name in parentheses 

in the lower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. 6. S. The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown euery 

topographic map of that name w miles, and the crossties are drawn 1 mile apart

Topography by N. H. Darton C Lausen, and E. D. Wilson
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 223

North Star, and other gold mines, which at one time, it is claimed, 

yielded nearly $5,000,000 hi gold and silver, much of it from very 

high grade ore, some of which assayed as high as $20,000 a ton (Yearbook of Arizona, 1930). The ore bodies were in veins in volcanic 

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

 Mountains. Roll is a small settlement sustained by Roll. .... Tii irrigation, using water pumped irom sand and gravel

Elevation 265 feet. . ° i n / i mi population 4o.* holding underflow irom the river. lo the west are 

New Orleans 1,745 fae prominent Muggins Mountains, and to the north 

the west side of the Castle Dome Mountains is conspicuous. The wide river terraces to the west are deeply trenched by 

arroyos.

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 exposures 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 southsouthwest and, rising onto the wide upland terrace, here 50 feet above 

the river flat, joins the old main line at Well ton.

Wellton is a local trading settlement for the cattle and irrigation

industry and a headquarters for mining interests of the surrounding

w .. country. There is considerable irrigation near by and

for a few miles west from wells and from ditches taken Elevation 258 feet. .

Population so.* out of the Gila River. The village is situated on a 

l'm wide desert plain 2 or 3 miles south of the river. 

High 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

Eloy.

Elevation 1,566 feet. 

Population 13.

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 Mountains, 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 trams of the Southern Pacific lines continued northwestward 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 district which 

extends to Casa Grande is entered. Cotton and alfalfa are the 

principal crops, together with melons, figs, and a fine 

variety of head lettuce for which the soil and climate 

seem particularly suitable. The lettuce is ready for 

1>M9 sftiPment in November, before it is available from 

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 economical 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 

of pre-Cambrian schist. Three miles to the northeast 

are the Three Peaks, which consist of granite. About 

15 miles southwest of Toltec are the conspicuous 

New Orleans 1,559 Sawtooth Mountains, which consist of lavas of

miles. 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 

mean annual rainfall is about 6% inches. About 18 

miles northeast of Casa Grande station are the ruins 

of the prehistoric houses of Casa Grande, which are 

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 rocky buttes are 

visible in all directions from Casa Grande and vicinity.68

Arizola.

Elevation 1,435 feet. 

Population 30.*

Casa Grande.

Elevation 1,398 feet. 

Population 1,351. 

New Orleans 1,564 

miles.

88About 15 miles to the south are the 

Slate Mountains, which consist largely 

of schist overlain to the west by an ,

interesting succession of Paleozoic rocks 

comprising Bolsa quartzite and Abrigo 

limestone (Cambrian) and Martin
225

Maricopa.

Elevation 1,175 feet. 

Population 30.* 

New Orleans 1,585 

miles.

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 

and the Santa Cruz River, both of which are generally 

dry. In this vicinity there 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 Mountains, 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 northeastern 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

(Devonian) and Carboniferous limestones. The Abrigo beds at this place 

consist of slabby brown sandstones, in 

part glauconitic (greensand), with 

brown and gray shales. They contain 

worm markings and lingulas of Cambrian age. The overlying limestones 

(Martin) carry abundant Upper Devonian fossils that indicate an extension 

of the sea waters of Paleozoic time over 

much of western Arizona.
226 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTEEN 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 59 and Cimarron Mountains. Tney 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 Mountains. 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 Garces traveled 

in 1775 on the way to Yuma, and he called it Puerto de los Cocomaricopas. (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. At one 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.

69 South of the Table Top Mountains, 

about 45 miles south of Maricopa, are 

the Vekol Mountains, which are of 

great geologic interest, for they contain 

not only a succession of Paleozoic 

limestones including some strata of 

Permian age but an outlying mass of 

formations of the Apache group (Algonkian) lying on pre-Cambrian schist and 

closely resembling the succession in 

central Arizona. Some hard red shale 

at this place resembles the Pioneer 

shale, and it is capped by a conglomerate like the Barnes. An overlying 

quartzite like the Dripping Spring 

quartzite is penetrated by thick sills of 

dark-green diabase. Next above are 

rusty sandy shales grading up into thinbedded limestone containing Upper 

Cambrian fossils, undoubtedly the 

Abrigo limestone. The higher limestone in an adjoining ridge carries a 

remarkable fauna of minute fossils, 

pelecypods, scaphopods, and gastropods, of about 25 species of late 

Carboniferous age.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 227

Gila Bend.

Elevation 738 feet. 

Population 800.* 

New Orleans 1,627 

miles.

South of Bosque siding are the Sand Tank Mountains,60 which 

consist of a long, high ridge of schist and granite and a high, wide tabular mesa of volcanic rocks in a succession nearly 2,000 feet thick. 

This region was a center of great volcanic activity in Tertiary tune, 

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 mining 

interests and is the headquarters for the Gila Bend Indian Reservation, near by, where there is a colony of about 224 

Papago Indians. The climate is very dry, with a 

mean annual precipitation of only 6 inches. A branch 

railroad connects Gila Bend with Ajo (ah'ho, Spanish 

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, mainty from the Cornelia mine. Most of the ore 

carries less than \% per cent of copper, but it is easily worked and 

occurs in large amount. The ores are mainly disseminated in monzonite 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 consisting 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 watercourse which ordinarily carries only a small flow. It was in this 

vicinity that Padre Kino found a prosperous Opa (Maricopa) Indian 

rancherla in 1699, and it was visited in 1774 by Anza and Garces, who 

called it the Pueblo de los Santos Ap6stoles San Sim6n 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 the 

river, but they have since moved to the region southeast of Phoenix.

60 At the Sand Tanks, a watering 

place in these mountains 23 miles southeast of Gila Bend, the water is found in 

holes eroded in a conglomerate of Tertiary age which dips 20° N. This rock 

lies on granite gneiss and consists mostly of tuffs and sandy tuffs containing

pebbles of granite^ schist, and volcanic 

rocks of various kinds. The schists in 

the central ridge are mostly chloritic, 

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 61 which 

are mostly tilted and hi places faulted. They are overlapped unconformably 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 excavated 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 maximum 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 sustaining 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 hi 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 tune, 

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

61 These older beds are in general correlated with the Temple Bar conglomerate of Lee and the Gila conglomerate

of Gilbert. In places they include lava 

flows (basalt) which are tilted and 

faulted.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 229

bimonthly stage line between San Antonio and San Diego was established 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 Garces 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 considerable irrigation. The Maricopas, who were of Yuman stock, 

moved gradually up the Gila Valley, pausing at Gila Bend in GarceV 

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 62 that had a large circulation.

North and northwest of Gila Bend the Gila River resumes 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

82 Stratton, R. B., Captivity of the 

Oatman girls and an account of the

massacre of the Oatman family in 1851, 

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

Tartron. 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 /. . 111 c miles remains of one crater, probably a source of a considerable part of the lava, is a knob of moderate height 

IK miles northwest of Tartron siding. A long ridge southeast 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 690 feet. the high ad j oining ridges that have been uplifted and in

New Orleans 1,656 -, ^-11 i i , i T i mlles. 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, culminating 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 (Cavilled). 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 

is very great in this region, the depletion averaging more than 6 feet 

a year. The Gila River is the only stream that runs continuously, 

and the few springs that exist are widely scattered. A small amount 

of water is held in natural basins in the rocks, known locally as tinajas 

(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, 

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 

of it passes 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 distance; 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 have a certain grandeur and present attractive variations 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 temperature. 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. Everywhere 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 general 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 dense waves and carrying a 

large percentage of fine sand. Where these waves struck the mountains they were shattered, and the sand was whirled high on the foothills, 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.

Three miles due south of Aztec and conspicuous from Elevation 497 feet. r.

Population 40.* the railroad is a white quartz knob that is on a spur 

New Orleans 1,671 Of tne 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 

g . small flow. Near it Garces camped in 1775 in company with Anza's expedition to California. The old Elevation 378 feet. ^ J ? . .

Population so.* settlement ol San Cristobal, ot which the station name 

New Orleans 1,582 [s an abbreviation, was near this hill. Saints' names

miles. -TIT

were sprinkled over, the country DJ 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 irrigation. 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 mountains are very rugged and bare and consist largely of 

Mohawk. pre-Cambrian schist penetrated by granite. Contacts of these two rocks are visible near the railroad.

New Orleans 1,690 , , . . . . . miles. At the north end ol the mountains the schist is 

flanked by a thick succession of conglomerate, sandstone, and shale of probable Tertiary age, dipping steeply to the 

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 mountains is heavily flanked by loose sand, which has been blown by the
II. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 33

.stfcjHilSjJ.fi>.

A. THE "EXPLORER" 

A drawing of the steamboat used by the Ives expedition up the Colorado River.

B. VIEW NORTHWARD ACROSS THE GILA RIVER FROM ANTELOPE HILL,

BETWEEN WELLTON AND ROLLS, ARIZ. 

Castle Dome Mountains in distance; irrigated fields 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.

Tiio Disriucr Oi\ Till'; LO\VI-;K I.ALNDS I\K.\H YL.\I\
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 Garce"s 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 consisting of the lava-capped Cabeza Prieta Mountains (cah-bay'sa 

pre-ay'ta, Spanish for black head), to the south; the Copper Mountains, a conspicuous rugged range of granite southwest of Coif red 

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.63 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. It is a 

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 debris 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 WeUton the old main line of the railroad is joined by the new 

line from Picacho by way of Phoenix. (See p. 223.)

63 These rocks are well exposed at 

Baker Tanks, 5 miles south of Tacna, 

where the conglomerate dips 65° SW. 

The beds are mostly an aggregate of 

quartz and feldspar grains, but some 

beds are a coarse conglomerate with 

many pebbles and boulders from 3

152109° 33 16

inches to 3 feet in diameter. The 

material is so similar to gravel deposited 

by present streams on the slope of 

Baker Peaks as to indicate that it was 

derived from the same rocks under conditions similar to those which now 

exist.
234 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES 

WELLTON TO YUM A, ARIZ.

In the vicinity of Well ton small areas are irrigated by water pumped

from wells that draw their supply from the ground water of the Gila

Valley. A 1,120-foot boring at Wellton passed

through 750 feet of sand and clay, regarded as vallev

Elevation 258 feet. , .,, ir,Hr«c,ci i ,,-IT i. Population so.* nil, and 370 leet ol harder strata, including sandstone, 

New Orleans 1,713 which probably are Tertiary. About 6 miles south 

1,756 miles). ' °f ^Ge 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 caused 

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 Garces 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 consists 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 

has been quarried to some extent for building. Portions of it are 

nearly pure calcium carbonate. The relations of the rocks in this 

region are shown in Figure 61. The granite is cut by many dikes of 

dark intrusive rocks and traversed by veins of light-colored pegmatite. To the north is the Gila River, now so well controlled by dams
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 235

Dome.

Elevation 190 feet. 

Population 30.* 

New Orleans 1,729 

miles.

|

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 small

place, but Gila City,

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 

following years.

From Dome the railroad passes El^l 

through Blaisdell, Fortuna, and 

Araby sidings. To the east are 

fine views of the steep western front 

of the Gila Mountains. Twelve 

miles southeast of Fortuna siding 

is the old Fortuna mine, which at 

one time produced considerable 

rich ore, aggregating, it is reported, 

$3,000,000 worth of gold (Yearbook 

of Arizona, 1930). The rocks at 

this place are mostly hornblende 

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 ui 

River. To the north are good views w O O 0 O

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

w

T
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 southwest. 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 commercial 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 

of the Gila River. The Gila here is in a broad alluvial 

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 

Laguna Dam, on the Colorado River 10 miles above Yuma.

Yuma is famous for its high summer temperature and large percentage of sunshine, but with the low annual precipitation of 3.1 

inches 64 (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 

bore the striking sign "Free board every day the sun doesn't shine" 

(pi. 34, A).

Yuma.

Elevation 142 feet. 

Population 4,892. 

New Orleans 1,750 

miles.

64 The precipitation varies greatly 

from year to year, having been 11.4 

inches in 1905 and 0.6 inch in 1899. 

The greatest amount of rain usually 

falls in midsummer. Sandstorms occur 

occasionally, but their importance or

danger is greatly exaggerated. The 

average temperature for 29 years is 

72°, with extreme ranges from 20° to 

117° in the bottom lands and 29° to 

117° on the mesa.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 25

11430 33r California-Arizona 113 30

 GraniteSparv- \ / :,:>' \ <: ;, ^e ?'' ^ifessk^ "' W

A Sand and gvnvcl (valky fill r

((Tract' deposits)

B Sandstone, conglomerate and tiravi

C Lavas, asli and tuff (volcanic)

D Granit c and schist Pre-Cainbrian

Geology mostly by E. D.Wilson, 1931

Scale 500,000 

inch = 8 miles (approximately)

20 MILES

10 20 KILOMETERS

Contour interval 2OO feet

Datum /s mean sea /eve/

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. S. G. S. 

topographic map of that name

114°30' 113 30

Topography: U.S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps

WILLIAMS ft HELNTZ CO., WASH.. D C
SOTITHEKN PACIFIC LINES 237

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 rancherla of Indians, which he named San Dionisio. 

The Yuma Indians gave a cordial reception to the first Spanish 

explorers arid missionaries. The Jesuit missionary Jacobo Sedelmaier reached the Colorado River in 1744 and again in 1748. In 

1779 Garces established the Misi6n de la Purisima Conception 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 Garces 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 troublesome 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 Puna 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 the 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 nmning on the river, and hi 1857 Lieut. 

Joseph Ives started from the mouth of the Colorado in a 50-foot iron 

stern-wheel steamer (pi. 33, A) and ascended to the "head of navigation" 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 completion 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 pi. 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 expedient 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 railroad bridge. The Colorado River carries a large amount
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 239

of silt,65 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 cuttings. 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 accumulation 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 Francisco 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 Dlaz, who traveled overland from Sonora, Mexico, to 

the vicinity of Yuma, and by Hernando Alarc6n, who came in boats 

from western Mexico and ascended the river for 15 days, possibly as 

far as Needles. Early in 1605 Juan de Onate 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

68 According to investigations by the 

Bureau of Reclamation, in times of 

freshets the silt may be as much as 2

per cent, but the average amount is 

0.7 per cent, or 30 times as much as 

is carried by the Ohio River.
240 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Franciscan friar Francisco Garces, traveling alone, reached the Colorado 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 constitutes 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 considerable 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 pi. 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 occur mostly in early 

summer and are fed by winter rains and snows in the distant mountains. 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,66 and it is estimated that the sediment 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),67

66 A very large amount of material is 

removed from the land and carried to 

the ocean by all rivers. Careful estimates based on analyses of river waters 

and measurements of volume of flow 

have shown that every year the rivers of 

the United States carry to tidewater 

513,000,000 tons of sediment in suspension and 270,000,000 tons of dissolved 

matter. The total of 783,000,000 tons 

represents more than 350,000,000 cubic

yards of rock, or a cube measuring 

about two-fifths of a mile on each side 

(Y\5 cubic mile). The total is equivalent to 610,000,000 cubic yards of surface soil. (See U. S. Geol. Survey 

Water-Supply Paper 234, p. 83, 1909.) 

67 See also Bacon, J. L., Monthly 

Weather Review, vol. 59, pp. 295- 

297, 1931; Breazeale, J. F., Arizona 

Univ. Bull. 8, 1926; Forbes, R. H., 

Arizona Univ. Bull. 44, 1902.
TT. S. GEOLOGICAL SUKVEY BULLETIN 846 PLATE 35

CALIFORNIA

. 

''//'f'Si

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 irrigation 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 provide 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 

will also receive some of the water (1,500 second-feet), which will be 

taken out at Parker and carried through long aqueducts and tunnels 

b}7 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 California. 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 

dividing line between Arizona and California.
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 EngCalifornia. land, and Pennsylvania combined. The population 

of California in 1930 was 5,677,251, or about onefifth 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, reaching 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 temperatures are equable. Around San Francisco Bay the moderate rainfall 

comes almost wholly in the winter, and the seasonal range of temperature 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 

two species of redwood Sequoia, washingtoniana (or S. gigantea), 

the well-known "big tree" of the Sierra Nevada, and Sequoia sempervirens, of the Coast Ranges. Some of these giant trees have fortunately 

been preserved against the inroads of the lumberman by the Government 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 nu'les), General Grant 

(4 square miles), and Lassen Volcanic (124 square miles).

Agriculture is an enormous industry in California, and its importance is increasing. The following facts from the United States census 

reports are of interest: Of the total land area of nearly 100,000,000 

acres, about 30,442,581 acres is in farms and ranches, which with 

buildings 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, California'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, 33,084,232pounds; 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 California 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 (enrollment 19,000), Leland Stanford Junior University (4,600), the University of Southern California, and the California Institute of Technology 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 Calif a, 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 discovery of gold by J. W. Marshall at Sutter's mill in 1848 brought a 

large influx of gold seekers and settlers. 68

California was formerly a part of Mexico, but many citizens of California 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 California proclaimed. The treaty of Cahuenga, negotiated by Gen. John 

C. Fremont and the Mexican commander, Andres 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 (Eschscholtzia, californica}, and the 

State's motto, "Eureka," means "I have found it."

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

68 The first discovery of gold was 

made in Placerita Canyon, near Los

Angeles, in 1842, but it had little economic 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 Garces in front of the chapel here commemorates 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 

Araz goes by way of Mexicali, Calexico, and El Centre, 

Elevation 156 feet across Imperial Valley, and through the beautiful 

New Orleans 1,756 Carrizo Gorge to San Diego. (See p. 287.) Near 

miles' 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 Araz stage 

station on the river bank, constructed in 1856. The material is 

adobe.69

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 Bicuner under the administration of Padre Garces. 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 dur69 In the West the term "adobe" 

(colloquially "doby") is commonly 

used both for the sandy clay from which

these sun-dried bricks are made and 

for a structure made of them.
246 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Ogilby.

Elevation 356 feet. 

New Orleans 1,776 

miles.

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 population 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 highgrade 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.70 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 highway to El Centre 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

70 Cyanite is of the same composition as andalusite and sillimanite, consisting of alumina 62.85 per cent and 

silica 37.15 per cent, the proportion of 

alumina being considerably greater 

than in clay. The separation of the

fibrous cyanite from the quartz is

effected by an ingenious process of

heating to 1,800° F. and chilling in

water, which shatters the quartz so

that it can be removed by w&sMng and

screening.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 247

Glamis.

Elevation 338 feet. 

Population 15.* 

New Orleans 1,785 

miles.

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 sandhill 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 

Mountains71 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 fault; granite 

and basalt occur in small foothills south of the main range.

On the south side of the railroad is the great sand-hill belt (see pi. 

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

71 The Chocolate Mountains consist mainly of granite, but schist also 

occurs, and these old rocks are overlain and flanked in places by lavas 

of Tertiary age. In Iris Pass, which 

crosses the range north of Niland, there 

are Tertiary strata consisting of steeply 

tilted beds of sandstone, conglomerate, 

and yellow clay, lying on light-colored 

igneous rocks. Near the upper end of

the canyon leading to this pass beds of 

white soft tuff give place to a vertical 

mass of dark rhyolitic breccia in which 

the canyon narrows greatly. On each 

side of this mass are beds of conglomerate which appear to lie nearly horizontal and contain boulders of rhyolite 

and other volcanic rocks. West of the 

pass granite is the principal rock, constituting a high rocky range. (Brown.)
248 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Niland.

Elevation-127 feet. 

Population 200.* 

New Orleans 1,815 

miles.

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 Highland 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 constituting the north slope of Imperial Valley. The sandstone is 

interstratified with shale, clay, and conglomerate, the 

conglomerate mostly as a basal member. These 

rocks are of Miocene or Pliocene age and steeply 

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, El 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 

southern location it has a warm climate that is highly favorable for 

the growth of many valuable crops. With a large supply of water 

taken from the Colorado River and some water pumped from wells, 

irrigation has made this area one of the most productive agricultural 

districts in the world. The principal towns are El Centro, Calexico, 

Brawley, Imperial, and Holtville, in California, and Mexicali, in 

Mexico. The irrigable area is about 500,000 acres in the United 

States and a large district in Mexico, and at present about four-fifths 

of it is under cultivation. The population is about 70,000.

The water is taken from the Colorado River near Yuma in a large 

canal that passes south around the southeast end of the sand hills and 

then west through Mexico for about 35 miles before swinging back into 

the United States, which it reenters at a point south of Holtville. 

(See pi. 35.) The portion of this canal in Mexico is controlled by a 

Mexican syndicate that draws heavily on the water supply.72 In

72 The amount of the water of the 

Colorado River to be allotted to Mexico 

is somewhat of a problem. The American members of the International 

Water Commission have suggested

750,000 acre-feet a year, which is more 

than has ever been utilized in the area 

in Mexico, but the Mexican members 

desire nearly five times as much, or onefourth 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. (Menclenhall.)

It. SALTON SEA AND SALTON BASIN, CALIF.

From point near Figtree John Spring, looking north to Orocopia and Cottonwood Mountains.

(Meudcnhall.)
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 37

A. IRRIGATING YOUNG DATE PALMS IN IMPERIAL VALLEY, CALIF.

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 pi. 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. The 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 hi 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 estimated 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 hi 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 niches. The climate in 

general is closely simila,r 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 hi 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, 

such as 1930 and 1931, Imperial Valley 

could scarcely obtain a daily mean of 

1,000 second-feet, although the require152109° 33 17

ments are 2,500 second-feet. (Homan, 

P. T,, Economic aspect of the Boulder 

Dam project: Quart. Jour. Economics, 

vol. 45, pp. 177-217, 1931.)
250 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTEKN 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 practicaUy 

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 wellfitting name Imperial Valley was given to the region, and its development 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. L^te 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 

much higher the great irrigation settlement would have been inundated.

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 overflow 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 

to 245 feet below in 1930.
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 

"La 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 southeast, 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 pi. 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 73 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

73 This salt was a residue left in the 

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 siding. 

For centuries before, however, this salt 

had been utilized by the Indians. The 

fresh waters flowing into the basin 

brought the salt but contained only a 

very small proportion, and it has been 

concentrated by evaporation. A 300- 

foot boring at the old salt works revealed 270 feet of hard clay below the

Salt) and mild, a deposit of earlier overflow of the basin. Emory in his

exploration of 1848 found in the bottom 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 Yearbook 22, p. 66, 1924), shows a concentration of nearly 39,000 parts per million of dissolved mineral matter. This 

mineral matter consists mainly of 

sodium chloride with considerable 

amounts of calcium, magnesium, and 

sodium sulphates.

Of course with continued concentration the water becomes increasingly 

mineralized. At the .time of maximum

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 adjoining 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 74 is plainly visible at many places along the margin of the 

Salton Basin and extending up the Coachella Valley 76 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 mountain known as Travertine Point (pi. 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 76 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 a poco." Probably 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 volcanic 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

74 This name applied to the former 

water body by W. P. Blake is that of 

the Indians who inhabited the valley 

and of whom about 200 remain living 

on several small reservations near 

Mecca, Cabazon, and Palm Springs.

75 The name Coachella is probably a 

misspelling of "conchilla" (Spanish for 

little shell), which was used in the early 

days and printed on the earliest maps.

79 Macdougal, 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,77 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 (pi. 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 vegetation, especially near Banning, where the xerophilous (" droughtloving") Lower Sonoran flora ceases. Near Yuma the desert plants 

are about the same as those in Arizona, but the sahuaro is absent. 

The ocotillo (Fouguieria splendens; see pi. 41, A) occurs near the 

railroad 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.

77 Rock from ledges in this butte has 

been found to be a rhyolitic obsidian, 

metamorphosed to a banded mixture of

tridymite and barbierite, probably by 

the action of hot volcanic 

(A. F. Rogers.)
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 26

California-Arizona '1430

A Sand and gravel

B Sandstone, clay and conglomerate

Lavas and other rocks of 

volcanic origin

1 ertiary

(vi n d i ff ere n t iate< 1)

Pre-C'anihrian and later

Geology, reconnaissance by J. S, Brown, 1917-1918

-ahpatria

X EL -/Z5-

Ruthven 

ef. 373

Scale 500,000

I inch-8 miles (approximately} 

5 IO 15 Araby

£L 2/5

Contour interval 2OO feet

Datum /s mean sea 

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shown every

10 miles, and the crossties are drawn 7 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. S. 

topographic map of that name

Topography from U, S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps; north of 

latitude 33° surveys by Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 255

There are some groves or fhis 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, 0. basilaris, and 0. echinocarpa) extend west along 

the mountain slopes but do not occur low in the basin, where apparently their altitudinal limit is passed. The ironwood (Olneya tesota) 

is widely distributed on the dry uplands and bears much mistletoe 

(Phoradendron colijornicum), 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 hi the mountains, 

and deer, sheep, and antelope 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 

Bertram. a small amount of the hydrous form (Glauber salts), 

Elevation-189 feet nas ^eeii quarried. The mineral occurs in a bed 

NOW Orleans 1,835 3 inches to 8 feet thick in the Pliocene sandstones 

mlles- 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 Mountains, 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 pool 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. It is 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 district, 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. Tne watar is 

contained in sand in the valley fill, and the head is derived from the 

height of the intake on the sides and higher parts of the valley to the
TJ. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 38

/1. Ml,I) VOLCANOES SOUTHWKST OK MLA.MJ, CALIF.

Boiling mud probably heated by buried volcanic rocks. The water is believed to rise on the

San Aiidreas fault.

B. TRAVKKTIXK DEPOSIT MARKING STRAND OF ANCIENT LAKE CAHUILLA 

NEAR FIGTREE JOHN SPRING, ON SOUTH SIDE OF SALTON HASIN, CALIF.

Santa Rosa Mountains at right. (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 BULLETIN" 845 PLATE 40

A. CANYON IN TERTIARY STRATA EAST OF MECCA, CALIF.

B. TILTED LATE TERTIARY BEDS IN INDIO HILLS NORTHWEST OF INDIO, CALIF.

(Mendenhall.)
IT. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 41

A. OCOTILLO AND CIIOLLA, COACI1ELLA 

VALLKY, CALIF.

B. WASHINGTON PALMS IN PALM CANYON, CALIF.
TT. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 38

,1. \1LII) VOLCANOES SOUTHWEST OF NILAND, CALIF.

Boiling mud probably heated by buried volcanic rocks. The water is believed to rise on the

San Andreas fault.

11. TRAVERTINE DEPOSIT MARKING STRAND OF ANCIENT LAKE CAIIUILLA 

NEAR FIGTREE JOHN SPRING, ON SOUTH SIDE OF SALTON BASIN, CALIF.

Santa Rosa Mountains at right. (Mendenhall.)
XI. 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 BULLETIN 84.1 PLATE 40

A. CANYON IN TERTIARY STRATA EAST OF MECCA, CALIF.

B. TILTED LATE TERTIARY BEDS IN INDIO HILLS NORTHWEST OF INDIO, CALIF.

(Menderihall.)
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 41

A. OCOT1LLO \M> CHOLLA, COACHELLA 

VALLEY, CALIF.

B. WASHINGTON PALMS IN PALM CANYON, CALIF.
SOUTHEKN PACIFIC LINES 257

north and is maintained by the impervious cover of fine-grained deposits which occupy the. center of the basin. The water is derived 

from rainfall on the mountains and higher slopes, which passes underground 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.

JV1.6CC& _

The Mecca Hills consist of a 5,000-foot succession of

steeply tilted yellowish sandstone and sandy shales 

New Orleans 1,859 with a basal member 1,000 to 1,200 feet thick of 

mUes' brownish-red sandstones and conglomerates. These 

rocks are well exposed on the Shaver Canyon road east of Mecca. 

(See also p. 259 and pi. 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 conglomerate and sandstone. To the east of this place are the high ridges of 

dark schist known as the Orocopia Mountains. A sandy strip marking 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-
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,oUtilizing 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 humidity 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 careSW. NE.

_ _, Santa Rosa ° a/¥00 \ Mts.

Mecca Hills 

CoachellaValley J

Sea

Tertiary 

5 MILES

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 Department 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 Mecca the railroad company has a 1,500-foot well which supplies 

400 gallons a minute of water of excellent quality, used for locomotives at various places between that place and Glamis. The first well

here, bored by the railroad company in 1894, struck an artesian flow 

similar to that found at Thermal and Coachella several years before.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 259

Thermal.

Elevation 121 feet. 

Population 400.* 

New Orleans 1,865 

miles.

Coachella.

Elevation 66 feet. 

Population 700.* 

New Orleans 1,869 

miles.

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 

area contrast strongly with the desert conditions in 

the vaUey lands which have not been reclaimed. The 

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 adjoining 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 southeast, 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 consists of yellow clay with some sandstone and conglomerate and indicates 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.) 78

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,79 as shown on sheet 27.80

78 At the base of the Tertiary in this 

region is a conglomerate which at most 

places near the contact includes many 

fragments of the underlying schists. 

The material becomes finer grained 

farther away from the contact, the 

conglomerate grading laterally into 

sand and clay. This gradation is well 

exhibited in Shaver Canyon, east of 

Mecca, where near Shaver Well the 

conglomerate becomes coarser. The 

sand is mostly an arkosic mixture of 

quartz and feldspar fragments with 

more or less mica, all derived from 

near-by ledges of older rocks. (Brown.)

79 Noble, L. F., personal communication.

80 At the entrance to Shaver Canyon 

the beds of soft sandstone and clay dip 

about 15° SE. The rate of dip increases rapidly, and within half a mile 

the strata are vertical or slightly overturned in a crushed anticline, as shown 

in Plate 40, B. Northeast of the axis 

the dip is to the northeast, and here 

the anticline is overturned, with vertical dips on its northeast side. This 

general anticline has been traced southeastward for several miles. East of 

this anticline there is a broad basin, on
260 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

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.81 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 reproduced 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 Colorado 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.)

the east side of which basal conglomerates rise on the mass of schist that 

appears at Shaver Well. (Brown.)

The Indio Hills have practically the 

same structure as the Mecca Hills, 

except that they consist mainly of two 

anticlines in a faulted block cut off on 

the southwest by the San Andreas 

fault. (Noble, L. F., personal communication.)

81 That there still is movement along 

this fault or other faults west of it 

from time to time is probably indicated by earthquakes in Imperial 

Valley. One occurred at Brawley 

March 1, 1930, and another in 1932, 

and others are recorded at other points 

at times in Coachella Valley. (See also 

Beal, C. H., Seismol. Soc. America

Bull., vol. 5, pp. 130-148, 1916.) In 

order to determine the amount of 

vertical movement on this line of 

displacement precise levels have been 

run across this region by the United 

States Coast and Geodetic Survey 

through El Centre, Niland, Yuma, and 

Jacumba, a distance of 158 miles. 

These, when compared with previous 

levels, indicate slight vertical displacement a short distance south of Niland 

(probably on an extension of San 

Andreas fault), just south of Brawley, 

and farther south on the supposed eastward continuation of the Elsinore fault. 

The earthquake of March, 1932, which 

caused much loss of life and destruction

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

lndio west of Indio, and in the station yard is a fine Deglet

Noor date palm (female), imported from North

Elevation-15feet. ... , « i \ £ V- i i ± . Population i,500.* Africa, the offshoots ot which are always true to 

New Orleans 1,872 type." At Indio is the winter resort of the Los 

mies' 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 Coachella Valley, most of it shifted by strong winds that separate the sand 

from the coarser materials brought into the basin by many side streams. 

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 equipment, telegraph poles, and bridge timbers is a considerable 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 pebbles are smoothed and polished by the attrition of sand carried 

by the wind.82

From Indio 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 surrounded 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 juniper, the name "salt cedar," by which it is often known, is

82 Some kinds of igneous rocks and 

sandstones in desert regions show 

pitted or cavernous surfaces, with 

cavities of various sizes up to several 

inches in diameter, differing materially 

from the grooving and fluting caused 

by wind-blown sand. These cavites 

are believed to be due to inequalities

in rock disintegration by solution of 

the cement or of certain minerals that 

hold the grains together. Wind and 

other agencies remove the disintegrated material. The same process has 

much to do with the isolation and sculpturing of odd-shaped rocks in the desert 

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 sandstone 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 the surf ace, are small clumps of 

the Washington palm, mostly visible from the train. Behind the hills 

about 6 miles northeast of Edom are the Thousand Palm Springs 

(pi. 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 

Pk.

Horizontal scale

3 Miles

Vertical scale 

o 10.000 Feet

FIGURE 63. Section through the San Jacinto Mountains, Calif. After Frazer. ss, Sandstone; sc, schist;

gn, gneiss; gr, granite

The San Jacinto Mountains, prominently in view to the northwest 

(pi. 42, A), consist of a huge central mass of granite 83 flanked by 

schistose rocks 84 believed to be a contact phase of the granite. (See 

fig. 63.)

At Rimlon siding the railroad skirts a large hill of loose conglomerate, mostly covered with white wind-blown sand in which Woodring 

has found marine Tertiary fossils. These fossils also 

were found in and near Painted Hill, a ridge east of the 

Whitewater River not far north of the railroad. 

There are numerous mollusks in large variety and 

many Foraminifera.

The Whitewater River is a wide dry wash filled with boulders and 

sand. It is a flowing stream in the mountains just north of the railRimlon.

Elevation 400 feet. 

New Orleans 1,888 

miles.

83 According to Frazer, the granite 

mass of the San Jacinto Mountains is 

mostly a massive light-gray nonporphyritic rock, consisting mainly of 

orthoclase, microcline, plagioclase, 

quartz, and biotite, these minerals 

varying somewhat in proportion and 

size from place to place. Under the

microscope it is seen that the grains are 

generally fractured but without displacement. The mica constitutes from 

8 to 10 per cent and the feldspars

60 to 70 per cent. Some of the rock 

would be classed as quartz monzonite, 

granodiorite, and quartz diorite.

84 The schists dip away from the 

central mass at angles mostly from 

30° to 60° and in places are overlain by 

younger schists, 2,600 feet or more

thick and varying somewhat in mineralogic character. The younger schists 

include a small amount of intercalated 

limestone (marble). These rocks are 

believed to have been metamorphosed
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET

Scale 500.OOO 

I inch-8 miles (approximately)

Sand, gravel, loam, etc. (valley fill 

and lake deposits)

Water surface

sea, /ere/ in I9S8

Sandstone, shale, and conglomerat 

Schist, granite, etc. 

Lavas and tuffs (volcanic)

 Beach of Lake Gahuilla

 - Fault

 - Concealed fault

Pliocene

Pre-Cambrian ant 

Tertiary and later

Geology, reconnaissance mainly by J. S. Brown, 1917-1918; 

San Andreas and Mission Creek faults by L. F. Noble, 1932

Topography south of railroad by U. S. Geological Survey, north 

of railroad by Los Angeles Dept, of Water and Power

WILLIAMS ft HEINTZ CO WASH . D C
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 263

Palm Springs 

Station.

Elevation 1,130 feet. 

New Orleans 1,901 

miles.

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 popular winter resort in the valley that separates the Santa Rosa Mountains from the San Jacinto Range. The village is of 

considerable size and has many luxurious homes and 

hotels. The springs issue from the valley nil, 

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. At a 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, and 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 3s 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 i.3t, steep slopes rise more than 10,000 feet to the summit, 

San Jacinto Peak, as shown in Plate 42, A. This steep front is largely 

due to a great fault trending north, which is clearly exposed just west 

of Palm Springs Station. Here the 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 the granite was intruded, 

which may have been in late Jurassic 

time. The antiquity of their metamorphism is indicated by the fact that 

they are crystalline far away from the 

granite contact. Their age may be 

early Paleozoic, as they resemble rocks 

of that age in the region to the north.. 

Although the great central mass of 

granite is massive, there is a marginal 

phase which is so schistose as to be

classed as granite gneiss, a rock extensively exposed on the west side of Palm 

Canyon and in the region about 

Andreas Canyon. Its thickness may 

be 4,000 feet. The intrusive nature of 

the granite is proved by the contact 

relation and by the presence of included 

masses of schist (xenoliths) and limestone. The contact line is very irregular. (Frazer.)
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 narrower 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 steepsided 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 beyond Palm 

Springs Station.

San Gorgonio Pass is a dropped block of the earth's surface carrying 

an extensive body of recent sediments and lying between two great 

ranges of crystalline rocks. It is from 2 to 3 miles wide, and it extends 

almost due east and west for about 18 miles in the ordinary application 

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 Felipe 

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

B. ORANGE TREES IN FRUIT, KEDLANDS, CALIF.
TJ. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

VIEW EAST UP SAN TIMOTEO CANYON AND ACROSS YUCAIPK BAS1IN KROM A PO

Tilted late Tertiary strata at right; San Beruardiiio Mountains at le
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 Garc6s, who went through it on the way to Mission San 

Gabriel and named it Puerto de San Carlos. It was traversed again 

hi 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, however, 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 ;85 

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 Centre 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 Garces occupying the Colorado Desert region as far 

west as San Gorgonio Pass.

With 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 pi. 42, A.}

From the vicinity of Cabazon (misspelling of Spanish cabez6n, bighead) 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 foothills on the north 

side of the valley.

85 In 1876 a stage line crossing the 

Colorado River at Ehrenberg, 60 

miles above Yuma, came by way of

152109° 33 18

Dos Palmas Spring, east of Mecca, 

and thence up the Coachella Valley to 

San Gorgonio Pass,
266

Banning, near the head of the valley constituting San Gorgonio Pass,

is an agricultural and residential settlement where high elevation and

other conditions make it an agreeable summer resort

Banning. ftg wejj ftg an a]i_year residence. The mean annual

Elevation 2,320 feet. . , J Q , , .,. population 2,752. temperature is about 60 , the average humidity ranges 

New Orleans 1,915 from 42 to 53 per cent, and the mean annual precipitation is 18.5 inches. It is claimed that there is an 

average of 345 days of sunshine in the year. The views of the mountains to the north and south are very impressive, and roads lead from 

Banning into both ranges. The great crest of San Gorgonio Mountain 

(elevation 11,485 feet), a few miles north of the pass, is most conspicuous, and often its summit remains snow-covered long after the fruit 

trees of the lowlands are in blossom. This is the highest point in southern California. San Jacinto Peak is also a prominent feature not 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 orchards of peaches, 

prunes, almonds, and 

other fruits near 

Banning, and through 

Pershing siding to 

Beaumont and beFIGUKE 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 earlv

alluvium ° ^

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 variations. The great offset in the mountain front at the Whitewater 

River referred to above is due to faulting. (Vaughan.)

Snow is conspicuous in winter on the higher ranges in southern 

California, but it disappears in summer. Formerly there were small
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 267

local glaciers on the San Bernardino Mountains, as shown by wellpreserved cirques and moraines.86 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.87

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 (SpanFIGURE 05. Section from Banning, Calif., north to San Bernardino Mountain. After Vaugnan

ish danzarln, 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 

sidings into the San Timoteo Canyon, which leads to 

the Santa Ana River. In the upper part of this canyon there are at intervals fine views of the mountains 

to the north, but finally high banks cut off the view. 

San Timoteo Canyon is excavated in a deposit of 

loam, sand, gravel, and cobblestones of Pleistocene age. These maBeaumont.

Elevation 2,564 feet. 

Population 1,332. 

New Orleans 1,921 

miles.

86 Cirques are steep-walled semicircular recesses in the high mountain 

slopes, produced by glacial erosion, 

and moraines are ridges of coarse iceborne detritus that accumulates along 

the margin of glaciers as the ice melts.

87 Fairbanks, H. W., and Carey, 

E. P., Science, new ser., vol. 31, pp. 

32-33, 1910. Vaughan, F. E., California Univ. Dept. Geology Bull., 

vol. 13, p. 335, 1922.
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 constitute 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 anticline 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 Pliocene tune southern California had 

somewhat the same configuration as at present. The land was gradually 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 base 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.
SOTJTHEKN 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 considerable extent in the San Bernardino Mountains and used extensively 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.88

The railroad passes through Redlands station 3 miles south of the

fine city of Redlands, which is noted for its oranges (see pi. 42, B)

and for the beauty of its environment. A park in-

 , eluding Smiley Heights, with a notable collection of Elevation 1,350 feet. fe J &> i i . Population 14,177. fine trees, oners some spectacular drives with charmNew Orleans 1,940 mg yjews 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 pi. 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 large 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.

88 See U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 636, pp. 176-177, 1930.
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

has a large plant for icing refrigerator freight cars that Elevation 978 feet. ° F & . ° fe Population 8,014. carry fruits and other perishable products on the long 

New Orleans 1,944 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 pi. 45.) The city is famous for its general 

beauty, the original navel orange tree, the Mission Hotel, and Magnolia Avenue, with its 10 miles of quadruple rows of eucalyptus, pepper, 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 Agriculture) now stands protected by a high railing, in a position of honor 

in front of Mission Inn, where President Theodore 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 Garc6s 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 Mountains to and beyond Pomona, an area of about 1,500 square miles. 

This vaUey is filled with debris of unknown thickness, and its surface 

is made up of deposits of sand, silt, and gravel, the talus and wash 

from the adjacent ranges. The elevation 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 

Mountains, which were skirted by the railroad from Whitewater to 

Beaumont. These peaks are often visible from ships at sea.
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 pi. 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 temperatures 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 Bernardino (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 Bernardino 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 (cahhone') and purchased from Mexicans the cultivated areas of the Bernardino 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 Bernardino, Redlands, and Riverside is under irrigation by water derived 

either from surface streams from the San Bernardino Mountains or 

from the underflow in the gravel at their foot.
272 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

It was s.oon 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 cutting. 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.89 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 temporarily 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 barley, 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 Bernardino 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 seekers of 1849. The pass is due to erosion along several parallel faults,

89 A miner's inch (in California) is the 

amount of water that flows continuously through an orifice 1 inch square 

under a head of 6 inches. It equals 

11% gallons a minute, 1/40 second-foot,

or 1 foot deep over 18.1 acres in a year. 

(The older miner's inch was 1/50 secondfoot.) Citrus lands require about 1 

miner's inch for every 5 acres.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 SHEET 28

117 California

EXPLANATION

A Sand and gravel (valley fill and terrace deposits, A') 

B Sandstone, shale, and conglomerate 

C Granite, schist, dionte, etc. 

D Basalt ^H 

- ~ Fault

~ ~' Concealed fault

Geo

Quaternary 

Pliocene and Miocene 

Pre-Jurassic 

Pliocene

eology by F. E. Vaughan, G, A. Waring, 

D, M. Frazer, W. J. Miller, and others

N O

ORO VA 1- 1" j ~~~^ "<

essandro-_yp-H^f-Rus^enC^ 'yVx /

R &^r^ *^>;L&'$ vwvsrdgg qM 5. M . v. %JA^^ I A ^^^^^^ c /:^fe^JLa

t

i

Scale 500,000

I inch-8 miles (approximately; 

5________ ID__ 15

05______10 15______20 KILOMETERS

Contour interval 200 feet

Datum /s mean sea (eve/

The distances from Hew Orleans, La., are shown euery 

JO miles, and the crossties are drawn J mite apart

Each quadrangle shown on the map with a name in parentheses 

in the Sower left corner is mapped in detail on the U. S. G. S. 

topographic map of that name

2O MILES

117

Topography: U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps
F. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 44

A. SAN BEHNAHDINO 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.
XT. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 45

A. PICKING LEMONS IMKAH RIVERS1UK, CALIF.

B. ORANGE GROVES NEAR RIVERSIDE
XJ. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 46

A. THE GREAT ARROW-SHAPED SCAK IN THE MOUNTAIN SIDE AT ARROWHEAD SPRINGS, ON SOUTH SLOPE OF SAN HERNAHDINO MOUNTAINS, CALIF.

li. UPTURNED LATE TERTIARY STRATA IN CAJON PASS, NORTHWEST OF SAN 

BERNAHDINO, CALIF.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

LOS ANGELES PLAIN, CALIF., FROM ECHO MOU

Looking southwest. Pasadena in middle ground; Los Angeles at right; Sa
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

of relatively recent age geologically, that cross diagonally the axis of

the general mountain 

range extending 

across southern California. These faults 

include the southern 

extension of the San 

Andreas fault, movement along which in 

1906 caused the San 

Francisco earthquake 

They define the north 

side of the San Gabriel 

Mountains, and southeast of the pass they 

extend eastward for 

many miles along the 

south foot of the San 

Bernardino Mountains. There are several planes of movement, not far apart, 

with huge slivers, or 

narrow blocks, of 

schist and soft sandstone between them. 

(See pi. 46, B.) The 

erosion of the sandstone on the downthrown blocks is the 

principal cause of the 

pass. (Noble.)

Near Eedlands the 

faults present many 

features indicating 

recent movement, 

notably at one place 

where a ravine has 

been offset abruptly. 

The movement was 

mostly vertical, but 

in some of the faults 

there has been a horizontal displacement. 

For some distance 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 sandstone 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, separated 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 considerably 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 

 , .. , , . Mountains,90 with their imposing high peaks and Elevation 1,090 feet. .' ±- s> » rNew Orleans 1,948 deeply incised canyons. Along the foot of the range

mUes- 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,

90 The San Gabriel Mountains consist of granite rocks of several kinds 

and a variety of other crystalline

rocks, mainly schists, some of which 

were originally shales and sandstones 

but have been altered (metamorphosed)
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 275

Guasti.

Elevation 958 feet. 

Population 164. 

New Orleans 1,959 

miles.

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,91 which extend southeast from Corona.

From Bloomington to Ontario there are several settlements occupied 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 

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 sediment, which is dropped as the water spreads out on the plain. Occasional 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 compression. It is believed that the range 

was uplifted in greater part in late 

Tertiary time. Apparently the uplift 

consisted of the rise of a huge block of 

the earth's crust along fault lines 

mostly trending N. 60° W. The main 

block is traversed by minor faults 

which make the structure very complex. 

91 In the Santa Ana Mountains the 

oldest rocks are Triassic slates and 

sandstones with some limestone lenses, 

intruded by dikes of andesite. They 

are overlain unconformably by a 

coarse conglomerate and in places by

basic lavas and tuffs, and all are cut 

and altered greatly by masses of 

andesite, granodiorite, and diorite 

which have been intruded in a molten 

condition. Next above there is a westward-dipping succession of Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary strata. In 

general, the mountains consist of a 

tilted fault block with local flexures. 

There has been a long series of repeated 

uplifts, but in the development of the 

present topography the hardness of 

the rocks has been the principal 

factor. Some of the lower terraces are 

marine. (B. N. Moore.)
276 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Ontario.

Elevation 991 feet. 

Population 13,583. 

New Orleans 1,963 

miles.

Six miles northwest of Ontario is the mouth of San Antonio Canyon, 

one of the larger drainage outlets from the San Gabriel Mountains, 

which furnishes considerable water for irrigation. On 

the plain the creek bed spreads into half a dozen 

irregular "washes," which are crossed by the railroad 

near Ontario. From the gravel and sand under the 

plain 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 valley 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 

to the San Jose and Puente Hills. It is surrounded by 

extensive groves of oranges and other fruits and produces large amounts of walnuts and grapes. About 

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 gardening. 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 railroad 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 northwest of Pomona, there is granite 92 overlain by lava flows and volcanic 

tuffs and agglomerates at the base of the Tertiary section, and a 

similar succession on the south side of the railroad constitutes the

Pomona.

Elevation 855 feet. 

Population 20,804. 

New Orleans 1,967 

miles.

82 The granite is well exposed in 

Ganesha Park, in the northwestern 

part of Pomona. It is much weathered, but its coarse crystalline texture is 

apparent. West of Pomona on both 

sides of San Jose Creek the granite is

overlain by igneous rocks of Tertiary

age containing flows of white, purple, 

and brown lavas and intrusive sills of 

dark basic rocks. Agglomerate, vesicular 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 a

vein of coarse calcite traceable for a

mile or more, which was burned for 

plaster by the early Spanish settlers. 

(See 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,93 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 preCretaceous 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.

Vertical and horizontal scales 

0 5,000 10,000 Feet

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

93 According to the definition of the 

Puente formation by the U. S. Geological Survey, in the Puente Hills and Los 

Angles district it comprises the following members:

Upper shale, 300 to 2,000 feet. 

Earthy chalky shale and sandy 

gray shale, weathering pink to 

chocolate-brown, with a few 

beds of fine yellow sandstone. 

Is overlain unconformably by 

Fernando group.

Sandstone member, 300 to 2,000 

feet. Moderately coarse gray 

to tawny-yellow thick-bedded 

sandstone with beds of shale; 

some conglomeratic members 

containing granite boulders.

Lower shale, 2,000 feet. Chiefly 

earthy shale, mostly gray to 

black, including thin beds of 

fine-grained sandstone from top 

to base and lentils of limestone.
278 GUIDEBOOK OP THE WESTEKN 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 

41,000,000 barrels. The wells were in the outcrop area of the thick 

body of shales constituting the lower half of the Puente formation,

* Fault

'Fault Fault

" - ' ' ~

FIGURE 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 

feet. The large oil production of this general region now comes from 

the Santo Jfe, Whittier; Brea Canyon, Coyote Hills, and other fields 

along the south slope of the Puente Hills or south of tnem.
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. Puente Hills and passes into the wide basinlike plain

Population 1,034. bordering San Gabriel Wash, into which flows the 

New Orleans 1,982 gan 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 irrigation, 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.)
280 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

San Gabriel.

Elevation 415 feet. 

Population 7,224. 

New Orleans 1,992 

miles.

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 established by the Franciscan friars between San Diego 

and San Francisco and is in an excellent state of 

preservation. It was started by Padres Camb6n and 

Somera, under the direction of Fray Junlpero 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,94 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 history 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 

Alhambra to Pasadena, a city of 76,086 inhabitants 

a few miles to the north. This large and beautiful 

city is a most interesting business, residential, and 

educational center. In the eastern part is the California 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 Laboratory, 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 Washington, is equipped with the world's largest reflecting telescope.

Pasadena lies in a "rinc6n," 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

Alhambra.

Elevation 466 feet. 

Population 29,472. 

New Orleans 1,995 

miles.

04 The fruit called aguacate by the

Mexicans and other Spanish-speaking

people now IMS tlie commercial name

"avocado" to replace the former

"alligator pear," which was a decided

misnomer, as the fruit is not a pear and

10 iQ BV W WSWjtoted with amgators-
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 pi. 47).

The Repetto Hills west and south of Alhambra consist of sandstone, 

conglomerate, soft siltstone, and shale of Miocene, Pliocene, 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. In a 

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, with its fertile soil and delightful 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 jniles 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 semiNew^Saif^ra Mexican town of 12,000 inhabitants centered about 

miles. the old plaza with the mission church of Nuestra Senora 

la Reina 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 Calif ornians 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. Andres 

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 Fremont 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 

Colorado River at Parker after the Boulder Dam is completed. (See 

p. 241.)

Los Angeles County, with an area of only 4,115 square miles, claims 

to be the richest county in the United States in value of farm property 

and agricultural products, According to the 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 boxes) grown in the State. The milk production 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 (pi. 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.95 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.) Carnivorous 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.

95 According to Stock, the most 

abundant mammals are the sabertoothed tiger (Smilodon californicus) 

and the dire wolf (Arenocyon dims), 

which are represented by thousands of 

bones. There were also the great 

lionlike cat (Felis atrox), the coyote 

(Canis ochropus orculti), and the shortfaced bear (Tremarctotherium californicum). Among the herbivores were the 

mammoth (Archidiskodon imperator),

mastodon (Mammut americanum), horse 

'(Equus occidentalis), bison (Bison antiquus), camel (Camelops hesternus), 

antelope (Capromeryx minor), and 

several kinds of ground sloths (Mylodon harlanii, Nothrotherium shastense, 

and Megalonyx jeffersonii). Among 

the great numbers of condors, vultures, 

eagles, and hawks is the largest bird of 

flight, a condorlike vulture (Teratornis 

merriami).
284 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES
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 conglomerate, sandstone, and shale of Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary age.

Formations in Santa Monica Mountains 

[H. W. Hoots]

Formation

Shale, with beds of sandstone and ash (Modelo formation) .... ......

Unconformity (folding, faulting, and basalt intrusions).

Sandstone, conglomerate, shale, basalt flows, and other volcanic rocks

(Topanga formation). Basal 1,000 feet of conglomerate east of

Cahuenga Avenue may be Vaqueros.

Light-gray and red conglomerate (Vaqueros? and Sespe? formations) .

Unconformity.

Shale and sandstone; some fossiliferous sandstone (Martinez formation) .

Conglomerate, sandstone, and dark shale, fossiliferous (Chico formation) .

Thickness 

(feet)

4,500

4,500-7,500

3,500-4,000

250+

8,000±

Age

Upper Miocene.

Middle Miocene.

Lower Miocene and

Oligocene(?).

Lower Eocene.

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 anticlinal 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 

pi. 48, A.}

In the central part of Los Angeles are many exposures of Miocene 

beds, including shale filled with diatom remains. On Hill and First
286 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTEEN 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 conspicuous 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 fossiJiferous 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 comprising 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 5H 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 

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

II7°30'

California

Scale 500,000 

I inch-8 miles (approximatfijyJ 

S IO 15

Contour interval 2OO feet

Datum is mean sea /evef 

The distances from New Orleans, La., are shoiun every

W miles, and the ct'ossties 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. S. 

topographic map of that name

us , ._ j G 

LamandefSanW 

Park

BERNARC?

Rialto

inguez

I A 

rritos

EXPLANATION

Sand and gravel (alluvium and marine and stream terraces)

Fernando group and contemporaneous beds in 

Cajon Pass

Sandy shale; some sandstone and conglomerate

Lava, tuff, and diabase 

intrusivcs

Shale, pantlstone, and 

conglomerate

Puentc (Modelo to the west) 

and contemporaneous beds 

in Cajon Pass 

Topanga and Vaqueros 

(Miocene) and Sespe 

(Oligocenc and Eocene) 

Tejon and Martinez

" ~ Fault

Concealed fault

Sandstone and shale

(small areas in Cajon Pass are

included in D)

Shale, sandstone, and

conglomerate

Pre-Jurassic 

Carboniferous (?)

Granite, schist, slate, etc. 

Marble (larger masses only) 

Oil fields of coastal plain

Geology by W. A. English, W. S. W. Kew, H. W. Hoots, and others 

San Andreas fault-Cajon Pass region by L. F. Noble

11730

Topography; U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 287

placements. (Eaton.) Faulting has had much to do with the accumulation 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 ends sealed by asphalt or by an overlapping 

impervious bed. (Kew.)

YUM A, 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, 6% miles west of Yuma, on 

Southern Pacific tracks extending to El Centro (40 miles). The 

railroad passes around the southeast end of the great 

belt of sand hills and looping into Mexico reaches 

pSations!^' Mexicali, Mexico, and the adjoining city of Calexico, 

New Orleans 1,830 Calif. El Centro is in the highly productive irrigated 

miles> 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 adjoining 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 

sparse vegetation of arid-land plants.
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 interbedded 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 

granite 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. 

It is mostly of blue-gray color and has been quarried to a small extent 

at the east end of Coyote Mountain. Some portions contain coni Mile

FIGURE 70. Section across Coyote Mountain, Calif., near Alverson and Qarnett Canyons. After Mendenhall. a, Limestone (Paleozoic) metamorphosed to marble by 

intrusive granite; b, sandstone and conglomerate; c, tuff (Miocene); d, shale (Miocene)

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 sandstones 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 

or clay which forms conspicuous badlands in the slopes between 

Carrizo Mountain and Fish Creek Mountain. High-level terrace 

deposits lie across the planed-off edges of the shale. The Tertiary 

beds and their fossils have been described by Mendenhall, Kew, 

T. W. Vaughan, and Woodring.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 845 PLATE 43

A. SHORE OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN AT SANTA MONICA, CALIF.

B. ASPHALT PITS AT LA BREA, IN THE WESTERN PART OF LOS ANGELES, CALIF. 

Oil field in middle ground; Santa Monica Mountains in distance.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 84S 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 s 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 mam valley slope and capped by lavas. The railroad ascends the 

yalley and near Dos Cabezas siding reaches the base of the Laguna 

Mountains, in which are exposed marble and schist apparently underlying 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. The scenery is remarkably impressive. The 

rock is mostly a massive light-colored granite, sculptured into many 

picturesque forms in the steep canyon walls. (See pi. 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 hydrogen 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. It is 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

i Mile

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 of the beryls are white or pale rose and almost as brilliant as 

diamonds.

Between Campo, Calif., and Tecate, Mexico, the international 

boundary line is crossed in tunnel 4, the deflection into Mexico being 

required to obtain a suitable grade for the railroad on the west side of
SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES 291

the mountain. For the next 43 miles the track follows the northern 

margin of Baja Calif ornia. 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 foUows 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 held.

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

San Diego temperate summers have had much to do "with attractEievation 10 to mg a large population. The harbor was discovered

200+ feet. by £ne Portuguese navigator, Juan Rodrlguez Cabrillo, Population 147,995. , J & fo ' ° '_'

New Orleans 1,978 in September, 1542, and was named in 1602 by Don 

1111 es' Sebastian Vizcaino, a Spanish explorer. The first 

mission in California was the Mission San Diego de Alcala, founded at 

a small Indian rancherla (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 reestablished 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 headquarters. 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 

edge of the city, are the old mission, old Fort Stockton, the monument 

where in 1846 General Fremont 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 University 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.

HISTORT 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 Pacific 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 incorporated 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 Railroad Co. 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, 

Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway, was also built in sections. The portion 

from Harrisburg (now a part of Houston) to Alleyton was built by the Buffalo 

Bayou, Brazos & Colorado Railway Co. in 1853-60 and extended to Columbus 

by the bridge across the Colorado River before 1870, including 2y2 miles of road 

to the river built in 1861-65. The line from Columbus to San Antonio was 

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 

to El Paso the tracks are used jointly by the Texas & Pacific Railway on a rental 

basis.

The lines west of El Paso were built in separate portions by local Southern 

Pacific organizations, since 1902 combined in the one general company. The 

tracks were laid from Yuma to El Paso in 1879-81, and the line from 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

APPLIN, E. R., ELLISOR, A. E., and KNICKER, H. T., Subsurface stratigraphy 

of the Coastal Plain of Texas and Louisiana: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., vol. 9, pp. 79-122,. 1925.

BAUERNSCHMIDT, A. J., jr., East Hackberry salt dome, Cameron Parish, La.: 

Idem, vol. 15, pp. 247-256, 1931.

BARTON, D. C., The salt domes of south Texas: Idem, vol. 9, pp. 536-589, 1925.

 and PAXSON, A. B., The Spindletop salt dome and oil field: Idem, vol. 9, 

pp. 594-612, 1925.

 and GOODRICH, 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, pi., 1925.

 Geology of the San Marcos quadrangle: Idem, vol. 11, pp. 825-851, 1927. 

DEGOLYER, E. L., Origin of the North American salt domes: Idem, vol. 9,

pp. 831-874, 1925. 

DETJSSEN, 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 pis., 1914.

 Geology of the Coastal Plain of Texas west of the Brazos River: U. S.

Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 126, 139 pp., 36 pis., 1924. 

HAGER, D. S., and STILES, E., The Blue Ridge salt dome, Fort Bend County,

Tex.: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull, vol. 9, pp. 304-316, 1925. 

HARRIS, G. D., Underground waters of southern Louisiana: U. S. Geol. Survey

Water-Supply Paper 101, 98 pp., pis., 1904. 

HOWE, H. V., Geology of Iberia Parish: Louisiana Dept. Conservation, Bur.

Research, BuU. 1, 187pp., pis., 1931. 

KELLY, P. K., The Sulphur salt dome, La.: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists

BuU., vol. 9, pp. 479-496, 1925. 

MCCULLUM, L. F., CTJNNINGHAM, C. J., and BURFORD, S. 0., Salt Flat oil field,

Caldwell County, Tex.: Idem, vol. 14, pp. 1401-1423, 1930. 

MINOR, H. E., The Edgerly oil field, La.: Idem, vol. 9, pp. 497-504, 1925. 

STEINMEYER, R. A., Phases of sedimentation in Gulf coastal prairies of Louisiana:

Idem, vol. 14, pp. 903-916, 1930. 

TROWBRIDGE, A. C., Building of Mississippi Delta: Idem, voL 14, pp. 867-902,

1930. 

THOMPSON, S. A., and EICHELBERGER, 0. H., Vinton salt dome, Calcasieu Parish,

La.: Idem, vol. 12, pp. 385-394, 1928. 

VAUGHAN, 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. 

BEEDE, J. W., Notes on the geology and oil possibilities of the northern Diablo

Plateau in Texas: Texas Univ. Bull. 1852, 24 pp., 1920. 

CRAGIN, F. W., Paleontology of the Malone Jurassic formation of Texas: U. S.

Geol. Survey Bull. 266, 172 pp., 29 pis., 1905.

293
294 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTEEN UNITED STATES

DARTON, N. H., and KING, P. B., Western Texas and Carlsbad Caverns: XVI

Internat. Geol. Gong. Guidebook 13, 38 pp., 4 pis., 1932. 

KING, P. B., Geology of the Glass Mountains, Tex.; Part 1, Descriptive geology:

Texas Univ. Bur. Econ. Geology Bull. 3938, 1930. 

OSANN, A., Report on the rocks of trans-Pecos Texas: Texas Geol. Survey Fourth

Ann. Kept., pp. 121-138, 1893. 

RICHARDSON, G. B., Report of a reconnaissance of trans-Pecos Texas: Texas

Univ. Min. Survey Bull. 9, 119 pp., map, 1904.

 U. S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, El Paso folio (No. 166), 1909.

 U. S. 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. 

STREERUWITZ, 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;

Third Ann. Rept., pp. 381-389, 1892; Fourth Ann. Rept., pt. 1, pp. 139-175,

1893. 

TAPF, J. A., The Cretaceous deposits of El Paso County: Texas Geol. Survey

Second Ann. Rept., pp. 714-738, 1891. 

VAUGHAN, T. W., U. S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, Uvalde folio (No. 64), 1900.

 Reconnaissance in the Rio Grande coal fields of Texas: U. S. Geol. Survey 

Bull. 164, 100 pp., 11 pis., 1900.

NEW MEXICO

DARTON, N. H., Geology and underground water of Luna County, N. Mex.: 

U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 618, 188 pp., 13 pis., 1916.

 A comparison of Paleozoic sections in southern New Mexico: U. S. Geol. 

Survey Prof. Paper 108, pp. 31-55, pis. 13-21, 1918.

 "Red Beds" and associated formations in New Mexico, with an outline 

of the geology of the State: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 794, 350 pp., 62 pis., 

1928.

Geologic map of New Mexico: U. S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, 1928.

LEE, W. T., Afton craters of southern New Mexico: Geol. Soc. America Bull.,

vol. 18, pp. 211-220, 1907. 

SCHWENNESEN, A. T., Ground water in the Animas, Playas, Hachita, and San

Luis Basins, N. Mex.: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 422, 152 pp.,

9 pis., 1918.

ARIZONA

BRYAN, KIRK, Erosion and sedimentation in the Papago country, Ariz., with a 

sketch of the geology: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 730, pp. 19-90, 1923.

 The Papago country, Ariz., a geographic, geologic, and hydrologic reconnaissance, with a guide to desert watering places: U. S. Geol. Survey WaterSupply Paper 499, 436 pp., 27 pis., 1925.

 - and GIDLEY, J. W., Vertebrate fossils and their inclosing deposits from 

the shore of Pleistocene Lake Cochise, Ariz.: Am. Jour. Sci. 3 5th ser., vol. 11, 

pp. 477-488, 1926.

DARTON, N. H., Re'sume' of the geology of Arizona: Arizona Univ. Bur. Mines 

Bull. 119, 298 pp., 74 pis., 1925.

 LAUSEN, CARL, and WILSON, E. D., Geologic map of the State of Arizona,

Arizona Univ. Bur. Mines, 1925. 

DAVIS, W. M., The Santa Catalina Mountains, Ariz.: Am. Jour. Sci., 5th ser.,

vol. 22, pp. 289-317, 1931. 

GIDLEY, J. W., Fossil Proboscidea and Edentata of San Pedro Valley, Ariz.:

U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 140, pp. 83-95, pis. 32-44, 1926.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 295

LEE, W. T., Underground waters of Salt River Valley, Ariz.: U. S. Geol. Survey

Water-Supply Paper 136, 196 pp., maps, 1905. 

MEINZER, 0. E., and KELTON, F. C., Geology and water resources of Sulphur

Spring Valley, Ariz.: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 320, 231 pp.,

15 pis., 1913. 

HANSOME, F. L., The geology and ore deposits of the Bisbee quadrangle, Ariz.:

U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 21, 168 pp., 29 pis., 1904.

 U. S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, Bisbee folio (No. 112), 1904.

 The copper deposits of Ray and Miami, Ariz.: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. 

Paper 115, 192 pp., 54 pis., 1919.

Ore deposits of the Southwest: XVI Internat. Geol. Cong. Guidebook

14, 67 pp., 13 pis., 1932. 

R,oss, C. P., The lower Gila region, Ariz., a geographic, geologic, and hydrologic 

reconnaissance, with a guide to desert watering places: U. S. Geol. Survey 

Water-Supply Paper 498, 237 pp., 23 pis., 1923.

 Geology of the lower Gila region, Ariz.: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper

129, pp. 181-197, 1922. 

SAUER, CARL, Basin and range forms in the Chiricahua area: California Univ.,

Pubs, in Geography, vol. 3, 339 pp., 414 pis., 1930. 

SCHRADER, 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 pis., 1915. 

SCHWENNESEN, A. T., Ground water in San Simon Valley, Ariz. and N. Mex.:

U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 425, pp. 1-35, pis. 1-3, 1919.

 Geology and water resources of the Gila and San Carlos Valleys, Ariz.:

U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 450, 27 pp., 4 pis., 1919. 

STOYANOW, A. A., Notes on stratigraphic work in Arizona: Am. Jour. Sci., 5th

ser., vol. 12, pp. 311-324, 1926. 

TOLMAN, C. F., The geology of the vicinity of the Tumamoc Hills, Ariz.: Carnegie

Inst. Washington Pub. 113, p. 76, 1909. 

WILSON, E. D., Geology and ore deposits of the Courtland-Gleeson region:

Arizona Bur. Mines Bull. 123, 1927.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

ARNOLD, RALPH, and STRONG, A. M., Some crystalline rocks of the San Gabriel 

Mountains, Calif.: Geol. Soc. America Bull., vol. 16, pp. 183-204, 1905.

BROWN, J. S., The Salton Sea region, Calif., a geographic, geologic, and hydrologic reconnaissance, with a guide to desert watering places: U. S. Geol. 

Survey Water-Supply Paper 497, 292 pp., 19 pis., 1923.

 Fault features of Salton Basin, Calif.: Jour. Geology, vol. 33, pp. 217-226,

map, 1922. 

.BUWALDA, J. P., and STANTON, W. L., Geological events in the history of the

Indio Hills and the Salton Basin, Calif.: Science, new ser., vol. 71, pp.

104-106, 1930. 

DARTON, N. H., and others, Guidebook of the western United States, Part C,

The Santa Fe Route: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 613, 200 pp., 42 pis'., 1915. 

ELDRIDGE, G. H., and ARNOLD, RALPH, The Santa Clara Valley, Puente Hills,

and Los Angeles oil districts, southern California: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull.

309, 266 pp., 41 pis., 1907. 

ENGLISH, W. A., Geology and oil resources of the Puente Hills region, southern

California: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 768, 110 pp., 14 pis., 1926. 

.FAIRBANKS, H. W., Geology of San Diego County [etc.]: California State Mineralogist Eleventh Rept., pp. 76-120, map, 1893.
296 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTEEN UNITED STATES

FREE, E. E., Sketch of the geology and soils of the Cahuilla Basin: Carnegie Inst.

Washington Pub. 193, pp. 21-33, 1914. 

FRICK, CHILDS, Extinct vertebrate fauna of badlands of Bautista Creek and San

Timoteo Canyon: California Univ. Dept. Geology Bull., vol. 12, pp. 277-

424, pis., 1921. 

GALE, H. S., Southern California: XVI Internat. Geol. Cong. Guidebook 15,

68 pp., 14 pis., 1932. Contains contributions by H. W. Hoots, R. D. Reed,

W. P. Woodring, L. F. Noble, Chester Stock, and W. S. W. Kew. 

HILL, M. L., Structure of the San Gabriel Mountains, south of Los Angeles,

Calif.: California Univ. Dept. Geology Bull., vol. 19, pp. 137-170, 1930. 

HOOTS, H. 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,

pis., 1931. 

KEW, W. S. W., Geology and oil resources of a part of Los Angeles and Ventura

Counties, Calif.: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 753, 202 pp., 17 pis., 1924. 

MENDENHALL, W. C., Hydrology of San Bernardino Valley, Calif.: U. S. Geol.

Survey Water-Supply Paper 142, 83 pp., 5 pis., 1905. 

_ Ground waters and irrigation in the foothill belt, southern California:

U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 129, 180 pp., 9 pis., 1908. 

 Ground waters of the Indio region, Calif., with a sketch of the Colorado

Desert: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 225, 56 pp., 12 pis., 1909. 

Notes on the geology of Carrizo Mountain and vicinity: Jour. Geology,

vol. 18, pp. 336-355, 1900.

MILLER, W. J., Geomorphology of the southwestern San Gabriel Mountains: 

California Univ. Dept. Geology Bull, vol. 17, pp. 193-240, pis. 29-35, 1928.

NOBLE, L. F., The San Andreas rift and some other active faults in the desert 

region of southeastern California: Carnegie Inst. Washington Yearbook 25, 

pp. 415-428, 1926.

RUSSELL, R. J., Land forms of San Gorgonio Pass, southern California: California Univ. Dept. Geography Bull., vol. 6, pp. 23-121, map, 1932.

VAUGHAN, F. E., Geology of the San Bernardino Mountains north of San Gorgonio Pass: California Univ. Dept. Geol. Sci. Bull., vol. 13, pp. 319-411, 

pis. 17-23, map, 1922.

VAUGHAN, T. "W., The reef-coral fauna of Carrizo Creek, Imperial County, Calif., 

and its significance: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 98, pp. 353-386, pis., 

1917.

WOODRING, W. P., Distribution and age of the marine Tertiary deposits of the 

Colorado Desert: Carnegie Inst. Washington Pub. 418, pp. 1-25, 1932.
INDEX

A Page Sheet

Acadians in Louisiana___. _.. 20-21 

Aden Crater, N. Mex._ ............... 135

Adensiding, N.Mex-- ...... 135 18

Adondesiding, Ariz.------ 234 25

Afton Crater, N. Mex., giant sloth

found in.............. 135, pi. 19

Afton siding, N.Mex................. 133 18

Agua Caliente, Ariz................. 221,222 24

Agua Prieta, Mexico..__..__ 174 21 

Ajo, Ariz.-... ..................... 227

Alamo, San Antonio, Tex_____ 67, pi. 7 

Alfalfa crops._____................. 120

Alhambra, Calif____. ______ 280 29 

Alleyton, Tex_____...........-.--- 52 7

Alpine, Tex-.-..-........ .......... 95-97 14

Altuda siding, Tex..-....-.....-...-.- 93-95 14

Amanda siding, Tex___.___. 78 11 

Amelia siding, Tex. ______._... 42 5 

Amos, Calif., drifting sands near_--. pi. 36 

Anacacho Mountain, Tex_____... 76-77 11 

Anaprasiding, N.Mex....---.---.-- 132,163 18

Angesiding, Tex.____........ 74 10

Anhnas Mountains, N. Mex_____ 168 20 

Animas siding, N.Mex....-____..- 168 20

Animas Valley, N. Mex............. 145,168

Anse La Butte salt dome, La_ 26 3 

Antelope Hill, Ariz.--------------.---- 233 25

Antelope siding, N. Mex..__.__.. 168 20 

Anza's expedition....... 194,222,227,232,233

ApacheHills, N.Mex....---.----..--- 166 19

Apache Indians, encampment of_... pi. 29 

Apache Junction, Ariz_--_.--..-.. 218 

Apache Pass, Ariz.--....._........ 146,154 21

Apache trail, Ariz..___........... 207-218

Araby siding, Ariz_________.. 235 26 

Aragon siding, Tex_.......__....-- 99 15

Arazsiding, Calif................ 245-246,287 26

Arena siding, N. Mex.._____.--. 164 19 

Arizola, Ariz.......................... 224 23

Arizona....- ________-.-.. 147-152

desert conditions in southern._ 179-181 

desert plain in western. ___...... pi. 25

Arlington, Ariz__.-.___..-......- 219 24

Armadillos in central Texas____ 46, pi. 9 

Arrowhead Springs, Calif....__...-. 271 28

arrow-shaped scar near.._..__ pi. 46 

Asbestos mines.___________. 213 

Asphalt mine..__________ 76, pi. 10 

Atchafalaya River, La_______ 16,17 2 

Athelsiding, Ariz..___________ 222 24 

Attakapa Indians..____«.____ 26 

Austin, S. F., cited...__....___ 36,39,48

Austin, Tex........................... 52

152109° 33 20

Page Sheet 

Avery Island, La., bird sanctuary on... 24

salt mining on........---.--.-21-22, pi. 3 3

Avondale, La___-------------- 13 1

Avrasiding, Ariz......___.-.. 195 22

Aztec Hills, Ariz...................... 232

Aztecsiding, Ariz....---.--r.- ...... 232 24

B

Badlandsinlakebeds,Finlay,Tex..... pi. 17

Baker, C. L., cited............. . 103, 16,

109, 111, 112-113,115,117,118 17 

Baker Peaks, Ariz..................... 233 24

Baker Tanks, Ariz--.......-----.'-- 233 24

Baldwin, La..... ..-- ~ 18 2

Banning, Calif........... 266-267 27

Barton, D. C., cited...... . . 42

Bassett, Calif.. ,. 279 29 

Bauernschmidt, A. J., cited.-. 30 

Baylor Mountains, Tex.-------- 104,105,108

Bayou Lafourche, La..__... 14 2 

Bayou Queue de Tortue, La.. 26 3 

Bayou Sale, La..------..------------ 18 2

Bayou Teche, La______ . 17 2 

Bean, Roy.. 83,280

Beaumont, Calif...... 267-269 28

Beaumont, Tex_ _. .. . 40-41 5 

Bell Butte, Ariz._._ _ ... 203 

Benson, Ariz..___................ 160-161 21

Bernardinosiding, Ariz_...- 172 20 

Berry, E. W., cited ...._____... 55

Bertram siding, Calif......... ... 255-256 27

Berwick, La.. 17 2 

Bessie Heights oil field, Tex........... 40

Bibliography..... ........ . 293-296

Big Bend country, Tex., features of.... 85

Brahma cattle in_._.. 86, pi. 12 

Billeaud, La... 25,26

Bisbee, Ariz----.----._.___. 175-176 2i

Bisbee Junction, Ariz___.. . 175 21 

Biznaga, water from...___ .. pi. 20 

Black Mountain, N. Mex. _....... 139,143 19

Blackwelder, Eliot, cited...._....... 261

Blaisdell siding, Ariz....-.. ........ 235 25

Bloomington, Calif.... ..... . 274-275 28

Blue Ridge salt dome, Tex..___1_ 47 

Boeuf, La.........---.--.... ...... 15-16 2

Baling salt dome, Tex_________ 49 

Borden siding, Tex__________ 64 8 

Bose, Emil, cited................... 131-132

Boujder Dam, Ariz..._.___.237, 241, 249 

Boutte, La.__:_________.... 13 1

Bowensiding, N. Mex..______ 162-163 18 

Bowie, Ariz....- .... _...... 155,208 20,21

Bowie siding, La_ .- ___ 14 l

297
298 INDEX

Page Sheet

Bowman, W. F., cited...___ 43,46 

Brackettville,Tex...-.-..-.---..-----. 77 11

Bray, W. L., Sotol country..--------- 80

Brazos River, Tex.________-- 48 6 

Brea Canyon oil field, Calif- ------- 278

Broussard, La.... - - 25-26 3

Brown, J. S., cited-. 247,252,259,260 26,27 

Bracks, E. W., cited_ 61

Buckeye, Ariz........ 218-219 24

Buckeye Hills, Ariz. 218-220 24

Burchard, E. F., cited ... -------- 141

Burger siding, Ariz__ 223 25 

B urro Mountains, N. Mex..... 144 20

Cabeza de Vaca_..... 35,66,81,123,129 

Cade, La ..-.-..... --.- 25

CajonPass, Calif..... ... 272 29

upturned strata in... . pi. 46 

Caliche, occurrence and origin of- - 62-63 

Calumet siding, La_ ----------- 17 2

Cambray,N. Mex.....------------ 136 18

Camelback Mountain, Ariz.. 203 

Camel siding, Ariz...--- 221 24 

Campo, Calif --------------------- 290

Cannon, K. L., cited..---..- . 9,10 

Canyon Lake, Ariz._ 217, pi. 29 

Carey, E. P., cited..-_ 267

Cargo Muchacho Mountains, Calif.--. 246 26 

Carlsbad Caverns.N.Mex..- 108-109, pi. 16 

Carrizalillo Mountain, N. Mex....--- 165 19

Carrizo Gorge, Calif._-__----- 289, pi.49

Carrizo Mountains, Tex.....---. 111-112

Casa Orande, Ariz.-.--- 197-198,224, pi. 24 23 

Casa Grande Mountains, Ariz__--... 224 23 

Cashion siding, Ariz...-----..----- 218 23

Castle Canyon, westofDelRio, Tex.. 79,pi. 11 

Castle Dome Mountains, Ariz .. 224 25 

Castroville, Tex..... -- 70 10

Cave Creek, Ariz___ . ....- 170

Cazador siding, Ariz_ 173 21 

Cedar Grove Mountains, N. Mex..... 165 19

Cement plant, El Paso, Tex._ ._ 125 

Centennial Draw, Ariz ... 219-220 24 

Central, Ariz..----------_---------- 210

Cerro de Muleros, N. Mex .... 131-132,162

Chacahoula, La.___ , 15 2 

Chacahoula salt dome, La. 23 2 

Champ d'Asile, Tex.-------__.... 43

Chandler, Ariz..---------___ 201 23

Chappel siding, N. Mex . 135,136 18 

Charleston, Ariz.. _..- 178 21 

Chatfleld Hill, Tex.... 73 10

China, Tex___ _ ... 42 5 

Chiricahua Mountains, Ariz . . . 146, 20,21

147,153-154,169-170

Chiricahua siding, Ariz___ __ 172 20 

Chispa siding, Tex ...._ 102 15,16

Chiu-Chiuschu, Ariz -----_... 224 23

Christman, E., restoration of La Brea

animals.______________... 284 

Chocolate Mountains, Calif........'... 247 26

Cibolo, Tex 65 9

Cienega Mountain, Tex., marble. 98 

Cimmerian Peak, Ariz. . 220-221 24

Page Sheet

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico...__ __ 124 17 

Cline, Tex.-....-.-.-.--- ____. 76 11

asphalt quarry southeast of.___ pi. 10 

Glint, Tex.-.--....-----.--...-..--. 122 17

Coachella, Calif... ---------.-- 259-261 27

Coachella Valley, Calif- . 251,253-265 27

ocotillo and cholla in_______ pi. 41 

Cochise, Ariz______________ 157 21 

Cochise Head.-.-. ...__________ 146 20

Cochise's Stronghold, Ariz._... 157,159-160 

Colfred siding, Ariz___________ 233 25 

Collado siding, Tex..__ 111-112 16 

Colorado River________._... 239-242

delta region of, map of _._ pi. 35

the Explorer, of the Ives expedition

up______ --_ pi. 33 

Colton, Calif. 270 28 

Columbus, N. Mex.. 164-165 19 

Columbus, Tex_____________ 52-53 7 

Comstock, Tex -- -- 81 12

Del Rio clay capped by Buda

limestone at..---.-.---- . pi. 11

Conejo siding, Tex________.__ 99 15 

Continental Divide 144,166,168 19 

Contour lines, explanation of._..__ 4 

Cooks Range, N. Mex 141-142 

Coolidge, Ariz --- 196 23

Coronado's expedition___ 150,155,161,198 

Cortaro, Ariz____ . 193-194 22 

Cortland, Ariz., rocks of.___ __ 174 

Coulter, J. M., cited 37

Cow Cone, N. Mex.. ------------ 143 19

Cowden siding, Ariz. 218 23 

Coyote Hills oil field, Calif. 278 

Coyote Mountain, Calif____ __ 288 

Coyote Peak, N. Mex_________ 167 

Coyote Wells, Calif 288 

Crag, Ariz. .. 220 24

Cragin, J. W., cited_ 119 

Crosby, Tex 44 6

Crowley, La 27-28 3

Crystal Cave, Ariz.. . ... 170 

Cunningham, C. J., cited__ __ 61

D

Dalberg siding, Tex.... ... -- 111,112 16

Damon Mound salt dome oil field, Tex. 49 7 

Danube siding, Tex.- ___ .-... 103 

Darst Creek oil field, Tex 61 

Date culture..-.------ 202, 257, 261, pis. 26,37

Davis Mountains, Tex......... 97-98,99,101

lava and tufl of ----___ __ pi. 14

Dayton, Tex.._.______ .-.... 43 6

Del Rio, Tex 78-79 12

Deming, N. Mex............. 137-143 19

Des Allemands, La__________ 13 1 

Desert life. 191-192,255

Devers, Tex. 42 5

Devils River, Tex...... .... 79-80 12

De Walt oil field, Tex. 47-48 6

D'Hanis, Tex. ___.____ .. 72 10 

Distances explained.... ........ 4,83

Dixieland, Calif. 288

Dixie siding, Ariz , 219 24

Dock siding, Ariz.... 201 23

Dome, Ariz. 235 25
INDEX 299

Page Sheet 

Dona siding, N. Mex ....... ... 135,136 18

Donner, La_.__ .. 15 2 

Dorsosiding, Tex............ 82 ' 13

Dos Cabezas Mountains, Ariz 154 21 

Dos Palmas Spring, Calif......-.... 256 27

Douglas, A. E., cited . . 185 

Douglas, Ariz.-.. . - 173-175 21

Dragoon, Ariz..... ............... 158-160 21

Dragoon Mountains, Ariz.. 157-158 21 

Dryden, Tex...........__.., . 84 13

Dumble, E. T., cited....._.......... 79

Dunlay, Tex...__._.__ . . 70-71 10 

Duson siding, La.. .... 26 3

E 

Eagle Lake, Tex.. .................. 51-52 7

Eagle Mountain, Tex....___ . 112-114 16 

Eagle Spring, Tex........__......... 113

Earthquake near Brawley, Calif..._. 260

near Franklin, La.___ 18

near Long Beach, Calif_-___ 260

near Valentine, Tex.______. 100

East Bernard, Tex....._......... 51 7

East PotrUlo Mountains, Tex... ... 163 18 

Echo, Tex__________._____- 39 4 

Edgerly, La........... ............ 32 4

Edgerly oil field, La . 32 4 

Edwards Plateau, Tex......... 2,38,69,74,75

Eichelberger, O. H., cited.... ..- 33

El Casco siding, Calif.__.....__... 269 28

El Centro, Calif .... 287 26

Elephant Butte Reservoir, N. Mex 120, 

128,130,133

Elevations explained___.. 4 

Eloy siding, Ariz___. __ ......... 224 23

El Paso, Tex..-............ .. 123-128,131 17,18

edge of lava west of._ j pi. 19

smelter at.-.1________ pi. 18

Emigrant trail, Calif.....__......... 264

Empire Mountains, Ariz. _______ 182 22 

Engle siding, Tex....... . 54 8

English, W. A., cited__.__ ___ 277-278 29 

Esperton dome, Tex_________. 43 6 

Espinal Plain, Ariz...______... 175,176 

Estherwood, La...______....... 28 3

Estrella siding, Ariz... .. 23 

Etholen siding, Tex..... .... 116-117 16

Evangeline_______________ 21 

Explosion craters, N. Mex........... 134,172

F 

Fabens, Tex___________.... 122 17

Fairbank, Ariz____________ 177,178 21 

Fairbanks, H. W., cited . 267 

Fay siding, Tex____________ 109 16 

Finback lizards of Permian time___ pi. 16 

Finlay Mountains, Tex............... 117,119 17

Finlay, Tex........................... 119 17

Fish Creek, Ariz., canyon of - 216, pi. 30 

Fish Creek Mountain, Calif..... . 288

Flatonia, Tex_.__.................... 55-56 8

Florence, Ariz______________ 200 23 

Florida Mountains, N. Mex..... 139-140,164 19

Florida Plains, N. Mex........ 138 17

Fluorite deposit, N. Mex_______ 141 

Fluorite Ridge, N. Mex_____... 140-141 

Forrest, Ariz...___...._.......... 175 21

Page Sheet 

Fort Bliss, Tex........................ 125 17,18

Fort Bowie, Ariz.................... 154,155

Fort Clark, Tex. ................... 77 11

Fort Davis, Tex....................... 97

Fort Hancock, Tex.................... 121 17

Fort Hudson, Tex..................... 80

Fort Lincoln, Tex. ................ 72

Fort Lowell, Ariz.. . _ 189,190 

Fort Pena Colorada, Tex 91 14 

Fort Quitman, Tex..______..._ 119 

FortStockton, Tex. ............. 91,96,97

Fort Thomas, Ariz..-.....-....-....-. 210

Fortuna siding, Ariz________.. 235 25 

Fowler siding, Ariz.__________ 218 

Franklin, La.......................... 18 2

Franklin Mountains, Tex...-.- 126-128 17,18 

Franklin, Tex....-..--..........--.... 124

Frasch method of sulphur mining..... 32,49

Frazer, D. M., cited..... ... 260,262,264 28

Frick, Childs, cited.- . 268 

Frink siding, Calif ...... 255 27

Q

Gadsden Purchase......... 150-151,199,201

Gage, N. Mex .................. 143 19

Galveston, Tex__________ 45, pis. 6, 6 6 

Oamio, Manuel, cited___.._..-.. 129 

Garces' expeditions in Arizona__.... 150,

187-188, 194, 196, 199, 200, 222, 226, 227,

229,232, 233, 234, 237,240,245 

Garden City, La.... 18 2

Gardner, Julia, cited.......--.-..I.... 50 8-10

Geophysical exploring.. 42,43 

Geronimo. 147,160

Gibson, La. .. .- 15 2 

Gidley, J. W., cited. .................. 160

GilaBend, Ariz.. - .- . 227 24 

Gila Bend Mountains, Ariz. 220,227, 228,229 24 

Gila City, Ariz. 235

Gila monster...................... 192, pi. 23

Gila Mountains, Ariz...... 210,234, 235-236 25

Gila River, Ariz ....... 152,197,199-200, 23

208, 218, 219,222, 223, 228-229, 233 

from Antelope Hill.. .... pi. 33

Gila River Indian Reservation, Ariz. 197,200 

Qillespie, Ariz.__. __ .- 221 24 

Gillespie Dam, Ariz________.. 219,220 

Glamis, Calif... 247 26

Glass Mountains, Tex., features of...-- 91-93 14 

Glidden, Tex ... .. 53 7

Globe, Ariz .'... ............... 211-213

Golden Rule mine, Ariz__.___.. 157 

Goldfield, Ariz.. ................. 217

Gold Hill, N. Mex-._ ............. 145 20

Goliad, Tex... ................... 48

Goodsight Mountains, N. Mex.. 136 

Grandmother Mountains, N. Mex.._- 143 19 

Grand River, La. __________.. 17 2 

Granite Gap, N. Mex.....__....... 169

Granite siding, Ariz..___..__ 234 25 

Gretna, La-..-... . -.....-. 14 1

Growler siding, Ariz....._........... 222 25

Guadalupe Mountains, Tex.___... 108 

Guadalupe Point, Tex......... 108-109, pi. 15

Guadalupe River, Tex................ 63-64 9

Guasti, Calif.-. 275 28

Guzman Basin, Mexico.. 132,165
300 INDEX

H Page Sheet

Hachita, N. Mex ._ 166-167 19,20

Hacienda siding, Tex----_-- -_ 76 11

Buda and Eagle Ford contact

northwest of....___._ pi. 10

Hackberry domes oil field, La. ____ 30 4 

Hadosiding, Ariz--. --... _ 156 21 

Hager, D. S., cited........__....... 47

Hammond terrace, La..._____.. 24-25 

Hankameroilfield, Tex............... 42 5

Harqua, Ariz--.._.______... 220,221 24 

Harwood, Tex.......-----.-.......... 58-59 8

Hassayampa, Ariz._.__.____.. 219 24 

Hatchet Mountains, N. Mex____.. 167 

Hawtoff, E. M., cited.________.. 62 

Hayes Mountain, Ariz._______ 210-211 

Haymond siding, Tex----.-.-.--.-.... 90-91 14

Hereford, Ariz. 177 21

Hermanas, N. Mex.....--.--......-- 165-166 19

Hilda station, Tex..... ............. 63 9

Hill, M. L., cited.... 279

Hill, E. T., cited . 129 

Hindasiding, Calif.....-...---.---.-.. .267 28

Hipass, Calif...........__.......... 290

Hodge, F. W., cited 147

Hondo, Tex...... 71-72 10

Hoots, H. W., cited...__............ 285 29

Horn, Ariz.-..............-...--..--.. 222 25

Horse Mesa Dam, Ariz...._-___ 216

Horse Mountain, Tex..________ 89 

Hot Wells, Tex...... .... 112-113 16

Houma, La__..._.____._... 14 

Houston, Tex....._.___.....__ 44-45 6

Howe, H.V., cited 19,22,23

Huachuca Mountains, Ariz. T ___... 177 21 

Hueco Mountains, Tex............. 122,128

Hunts Hole, N. Mex. 134 18 

Hyder, Ariz........................... 222 24

Imperial Valley, Calif 248-250,287, pi. 37 26 

Indian Hot Springs, Tex. __........ 116

Indians in Texas._________.... 122

Indio, Calif. 257,261-262 27

Intracoastal Waterway ______ 17,39,41 

Irene siding, Ariz...................... 178 22

Iser siding, Tex........................ 121 17

Ives expedition___._________ 237

Ivy siding, Tex____________ 59 8

Jacumba Springs, Calif..... .. 289-290

Janice siding, Tex...--.-.-..-.-----... 56 8

Jeanerette, La.. _ . .. 20 2

Jefferson Island, La., salt mine at..... 21,22 3

Jennings, La. ____ _ . 28-29 3

Jenningsoil field, La.---.- ... 28-29, pi. 5 3

Johnson, Ariz....................... 158-159 21

Johnstone siding, Tex.. ________ 78 12

Jurupa Mountains, Calif.... __... 274 28

K

Kelly, P. K., cited.. 31 

Kenzin siding, N. Mex... ____ 133 18

Page Sheet 

Kew, W. S. W., cited....... 277,278,287,288 29

Kilbourne Hole, N. Mex......... 134, pi. 18 18

King, P. B., cited.... ............ 87-91, 14,

92-93,94,95,106-108,110-111,115 16,17 

Kingsbury, Tex. _____.______ 62 9 

Kino's explorations__. .... 150,161,176,

186-187,190,198,199,227, 229,237,244 

Klotho's Temple, Ariz..____ 234 25 

Knippa, Tex........_.____...... 73-74 10

columnar structure in basalt near. 73, pi. 9 

Knob siding, Calif........._......... 246 26

Kofa, Ariz................ 222 25

La Brea, Calif., asphalt pits at... 283, pi. 48 

Lacassine siding, La.._--...-_.._ 29 4 

Lacoste, Tex..._____________ 70 10 

Ladim siding, N. Mex.________ 144 19 

Lafayette, La............--...--..-...- 26 3

Lafourche, La_...._..._.____ 14 1

Lagrange, Tex_. _. ________.. 53 8 

Laguna Dam, Ariz.........---.-.-.. 238,239 25,26

Laguna Mountains, Ariz.___-__ 235-236 26 

Laguna Mountains, Calif_. ____ 287,289 

Lake Cahuilla, Calif., shores of.. 248, 

251, 253, 256, 257, 288, pi. 38 

Lake Charles, La...------------------- 30-31 4

Lake deposits, western Texas..-------- 120

Lake Fausse Pointe saltdome, La...-. 23 2 

Lake Medina, Tex. ________ 70 

Lanark, N. Mex_.___..._. . 133 18 

Langtry, Tex___________._.. 82-83 12 

Lascasiding, Tex.__... ------ 117 16

Las Moras Springs, Tex.__._._- 77 

Lausen, C., cited___ ...... ........ 24

Lechuguilla Desert, Ariz...-..----.-.- 234 25

Lee siding, Ariz.....-..--._- __ 173 21

Lee, W. T., cited.--.-.- - . 203,206 

Lenoxsiding, Tex...__..... ... 93 14

Lewis Springs, Ariz...... ....... 177 21

Liberty, Ariz_____________.. 218 24 

Liberty, Tex.............. ....... 43 5

Liddell, R. A., cited.-..------.-------- 10

Litchfield, Ariz ....---- -. 218 23

Little Dragoon Mountains, Ariz 158-159 21 

Little Florida Mountains, N. Mex.... 140

Little Hatchet Mountains, N. Mex.... 167 20

Lobo, Tex._ _... 105 16

Longfellow, Tex...--...--.-.-.--.--..- 86 13 

Lordsburg, N. Mex--...------..---.-- 145 20

Los Angeles, Calif 282-291 29

Los Angeles Plain, Calif - 281, pi. 47

Los Angeles Hiver, Calif -.--.-.. 281-282 29

Louisiana______...,..- .... 9-12

Tertiary formations of southern... 18-19, 

29,30

woodland scene in... . pi. 3 

Lozier siding, Tex-.....---.--.-------- 83 13

Lucas, F. A., cited...... .- 41

Luling, Tex...... 59-62 8

Luling oil field, Tex 59-60

Lull, R. S., cited. 135

Luzena siding, Ariz 155 21
INDEX 301

M Page Sheet

Macdona, Tex.. 69 9

Macdougal, D. T., cited 253

Maguey. - -- - 181, pi. 22 

Malone Mountains, Tex 117,118,119

overturned syncline of. pi. 17 

Malpais Mountain, Ariz.. 200 

Malvadosiding, Tex...... ... 83 13

Manzoro siding, Ariz.. 157 21 

Marano, Ariz ------_--..--.-.- 195 22

Marathon Basin, Tex., features of-.-. 87-89

sinuous ridges of hard beds in - pi. 13 

Marathon, Tex. .. - - 91-93 14 

Marfa, Tex. . . - 99 15

Maricopa, Ariz..---____ 225 23

Maricopa Indians.. 200,229

Maricopa Mountains, Ariz. 226 24 

Marion, Tex---...---------------- 64 9

Mastodon siding, N. Mex. .. 163 18 

Maxon siding, Tex..... 86 14

Mazatzal Mountains, Ariz 216 

McCullum, L. F., cited. 61 

McNary, Tex.. 120-121 17

McQueeney, Tex-__------------ 63 9

Mecca, Calif..-. 257-258 27

Tertiary strata east of.. pi. 40 

Mecca Hills, Calif 257

Meinzer, 0. E., cited 66,77,79,206 

Mendenhall, W. C., cited... 258,268,274,288 

Mendoza expedition_ 96-97 

Mermentau, La..___ 28 3 

Mesa, Ariz..._____ 202 23 

Mescal, Ariz.. ... 178 22

Mesquite, uses of___ - 66-57 

Mexicans in New Mexico 129 

Miami, Ariz_.__ 212 

Midland, La... 28 3

Miller, W. J., cited 279

Mimbres siding, N. Mex 165 19 

Mimbres Valley, N. Mex. 136,138 

Mingsiding, Ariz.-- -_ 223 25 

Mississippi River_ 8,12,16 1 

Missouri City, Tex..___ -----_ 47 6

Mitre Peak, near Alpine, Tex._._._ pi. 13 

Mofetasiding, Tex-- --------------- 84 13

Mohawk Mountains, Ariz. - 232-233.pl. 32 

Mohawk Valley, Ariz.-----_ 233 25

Montezuma Face, Ariz___._ 221, pi. 32 

Montezumasiding, Ariz___--------- 221 24

Moore, B. N., cited.- 183,275

Morgan City, La..--._ 16-17 2 

Mormon Flat, Ariz_ ----- 217

Mormon settlements------- 176,202,208,271

Morongo Indian Reservation, Calif_ 267 

Mortmar siding, Calif________ 255-256 27 

Mount Graham, Ariz__. ... ... 155 

Mount Riley, N. Mex - 164 18 

Mud volcano near Niland.Calif... 253, pi. 38 

Muggins Mountains, Ariz. -. 223,234 25 

Mule Mountains, Ariz. - 175 21 

Mundo siding, Calif. 254 27

Muskrat ranch, La___.... _ 31

N

Naco, Ariz._______________ 176 21 

Naviska siding, Ariz__________ 195 22

Page Sheet 

Now Gulf, Tex., block of sulphur at pi. 6

sulphur mine at..___ 49 

Newlberia, La ---------- 20-21 2

Red River deposits near.__ ... 19 

Newman Peak, Ariz_ __ __..... 196 

New Mexico----.. 128-131

southwestern, geologic formations 

of . 137

New Orleans, La 6-9 1 

Nicklin siding, Calif . 267 28 

Niland.Calif 248 26

mud volcanoes southwest of... 293, pi. 38 

Noble, L. F., cited.--. . 259,260,273 27-29 

Nome, Tex.-.----------------------- 42 5

North Dayton oil field, Tex........_ 43

Norton, Ariz.. --.......... 218 23

Nueces River, Tex__________ 76 11 

Nufiez siding, Ariz . ..... 225 23

Oatman massacre 229 

Ocapos siding, Ariz....- 226 24

Ogilby siding, Calif 246-247 26

Olberg siding, Ariz.. .... 200 23

Ontario, Calif... 276 29

Orange oil field, Tex__________ 40 

Orange, Tex..- . . 39-40 4

Orchard oil field, Tex. - 51 7 

Organ Mountains, Tex_............. 133

Orocopia Mountains, Calif... 255-256,257 27

Painted Rock Mountains, Ariz..__ 229-230 24 

Paisano Pass, Davis Mountains, Tex.. pi. 14 

Paisano siding, Tex .. . .... 98-99 15

Palm Canyon, Calif., Washington

palms in._.. ..,_ 255, pi. 41 

Palm Springs station, Calif___. _ 263-266 27 

Palomas Valley, N. Mex.._____. 164 19 

Palo Verde Mountains, Ariz._____ 226 23 

Pantanosiding, Ariz..._.. ...... 181 22

Papago Indians.... ... 189-190,224,227

Papago siding, Ariz . ... . ... 221 24 

Papaguerfa. ________ 196 

Pasadena, Calif. . . 280-281 29 

Pass Mountain, Ariz__....__........ 222

Patterson, La_ . 17 2 

Peak siding, Ariz 197 23

Pearce, Ariz 157 21 

Pearson siding, Tex. ............... 70 10

Pecos River, Tex-----.-...-..--.- 81-82 12

bridge over canyon of.. ...... pi. 12

Peloncillo Mountains, Ariz.-N. Mex... 146, 20

169,171 

Pena Colorada....___..._........ 91,96

Perillasiding, Ariz......... 173 20

Pershing siding, Calif.... ...... 266 27

Phillips Hole, N. Mex. ....... ... 134 18

Phoenix, Ariz.._ 204 23 

Picacho, Ariz.. ....... 195, 197, pi. 22 23

PicachoPeak, Ariz.................. 195-196 22

Pictographs. . pi. 25 

Piedra, Ariz. .... .......... 229 24

Pierce Junction oil field, Tex..... 45 6
302 INDEX

Page Sheet 

Pima, Ariz.... ..._ 210

Pima Indians...__..... 189, 200, 201, pi. 24

Pimple mounds__________ 29-30,40 

Final Mountains, Ariz............... 211,213

Pinaleno Mountains, Ariz__.__ 155 21 

Plaster City, Calif.................. 288

Plaster of paris____________. 118 

Playa de los Pinos, N. Mex._.......... 145 20

Playas siding, N. Mex.......... .... 168 20

Playas Valley, N. Mex..-..-.......-.. 168

Point Loma, Calif___________ 291 

Polvo siding, Tex.__......-...-..-_ 121 17

Pomona, Calif___.__..-..__... 276 29 

Population_.____..._......... I 5

Portal, Ariz..-...... 170 20

Port Arthur, Tex............... 41 5

Poston siding, Ariz...-.--.-.---.----- 200 23

Potrillo siding, N. Mex. . 163 18 

Powers Butte, Ariz.. _ .... 219 24

Pratt siding, N. Mex...... . ... 169 20

Precipitation in Southwest, map showing.... pi. 1

Prickly pear cactus, blossoms of... pi. 31 

Pronto siding, N. Mex............_.. 135 18

Providence Cone, N. Mex._...... 136 18

Puente, Calif.. - 276 29

Puente Hills, Calif....... - 277-278 29

Puente oil field, Calif. . . 277 

Pumpville siding, Tex_' ...-...--.... 83-84 13

Pyramid Mountains, N. Mex____ 145 20

Q

Quebec siding, Tex_...__.___... 101 15 

Quitman Mountains, Tex______ 116-117 16

R

Raceland, La..__.____...____ 13-14 1 

Railroad Pass, Ariz.-_....__..... 56

Ramsey siding, Tex__________ 51 7 

Rancho La Brea, Calif.... _ 283-285

Randolph field, Tex..._........ 65 9

Randolph siding, Ariz ......---.--- 197 23

Ransome, F. L., cited... 175,177,212,213,216 21 

Raso siding, Ariz____________ 156 21 

Rattlesnake.. ______........ pi. 23

Rayne, La_______________ 27 3 

Raywood, Tex_____________ 42 5 

Reclamation Service__________ 205 

Redlands, Calif... .. . 269 28

orange trees near_ ____ . pi. 42 

Red Mountain, N. Mex. 139,143 19 

Redondo, Calif 291

Red River, La........__ 16

Red Rock, Ariz____.____... 195-196 22 

Reed, R. D., cited. . .- 286 

Repetto Hills, Calif....... 281 29

Rice culture._.__...... - - 27-28

Richardson, O. B., cited... 100,126-127 16-18 

Richmond, Tex__.___.___..... 48 6

Rillito, Ariz. . 194 22 

Rimlon siding, Calif . 263 27 

Rincon Mountains, Ariz. 161,182-183,185 22 

Rio Grande 123-124,126

River sediments 239,240

Page Sheet 

Riverside, Calif___________.... 270 28

Rock disintegration..._______. 195 

Rodeo, N. Mex...._______..... 169-171 20

Roemer, F., cited______i___ 50 

Rogers, A. F., cited......------.- 254

Roll, Ariz________. . ... 223 25 

Roosevelt Dam, Ariz___ 205,213-216, pi. 28 

Rosenberg, Tex_________. ___ 49 7 

Roseufeld siding, Tex_________ 86 14 

Ross, C. P., cited......------.. 220,231 24

Ross, C. S., cited 98,115,169 

Ross siding, Tex....... ..... 121 17

Rutter siding, N. Mex_________ 133 18

Sabinal, Tex. 73 10

Sabine River ........ 33,37,40 4

Sacaton, Ariz..______________ 201 23

pictographs near__________ pi. 25 

Sacaton Mountains, Ariz..__...... 200,225

Saddle Mountain, Ariz_... 220 

Saflord, Ariz____ ....... . 208-210 23

Sahuaro_____ 179-180,195,196,201,216,236 

Sahuaro National Monument, Ariz.. 203-204 

St. David, Ariz 160 21

St. Martinsville, La ... . 21,25 2 

Salt domes, origin of . 22-23' 

Salt Flat oil field, Tex....... 60-61

Salt mining... .. 11, 21, 47, 252 

Saltpeter, origin of_______ _ 153 

Salt River Mountains, Ariz.... 29

Salt River Valley, Ariz 201,

204-207, 213, 214-217, 218 23

cotton field and dates in . pi. 26

views in.._...... . pi. 27

Salton Basin, Calif..._...... 251-255

Salton Sea, Calif...... I 250-251, pi. 36 27

San Andreas fault.... 252, 259-260, 273, pi. 39

San Antonio, Tex....---.---. 36,65-69 9

the Alamo and palace of Spanish governor in.. ..... pi. 7

San Bernardino, Calif.--...----- 271 28

San Bernardino Mountains, Calif... 266-267,

274 28 

San Bernardino Peak, Calif...-------- pi. 44

San Bernardino Valley, Ariz_...... 172-173

San Bernardino Valley, Calif. ...... 270 28

San Carlos, Ariz. 210

San Carlos coal mine, Tex. .. 102 15

San Carlos Reservoir, Ariz... 210

San Cristobal Valley, Ariz... .... 232 25

Sanderson, Tex . ...-... 84-85 13 

San Diego, Calif 291-292

Sand storms.. ------------ 231,261

Sand Tank Mountains, Ariz.. ----- 227 24

Sand Tanks, Aril...... ... 227

SanElizario, Tex --- 122-123 17 

SanFelipede Austin, Tex 39,48 

San Felipe Spring, Tex... 79 

SanFelipe, Tex......... 48 7

San Francisco Creek, Tex...___.... 90 14

San Gabriel, Calif 279-280 29

San Gabriel Mountains, Calif... 273-274,275,

279 28

San Gorgonio Mountain, Calif. 266,267 28 

San Gorgonio Pass, Calif. - 241,264-267 27
INDEX 303

Page Sheet

San Jacinto Mountain, Calif. 262-263, 

266, pi. 42

San Jacinto River, Tex 44 6 

San Jacinto, Tex., battle at....____ 37,44

San Jose Hills, Calif.- 276-277 29

San Marcos, Tex..-- 62 9 

San Pedro, Calif...., 283 29

San Pedro Valley, Ariz ___ __ 159 21 

San Simon, Ariz. 152-154 20

San Simon Valley, Ariz.-N. Mex__. 152-153,

171,208 20,21 

Santa Ana Mountains, Calif......... 270,275

Santa Ana Eiver, Calif------------- 269,276 28

Santa Catalina Mountains, Ariz___ 183 22 

Santa Cruz River, Ariz...----------- 193,225

Santa Fe oil field, Calif 278

Santa Monica, Calif., shore of Pacific

Ocean at.--.. __ pi. 48 

Santa Monica Mountains, Calif... 285 

Santan Mountains, Ariz I...... 201 23

Santan-siding, Ariz..____..____ 201 23 

Santa Eosa Mountains, Calif-.-...... 254 27

San Timoteo Canyon, Calif 267-269, pi. 43 

San Xavier de Bac, Ariz., mission of., pi. 21 

Sarle, C. J., cited...... .... 20

Sauceda Mountains, Ariz ___. 227 

Savoya siding, N. Mex.- ____ 166 19 

Sawtooth Mountain, Ariz ..____ 224 

Sayre, A. N., cited....- ..._...-. 10

Schertz, Tex_______________ 64,65 9 

Schrader, F.C., cited.... . 200 22

Schriever, La______ __-__ 14,15 1 

Schulenburg, Tex..__ __.-... 54,55 8 

Schwennesen, A. T., cited______ 152-153 

Scott siding, La..____ ___.- 26 3 

Seoley, Calif... _. .. 287 

Seguin, Tex.-.-.-.___...____- 62-63 9 

Segura, La......__ . . 25 2

Sellards, E. H., cited__- __----- 9

Sentinel siding, Ariz. . 230 24 

Separ siding, N. Mex _------__.- 144 20

Serapesiding, Ariz..________... 201 23 

Shatto siding, Tex___________ 54 8 

Shaver Canyon, Calif......__.-... 257,259 27

Sheeks dome, Tex.___________ 43 5 

Sheldonsiding, Tex..._ _____ 44 6 

Shurnla siding, Tex.. . 82 12 

Sierra Ancha, Ariz...- _ 213 

Sierra Blanca, Tex. . ....... 114-116 16

Sierra Diablo, Tex....._ 107-108

Sierra Estrella, Ariz.----.-.-- .. 225,226 23

Sierra Pedro Martir, Mexico.____.. 287 

Sierra Rica Mountains, N. Mex. ___ 166 19 

Signal Butte, Adz... 222,233 25 

Silver Bell, Ariz--..-.....-.__ ... 195 22

Slate Mountains, Ariz ____ 224 

Sloth, fossil _ __-135, pi. 20 

Small siding, Tex.....__ -_ _ 118 17

Snake Hills, N. Mex_-----__ _ 143

Snow Creek Canyon, Calif-.-.__... 264 27 

Soda mines, Calif.____ _____ 255 

Sotol country, vegetation of ____ 80 

South College Peak, Ariz__.___ 173 21 

South Liberty salt dome and oil field,

Te*_.-________.__ 43 5

Page Sheet

Spanish moss. ________. 15 

Spindletop oil field, Tex.__....__.. 41-42 5

Spofford, Tex______________ 77 11 

Squaw Mountain, Ariz_________ 171 

Stafford, Tex.. ....__......__ 47 6

Standart siding, Tex . 78 11 

Stanton, T. W., cited_._____. 101,163 

StanwixSiding, Ariz ..__.... 230-232 24

Steins, N. Mex 146-147 20 

Stephenson, L. W., cited.. 64,65,68,70,71,78 9,10 

Stiles, E., cited---.-.___ _ . 47 

Stock, Chester, cited.. . 283 

Stoval, Ariz.. . 232 25

Stoyanow, A. A., cited..._.__... 170,183 

Strauss siding, N. Mex....... ..... 132-133 18

Strobel siding, Tex... ............ 94 14

Sugar Land, Tex.. ................ 47^8 6

Sulphur, La._ ... 31-32 4 

Sulphur mining.__-..__- 31-32,34,49, pi. 6 

Sulphur Spring Valley, Ariz......... 156-157 21

Sul Ross College, Alpine, Tex...._. 95

Superstition Mountain, Ariz.. 202,217, pi. 31 

Superstition Mountain, Calif __. 254

Table Top Mountains, Ariz_____ 225 

Tacna siding, Ariz. ...________ 233 25 

Tanque Verde Mountains, Ariz..... 182,185 22

Tartron siding, Ariz.-.......... --,- 230 24

Tavener, Tex._________. ___ 51 7 

Tempo, Ariz .. . 202-204 23 

Temperatures, underground... _.... 61,113

Terlingua, Tex., quicksilver mines at. 91 

Tesnus siding, Tex... .... 86-90 14

Comanche limestone on tilted

Pennsylvanian strata near. pi. 13 

Texas.-..-.-,------.-....---.. 33-39

central, formations in..... 64-65,71,75,77

east-central, Tertiary formations of. 50,61 

eastern, fossil animals in.... 46,54,55,128

eastern, geology of..__ .. 45-46,50-51 

map of, by Austin.._ _ _____. 39

western, geology of..._____ 109-111 

Lower Cretaceous formations

in. ......... -.. 100-101

Texas Hill, Ariz ._ ... 222,232 

Thatcher, Ariz __..._... .... 210

Thermal, Calif-.. 259 27

Thibodaux, La. ................... 14 1.

Thompson, S. A., cited_________ 33 

Thousand Palms Canyon, Calif....... 262 27

Three Peaks, Ariz . 224 23

Thurston siding, Tex..-.-.---....... 84 13

Tierra Vieja Mountains, Tex......._ 101 15

Tinajas Altas, Ariz_______.___ 234 

Tolleson, Ariz... --------------- 218 23

Tolman, C. F., cited....._.... ..., 195

Tombstone, Ariz. ... -. ... 177-178 21 

Tonto National Monument, Ariz., cliff

dwellings at.... . - 213, pi. 28

Toomey, La...-------------__...... 33 4

Topaz siding, Ariz ....._......... 197 23

Torbert siding, Tex 114 16

Torcer siding, Tex ...........__.. 117 17

Tornillo, Tex ..... ....... 122 17
304 INDEX

Toronto siding, Tex-.. . 

Tortolita Mountains, Ariz __ . 194 

Travertine, Lake Cahuilla, Calif..._ pi. 38 

Tres Hermanas Mountains, N. Mex. 164-165 

Tubac, Ariz_._________.__ 190 

Tueson, Ariz....... 185-193

Tucson Mountains, Ariz.. 192-193 

Tumacacori Mission, Ariz __ 190 

Tumamoc Hills, Ariz.........._..... 193

Tunis siding, N. Mex. __... 143 

Turquoise.-....-.----......-__... 144,174

Tyson siding, Ariz..................... 223

Page Sheet 

98 15 

22

19

22

19

25

U

Uvalde P lain, Tex., depositsof. 

Uvalde, Tex.............. .

', 70,72,74 

74-75

Vail, Ariz.. .. . .-- 182-184 22 

Valentine, Tex........................ 99,100 15

Van Horn Mountains, Tex.. 102,103,105,112 

Van Horn region, Tex., formations in. 106-108 

Van Horn, Tex..........-.,....... 105 16

Vaughan, F. E., cited. . 260,266,267 28 

Vaughan, T. W., cited.....- ... 75,101,288 10,11

Vekol Mountains, Ariz . 225 

Victorio., ........ .. . 113,147

Vietorio Mountains, N. Mex....... 143 19

Victoriosiding, N. Mex................ 166 19

Vinton, La. - 33 4

Vinton oil field, La....... ... 33 4

Vistasiding, N. Mex.................. 167 20

Volcanic history...... . 95-96,

111, 135,163-164,171,172 

Volcanoes, mud.......___... 253

Vulture Mountains, Ariz. 219

W Page Sheet

Waelder, Tex_.___________ 57 8 

Walker Butte, Ariz.. . ... 200 

Waring, O. A., cited.___.._____ 28 

Watkins siding, Tex_..._____... 83 13 

Weavers Needle, Ariz________ 217 

Weeks Island, La____________ 18,21 2 

Weimar,Tex.._____.__........ 53-54 8

Wellton, Ariz.... ......- 223-224,234-235 25

Welsh, La..-.--_____.__ _ 29-30 3 

Welsh oil field, La.....________ 29 4

Wendell siding, Tex._________ 100 15,16 

West Potrillo Mountains, N. Mex_. 163 18 

Whetstone Mountains, Ariz ______ 162 21,22 

White Tank Mountains, Ariz.____ 218 

Whitewater River, Calif... 263 27 

White, W. N., cited . 138 

Whittier Oil field, Calif.. 278 

Willcox, Ariz..._...____.____ 156 21 

Wilna siding, N. Mex................. 144 19

Wilson, E. D., cited... . 174,235 24,25 

Woodring, W. P., cited.. 259,263,288 

Woolsey Peak, Ariz.....__.___ 220,229 24

Woolsey Well, Ariz. 221,228 24 

Wylie Mountains, Tex.... ___.... 109,110

Wymola, Ariz......._. 196 22

Yavapai Indians...______ 229 

Yellow Medicine Butte, Ariz....._ 221,229 24

Yellow Peak, Ariz.. . ....__ 200

Ysleta, Tex.............. ...... 123 17,18

YuhaButtes, Calif--...'.-- .- 289 

Yuma, Ariz.....-- ........ 236-239,pi. 34 26

irrigated district near. ___ pi. 34 

Yuma Desert, Ariz. .. . 236 25 

Yuma Indians. _ - 237,245

O

T 

A