DEPAETMENT OF THE INTEEIOE

WATER-SUPPLY

AND

lEEIGATION PAPEES

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

No. 7O

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFfflCB 

1902

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR

GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES

OF THE

PATRICK AND GOSHEN HOLE QUADRANGLES

IN

EASTERN WYOMING AND WESTERN NEBRASKA

 BY

G-EORGHE I. ADAMS

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1902

CONTENTS.

Page.

Letter of transmittal.-------_----__-______-______.__.___.__-.-__--...-___ 9

Introduction.... -_----.-.-..---...--............,............._---..---. 11

Area described,....................... ..-.............-.....-...--.- 11

General statement....--...-..................._..,..._.,...-....-... 11

Geology --__.-_.-____.-___.__._._________._._____.____________..____._... 13

General geology of the region__--____.___._____.____..__-.._-.__----- 13

Description of formations.._--._.....___.____.____-.____-.--_--..-___ 14

Cretaceous -----------.--...--..---..--...-....---.----..---.---- 14

Laramie formation ._-._-___.____-._.._ __ ^.___-_..____..--_. 14

Tertiary......................................................... 15

Chadron formation .-__--___-._._-___.__.__.___--___---.__-.. 15

Brule formation ............................................. 16

Arikaree formation -.-..--..----.-.-..-.-...-...------..-.-.. 16

Ogallala formation-..-.--...-....-....--...-...----......--.- 18

Surficial deposits _..-___-_-.___.-___.__ ........................ 19

Mantle of detritus -__-__-_____-__-____---_,_-_-___._-__-----. 19

Alluvium.................................................... 20

Stream gravels from outside areas.-...-__..-.___.--__--._--.. 20

Stream gravels of local origin ___________._____.______-__.-.._ 20

Terrace gravels from disintegration in place....--.--- .---_.. 21

Sand hills or dunes .._-___-. -_..---._--___---_.--_.-._._-.__ 22

Surface features___-_-_-___.___--___-.____..__--_-_ ..................._.. 22

General relations and elevations-. -----.--.------.-..-...--..--.---.-- 22

Goshen Hole escarpment............................................. 23

Upland:.-......... .-----..-.-..--.........--..-.....-.--.-.---...... 23

Lowland .......................................................... . 23

Water supply.............................................. .............. 25

Streams -__--_-.------__--__--__--____..._-.___-____-_._______-___-.-_ 25

Springs..-__.-__--_-_----.-__.._...-_.--_...--.---_....-.-.-__--___--. 27

Ponds----..-----.-------.-----..--.---...--........-..-.-.--....-.-. 28

Wells ------_-.------.-.--_---_.-._.....-___.__.._-______.__--__--__ 29

Artesian wells --------_-------...-_......--...-....-...,-....--..---- 30

Irrigation ------..--..-...-...--........-............-........-...,...... 31

Little Horse Creek ditches -.-...---.. .._.-. .... ....----.--...-...--... 33

Horse Creek ditches...-..-.-.-..-........-....-....-....-....-...-... 32

Bear Creek ditches. ----_..-_--._.___.____.____-__..-____-.__-.-___--- 33

Pox Creek ditches _---_.---_---__-_____.__-_.._-.___-..____.___.__--._ 33

Rawhide Creek ditches ..------.----..--..--..---..---..--...--..--.. 33

Platte River ditches -.-..-.--...-....-...-....-....-....-....--...-.. 33

Timber, grass, and agricultural products...---..-.---...---....---.-.--.. 34

Timber.............................................................. 34

Grasses.- ---.---.----.------.-. ---...---.---..--.-----..-----..-... 35

Herbaceous plants ----------.---..-.-.--.---..-....-.--.----.---.-.-. 36

Agricultural products..-...---..-....-.........-.................---. 36

5
6 CONTENTS.

Page.

Settlement and occupancy of public lands ..,......... -.----_---.----.---- 37

Early settlement relative to water for stock..............-...----._--. 37

Entry of lands under the desert-lands act ............................. 38

Construction of reservoirs on public lands for watering live stock ..... 40

Entry of lands under the homestead, preemption, timber-culture, timber and stone, and other acts-...........---_--.-.---...-------.-.-- 40

Occupancy of land not naturally watered..---..--..-.---._-.-._...--. 40

Appendix.---.-.......-.....-..............-....-.......--...--.----.---. 43

Desert-lands act --.....................-............----..-.------.-. 43

Carey act ..........................................................^. 44

An act providing for the construction of reservoirs on public lands for

watering live stock ................................................ 46

Index. --..._---,.....-............._...._.._..:.._... ---....._.....___.. 49
ILLUSTRATIONS.

PLATE I. View from the head of Bos Elder Canyon, looking from the upland

into the Goshen Hole lowland ....................^........... 12

II. General geological map of the region along the North Platte

River, near the Wyoming-Nebraska line.-_-.---..-..---.--... 14

III. Map showing the geology of the Patrick and Goshen Hole quadrangles ----------.--_..---.._------------------------------.-- 16

IV. A, Chadron sandstone near Box Elder Creek, west end of Goshen

Hole; B, Laramie beds northwest of Hawk Springs........... 18

V. A, View of the west end of 66 Mountain; B, Eagle Rock at Fox

Creek Gap.....---...--....-....-...---....-.----.....-...... 20

VI. A, Point of Rocks, east of Snow's ranch, showing conglomerate 

near the base of the Arikaree formation, with the Brule clay 

below; B, Gravel terrace formed by the disintegration of the 

conglomerate west of Rawhide Creek, near its junction with 

the North Platte------..-----_--------.----------.--.-----..- 22

VII. A, Sandstone dike cutting the Arikaree formation northeast of 

Pine Ridge; B, Sandstone dike cutting the Arikaree formation 

on Dry Rawhide Creek.-.--.-.-.-..--_..-.--.--.---.-.,---.-. 24 

VIII. Map showing cultivated land under irrigation and distribution

of timber.....-....---._............--.........-...-_....-... 32

IX. A, Bear Creek Mountain, looking eastward, with alfalfa field and 

Meriden post-office in the foreground; B, Eagle Rock and Lone 

Rocks at Fox Creek Gap, in Arikaree formation............. 34

X. A, Goshen Hole escarpment and Chimney Rock, Trelona postoffice in the foreground; B, Water hole and cattle, Goshen 

Hole lowland.............-....--...--..-...-...-.--.--...--.. 36

XI. Map showing classes of entries of public lands and State selections -....-...-.-.----...-.------------__-------------------. 40

FIG. 1. Map showing geographic relations of the Patrick and Goshen Hole

quadrangles --..---..--------.----------------_..-.-.---.._---- 12

2. Sketch showing the west end of Goshen Hole, the Goshen Hole

escarpment and Laramie Mountains in the distance .._---..--.-. 22' 

8. Sketch of Bear Creek Mountain and Fox Creek Gap..._...-...--.. 24 

4. Map showing constructed and proposed canals along the North

Platte River ......-......._...-...-.....-....,--..-.-.--.------ 33

LETTEE OF TBANSMITTAL.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,

Washington, D. C., May 15, 1902.

SlR: I have the honor to transmit herewith a manuscript by Mr. 

George I. Adams, assistant geologist of this Survey, upon the geology 

and water resources of a portion of eastern Wyoming and western 

Nebraska, and to request that it be published in the series of AVaterSupply and Irrigation Papers. The field work upon which this is 

based was done during August and September, 1901. The report, 

while largely geologic in character, deals with some of the problems 

of water supply for this area and discusses conditions which are to 

be found over a considerable part of the public-land area. For this 

reason it is desirable to print the paper at the present time, while 

these matters are being discussed by the public. 

Very respectfully,

F. H. NEWELL, 

Hydrogrcipher in Charge. 

Hon. CHARLES D. WALCOTT,

Director of United States Geological Survey.

GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF THE PATRICK AND 

GOSHEN HOLE QUADRANGLES, IN EASTERN WYOMING AND 

WESTERN NEBRASKA.

By GEORGE I. ADAMS.

INTRODUCTION.

Area described. The area discussed in this report lies for the most 

part in eastern Wyoming, but includes on its eastern border a narrow 

strip of Nebraska, about 2-J miles wide. It has a width of approximately 25 miles from east to west and a length of 68 miles from 

north to south, and is bounded by meridians 104° and 104° 30' and 

parallels 41° 30' and 42° 30'. It constitutes, accordingly, two quadrangles i. e., two of the units employed in topographic and geologic 

mapping by the Geological Survey each one-half a degree square. 

The northern of these is the Patrick quadrangle and the southern 

the Goshen Hole. The longitude of the meridians which bound the 

quadrangles is reckoned from Greenwich. The boundary line between 

Nebraska and Wyoming is meridian 27° west reckoned from Washington, which falls west of meridian 104° from Greenwich, and the 

portion of Nebraska here described lies between these two lines. 

The accompanying sketch map (fig. 1) shows the geographic relations 

of the area.

General statement. The Patrick and Goshen Hole quadrangles lie 

in that portion of the semiarid region of the Great Plains plateau 

which has presented peculiar and difficult problems to those who have 

attempted to settle it and utilize its natural resources. The country 

is best adapted to grazing. Experience has shown that crops can be 

grown without the aid of irrigation only in exceptional years or in 

favored localities. In the absence of irrigation enterprises the lands 

were left to the use of ranchmen, who, enjoying the advantage of ,a 

wide and free range, were able to depend upon the grass and the limited natural meadows for the support of their herds. In the earlier 

days of occupancy the lands for which titles were obtained were practically only such as were necessary for home ranches. The locations 

were widely separated and usually were chosen relative to a stream, 

spring, timber, natural meadow, or shelter. On the passing of the

11
12 PATRICK AND GOSHEN HOLE QUADRANGLES. [NO. 70.

" desert-lands act," providing for the sale of lands reclaimed by irrigation, a new factor entered. The lands to which water could be conducted lay along the streams, and ownership of them brought with it 

the exclusive use of the streams for the watering of stock. In view of 

the crowding of herds this privilege was very desirable, since it made 

possible the controlling of the range. The construction of irrigation 

ditches presented no special difficulties, and was largely done by those

FIG. 1. Map showing geographic relations of the Patrick and G-oshen Hole quadrangles.

interested in stock raising. Many of the ditches paralleled the 

streams, and the water, not being easily conducted far from the valleys, was carried as far as possible along them. In a short time so 

much land had been entered under the desert-lands act that a ranchman desiring to establish himself was obliged to first find open water. 

The lands irrigated consisted chiefly of natural meadows or fields 

of alfalfa. With the exception of the Platte River all the available 

water was in a short time appropriated, and in many cases ditches
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEV WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 70 PL. I

VIEW FROM THE HEAD OF BOX ELDER CANYON, LOOKING FROM THE UPLAND INTO THE GOSHEN HOLE LOWLAND.

ADAMS.] GENERAL GEOLOGY. 13

were constructed which were never of practical benefit, except in 

obtaining titles to the lands before the rulings by the General Land 

Office required their actual reclamation. The irrigation now being 

conducted is principally for the purpose of raising hay and forage, 

which is used as winter feed. This permits of a much greater number of cattle being grazed, since it reduces the amount of grass which 

must be reserved for winter pasture.

With the taking up of the lands, so that but little "open water" 

remained, the ranchmen were enabled to utilize the remaining portion 

for grazing, and, having made mutual agreements, felt in a measure 

secure, and even ventured to fence public lands which they wished 

to reserve for their own use. Lately the sinking of deep wells and 

the use of windmills and gasoline engines for pumping has developed 

a new situation. The leasing of a small tract of State lands or the 

entry of public lands and the maintenance of a watering place in this 

manner has enabled the ranchmen to establish themselves in the open 

range, and the gradual crowding is resulting in the disappearance of 

illegal fences. There is little hope that, the country will be thickly 

settled except in such localities as can be irrigated, because of the 

fact that very large tracts are required for grazing, a common estimate being that 20 acres per head is necessary for summer and winter 

pasturage. Enterprises which are now being promoted are in accordance with the Carey act. Under its provisions the land must be actually reclaimed, and this is possible with only a small percentage of 

the area. There is at present a feeling that some arrangement should 

be made which would insure the rightful and exclusive use of the 

grazing lands of the public domain, and the question of the Government's leasing them is receiving consideration. In the following discussion the general character of the country, soil and rock formations, 

grazing industry, surface features, water supply, irrigation enterprises, and settlement and occupancy are reviewed and discussed,

GEOLOGY.

GENERAL GEOLOGY OF THE REGION.

The formations represented in the region under consideration are 

broad sheets of rocks which extend from the foothills of the mountains 

eastward onto the Great Plains plateau and have a dip that is a little 

less than the grade of the surface. They consist of two series, differing materially in character and having discordant relations. The 

older formations consist of Cretaceous rocks and their substructure of 

Paleozoics, which were deposited before the present ranges of the 

Rocky Mountains were developed. They have been flexed upward 

along the foothills by the movements which accompanied the mountain making, and their edges outcrop in narrow belts parallel to the 

mountains. Although the thickness of these rocks is thousands of
14 PATRICK AND GOSHEN HOLE QUADRANGLES. [NO. 70.

feet, they may be passed over in a short distance where they abut 

against the igneous and metamorphic rocks of the mountain ranges and 

have steep dips. In the portion of the plains here described the rock 

sheets are nearly horizontal, and the individual formations have a 

wide extent. The younger and higher ones only are reached in the 

deep borings and are found as surface outcrops. In the accompanying map (PL II) the general geology of the region is shown. The 

area in which the older rocks are seen as a result of the mountainous 

structure is the Hartville Hills. The horizontal portion of the older 

rocks, which is generally embedded, appears at the surface in the 

locality of Goshen Hole and the lower valley of Horse Creek, where, 

as a result of the removal of the younger series, the Laramie Cretaceous is exposed.

Lying on the floor of older rocks is the Tertiary series, which has 

been spread over them as sheets of clay and sand, extending from the 

mountains toward the plains with diminishing thickness. The source 

of this material was evidently the mountain region to the westward, 

which was elevated at the beginning of Tertiary time, and in which 

the rapid disintegration of the rocks under the processes of erosion 

furnished sediments for the younger series. The Tertiary formations of this portion of the country bear evidence, in the character 

and distribution of materials as well as in the fossil remains which 

are found in them, of having been deposited upon the surface of the 

continent principally through the agency of fresh water. The formations overlap one another toward the mountains and formerly 

extended farther upon their flanks, the zone of deposition seemingly 

having migrated toward the mountains as time progressed.

In recent times destructional processes have been operative and the 

Tertiary has been largely eroded, so that in places its upper divisions 

are worn away, and in the locality of Goshen Hole and near the mouth 

of Horse Creek the beds have been completely removed, revealing the 

underlying Cretaceous.

DESCRIPTION OF FORMATIONS. 

CRETACEOUS.

Laramie formation. This formation has but a limited occurrence, 

and the outcrops are largely concealed by surficial deposits (see PI. 

III). It consists of yellowish and greenish sands, variegated clays, 

and local beds and lenses of a bluish siliceous limestone, which upon 

weathering breaks into irregular fragments and has a yellowish color. 

The sands are cross bedded and current bedded and form a friable 

sandstone which disintegrates readily and suffers erosion through the 

agency of wind. The limestones and certain indurated sands which 

are well cemented appear as bowlders in some of the outcrops (see
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER No.70 PL.II

GENERAL GEOLOGIC MAP

OF THE REGION ALONG THE

NORTH PLATTE RIVER

NEAR THE WYOMING -NEBRASKA LINE 

BY GEORGE I.ADAMS

Scale

P\A T RICK

DRANGLE

Ogallala Arikaree.miiudingGering Brule Chadron

CRETACEOUS CARBONIFEROUS IGNEOUS AND METAMORPHIC

EN HO

^^^' ^''^ - ^

JULIUS BIEN&CO.LITH. N Y.

ADAMS.] GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS. 15

PL IV, J5). The formation is generally considered a brackish or freshwater deposit. Along Dry Creek, which is a branch of Horse Creek 

entering the latter west of Table Mountain, there are ledges several feet 

thick that consist almost wholly of oyster shells ( Ostrea glabra), with 

which is mingled some sand. Outcrops of coal are reported to occur 

in the valley of Horse Creek near J Pen, where the creek flows in 

a southeasterly course. In the vicinity of Hawk Springs and from 

there to Big Willows some prospecting has been done and small outcrops of coal are reported to have been found. The drilling in these 

localities has thus far failed to discover the presence of coal beds considered of sufficient value to be worked in a commercial way. The 

presence of the coal is evidence of the conditions which existed during 

the deposition of the beds. It is lignitic in character and represents 

the remains of forests which nourished during a time when the Cretaceous seas were shallowed and land areas were present in this 

region.

The surface of the Cretaceous, on wThich the Tertiary was deposited, 

seems to have been very irregular, and the contact shows a decided 

unconformity. The area of exposure of the Laramie is not sufficient, 

in view of its obscure outcrops and the friable nature of its sands, to 

determine its structure beyond the prevalence of low dips. From the 

attitude of the overlying beds it would seem tha't there was in this 

area a ridge or an anticlinal elevation which determined the extent 

of the lowest Tertiary formation. Adjacent to the area of outcrop 

but little drilling has been done which reveals the presence of the beds 

at any depth beneath the Tertiary, and its relations can not be very 

satisfactorily demonstrated, since outcrops do not occur except in 

widely distant localities.

TERTIARY.

Chadron formation. The basal formation of the Tertiary is known 

as the Chadron, from a locality in northeastern Nebraska, where it is 

typically developed. On the accompanying geological map it may be 

seen as an irregular belt extending from the Platte River, where it 

crosses the Wyoming and Nebraska line, westward into Goshen Hole. 

It is also exposed in two small areas on either side of the Platte Valley in the vicinity of Vaughn. The principal portion of the beds 

consists of a more or less sandy clay having a greenish-gray color, 

variegated with dark-red and olive beds, which are by far the more 

conspicuous because of the vividness of their hue. The portion of 

this formation which outcrops most prominently consists of coarse 

cross-bedded sandstones of a grayish color (PL IV, A). They appear 

to be channel- or current-bedded phases in the formation, and occur at 

varying horizons. In places they are separated by only a few feet 

from the underlying Cretaceous, and in other localities they occur 

well up toward the top. In the western part of Goshen Hole are a
16 PATRICK AND GOSHElSr HOLE QUADKANGLES. [NO. 70.

number of low points which are capped by remnants of these sandstones. The most conspicuous among them for its altitude is Red Bill 

Point, although there are a number of ridges of greater extent. Along 

the Platte River, in the absence of better building stone, these beds 

have been quarried where they are of fairly uniform texture, and 

supply a durable stone, although it is difficult to work. This formation appears to have been limited southward by a Cretaceous ridge, 

outcrops of which are seen in the southern part of Goshen Hole. The 

area of Chadron shown on the map is confined wholly to the north 

slope of this ridge, if such it be, and south of it the formation evidently is absent.

Brule formation. Succeeding the Chadron beds and lying uneonformably upon them, or in their absence upon the Cretaceous, is a 

thick mass of clay which has very uniformly a pinkish or flesh-colored 

tint, except at some localities of limited area, where its basal portion 

assumes a varying phase. In these places it is a whitish clay having 

grayish and greenish tinges, with a thin bed of white limestone of 

particularly uniform character occurring in the locality of Table 

Mountain and the elevated point 3 miles north of it and in the 

small knobs 2-^ miles north of Trelona. The pink clay is generally 

homogeneous in character, seldom containing conglomeratic beds. 

These occur, however, in limited areas, but are usually composed of 

small gravels. They are not found at any particular horizon, but 

appear to represent local current phases of deposition.

The Brule clay weathers readily and is transported over the slopes, 

where the wash from it forms a thin, pinkish veneer. Where it occurs 

in vertical walls as a result of the protecting cap of higher beds, or in 

small knobs and points, it is usually quite destitute of vegetation and 

is seen to have a jointed structure, and a slight deposit of limy material is often present along the joint planes. In weathering, these joint 

planes are often made bare by the removal of angular fragments and 

give the surface an exfoliated appearance. The limestones above 

mentioned are the .only beds which determine in any way definite 

erosional forms, and they give rise to table-like hills in which the 

limestone is nearly at the summit. In the absence of better material 

the stone has been quarried and used in building, although it supplies only slabby material a few inches in thickness.

Arikaree formation. The Arikaree formation represents a decided 

change in the character of sediments from those which were deposited 

in the time of the Brule. Instead of clay the material consists almost 

wholly of sands, which were deposited"unconformably upon the older 

beds. The Arikaree sand is slightly cemented, so that it forms a protecting cap to the underlying formations, and it occurs frequently in 

the escarpments of the region (see PL V). It has several phases, 

which range both horizontally and vertically through its extent. The 

simplest of these is homogeneous sand without any distinctive strue-
WATER-SUPPLY PAPER No.70 PL.Ill U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

JULIUS BIEN&CO.LITH. N.Y

MAP SHOWING GKOLOGY OP^ THE PATRICK AND GOSIIEN HOLE QUADRANGLES

BY GEORGE: I.ADAMS.

RECENT

Scale

3____4 56 7 8 9 1O It 12 1111 les

LEG EN D

TERTIARY CRETACEOUS

 

Dune sand Alluvium Chadron

 ^ _______

Brule Arikaroe Conglomerates O^allala Laramie

inArikaree
ADAMS.] GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS. 17

ture, but having the peculiarity of weathering in vertical columns or 

walls. Another phase is that in which concretions occur, usually of 

a tabular or pipy form, with an occasional development of nodules 

having a vertical position in the beds. The concretions are of sandstone, well cemented. On weathering they form projecting points 

and lenses in the vertical walls and ledges and protecting caps on 

the pinnacles. They give bizarre forms to the pinnacled and chimney rocks which are so common throughout the area of the formation. 

Another phase of the Arikaree are the conglomeratic beds, which 

represent channel or current deposits and which occur at varying 

horizons (see PI. VI, A). These are commonly found at the base of 

the formation where it is in contact with the Brule clay, and show 

the unconformable relations of the two deposits resulting from contemporaneous erosion and deposition. The individual lenses vary in 

. thickness, and at any particular locality the variation extends from 

a few feet to 200 feet. The fact that this phase is present at the base 

of the Arikaree does not necessarily indicate that it was deposited 

contemporaneously, since it is probable that the conglomerates were 

deposited as the sediments encroached upon the higher levels. Their 

occurrence in the upper horizons is due to the later oscillation of the 

channels as the thickness of the sediments increased. On the geologic map this phase has been represented and to it has been given 

the name Conglomeratic beds in the Arikaree. These may not represent a formation in the sense that the Geririg does, although the 

beds differentiated as such in the country to the east, on the south 

side of the Platte Valley, are in every way similar. The relation of 

these lenses is best seen in the locality of Spoon Butte, in the Patrick 

quadrangle, and for a short distance to the south. In the escarpment 

and lone hills north of Sturdivant's ranch, conglomerates are seen resting on Brule clay, or separated from it by a very thin bed of Arikaree 

sand. In Spoon Butte the lenses are coarse sandstones exhibiting a 

cross-bedded structure, and their occurrence is 400 feet above the 

lowest exposed portion of the Arikaree. In the intermediate localities 

the lenses occur at somewhat lower horizons and seem to justify perfectly the interpretation here placed upon them. In Pine Ridge and 

the small knobs near the eastern border of the Patrick quadrangle 

there is a conglomerate which does not now have a very wide extent, 

since it occurs on the tops of these hills.

The gravels and materials that constitute the conglomeratic lentils 

contain many varieties of rocks which are found in the Rocky Mountain region. They vary in size from small, much-worn fragments up 

to bowlders, and are cemented in a matrix of sand. The disintegration 

of this conglomerate has given rise to terraces which maintain their 

form as a result of the heavy deposit of gravel lying upon them (see 

PI. VI, B). These terraces occur at levels somewhat lower than the 

conglomerate beds, and the connection between the two may be readily

IER 70 02 2
18 PATRICK AND GOSHEN HOLE QUADRANGLES. [NO. 70.

seen by tracing the material from the ledge past the talus slopes to 

the A^eneeriiig of gravel. An example of such a terrace is the somewhat elevated land lying between the mouth of Rawhide Creek and 

the Platte River. Such terraces may be considered as indicating the 

former greater extent of the conglomerate beds. The transportation 

of these gravels has given rise to stream terraces in certain localities, 

and has supplied in part the gravels found in the stream channels. 

They are of local occurrence inasmuch as the conglomerate beds themselves are a local phase. The gravels of the stream terraces and the 

streams are no doubt blended with more recent gravels which have 

been transported from other localities. This is particularly true 

along the Platte River and the streams heading in the foothills and 

mountains.

In the Arikaree there are narrow sandstone dikes which on weathering protrude above the surface and are conspicuous because of the 

comb-like structure which they have when the adjacent formation 

weathers away (see PI. VII). They were noted northeast of Pine 

Ridge and west of Spoon Butte. They have a strike N. 20° to 30° E., 

and apparently have been developed along fractures, which have 

been produced by some general cause. Those which occur northeast 

of Pine Ridge are the more important and can be seen for several 

miles, although' possibly the outcrops do not belong to the same dikes 

at the different localities. They extend as far as Patrick, where they 

may be seen on either side of the valley of Rawhide Creek, in the crests 

of the hills. The material which constitutes the dikes is principally 

sand, with some inflltered calcareous material. On weathering the 

calcareous matter has a honeycombed appearance, the loosely cemented 

sand disappearing. The width of the dikes is only a few feet, sometimes only a few inches. Those west of Spoon Butte extend for short 

distances and are relatively narrow. The direction of the dikes is 

approximately parallel to the structure in the Hartville Hills, and it 

is not unlikely that they have been produced by dislocations or movements along inherent lines of weakness in the deeper formations. 

These dikes have attracted some attention, but an examination has 

shown that there is nothing to warrant prospecting in them for minerals. The material of which they are constituted has evidently been 

derived from the wall rock. There apparently has been some slipping and consequent slickensiding of the dike material since they 

were formed.

Ogallala formation. This formation is represented in this area only 

in the southeast corner of the Goshen Hole quadrangle, where it 

occurs on the upland overlying the Arikaree. It consists of beds of 

sandy and calcareous material with local conglomeratic phases, developed particularly at its base. Within the area here described it does 

not attain its characteristic development, since but a thin remnant of 

it remains on the upland. The pebbles and fragments of crystalline
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

A. CHADRON SANDSTONE NEAR BOX ELDER CREEK, WEST END 

OF GOSHEN HOLE.

WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 70 PL. IV

B LARAMIE BEDS NORTHWEST OF HAWK SPRINGS.

ADAMS.] SUKFICIAL DEPOSITS. 19

rocks that are scattered through it are variable in character, and the 

sands it contains are cemented by carbonate of lime, which in places 

develops into what are known as mortar-bed ledges. It contains considerable clay or marl, which has a slightly creamy or pinkish color. 

Not uncommonly this formation is called "magnesia," although the 

word here is a misnomer if it signifies that the formation is magiiesian. 

South of the valley of Horse Creek the Ogallala extends farther westward. Its principal area, however, is in Nebraska, northeastern Colorado, and the northwest corner of Kansas.

SUKFICIAL DEPOSITS.

Mantle of detritus. In this region disintegration is more active than 

transportation, so that there has accumulated a considerable veneering of surficial material. It consists of sand and clay mingled with 

humus from the decaying vegetation. This material is found to grade 

from coarse talus adjacent to the cliffs into slope wash, and in places 

it is a soil which is firmly held by the sod. It has resulted from 

gravitative action, solution and transportation by water, and the eroding and carrying power of the wind. The materials are largely derived 

from the rocks of the area. The sand is from the Arikaree, Chadron, 

and Laramie formations, while the clay is principally the result of 

disintegration of the Brule. The gravels are from the breaking down 

of local conglomerates, and in part are brought into the region by the 

streams. At many places they are so intermingled that they can not 

be mapped separately.

During the dry season the surface mantle of sand and clay is transported by the wind in its prevailing direction and accumulates on 

the higher places. At times of flood the material is carried do writhe 

slopes and transported along the valleys by the storm water. When 

the creeks flow with large volume they carry the accumulated sands 

and spread them along their courses, but this material does not form 

alluvium, since it is not stratified, but is simply dropped where 

the current is retarded. Moreover, its position is not permanent, 

since when it dries it may be swept away by the wind, or a succeeding cloudburst may transport it farther. Inasmuch as the wind and 

run-off waters in the sum total of their activities are about balanced, 

the surficial materials oscillate in their position between the condition 

of wind-blown accumulations on the ridges and surface wash on the 

slopes and in the valleys. Finally, however, they are either trans> 

ported down the streams or lodge in the sand hills, where they are 

held by the vegetation.

The mantle of unconsolidated detritus apparently dates back to 

the time when the region was occupied by primitive horses and 

elephants, and accordingly it is iu part early Pleistocene. The material at the places where these fossils have been found is, however, not 

essentially different from that which has but recently been deposited.
20 PATEICK AND GOSHEN HOLE QUADBANGLES. [NO. 70.

Accordingly, no attempt is made to classify these deposits. Moreover, their thickness is exceedingly variable and is frequently disguised by the even covering of sod. They range from a thin veneer 

of clay to beds of slope wash as much as 50 feet thick. The accumulations of sand at some of the localities mapped as dunes rise fully 100 

feet above the general level of the older formations.

Alluvium. The only area in which alluvium is shown on the 

accompanying map is the recent flood plain of Platte River. The 

deposit consists of silt and the sediment from the stream, with which 

is mingled considerable gravel. Where the river enters the Patrick 

quadrangle through .the narrows the valley floor is about a mile wide. 

Below this point it is not restricted by bluffs. In the vicinity of the 

P. F. ranch and Torringtonit is about 3 miles wide. The channel of 

the Platte is broad and is occupied by sand bars and islands, and 

evidently has shifted frequently. The alluvial deposits do not differ 

in any way from the material now carried by the river. Although 

they are loose, and frequently sandy and gravelly, they are relatively 

fertile and furnish the most valuable agricultural lands because of 

their proximity- to the source of water for irrigation. Nearly all of 

this land is now under irrigation ditches.

It might seem that the larger streams tributary to the Platte would 

be bordered by alluvium. No such deposits have been mapped, and 

it is questionable whether they should be distinguished, for the reason 

that the streams are not bordered by true flood-plain deposits. They 

-flow only in certain seasons of the year, and when they carry their 

largest volume of water the material transported is that which is 

washed from the slopes by the cloudbursts and heavy rainfall, and 

consists of the loose sand and clay which are described above as eolian 

and creep deposits and surface wash. Moreover, along the valleys of 

these streams the country rock is exposed at many places within their 

channels.

Stream, gravels from oulside areas. Except in the case of the Platte 

River, which has its source in the mountains, the streams do not carry 

a large amount of gravel. When the Platte is at low stages its bed 

not uncommonly appears to be paved with cobblestones. These pebbles and bowlders, on examination, are found to represent a great 

variety of rocks such as are found in the mountains to the west. 

No doubt when the river flowed at former grades it transported these 

materials and deposited them in terraces. At some places the river 

terrace gravels may be seen covering the surface, but usually they 

have been transported by the erosion of sand and clay and gravitative 

action, so that the terrace feature is obscured. Moreover, there are 

other gravels which are not unlike them, and it is therefore difficult 

to distinguish the river gravels as a distinct class of deposits.

Stream gravels of local origin. The conglomerate beds which occur 

at the base of the Arikaree and locally at higher horizons within that 

formation have already been described. The gravels which consti-
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 70 PL. V

:i

dkl-

*>

A. WEST END OF 66 MOUNTAIN.

EAGLE ROCK AT FOX CREEK GAP.

ADAMS.] SURFIOIAL DEPOSITS. 21

tute them are not unlike the gravels which have been transported from 

the Rocky Mountain region, and upon the disintegration of the conglomerate they are transported by the streams and distributed along 

the valleys tributary to the Platte, so that they blend with the gravels 

of Platte River. Evidently they were derived from about the same 

classes of rocks, and possibly from the same general area in the Rocky 

Mountains. The conglomerates which are now present and exposed 

within the quadrangles may readily be seen to be the source of these 

gravels. The gravels, however, have a wider extent than is consistent with their derivation from the areas within which the conglomerates are now found. In the absence of any other source for the 

stream gravels it is natural to conclude that they indicate a former 

wider extension and occurrence of the conglomerate beds. It is altogether probable that the exposures which have been referred to as 

basal beds of the Arikaree were continuous between the areas where 

they are now found in place, and the breaking down of such a deposit 

would have furnished a large quantity of bowlders and gravel.

In the valley of Horse Creek and its former extension into Pumpkin 

Creek there are stream gravels which do not seem to have been 

derived from conglomerate beds within the area here described. On 

the general map it will be seen that the drainage of Horse Creek 

heads at the base of the Laramie Mountains, and it is not improbable, 

that the gravels which occur along its valleys are derived from localities near its source. In that case they would sustain "the same relation to this area which the Platte River gravels sustain, and by their 

occurrence in terraces they would indicate the former grades of the 

streams.

Terrace gravels from disintegration in place. Adjacent to the beds 

of conglomerate there are gravel terraces which in certain localities 

have a considerable extent. They have originated through the 

breaking down of the conglomerate, and retain their form because 

the gravels make a protecting mantle. The best example of this 

occurrence of gravel terraces is on the point or divide between the 

lower part of Rawhide Creek and the Platte River. The source of 

the gravels may be seen in a ledge which is conspicuous to the west 

of the terrace and which occurs somewhat higher. Another example 

of this class of gravel terrace may be seen south of the Platte, on 

the high point to the east of the conglomerate beds which occur in 

the southeast corner of the Patrick quadrangle.

Where the conglomerates have been so largely removed that the 

relation between the gravels and the original beds is not clearly traceable, this type of deposit is not so readily distinguished. Moreover, 

when there has been a sufficient period of erosion to accomplish this 

removal, the gravels on the terraces have likewise suffered gravitative action, and occur as an indefinite deposit blending with the stream 

gravels and the detritus of the valley slopes. Accordingly there are
22 PATRICK AND GOSHEN HOLE QUADRANGLES. [NO. 70.

localities in which the stream gravels and the terrace gravels are indistinguishable.

Sand Mils or dunes. There is more or less sand and wind-blown 

material distributed over nearly the entire area which is here discussed. The source of the wind-blown sand is principally the Arikaree 

formation, which consists of sand only slightly cemented, and which 

upon weathering disintegrates into easily - transported material. 

Within the area designated as sand hills on the map this drifting 

material has accumulated into dunes. Some of the sand hills are 

sodded over and may be spoken of as inactive. In others the sand 

is constantly shifting. When for any reason the sod on a sand hill 

is removed or broken, the hill immediately begins to change its form 

and shift its position according to the direction of the wind. In 

Nebraska the sand hills are much more extensive than in Wyoming. 

Those which are seen in the Patrick quadrangle are at the western 

end of what is known as the great sand-hill area in" Nebraska.

FIG. a. Sketch showing the west end of Goshen Hole, the Goshen Hole escarpment and the 

Laramie Mountains in the distance.

A considerable portion of the sand which forms dry bars in the 

Platte River is blown onto the upland. In this way the material 

transported into the area by that stream is contributed to the surficial 

deposits during the dry season. The sand hills north of Torrington 

and Pratt mav be in part the result of this action.

SURFACE FEATTIRES.

General relations and elevations. The region is a portion of the 

Great Plains plateau, which extends from the Rocky Mountains eastward, sloping gradually toward the Mississippi Valley. The Laramie 

Mountains lie 40 miles west of the border of the area described, and 

on a clear day Laramie Peak and some of the lesser peaks are visible 

on the horizon (see fig. 2). To the northwest, and but a short distance from the Patrick quadrangle, are the Hartville Hills and the 

lone point known as Rawhide Butte. The elevations within the 

quadrangles vary from 3,920 feet in the river valleys to 5,300 feet oft 

the highest points.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 70 PL. VI

A. POINT OF ROCKS, EAST OF SNOW'S RANCH. 

Shows conglomerate near the base of the Arikaree formation, with Brule clay below.

...1

B. GRAVEL TERRACE FORMED BY THE DISINTEGRATION OF THE CONGLOMERATE, WEST OF RAWHIDE CREEK, NEAR ITS JUNCTION WITH THE 

NORTH PLATTE.

ADAMS.] SUBFACE FEATURES. 28

Croshen Hole escarpment. The formations which outcrop within the 

area consist largely of clays and sandstones which yield readily to 

erosion, and in some cases have the peculiarity of forming nearly vertical walls. A conspicuous feature of the region is an escarpment 

which forms the western border of Goshen Hole. (See PL I.) It is represented more or less regularly to the north of the Platte in the bluffs 

which extend from the vicinity of the Narrows, below Fort Laramie, 

in an irregular line north of Snow's ranch and Sturdivant's ranch. 

Bear Creek Mountain and 66 Mountain (see Pis. V, A and IX, A), in 

the southeastern part of the area mapped, are isolated portions of this 

escarpment, which is found continuous again from the southeast 

corner of the Goshen Hole quadrangle into Nebraska. This escarpment may be regarded as separating the lowland from the upland.

Upland. Previous to the development of the present stream valleys and basins the country evidently was a nearly smooth plain. 

Evidences of this are seen in the nearly even elevation of the higher 

tables and escarpments, which have a slight eastward slope. The 

grade of the original plain is the gradual slope from the mountains 

toward the Mississippi Valley. Considered with respect to its physiographic relations, it is a portion of what is denominated the Great 

Plains plateau. It was formed in Tertiary time by the deposition of 

sediments rin broad, apron-like sheets spread eastward from the 

mountains. It has been largely preserved to the present time, and 

the undissected areas form the High Plains. They constitute the 

upland of the area here discussed.

Lowland. Along the Platte Valley, where there are a number of 

small streams which have a grade dependent upon that of the Platte 

River and reaching up the larger tributaries for a considerable distance, a lowland has been developed, which is gradually being extended 

as the escarpments recede and the isolated hills are removed by erosion. Goshen Hole, the name of which is unfortunately suggestive 

of an inclosed basin, is a portion of this lowland plain which is open 

eastward to the valleys of the Platte and Horse Creek. Its western 

rim is the escarpment which has been already referred to as marking 

the line between the general upland and lowland.

The origin of the Goshen Hole lowland appears to have been due 

to the fact that the Brule clay, which is found throughout the region, 

is readily eroded when once the protecting covering of the Arikaree 

sands is removed. This process is hastened by the issuance of ground 

water as a seepage flow and as springs at the line of contact between 

the two formations. At this horizon erosion progresses by sapping, 

which undermines the cliffs and causes the escarpment to retreat. 

The western limit of the lowland along the Platte River is practically 

at the Narrows, a few miles below the point where the Laramie River 

enters the Platte, on the western border of the Patrick quadrangle. 

At this place the contact between the Brule and the Arikaree is at
24 PATRICK AND GOSHEN HOLE QUADEANGLES. [NO. 70,

' -A'

the level of the river. Along Rawhide Creek the limit of the lowland is 

similarly at this line of contact north 

of Snow's ranch. Where the Goshen 

Hole escarpment is well developed the 

contact between the two formations 

occurs in its face, as at the Point of 

Rocks, east of Snow's ranch and the 

hills north of Sturdivant's ranch. In 

Nebraska north of the Platte River the 

escarpment is not conspicuous except 

at a few points.

The principal cause of the escarpment being best denned at the western 

border of Goshen Hole is the fact that 

practically no streams enter the lowland from that side. Upon examining 

the general map it will be seen that the 

drainage which flows eastward from 

the Laramie Mountains north of Bear 

Creek is diverted into the Laramie 

River by Chugwater Creekf which has 

a northerly course west of Goshen 

Hole. The Goshen Hole escarpment 

has accordingly not been broken by 

streams, but has retreated as the result of "the sapping at its base by the 

headwaters of the minor drainage.

In the southwestern part of the 

Goshen Hole quadrangle there is a 

gradually eastward-sloping surface 

which corresponds to a former grade 

of the streams, so that the escarpment 

is not clearly developed along Bear 

Creek and Horse Creek, but at many 

places the contact between the formations is beginning to appear in the 

more recently developed breaks and 

bluffs. Following the escarpment 

which borders the lowland eastward 

along Pumpkin Creek, we find the 

Ogallala formation occurring at its 

summit, the contact between the 

Ogallala and Arikaree falling in the 

face of the es'carpment well toward 

its upper part. While the presence of 

the lowland is here also dependent
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER SUPPLY PAPER NO. 70 PL. VII

A. SANDSTONE DIKE CUTTING THE ARIKAREE FORMATION NORTHEAST OF

PINE RIDGE.

B. SANDSTONE DIKE CUTTING THE ARIKAREE FORMATION ON DRY RAWHIDE

CREEK.

ADAMS.] WATER SUPPLY. 25

upon the occurrence of the easily eroded Brule clays, the development 

of the escarpment is to some extent also the result of the character of 

the Ogallala, which, like the Arikaree, acts as a capping and protecting member to the clays. A short distance east of the junction of 

Pumpkin Creek with the Platte the Goshen Hole lowland loses its 

importance and blends with and becomes simply the Platte Valley. 

In this portion the Arikaree formation is absent, and the Brule and 

Ogallala are the formations into which the streams have cut their 

valleys. The channel of the Platte does not lie so much below the 

contact between the formations as it does in the Goshen Hole country, 

and this, together with the absence of the Arikaree, probably accounts 

for the topographic forms being of less pronounced character. The 

floor of the Goshen Hole lowland is very largely the Brule clay, but 

at certain points along the Platte and in Goshen Hole proper erosion 

has exposed the underlying formations, which are the Chadron and 

the Laramie.

The forms of relief which are conspicuous within the area of the 

lowland are the so-called mountains and small mesas or table-lands 

that are left as remnants of the upland which once extended in a 

narrow tongue between the North Platte River and the former Horse 

Creek-Pumpkin Creek Valley a (see fig. 3). Eagle Rock, 66 Mountain, 

Eagle Nest, and the very irregular mountains in Scotts Bluff County, 

Nebraska, of which Scotts Bluff is a part, are what now remains of this 

tongue. With the extension of the lowlands back from the streams 

this divide was gradually dissected until the drainage of the southern 

valley was diverted through the gap between Bear Creek Mountain 

and 66 Mountain, following the course of what is now Horse Creek. 

Since the time of this capture, which deprived Pumpkin Creek of the 

larger portion of the water that it received from the west, its tributaries in the vicinity of 66 Mountain, which received the run-off water, 

have become relatively more conspicuous than the old channel, which 

may now be found indistinctly marked in the nearly level country 

lying to the east of the bend of Horse Creek, at the point where that 

stream was diverted to the north.

WATER SUPPLY.

Streams. The streams of the area flow in a generally eastward 

direction and are all tributary to the North Platte, which has a southeasterly course through the southwestern part of the Patrick quadrangle and the northeast corner of the Goshen Hole quadrangle. The 

region is one in which the rainfall is limited. With the exception of 

the larger streams the channels are dry throughout most of the year. 

The North Platte, having its source in the mountains of Colorado and 

receiving large tributaries in Wyoming, which are fed by the melting

"The North Platte was considered by Darton (Nineteenth Ann. Kept., Pt. IV, p. 739) as having at "one time flowed through the valley of Pumpkin Creek. A study of this area lying to the 

west, which he did not visit, justifies the explanation above given and accordingly accounts for 

the nature of the Pumpkin Valley, independent of such a hypothesis.
26 PATEICK AND GOSHEN HOLE QUADEANGLES. [NO. 70.

snows, is perennial and of the greatest importance as a source of 

water supply. The next largest stream is Horse Creek, which enters 

the southeast corner of the Goshen Hole quadrangle, then flows northward through its middle portion, and thence eastward to the Platte, 

which it joins a short distance beyond the border of the area in 

Nebraska. Its principal tributary is Bear Creek, which is of nearly 

equal importance to the point of its junction with Horse Creek.

These streams head in the foothills of the southern extension of the 

Laramie Mountains, and have long, narrow drainage basins. They 

flow throughout the year, although in places, as a result of the diversion of water for irrigation and the disappearance of the remaining small flow in the gravels and sands, their channels are sometimes 

nearly dry. Some of the shorter streams which are fed by springs 

and seeps and flow for a short portion of their course during the dry 

season are Stinking Water, Spring Branch, and Big Lone Tree Creek. 

Their courses are indistinct, owing to the fact thab they soon sink 

into the surficial sands which fill the lower portions of their channels.

Fox Creek and Little Horse Creek receive their waters from springs, 

but, having longer courses and draining larger basins, are almost 

constant in their flow, although supplying but a limited amount of 

water. In Goshen Hole, as it is usually limited, there are no perennial streams. Cherry Creek, Box Elder Creek, and Corn Creek are 

represented on the map as intermittent streams. During a season of 

heavy rains or cloudbursts the run-off water spreads in a broad sheet 

along the line of their indistinct channels and for some time after 

stands in long pools. In the dry seasons they contain a limited 

amount of water in the canyons at their heads, which is supplied by 

springs. The larger number of ponds, or water holes as they are 

commonly called, which are found in Goshen Hole act as natural 

catchment basins into which the run-off water of the higher lands 

drains and remains throughout most of the year. A careful survey 

of the country adjacent to them shows that they have a relation to 

the indistinct drainage system which exists in the low but very irregular relief. The origin of these ponds or basins will be discussed 

later in this paper. In the Patrick quadrangle Rawhide Creek is 

a perennial stream in its upper portion, where its valley is confined 

between relatively regular bluffs. It has a number of small tributaries which are fed by springs and along which water holes and small 

channels are found. Along the lower portion of Rawhide Creek the 

country is nearly level and the water sinks into the surficial sands 

and gravels except during flood times. In the vicinity of Spoon Butte 

there are springs which form the head of Sheep Creek. Along the 

upper part of this stream there are some short tributaries which are 

likewise fed by springs, and there is a limited amount of water present even during the dry seasons. But where Sheep Creek has a broad 

valley it is dry for long stretches except during heavy rains. The 

water which is present rises as springs from the underflow along the
ADAMS.] WATEE SUPPLY. 27

channel. The lower portion of its course, in the southeast corner of 

Patrick quadrangle, is blocked hy a range of sand hills, and the 

water disappears under them in what is known as the sinks of Sheep 

Creek. Farther on the channel is again distinct and some water 

stands in it even in the dry season.

From the foregoing account it will be seen that the county is one 

in which stream water is a limited resource and is of great importance 

for the purpose of irrigation as well as in supporting the grazing 

industr}T .

Springs. The principal horizon at which springs occur is the contact between the Brule clay and the Arikaree formation. The Arikaree consists largely of sands, through which the water falling on it 

percolates until it reaches the underlying clay. This clay is fine' 

grained and homogeneous and is practically impervious. As a 

result, where the contact betwee'n the clay and the overlying Arikaree 

is exposed the ground water finds issuance in case the dip is such as 

to bring it to that point. There does not appear to be a very large 

supply of ground water in any of the formations. This is probably 

due to the fact that the country is in the serniarid region and the 

rainfall occurs at irregular intervals and often in the nature of cloudbursts, so that it is carried away as run-off water by streams.

Although there are many springs at the contact above mentioned, 

they are not strong. In many cases the ground water is only sufficient to keep the upper surface of the clay moistened. Along the 

face of the escarpments the line of issuance is marked by a darker 

color, resulting from the presence of water in the clay, and where 

there is vegetation it is more luxuriant. At the heads of the gulches 

and small canyons the wa£er from the springs, following under the 

talus of the slopes, usually unites to form a stream for a short distance. 

These localities are frequented by cattle and have been taken advantage of for home ranches by the stockmen. The supply from such 

springs is very limited, and the water usually sinks into the sands of the 

stream bed in a relatively short distance. Examples of this type of 

spring may be found at the head of Stinking Water Creek, the spring 

branches south of Gordon's ranch, the spring branch southwest of 

Meriden post-office, Fox Creek, Big Lone Tree Creek, the State Line 

Springs on 66 Mountain, and the tributaries of Sheep Creek north of 

Sturdivant's ranch.

Within the area of the Arikaree formation there are a number of 

places at which springs occur. These do not appear to issue at any 

particular horizon, and in many cases are simply the reappearance of 

the seepage water which follows along the valle3Ts under the sand. 

Such springs are found on Red Cloud Slough, J. M. Creek, and the 

head of Sheep Creek north of Spoon Butte.

Hawk Springs, at the west end of 66 Mountain, is perhaps the largest 

so-called spring in the Gosheu Hole country. At this locality the 

ground is seepy, and the water rises at a number of places. It has
28 PATEICK AND GOSHEN HOLE QUADRANGLES. [NO. TO.

been dammed in so as to form a small pond, and an irrigation ditch 

has been constructed to carry the flow onto pasture lands. The source 

of the water can not be definitely determined. From examination of 

the valley of Horse Creek, farther south, and a study of the wells 

adjacent to it, it appears that a considerable quantity of ground 

water passes laterally from the creek into gravels and sands, and it is not 

improbable that Hawk Springs is the point of issuance of this water, 

which follows a natural channel now obscured by surficial material.

Ponds. Within the area of Goshen Hole there are many shallow 

ponds, in a large number of which water stands nearly all the year. 

These ponds are commonly spoken of as water holes (see PL X, B). 

They are usually shallow, seldom being over 2 or 3 feet in depth. 

Their bottoms are filled with mud, which is tramped up by the cattle, 

and when the water evaporates it leaves a mire in which cattle sometimes stick fast.

The water holes occur in moderate depressions which have a relation to the lines of drainage. These depressions, however, are not 

infrequently 20 feet below the grade of the channel. Careful instrumental surveys are required in some places to determine in what 

direction water would flow in case of flood, since the relief is very 

irregular, and no definite drainage system can be made out by studying channels. The origin of the ponds or water holes is a question 

of considerable interest. They appear to have been produced in the 

following ways:

In times of flood the water carries a heavy load of sediment. This 

sediment, together with the debris of the vegetation, finds lodgment 

in the greasewood and sagebrush along the streams, and causes a 

slight damming of the channel. In this way the water courses are 

ponded. After the run-off water has ceased to flow the ponds are 

frequented by cattle, which tramp the mud and puddle it so that it 

holds water much better the second time that it is filled. The cattle 

in going away carry a considerable quantity of the mud on their feet, 

and by tramping form an irregular rim at the border of the water.

Another cause of the ponding of the channels is due to the fact that 

when a stream enters at right angles to the channel its sediments form 

an alluvial fan. In case of heavy rainfall the sand from a slope down 

which a stream flows with considerable velocity is carried and deposited as a barrier across the channel. Sometimes a trail crossing a 

stream breaks the sod, so that a quantity of sand sufficient to obstruct 

the channel is brought down during a heavy rain. Examples of ponding of this kind may be seen in many of the streams, particularly in 

the area of the Arikaree formation, which consists largely of sand.

Another probable method of ponding is by solution. The water 

along the stream channels sinks into the ground at certain places and 

in percolating carries with it materials in solution, so that a depression is formed where this process continues for a long time. Localities at which this would naturally take place are where the under-
ADAMS.] WATER SUPPLY. 29

lying formations are porous and capable of carrying a large quantity 

of ground water. The sinks which originate in this way are readily 

transformed into water holes when silted up with fine clay.

The wind which carries away the sand and loose cl&y from the 

margins of the water holes is also an agenqy in producing depressions. 

For a considerable distance around the stjanding water the ground is 

made bare by the tramping of the cattle, ajid the grass is either grazed 

off by the herds or cut down by the prairie dogs, which have their 

towns near by. The wind carries away alfl the loosened material, and 

in the course of time is undoubtedly a conspicuous factor in deepening the depression. Where the surface formation is of a sandy nature 

and has beneath it a clay, the action of the wind is undoubtedly sufficient to blow out a considerable basin, ar d when the sand is carried 

away down to the depth at which the clay occurs the conditions are 

supplied for a pond, when there is any large amount of rainfall. 

Within the area of Goshen Hole there is nearly everywhere present 

a considerable amount of surficial material, which is largely sand. 

Blowouts, as they are called, which have a depth of 10 to 15 feet, are

not unusual. The bottoms of these are usually the clays or undisturbed and original formations, which are relatively impervious to 

water. It is probable that the alignment of some of the water holes 

which seems to indicate a former channel may be the result of the 

direction of the wind, which has produced a number of blowouts at 

a locality where, for some reason, the ^od has been removed and 

deflation rendered possible.

Perhaps the most common cause of ponding of stream channels 

within this area is the drifting of sand. The most notable example 

of it may be seen on Sheep Creek, where the valley is crossed by a 

high range of sand hills. Above the barrier of sand the water disappears in what is known as the sinks of Sheep Creek. At this place 

the stream sinks into the sand and appears lower in the valley, where 

the channel is unobstructed. The sand hills at the sinks of Sheep 

Creek, however, do not cause a permanent ponding of water, because 

they are porous and the basin has not become silted up with clay so 

as to hold the water. The drifting of the sand occurs on a smaller 

scale at many places in the area of the Goshen Hole. When once the 

barrier of sand accumulates across a line of drainage it may become 

sodded over, and where the relief is low the lines of drainage soon 

become obscured.

Wells. Inasmuch as the settlements have usually been made near 

running water or springs, the wells that have been dug have mostly 

been shallow ones and obtain the ground water which is found along 

the valleys of the streams. Lately, however, settlers on the upland 

have dug wells for domestic use, and deep wells have been drilled in 

order to supply stock water.

In the southeast corner of the Goshen Hole quadrangle, on the high 

land, the depth to water is practically the distance which must be
30 PATRICK AJSTD GOSHEJST HOLE QUADRANGLES. [NO. 70.

drilled in penetrating from the surface to the level of the Brule clay. 

The wells in this locality are reported to be from 220 to 300 feet in 

\ depth. In the northern part of the Patrick quadrangle, in the vicinity 

of Lone Sand Hill, deep wells have been drilled to obtain water for 

cattle, and they reach a depth of from 180 to 250.feet. Inasmuch as 

this locality is a considerable distance from any known outcrop of the 

Brule clay and the information as to what was passed through in 

drilling is not very definite, it can not be determined with certainty 

whether these wells reach the line of contact between the Arikaree 

and Brule clay. The probability is, however, that this is the case, 

since the Arikaree is seldom found to contain much water, and the 

wells are not exhausted when pumped steadily by means of windmills.

In the portion of the area here discussed in which the surficial 

materials overlying the Brule clay have a considerable thickness, 

shallow wells have been found where there are local basins of water 

held by the irregular surface of the clay. Examples of wells of this 

class may be found east of La Grange, on the relatively level country 

south of 66 Mountain. They have a depth of from 20 to 75 feet, 

some of the deeper ones apparently having penetrated a considerable 

distance into the clay.

Within the area of Goshen Hole where the Cretaceous formations 

outcrop some deep wells have been drilled with the hope of finding a 

supply of water for cattle, and other borings have been made in prospecting for coal along Horse Creek. In all these cases an abundance 

of water has been found, but it is not of good quality. It is commonly spoken of as being "alkali" or salty. This is not an uncommon characteristic of the water in the Cretaceous formations, and 

indeed of large areas in Wyoming where the rocks are of other ages. 

The source of the mineral salts which are contained in the water is 

not easily explained. Inasmuch as the water at nearly all points is 

equally bad, the supposition is that the salts are diffused throughout 

the formation and may be an orginal constituent deposited at the 

time the sediments were formed.

Where irrigation is carried on the percolation of the water renders 

the ground springy and wells are sunk only a fewT feet. The water 

obtained in such cases, however, is not of good quality, inasmuch as 

it is the seepage from irrigation, and where the land has been irrigated for a number of years it is apt to contain mineral salts as a 

result of the long-continued evaporation. These salts are usually 

spoken of as "alkali." They are in reality sodium chloride or common salt, sodium sulphate, calcium sulphate, or gypsum, and magnesium sulphate, together with certain other salts in smaller quantities. 

They have the property of making the water hard and rendering it 

undesirable for domestic use.

Artesian wells. Thus far no artesian wells have been obtained 

within the Patrick and Goshen Hole quadrangles which are indicative 

of general artesian conditions. In prospecting for coal along Horse
ADAMS.] IRRIGATION. 31

Creek some of the wells which reach a considerable depth are reported^ 

to have flowed a steady stream, but these wells, inasmuch as the water 

was not soft and fresh, were not thought worth preserving. Near 

Robb's ranch there is a shallow well, generally reported to be from 20 

to 40 feet deep, which flows a small but steady stream. It is not cased 

up, and the water which rises in it forms a pool a few feet in diameter, 

from one side of which the flow escapes. The locality is frequented 

by stock as a watering place. Nothing could be learned concerning 

the structure of the formations at this place which was at all conclusive. The surficial materials are extensive in this locality, and 

the Brule clay apparently underlies them. The depth of the well 

could not be learned with certainty, and no information was available 

as to what was passed through in digging it. The probability is that the 

flow comes from a local basin in which the ground water accumulates. 

As to the existence of artesian water at considerable depths in this 

country, it may be well to state that in case it should be found in the 

Cretaceous it would probably be in character like that which has been 

described from the wells in Goshen Hole, not suitable for domestic use 

and only fairly acceptable for stock water. The water which is found 

in deep" wells drilled on the upland often rises for a considerable distance in the wells, but it does not have sufficient head to flow, and 

when pumped steadily falls lower, so that it is necessary to pump 

from the bottom of the well in nearly every case where a large supply 

is needed. The quality of the water found in the Tertiary is usually 

good, although not always abundant.

IRRIGATION.

The irrigation enterprises in the Patrick and Goshen Hole quadrangles comprise a large number of ditches. Some of them, however, 

are short. This is particularly true of those which derive their water 

from the sm'all streams. Along the Platte River the amount of water 

available for irrigation purposes is more abundant and the canals are 

wider and have been carried for several miles. The bottom land of 

this valley includes most of the cultivated tracts and is at present 

nearly all under ditches. The canals have not been surveyed in 

detail, and inasmuch as the water rights have not been adjudicated 

by the State, the flowage and capacity of many of them is not a matter 

of record. On the accompanying map, PI. VIII, the areas which are 

shown as cultivated land under irrigation are those which were noted 

and mapped by Mr. Ernest F. Burchard, who assisted in the survey of 

the region. Not all the ditches have been mapped, since some of them 

are used only for diverting the water onto meadow and pasture lands. 

The cultivated area under any ditch varies in size from year to year 

with the condition of the ditch and the enterprise of the farmer. From 

time to time contests have arisen as to priority of rights, and because 

of the limited amount of water available certain canals which are well 

located have been abandoned. In some cases the water from the
32 PATEICK AND GOSHEN HOLE QUADKATTOLES. [NO. 70.

streams is utilized by ditches which do not divert it onto lands that 

can be economically cultivated.

Little Horse Creek ditches. Little Horse Creek does not have a 

very large amount of water in it, except at flood times, but its usual 

flow is appropriated by small ditches, as are also the flows from spring 

branches in its valley. The ditches which divert it are the Springdale, 

Herrick, Gordon, Lykens, and Hoyt.

Horse Creek ditches. The valley of Horse Creek for a considerable 

distance in the area here discussed is narrow and somewhat canyonlike. Ditches have been constructed along this portion of its course, 

but practically all of them have been abandoned, although some of 

the small ones are used for irrigating gardens and limited meadow 

lands. The first important ditch within the area here discussed is 

known as the Code ditch. This diverts the water into what evidently 

was formerly a valley of Horse Creek before its flow was captured by 

Little Horse Creek. This valley is known as the Big Draw and has a 

gentle grade^ so that the water is economically applied. This ditch 

is so situated that it could utilize the entire flow of the stream at its 

head gate except at flood times. By constructing reservoirs a considerable quantity of flood water might be stored.

On Horse Creek, in the vicinity of La Grange post-office, the flow 

of the stream is considerable at practically all seasons of the year 

and is utilized by the La Grange ditches. These are located several 

miles below the Code ditch, and the flow of the stream at this point 

is considerably increased over that which passes the head gate of the 

Code ditch. Below the La Grange ditch the T. M. Herrick ditch and 

some others are so situated as to utilize the water which passes the 

La Grange. A small ditch has recently been constructed at Little 

Willows. It irrigates a narrow tract in the immediate valley of the 

creek. The next point at which the flow is available for irrigation 

purposes is near the State line. The Lawrence ditch, which has been 

constructed at this place, is provided with storage reservoirs and irrigates a considerable tract. There is in addition, a short distance 

below, the Brazil and Marsh ditch, which is connected with the Lawrence, and the Hockster, Foster, and Roberts ditches, which irrigate 

small tracts.

Bear Creek ditches. The valley of Bear Creek, where it is contracted within canyon-like walls, has no large ditches. At nearly 

every ranch some water is diverted onto narrow meadow lauds or 

garden patches, but the amount irrigated in this way is inconsiderable. These ditches are not shown on the map. To the west of 

Meriden post-office Spring Branch enters Bear Creek. Its flow is 

utilized by the Dater ditch, which irrigates only a few acres. Below 

this point Bear Creek ditch diverts the water on the lands in the 

vicinity of Meriden post-office. The flow of the stream farther on is 

utilized by the Vanwedel and Goshen ditches.

Fox Creek ditches. This stream has a very limited flow, but an
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER No.70 PL.VIII

JULIUS BIENtCO.LITH N.Y

MAP SHOWING CULTIVATED LANDS UNDER IRRIGATION,AND DISTRIBITTION OP TIMBER

BY ERNEST RHUKCHARD

012

Scale 

3-4 5 e 7 e 9 10 11 12 miles

Irrifiaied tracts

LEG EN D 

Pine and cedar Cottonwood and\villow
ADAMS.] IEEIGATION. 33

effort has been made to utilize it by the Fox Creek and Kessler ditches. 

The amount of water is sufficient for only small tracts. Lands onto 

which it is diverted are, however, favorably situated.

Rawhide Greek, diicJies. Rawhide Creek has too limited a flow 

during the dry season to justify the construction of large ditches. The 

Bartlett, Patrick, and Snow ditches utilize the water of this stream. In 

addition there are small ones which divert the water onto meadow lands.

Platte River ditches. On the north side of the Platte River the 

canals which have been constructed from the vicinity of Fort Laraniie

FIG. 4. Map showing constructed and proposed canals along North Platte Eiver.

eastward are the Lucerne, Torrington, North Platte, and Pratt. The 

Farmers canal has its head gate at the eastern border of the area. Its 

flow is utilized principally to the eastward of the area here discussed. 

On the south side of the river the Grotton, Union Cattle Company, 

Narrows, and Mitchell ditches are in operation. The last-named one 

(which irrigates a large tract farther east, in Nebraska) has a second 

head gate, known as the Gering Branch. The Platte River ditches 

IRE 70 02 3
34 PATRICK AND GOSHEN HOLE QUADRANGLES. [NO. 70.

are so situated that they are practically above all the alluvium of the 

valley. This area, however, is not all suitable for cultivation, since 

some of it is too uneven and other portions are so sandy and gravelly 

that the water can not be economically applied. With further 

preparation of the land and by successive saturation of the soil areas 

which are now not cultivated will be rendered suitable for farm land.

It has been proposed to divert the waters of the North Platte 

near Guernsey, to the west of the area here discussed, and carry 

it by means of a long ditch into the Goshen Hole country (see fig. 4). 

Surveys have been made along the line where this ditch is expected 

to run, but the cost of construction has been considered relatively too 

great, and because of having to cross streams and to maintain the 

canal through a rough country, promoters of this enterprise have been 

deterred from carrying out their plans. The country in Goshen Hole 

which this canal is expected to reclaim is, however, of a character 

suited to irrigation.

Recently surveys have been made for a canal on the north side of 

the Platte with the head gate at the vicinity of Whalen Canyon (see 

fig. 4). This ditch is expected to reclaim a large tract of land and 

has been planned under the provisions of the Carey act. a The course 

which it will follow is relatively long and runs through considerable 

rough ground, where there will be a loss of water by seepage through 

the sands and gravel. This loss, however, will diminish as the canal 

becomes silted up. Besides small tracts along its upper course the 

area which it is expected to reclaim lies principally along the mouth 

of Rawhide Creek and east of that stream, which it will cross.

TIMBER, GRASS, AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.

Timber. On the High Plains, to which the area here discussed 

belongs, timber occurs only at favored localities, and seldom in areas 

sufficiently large to render it a valuable resource. In the absence of 

coal, wood of any kind is valuable for fuel, and is hauled long distances. The trees which grow on the plains are not very good for 

building, although they are frequently utilized by the settlers for the 

construction of log houses and small buildings. Their principal use 

has been to furnish posts for fences. One reason why the timber 

does not furnish valuable lumber is because of its slow and stunted 

growth. Moreover, the varieties do not represent the more durable 

woods. On the bluffs and escarpments, and occasionally the lone 

hills, there is a scant growth of pine and cedar. This timber has been 

largely depleted, and sometimes in cutting it considerable waste has 

resulted from the leaving of the tops and stumps. After the trees 

which furnished good logs for building had been cut away and the 

smaller ones suitable for posts had been used up by the ranchmen, 

the settlers found that wood was becoming so valuable that they

"For the provisions of this act see Appendix.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 70 PL. IX

A. BEAR CREEK MOUNTAIN, LOOKING EASTWARD; ALFALFA FIELD AND 

MERIDEN POST-OFFICE IN FOREGROUND.

B. EAGLE ROCK AND LONE ROCKS AT FOX CREEK GAP IN ARIKAREE FORMATION.

ADAMS.] TIMBER AND GRASSES. 35

resorted to the hauling of the stumps and tops for fuel. The area in 

which the pine and cedar occurs is shown on the accompanying map, 

PI. VIII. In nearly all the localities pine trees predominate over the 

cedar; at no place is there a dense growth. The color symbol indicates the area in which scattered trees are found, and should not be 

interpreted as denoting well-wooded land.

Along the streams and in the valleys in which small springs occur 

a growth of deciduous trees is found. The species are relatively few 

in number, the predominating ones being the cottonwood, willow, and 

box elder. Their growth is such that they do not furnish good timber, and their principal value, outside of »upplying a poor quality of 

firewood, is in giving shade for cattle in the summer and shelter during winter storms.

The trees which have been able to maintain themselves are those 

which have abundant and winged seeds. The wind transports the 

seeds for long distances, and it is probably due to this agency that 

small clumps of trees are found in gulches at widely separated localities. The occurrence of the trees along the streams where seeds could 

be transported by water may also be observed on the Platte River, 

Horse Creek, Rawhide Creek, and the other streams.

The localities which seem favorable to the growth of the soft woods 

are places in which considerable moisture is present. The pines and 

cedars, on the contrary, are found on the dry and nearly barren bluffs 

and escarpments. It is probable that there has never been a broader 

distribution of timber than at the present time. Except that settlers 

have cut away the trees, the tendency has been toward an increase 

rather than a decrease, because of the fact that prairie fires are not 

allowed to run so widely as in former times.

Grasses. The surface of the High Plains is largely held by the 

grass sod. Without this protecting covering the surface would be 

soon deeply channeled by the run-off water or blown into sand hills. 

The rock formations and the detritus which results from their weathering are largely sand or material which does not cement readily, and, 

being in an arid region, is rapidly reduced to small particles and dust 

which can be transported by the wind. Wherever for any reason the 

grass has been killed out one can observe the results of wind erosion 

or the cutting of channels by the run-off water.

The grasses which grow on the High Plains are of many varieties. 

Probably over 100 species occur within the area here discussed. Their 

value as forage is known to cattlemen, although the various kinds 

are not carefully distinguished. The more characteristic types are 

commonly denominated buffalo grass, grama grass, wheat grass, bunch 

grass, needle grass, prairie grass, blow-out or sand-hill grass, and nigger-wool or black-root grass. In riding across the prairie the various 

species may be seen to occur in patches of irregular shape, sometimes 

of considerable size, bufc usually they are mingled. Where a single
36 PATRICK AND GOSHEN HOLE QUADRANGLES. [NO. TO.

species occupies an area it may be distinguished from the surrounding 

grasses by the difference in color and length of stem. Not infrequently several species may be seen growing in distinctly marked 

patches, all embraced within the range of vision. While the natural 

grasses of this country, with the exception of a few kinds, are not 

long enough to furnish hay, they are particularly nutritious and valuable as natural pasturage. To one accustomed to the luxuriant prairie 

grass of the middle section of the United States the buffalo grass and 

similar varieties which are sometimes spoken of under the common 

name of "short grass" appears at first to be valueless as pasturage. 

As a matter of fact, according to the amount of vegetation, they are 

richer than the prairie grass. The area required for pasturage is 

necessarily great because of the small growth. Unlike the prairie 

grasses, the short grasses cure on the sod and maintain their nutritive 

value during the winter season, so that they form a natural pasture 

the year round. When fall rains occur the leaching of the grass 

lessens its value, but fortunately the seasons are usually dry.

Although the grass of the plains is short, certain species are cut for 

hay and are found to be of exceptional value. One of these is known 

as wheat grass. The valuable part of the hay consists of the seed, 

which somewhat resembles the head of wheat, although much smaller. 

The longer grasses of the sand hills are also cut, but are not esteemed 

so highly. In mowing, the hay is made to fall on a table behind the 

sickle bar, where it is held until a considerable quantity is accumulated, when it is dumped. This obviates the necessity of raking and 

makes it possible to gather hay which it would be difficult to collect 

by any other method.

Herbaceous plants. In the more sandj^ portion of the country, particularly within the area of Goshen Hole, sagebrush and grease wood 

are found, practically excluding other plants at certain localities. 

These herbaceous plants serve the purpose of forage to some extent, 

but are not so valuable as the prairie grass. Sheep eat them much 

more than cattle do, and are practically the only stock which can be 

herded in such an area. Intermingled with the grease wood and sagebrush are large patches of cactus or prickly pear. Where both of 

these occur the prairie grass is choked out and the land rendered 

nearly valueless for grazing. The most important function of this 

class of vegetation is in retaining the sand, which would otherwise be 

blown into sand hills.

Agricultural products. Most of the land which is cultivated is 

under irrigation. The seasons are not favorable for raising gram, 

although some of it is produced each year. Oats, wheat, and barley 

do well when irrigated and not attacked by rust or mildew. Inasmuch 

as the cattle industry requires a large amount of forage, ranchmen 

have found it to their advantage to raise alfalfa, since its yield is 

large and it requires little cultivation. The areas indicated on the
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 70 PL. X

i-Jl

A. GCSHEN HOLE ESCARPMENT AND CHIMNEY ROCK; TRELONA POST-OFFICE

IN FOREGROUND.

B. WATER HOLE AND CATTLE, GOSHEN HOLE LOWLAND.
f» r'.
ADAMS.] SETTLEMENT AND OCCUPANCY OF PUBLIC LANDS. 37

map (PI. VIII) as being irrigated are nearly all devoted to the raising 

of alfalfa. The hay commands a good price for local use. Along the 

valleys where it is raised the larger ranches are located, and during 

winter the cattle which must be fed are brought in off the range and 

carried through the winter storms by feeding on the alfalfa. The 

hardier cattle are usually left to graze on land which is reserved for 

winter pasture. The particular value of alfalfa to the ranchman lies 

in the fact that he is enabled by feeding it to prevent losses in his 

herd and bring his stock through in better condition for fattening in 

the spring, so that they go into the market early.

Forage plants other than alfalfa have not been experimented with 

extensively. It is not improbable that other crops could be raised 

which would yield a larger amount of food for cattle per acre than 

alfalfa. They would require more cultivation, however, and this 

would be against their popularity in a region where labor is relatively 

scarce.

In exceptional years good crops can be raised without irrigation, 

and there are settlers in western Nebraska, adjacent to the area here 

discussed, who are successful in maintaining farms on the uplands. 

In Wyoming few attempt to cultivate the prairie land. This difference in the agricultural industry might at first sight appear to be due 

to a difference in the kind of settlers. In Wyoming the country is 

given over to ranchmen, who enjoy the privileges of free range, while 

in Nebraska the herd law protects the settlers, whose crops might 

otherwise be overrun by cattle even if fairly good fences were built.

SETTLEMENT AND OCCUPANCY OF PUBLIC LANDS.

Early settlement relative to water for stock. The first settlers in the 

plains region were cattlemen who located their home ranches with 

respect to stock water, natural meadow, pasture, and sheltered localities. In the beginning of the stock-raising industry the herds were 

widely separated and there was no crowding. With increase of the 

size of the herds and the establishment of ranches by men of large 

capital, there naturally arose conflicts concerning privileges of the 

range. In order to maintain themselves and obtain exclusive use 

of grazing lands, the first effort of the cattlemen was directed to 

securing the most valuable watering places. Since the streams of 

the area, with the exception of the larger ones, are not perennial, the 

first ranches were established on Sheep Creek, Rawhide Creek, Platte 

River, and Horse Creek and its tributaries. These are to-day the 

most important ranches, although many others may be found at localities where there is a sufficient supply of water. The lands which were 

occupied as home ranches were homesteaded, and in each case the 

land to which title was thus obtained was necessarily a small tract. 

The ranchman did not need land for agricultural purposes, and with 

free range his cattle were left to graze as widely as they wished, and
38 PATRICK AND GOSHEN HOLE QUADBANGLES. [NO. 70.

he counted on their return to the watering place as one means of 

holding his herd together.

After the most desirable locations had been secured for the herds 

a new ranchman coming into the country found it difficult to obtain 

open water at a locality where his cattle would have an independent 

range. The spring branches and smaller streams, and even the ponds, 

have become important as the crowding of herds has increased. As 

long as there was no inducement to settlers to homestead the land, 

because it was of little value for agricultural purposes, the cattlemen 

by mutual agreement allowed their herds to mingle to a considerable 

extent, and depended upon the round-ups for keeping track of them. 

With the passing of the law which provided for obtaining title to the 

lands by constructing irrigation ditches, a new element entered in 

the competition for possession of the grazing lands.

Entry of lands under the desert-lands act.* According to the provisions of the so-called desert-lands act, a large number of irrigation 

ditches were constructed which were intended to utilize the supply of 

the larger streams. The nature of the country is such that ditches 

could be built with very little expense, especially if they \vere made 

to parallel the stream channels, and inasmuch as there is considerable grade to the streams at some localities, ditches were carried for 

a considerable distance away from the valleys. Although it was the 

intention that the ditches constructed under the desert act should be 

for the purpose of irrigation, in reality many of them simply served 

the purpose of obtaining title to the land. By constructing a ditch 

parallel to the stream the use of the water for irrigation purposes was 

obtained, and also the ownership of the land, which brought with it 

control of the stream as a watering place for cattle. Since the Avater 

supply was not adequate for irrigation purposes all the year round, 

the cattlemen frequently preferred to allow the water to flow on to a 

natural meadow or pasture land and make it more valuable for their 

herds, rather than to attempt the raising of crops. Some of the 

ditches which were constructed were practically abandoned as soon 

as the title to the land through which they were built was secured. 

Where the supply of water in the streams was really adequate for 

irrigation purposes the ditches which were built are of use at the 

present time, provided they had prior rights. The ditches, however, 

which were constructed with second and third rights to the water 

have in many cases been abandoned because the ditch having the 

first right takes all the flow at the season of the year when it is most 

essential to the crops.

As soon as the construction of irrigation ditches began, the cattlemen saw that it would be necessary for them to enter into the projects 

or they would be deprived of water for their stock. Accordingly, 

there is hardly any part of the courses of the perennial streams along

* For the provisions of this act see Appendix.
ADAMS.] SETTLEMENT AND OCCUPANCY OF PUBLIC LANDS. 39

which ditches have not been built in order to protect the water rights 

and obtain titles to the lands bordering the streams. Where there 

was only a limited supply of water, such as could not be reasonably 

expected to irrigate a crop, ditches were sometimes constructed in 

order to obtain title to the land so as to exclude herds from the privilege of watering. Examples of such ditches will be found near 

springs and along the valleys in which the water flows only at flood 

time and at other seasons stands in water holes.

The nature of the soil and rock formations in the Patrick and Goshen 

Hole quadrangles is such that very little work is required in excavating the ditches. On the other hand, the loose and sandy nature of 

the country rendered a ditch of little value when first constructed, 

because the water which entered it seeped into the ground. After the 

flow has been maintained for some time the silting-up process made 

the ditches carry a larger percentage of the water, but unless they 

were kept up and utilized for agricultural purposes they soon fell into 

a poor state of repair, as a result of the breaking down of the banks, 

which consisted simply of sandy loam. When the water was turned 

to no other purpose than that of irrigating natural meadows for pasture land, and cattle were allowed to frequent the ditch, it was a matter of but a short time until the herds had destroyed its usefulness.

By reference to the accompanying map, PI. XI, the reader will see 

what portion of the country was entered under the desert-lands .act. 

The percentage of land to which title was obtained under the provisions of this act is relatively large as compared with the whole amount 

of land thus far entered by settlers. A considerable portion of the 

land entered under the desert-lands act was never proved up according to its provisions, because of certain rulings of the Land Office 

which required a more complete reclamation than the value of the 

land would warrant. In some instances the cost of constructing 

ditches or placing them in complete operation would have been too 

great, and the land, when considered valuable, was reentered under 

other acts.

While it was not the intention of many who promoted irrigation 

enterprises to simply obtain title to the land in order to control the 

range, this was the final result in many cases. Even where the cost 

of the construction of the ditches was great and fully equal to the cost 

of the land through other modes of entry, the final result has been 

the same and the lands are now used only for grazing purposes. The 

law under which the proposed irrigation ditches in this region will be 

constructed is known as the Carey act. a It supersedes the desert-lands 

act and provides for more complete reclamation. With the exception 

of the waters of the Platte, all the supply available for irrigation purposes was practically appropriated under the desert-lands act, and the 

Carey act will be operative principally along the valley of Platte River.

"For the provisions of this act see Appendix.
40 PATKICK AND GOSHEIST HOLE QUADRANGLES. [NO. TO.

Construction of reservoirs on public lands for watering live stock. 

The provisions of the act of Congress relative to the construction on 

the public domain of reservoirs for watering stock are set forth in the 

appendix to this paper. The regulations and rulings of the Land 

Office relative to this act are too lengthy to be set forth here. They 

provide that not more than 160 acres shall be reserved for a reservoir, 

and that no reservoir shall be made within a half mile of the boundaries of a group of 160 acres of adjoining or cornering tracts already 

reserved under this act. Land so reserved shall not be fenced, but 

shall be kept open to the free use of any person desiring to water 

animals of any kind. The rulings also provide that the reservoir 

shall be constructed within two years after the filing for the site.

As a matter of fact, the reservoirs have seldom been constructed. 

Ranchmen have, however, filed upon such sites as it has been of advantage to them to reserve for free range. Where there has been a 

probability of a portion of the public domain being included within 

an illegal fence, the filing of a reservoir site has been resorted to by a 

rival ranchman in order to protect his interests. Since the lands on 

which reservoir sites are located are reserved from public sale, filing 

on them has in some cases been resorted to as a means of preventing 

the occupancy by prospective settlers under the provisions of other 

acts.

Entry of lands under the homestead, preemption, timber-culture, 

timber and stone, and other acts. Upon examination of the map, 

PI. XI, which shows the classes of entry of lands, it will be seen that 

the portion which lies in Nebraska was practically all taken under the 

homestead act. During the period when it was supposed that the 

plains country could be utilized for agricultural purposes settlers were 

induced to take up the lands of western Nebraska in the more inviting localities, and titles were perfected in a large percentage of cases 

where the land was entered, although actual residence, cultivation, 

and improvement were only such as were demanded by the letter of 

the law. The lands which are owned by private individual, as a 

result of this influx of settlers, practically all lies open and unfenced, 

except where there is a supply of water available for irrigation or for 

the support of a herd. The ranchmen have acquired simply that 

portion of the land which borders the streams, and by owning this 

are able to control the range.

The percentage of land entered under these acts in Wyoming is relatively less than in Nebraska. This is probably due to the different 

conditions which influenced settlers in going into the plains country, 

and is largely due to the fact that the law relative to herding and free 

range was different in the two States.

Occupancy of land not naturally ivatered. Recently ranchmen 

have found that the tracts of land which are not occupied are the 

broad stretches of upland in which open water is found during only a
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER No.70 PL.XI

JULIUS BIEN&CO.tlTH. N.T.

MAP SHOWING CLASSES OF ENTRY OF PUBLIC LANDS AND STATE SELECTIONS

COMPILED FROM LAND OFFICE RECORDS, SKPTEMBKR.19O1

Scale

O____1 2 345 6___ 7 8 9 1O 11 12 miles

LEG EN D

Desert entry Desertentry Dcserlentry Desert enlryreeiilered Kntcredunderolheracts. SUilelands 

tiUeperfected nofmalproof canceled under other acts homestead,Umber.euUurectc.
ADAMS-] SETTLEMENT AND OCCUPANCY OF PUBLIC LANDS. 41

part of the year. In order to utilize this type of country, wells have 

been drilled and windmills erected. The water obtained by pumping 

is stored in tanks and allowed to flow into watering troughs, so as to 

furnish the cattle a cons ,ant supply. The percentage of successful 

wells thus far has been encouraging, and there promises to be a larger 

number in operation in the near future. There are advantages in 

such a method of watering stock over the usual method of allowing 

them to run to ponds or streams, particularly where there is no constant flow. The water supply in watering troughs at the wells can be 

kept clean, and by having the wells distributed at regular intervals 

the distance which the cattle have to travel is practically reduced to 

the distance which they naturally go in grazing.

At the present time the school lands and State selections may be 

leased for 5 per cent per annum of their appraised value. The minimum for grazing lands is $16 for a section of 640 acres. By leasing 

these lands the stockmen have locations for wells which they may 

control, and the intermediate country being a free range, they are 

practically in possession of all of it for grazing purposes. This method 

of occupancy does not necessitate the expenditure of any -large sum 

in permanent improvements, and at the same time it enables the 

ranchmen on the high prairies away from the streams to become strong 

competitors for the use of the range. Previous to such occupancy 

the cattlemen who controlled the water of the streams had, by mutual 

agreement, determined the amount of the range which they would 

use individually, and in many cases had constructed fences which 

embraced large tracts of the public domain. As soon as a newcomer 

establishes himself in the midst of this range by digging a well and 

constructing watering tanks, he is in a position to demand an equal 

share with the others. In this way the illegal fencing will soon be 

done away with, and the owners of the lands adjacent to the streams 

will no longer monopolize the range.
APPENDIX.

DESERT-LANDS ACT.

AN ACT to provide for the sale of desert lands in certain States and Territories.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States 

of America in Congress assembled, That it shall be lawful for any citizen of the 

United States, or any person of requisite age " who may be entitled to become a 

citizen, and who has filed his declaration to become such," and upon payment of 

twenty-five cents per acre, to file a declaration, under oath, with the register and 

the receiver of the land district in which any desert land is situated, that he intends 

to reclaim a tract of desert land, not exceeding one section, by conducting water 

upon the same within the period of three years thereafter: Provided, however, 

That the right to the use of water by the person so conducting the same on or to 

any tract of desert land of six hundred and forty acres shall depend upon bona 

tide prior appropriation; and such right shall not exceed the amount of water 

actually appropriated and necessarily used for the purpose of irrigation and reclamation; and all surplus water over and above such actual appropriation and use, 

together with the water of all lakes, rivers, and other sources of water supply 

upon the public lands, and not navigable, shall remain and be held free for the 

appropriation and use of the public for irrigation, mining, and manufacturing 

purposes subject to existing rights. Said declaration shall describe particularly 

said section of land if surveyed, and if unsurveyed shall describe the same as 

nearly as possible without a survey. At any time within the period of three years 

after filing said declaration, upon making satisfactory proof to the register and 

receiver of the reclamation of said tract of land in the manner aforesaid, and upon 

the payment to the receiver of the additional sum of one dollar per acre for a 

tract of land not exceeding six hundred and forty acres to any one person, a patent 

for the same shall be issued to him: Provided, That no person shall be permitted 

to enter more than one tract of land, and not to exceed six hundred and forty 

acres, which shall be in compact form.

SEC. 2. That all lands exclusive of timber lands and mineral lands which will 

not, without irrigation, produce some agricultural crop, shall be deemed desert 

lands within the meaning of this act, which fact shall be ascertained by proof of 

two or more credible witnesses under oath, whose affidavits shall be filed in the 

land-office in which said tract of land may be situated.

SEC. 3. That this act shall only apply to and take effect in the States of California, Oregon, and Nevada, and the Territories of Washington, Idaho, Montana, 

Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, and Dakota, and the determination of 

what may be considered desert land shall be subject to the decision and regulation 

of the Commissioner of the General Land Office.

Approved, March 3, 1877. (19 Stat. L., p. 377.) 

42
ADAMS.] APPENDIX. 48

By the act approved March 3, 1891 (26 Stat. L., 1096), entitled "An 

act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes," the following sections were added to the desert-lands acts:

SEC. 4. That at the time of filing the declaration hereinbefore required the party 

shall also file a map of said land, which shall exhibit a plan showing the mode of 

contemplated irrigation, and which plan shall be sufficient to thoroughly irrigate 

and reclaim said land, and prepare it to raise ordinary agricultural crops, and shall 

also show the source of the water to be used for irrigation and reclamation. Persons entering or proposing to enter separate sections or fractional parts of sections, of desert lands may associate together in the construction of canals and 

ditches for irrigating and reclaiming all of said tracts, and may file a joint map 

or maps showing their plan of internal improvements.

SEC. 5. That no land shall be patented to any person under this act unless he or 

his assignors shall have expended in the necessary irrigation, reclamation, and 

cultivation thereof, by means of main canals and branch ditches, and in permanent improvements upon the land, and in the purchase of water rights for the 

irrigation of the same, at least three dollars per acre of whole tract reclaimed and 

patented in the manner following: Within one year after making entry for such 

tract of desert land as aforesaid, the party so entering shall expend not less than 

one dollar per acre for the purposes aforesaid; and he shall in like manner expend 

the sum of one dollar per acre during the second and also during the third year 

thereafter, until the full sum of three dollars per acre is so expended. Said party 

shall file during each year with the register, proof, by the affidavits of two or 

more credible witnesses, that the full sum of one dollar per acre has been 

expended in such necessary improvements during such year, and the manner in 

which expended, and at the expiration of the third year a map or plan showing 

the character and extent of such improvements. If any party who has made such 

application shall fail during any year to file the testimony aforesaid, the lands 

shall revert to the United States, and the twenty-five cents advanced payment 

shall be forfeited to the United States, and the entry shall be canceled. Nothing 

herein contained shall prevent a claimant from making his final entry and receiving his patent at an earlier date than hereinbefore prescribed, provided that he 

then makes the required proof of reclamation to the aggregate extent of three 

dollars per acre: Provided, That proof be further required of the cultivation of 

one-eighth of the land.

SEC. 6. That this act shall not affect any valid rights heretofore accrued under 

said act of March third, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, but all bona fide 

claims heretofore lawfully initiated may be perfected, upon due compliance with 

the provisions of said act, in the same manner, upon the same terms and conditions, and subject to the same limitations, forfeitures, and contests as if this act 

had not been passed; or said claims, at the option of the claimant, may be perfected and patented under the provisions of said act, as amended by this act, so 

far as applicable; and all acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby 

repealed.

SEC. 7. That at any time after filing the declaration, and within the period of 

four years thereafter, upon making satisfactory proof to the register and the 

receiver of the reclamation and cultivation of said land to the extent and cost 

and in the manner aforesaid, and substantially in accordance with the plans herein 

provided for, and that he or she is a citizen of the United States, and upon payment to the receiver of the additional sum of one dollar per acre for said land, a 

patent shall issue therefor to the applicant or his assigns; but no person or association of persons shall hold, by assignment or otherwise prior to the issue of 

patent, more than three hundred and twenty acres of such arid or desert lands;
44 PATRICK AND GOSHEN HOLE QUADRANGLES. [NO. 70.

but this section shall not apply to entries made or initiated prior to the approval 

of this act: Provided, hotvever, That additional proofs may be required at any 

time within the period prescribed bylaw, and that the claims or entries made 

under this or any preceding act shall be subject to contest, as provided by the law 

relating to homestead cases, for illegal inception, abandonment, or failure to comply with the requirements of law, and upon satisfactory proof thereof shall be 

canceled, and the lands and moneys paid therefor shall be forfeited to the United 

States.

SEC. 8. That the provisions of the act to which this is an amendment, and the 

amendments thereto, shall apply to and be in force in the State of Colorado, as 

well as the States named in the original act; and no person shall be entitled to 

make entry of desert land except he be a resident citizen of the State or Territory 

in which the land sought to be entered is located.

The Commissioner of the General Land Office interpreted this act as 

follows:

The act of March 3, 1877, entitled "An act to provide for the sale of desert 

lands in certain States and Territories " (19 Stat. L., 377; Appendix, No. 4, p. 164), 

contained three sections. By the act of March 3,1891 (26 Stat. L., 1095; Appendix, 

No. 44, p. 221), five sections were added thereto, numbered from 4 to 8. The first 

section provides for the reclamation of such lands by '' conducting water upon the 

same." The second section provides " that all lands, exclusive of timber lands 

and mineral lands, which will not, without artificial irrigation, produce some 

agricultural crop shall be deemed desert lands within the meaning of this act," 

and the third section provides that " this act shall only apply to and take effect in 

the States of California, Oregon, and Nevada, and the Territories of Washington, 

Idaho, Montana, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Dakota, and the 

determination of what may be considered desert land shall be subject to the decision and regulation of the Commissioner of the General Land Office."

It is therefore prescribed as follows:

First. Lands bordering upon streams, lakes, or other natural bodies of water, 

or through or upon which there is any river, stream, arroyo, lake, pond, body of 

water, or living spring, are not subject to entry under the desert-land law until 

the clearest proof of their desert character is furnished.

Second. Lands which produce native grasses sufficient in quantity, if unfed by 

grazing animals, to make an ordinary crop of hay in usual seasons are not desert 

lands.

Third. Lands which will produce an agricultural crop of any kind in amount 

to make the cultivation reasonably remunerative are not desert.

Fourth. Lands containing sufficient moisture to produce a natural growth of 

trees are not to be classed as desert lands.

CAREY ACT.

Section 4 of the act of August 18, 1894, entitled "An act making 

appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 

fiscal year ending June 30, 1895, and for other purposes" (28 Stat. L., 

372-422), authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, with the approval 

of the President, to contract and agree to patent to the States of 

Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, 

Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah, or any other States, 

as provided in the act, in which may be found desert lands, not to 

exceed 1,000,000 acres of such lands to each State, under certain 

conditions.
ADAMS.] APPENDIX. 45

The text of the act is as follows:

SEC. 4. That to aid the public-land States in the reclamation of the desert lands 

therein, and the settlement, cultivation, and sale thereof in small tracts to actual 

settlers, the Secretary of the Interior, with the approval of the President, be, and 

hereby is, authorized and empowered, upon proper application of the State, to contract and agree, from time to time, with each of the States in which there may be 

situated desert lands as denned by the act entitled '' An act to provide for the sale 

of desert lands in certain States and Territories,' 1 approved March third, eighteen 

hundred and seventy-seven, and the act amendatory thereof, approved March 

third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, binding the United States to donate, grant, 

and patent to the State free of cost for survey or price such desort lands, not 

exceeding one million acres in each State, as the State may cause to be irrigated, 

reclaimed, occupied, and not less than twenty acres of each one hundred and sixtyacre tract cultivated by actual settlers, within ten years next after the passage of 

this act, as thoroughly as is required of citizens who may enter under the said 

desert-land law.

Before the application of any State is allowed or any contract or agreement is 

executed or any segregation of any of the land from the public domain is ordered 

by the Secretary of the Interior, the State shall file a map of the said land proposed to be irrigated which shall exhibit a plan showing the mode of the contemplated irrigation and which plan shall be sufficient to thoroughly irrigate and 

reclaim said land and prepare it to raise ordinary agricultural crops and shall also 

show the source of the water to be used for irrigation and reclamation, and the 

Secretary of the Interior may make necessary regulations for the reservation of 

the lands applied for by the States to date from the date of the filing of the map and 

plan of irrigation, but such reservation shall be of no force whatever if such map 

and plan of irrigation shall not be approved. That any State contracting under this 

section is hereby authorized to make all necessary contracts to cause the said lands 

to be reclaimed, and to induce their settlement and cultivation in accordance with 

and subject to the provisions of this section; but the State shall not be authorized 

to lease any of said lands or to use or dispose of the same in any way whatever, 

except to secure their reclamation, cultivation, and settlement.

As fast as any State may furnish satisfactory proof according to such rules and 

regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, that any of said 

lands are irrigated, reclaimed, and occupied by actual settlers, patents shall be 

issued to the State or its assigns for said lands so reclaimed and settled: Provided, That said States shall not sell or dispose of more than one hundred and sixty 

acres of said lands to any one person, and any surplus of money derived by any 

State from the sale of said lands in excess of the cost of their reclamation, shall 

be held as a trust fund for and be applied to the reclamation of other desert lands 

in such State. That to enable the Secretary of the Interior to examine any of the 

lands that may be selected under the provisions of this section, there is hereby 

appropriated out of any moneys in the Treasury, not otherwise appropriated, one 

thousand dollars.

In the act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the 

Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1897, and for other 

purposes, approved June 11, 1896 (29 Stat. L., 413-434), there is, under 

the head of appropriation for "Surveying public lands," the following 

provision:

That under any law heretofore or hereafter enacted by any State, providing 

for the reclamation of arid lands, in pursuance and acceptance of the terms of 

the grant made in section four of an act entitled "An act making appropriations
46 PATRICK AND GOSHEN HOLE QUADRANGLES. [NO. 70.

for the sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 

thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five," approved August eighteenth, 

eighteen hundred and ninety-four, a lien or liens is hereby authorized to be created by the State to which such lands are granted and by no other authority whatever, and when created shall be valid on and against the separate legal subdivisions of land reclaimed, for the actual cost and necessary expenses of reclamation 

and reasonable interest thereon from the date of reclamation until disposed of to 

actual settlers; and when an ample supply of water is actually furnished in a 

substantial ditch or canal, or by artesian wells or reservoirs, to reclaim a particular tract or tracts of such lands, then patents shall issue for the same to such 

State without regard to settlement or cultivation: Provided, That in no event, 

in no contingency, and under no circumstances shall the United States be in any 

manner directly or indirectly liable for any amount of any such lien or liability, 

in whole or in part.

The limitation of time in the above-quoted section 4 was modified 

by section 3 of the act entitled "An act making appropriations for 

sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending 

June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and two, and for other purposes," 

approved March 3, 1901 (31 Stat. L., 1133-1188), which provides as 

follows:

SEC. 3. That section 4 of the act of August eighteenth, eighteen hundred and 

ninety-four, entitled "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of 

the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and 

ninety-five, and for other purposes," is hereby amended so that the ten years' 

period within which any State shall cause the lands applied for under said act to 

lie irrigated and reclaimed, as provided in said section as amended by the act of 

June eleventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, shall begin to run from the date 

of approval by the Secretary of the Interior of the State's application for the segregation of such lands; and if the State fails within said ten years to cause the 

whole or any part of the lands so segregated to be so irrigated and reclaimed, the 

Secretary of the Interior may, in his discretion, continue said segregation for a 

period of not exceeding five years, or may, in his discretion, restore such lands to 

the public domain.

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF RESERVOIRS ON 

PUBLIC LANDS FOR WATERING LIVE STOCK.

The act approved January 13, 1897 (29 Stat. L., 484), entitled "An 

act providing for the location and purchase of public lands for reservoir sites," is as follows:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States 

of America in Congress assembled, That any person, live-stock company, or 

transportation corporation engaged in breeding, grazing, driving, or transporting live stock may construct reservoirs upon unoccupied public lands of the 

United States, not mineral or otherwise reserved, for the purpose of furnishing 

water to such live stock, and shall have control of such reservoir, under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, and the lands upon which the 

same is constructed, not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres, so long as such 

reservoir is maintained and water kept therein for such purposes: Provided, That 

such reservoir shall not be fenced and shall be open to the free use of any person 

desiring to water animals of any kind.
ADAMS.] APPENDIX. 47

SEC. 2. That any person, live-stock company, or corporation desiring to avail 

themselves of the provisions of this act shall file a declaratory statement in the 

United States land office in the district where the land is situated, which statement shall describe the land where such reservoir is to be or has been constructed; 

shall state what business such corporation is engaged in; specify the capacity of 

the reservoir in gallons, and whether such company, person, or corporation has 

filed upon other reservoir sites within the same county; and if so, how many.

SEC. 3. That at any time after the completion of such reservoir or reservoirs 

which, if not completed at the date of the passage of this act shall be constructed 

and completed within two years after filing such declaratory statement, such 

person, company, or corporation shall have the same accurately surveyed, as 

hereinafter provided, and shall file in the United States land office in the district 

in which such reservoir is located a map or plat showing the location of such reservoir, which map or plat shall be transmitted by the register and receiver of said 

United States land office to the Secretary of the Interior and approved by him, 

and thereafter such land shall be reserved from sale by the Secretary of the Interior so long as such reservoir is kept in repair and water kept therein.

SEC. 4. That Congress may at any time amend, alter, or repeal this act.

Although the title indicates that lands are to be sold for reservoir 

sites, the act does not provide for the sale of any lands, and therefore 

no lands can be sold under its provisions. The act, however, directs 

the Secretary of the Interior to reserve the lands from sale after the 

approval of the map showing the location of the reservoir.

INDEX.

Page. 

Agricultural products, kinds of ............ 36-37

Alfalfa, production of...................... 36-37

Alluvium in flood plain of Platte River,

character of........................ 20

of, plate showing................... 22

Arikaree formation, conglomerate near base

conglomeratic beds in.................. 17

occurrence and phases of............... 16-18

sandstone dikes in...................... 18

sandstone dikes cutting, plate showing. 24 

springs within area of.................. 27

Artesian water in the quadrangles, existence and probable character of .... 31

Bear Creek, irrigation from ................ 32

Bear Creek Mountain, plate showing ...... 34

sketch of ............................... 24

Big Lone Tree Creek, character of ......... 26

Box Elder Creek, character of.............. 26

Brule formation, occurrence and character

Of................................... 16

Burchard, E. F., aid by...................... 31

Carey act, provisions of .................... 44

reclamation of lands under ......... 13,34,39

text of.................................. 45

Chadron formation, occurrence and outcrops of............................. 15-16

Chadron sandstone, plate showing......... 18

Cherry Creek, character of................. 26

Chimney Rock, plate showing ............. 36

Coal in valley of Horse Creek, outcrops of.. 15 

Conglomerate near base of Arikaree formation, plate showing................. 22

Conglomerate, west of Rawhide Creek, 

gravel terrace formed by disintegration of, plate showing.............. 22

Conglomerate beds in Arikaree formation,

occurrence and former extent of... 17-18 

Corn Creek, character of ................... 26

Cretaceous rocks, exposures of............. 14-15

Desert-lands act, additions to .............. 43-44

entry of lands under.................... 38-39

interpretation of....................... 44

reference to ...................... ..... 12

text of.................................. 42

Dunes, occurrence of....................... 22

Eagle Rock at Fox Creek Gap, views of.... 20,34

Elevations within the region............... 22

Formations, geologic, in the region, description of.............................. 13-22

Fox Creek, character of.................... 26

irrigation from........................ 32-33

Fox Creek Gap, sketch of.................. 24

General Land Office, interpretation of desert-lands act by Commissioner of... 44

IRR 70 02 4

Geographic relations of the quadrangles,

map showing....................... 12

Geology of the region, features of.......... 13-22

Goshen Hole, escarpment forming western

borderof ........................... 23

plate showing escarpment of........... 36

sketch showing west end of ............ 22

Goshen Hole lowland, origin and character

of................................... 23-25

plate showing.......................... 12

water hole and cattle in, plate showing ................................. 36

Goshen Hole quadrangle, geology of, map

showing............................ 1&

Grasses, occurrence and kinds of........... 35-3&

Gravel terrace formed by disintegration of

conglomerate, plate showing....... 22

occurrence of........................... 21-22

Gravels, stream, from outside areas, deposition of.............................. 20

of local origin, occurrence of........... 20-21

G razing, area per head required for........ .13.

Grazing lands, settlement and occupancy

of................................... 38

Hawk Springs, coal outcrops near.......... 15

features of.............................. 27-28

Herbaceous plants, occurrence of.......... 36

Homestead act, entry of public lands under ................................. 40

Horse Creek, coal outcrops in valley of .... 15

features of.............................. 26

gravels along valleys of, derivation of.. 21 

irrigation from......................... 32

Irrigation, ditches constructed for.......... 31-34

extent and character of................ 12-13

J. M. Creek, springs on, character of........ .27

Land, cultivated, under irrigation, map

showing............................ 32

Lands, arid, reclamation of................ 45-4&

desert, act providing for sale of........ 42

Lands, grazing, leasing of.................. 41

Lands, public, entries of, map showing

classes of ........................... 40

entry of, under desert-lands act........ 38-39

entry of, under homestead, preemption, 

timber-culture, timber and stone, 

and other acts...................... 40

reservoirs on, text of act providing

for.................................. 46-47

reservoirs for watering live stock constructed on......................... 40

sett'ement and occupancy of........... 37-41

Laramie formation, plate showing......... 18

occurrence and outcrops of ............ 14-15

49
50 INDEX.

Page. 

Little Horse Creek, character of............ 26

irrigation from......................... 32

Live stock, construction of reservoirs for

watering............................ 40

Location of the quadrang] es ............... 11,12

Lone rocks at Fox Creek Cap, plate showing. ................................. 34

Lowland of the area, origin and character

of................................... 23-25

Newell, F. H., letter of transmittal by ...... 9

North Platte River, canals along, map showing.................................. 33

course and character of ................ 25-26

Ogallala formation, occurrence and features

of ................................... 18-19

Patrick quadrangle, geology of, map showing. ................................. 16

Platte River (North), alluvium in flood plain

of................................... 20

canals along, map showing............. 33

geological map of region along......... 14

irrigation from ......................... 33-34

Platte River Valley, irrigation in .......... 31

Point of Rocks, east of Snow's ranch, plate

showing............................ 22

Ponds in Goshen Hole, origin and character

of................................... 28-29

Preemption act, entry of public lands under 40 

Rawhide Creek, features of................. 26

irrigation from.......................... 33

Red Clough Slough, springs on, character of 27 

Reservoirs on public lands, construction of. 40

Reservoirs for watering live stock, act

providing for, text of............... 46-47

Robb's ranch, well near, features of........ 31

Sand hills, occurrence of ................... 22

Sheep Creek, features of.................... 26-27

springs at head of, character of......... 27

Sixty-six Mountain, view of west end of.... 20

Spring Branch, character of................ 26

irrigation from ......................... 32

Springs, occurrence and character of....... 27-28

State selections, entries of, map showing

classes of ........................... 40

Stinking Water Creek, character of ........ 26

Streams of the area, flow of and irrigation

from................................ 2.5-27

Surface features of the region .............. 22-25

Surficial deposits, origin and extent of..... 19-22

Tertiary formations, occurrence, character,

and extent of....................... 1.5-19

Timber, occurrence and uses of ............ 34-35

distribution of, map showing ........... 32

Timber and stone act, entry of public lands

under ....................... ...... 40

Timber-culture act, entry of public lands

under .............................. 40

Upland of the area, formation of........... 23

Water for stock, settlement relative to..... 37-38

Water holes. See Ponds.

Water supply of the quadrangles........... 25-31

Wells in area of Goshen Hole, quality of

water from ......................... 30

Wells in the area, depth and character of.. 29-30

o