New-York tribune., 1875-08-07
WESTERN EXPLORATION.
Survey OF SOUTHEASTERN UTAH.


EITOEY.
frroy AN lsroxAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE rRBUNEI
RIcurIELD, Utah Territory, July 2l.-lhe
Aod Of eNpoa Of the second division oi the ecoos
cal and geographical sarvey OF the Territories mder
Prof J. W Powell comprises the southern iaf OF t'ah'
Prof Powell present with his corps Of assistants
beipg engaged IN special service under the Interior I've
pa,tn,opt collecting materials 70 represent the lncans
al tae Co. ,unial Exhibition in Philadelphia fhe ha-
mediate charge of the explorations he has mtrSed 10
his assistant, Prof A. III. Thompson wno with the main
rsrty is now in the midst OF his work ia region of
when hte is known-yiz, the southeastern corner OF
vt.h NY own detachment Il engaged ia the study Of
REGION lyng about 200 miles south OF Salt Lake CITY
Which Is composed almost wholly OF volcanic rocks THIS
volcanic region has o from 5ooOto 6eoo square
miles and the phcncHena upon Grand scale ana
highly varied and complex. The Rendezvous o' the
survey was GulnlsOn small Mormon town about
I4o miles south of salt Lake Gooloe1caly and geo
graphically Gunnison is an important point as Il
stands where the great Wallsatch range terminates u!
few low sand hills order OF things IL before lne
eyes o. the observer. Innumerahe travellers are familiar
with the imposing mountan wall which towers above
Sal; Lake CITY rvans the Alps in grand nr ana recall
ing the colious scenery OF TJrol aAd the Highlands o
Scotland. These mountains consist OF central core OF
ArcIann rocks, prOtIudiDg upward through an ehoI-
nous thickness OF sodimentaIy strata VI all ages
from the siunan to the Tertiary, winch i'e
upfnrnel on their slopes The beds have be.A
rent open and turned thoir edges to Sy' issue l"
The masses rising from below. The forces whch On' up
the Wahsacl vEdc in magnitude to the southwark
and the last trace disappears beneath the soil OF the se
yor Valey at Gunnsan. Bat stl greater force has
been at work still farther The SOUTH and instead oi
few parallel chains region las been puSncd na
bodily. The su&ta moi eontortod or crump'ed' n'
have risen up tens OF thousands of square miles,
preserving their relative positions with comparatively
little disturbance The uplt however, is not uni
form and variations in the amount give rise
TO so.ated plateas. Great faults aso occur Win ds'-
cations of thousands Of feet, along assures twenty! MY
AMI even hundred uilcs in length making great c.hs
And here begins process the results OF when must NJ
wavs f fhe mind Eastern aud European geol"Gst
with ycudcr. IL is tie astonishing amount o. erosion
which has taken place since this uplifting began 1he
rains and drainage Of the country attach the edges OF 'e
strata, which composed OF hiSLly soluble h yliu
!nc readily 10 meteOric agencies. RNlns ana SHi'Hes
are formed whoh at length deepen into c@hons "tA
ycrticl walls hundreds and sometimes t"oU
s.nls os fcet in hight, with t,,us OF
rocSy fragments at tie bottom The aspect
of broad expansc when viewed from a commanding
point il strange ana impressive The strata are exposed
at their edges by innneTabe cations, anu arc seen DIP
,,tn, ov at a, easy slope over thousands OF sfIaic
miles the different beds being eOntIdstcd with one
an ltiicr generally by alienation of earne red VITA
Ignt cream color. Frequently a canon has been
wLtlcd into broad valley twO parallel fddlts have
left deep valley between them III many instances an
escoi1u,on: has orOdci for many mites backward
and its recession by waste is mmhed By isolated
butes standing 20 or 80 miles from the present hai
wall but presenting the succession of beds ana
rising as mountain thousands OF feet above their
yaey-raius while tie earth 10 an equivalent depth has
hc,n scpt AVA. by the dcnudng agents, leaving IL aS
mighty mon Inent 10 record the wonderful DEEDS OF
time All of these bu'tcs have strange casteltcd a-
pcaruc looking ike the work 81 man. or i"lAtr
Tiiar- ;han of nature A remarkable region whore
thcsc phcuonona arc Displayed on n larcc scale lies
nhn. 30 miles To tie eastward, and is called
Castle valley about 150 miles in length and about
80 in breadth. rs western boundary Is "a lofty oseaf-
mtnt of Tertiary rocks, dipping westward II You enter
through caen the west aide and travel eastward,
the natural slope OF the bets VIII cary you slowly u
ward fr dozen mile, until suddenly tic beds on which
you tread terminate in a second parallel esc,- Qneht
Descending this stin lower strata You may repeat 'he
slow ascent and perpendicular descent over
the Whole breadth Of the valley, Ia. NJ
crossed in the journey five or six escarI-
,ncns each rcpresenting succcssvCly lower beds III
the geological from the crcacecus down to the
caIbonifcrous This greatly valley has beon formed manly
through the aud disappearance OF the oha -
erosion Many bJttes sin stand miles away from TIE
rn strata out Of which they were carved aud isolaed
Inv tlc waters Vrcscrvnc remnant of each bed htLG
logically ami in their fossils the exact eoduie'lartS 81
the remaining rocks to lie westward The Isolation ol
these hutes Ly ;lc ntc!lcn o cJn0ns may be seen lh
all stages Now stands near the main wall that
companion may he hailed across tho cycrdeepeiiIe
strait. now IL is p.JmontOTy or q cape;
another haS just cast loose like an iceb'r1
putting to sea. only is the iceberg which stands while
the land rece.cs. Another stands 20 80 miles away
once perhaps great island, but wasted to erii'ed
pyramid crowned with huge peiis.yle of column. and
needles which neod DO help from the imagination -
SON N., nonsrous temples medieval castles. The
uScues. such that requires mental oEot TO cen
vince himself that he is gazing upon the works
OF nature. We gained panorama Of Castle
Valley from peak standing ON the western
es,ar,ment. Willie climbing the mountain tEe view
WAS shu; off by the mountain itself. We came
upOn sharp submit abruptly and III an instant tHis
wonderful scene flashed upOn NE and made lne dahh
Tie eve swept scmicirce with radius OF a hundred
miles interrupted, however, over small arc by very
lofty cluster mountains some 10 miles distant called
,,c Dirty Devil Mountains. They surely look diaboca
,oou and # "drt is matter oGt Of place they may
be safely called dirty for they arc strongly con
rascd with the water-carycd regions about item ana
rise up suddenly through the strata, like section oi tie
A bat with steepest OF slopes, and all the wiidess
Of the Sierra Nevada.
THE SCENERY.
The scenery OF the region have alluded to know not
now 70 eharacterlze 1t is wonderful ahd impressive,
but il not beautiful, even grand. Generally the
land is desCItan aDOmnaOD OF desoati0h IL Is ycl-
low red and sometimes blue. but green never Even
the blue il different from the blue accustomed to.
In The East tho mountains in the distance II the
blue were their tIuc color. Here tDe blue is plainly se
hang between and the ring red and yellow OF me
rocks their nakeness and rcpnlsye, cheeiles cre
Gs,et l. not val cd cne lOd by the gcnCst and tender
e. all Tie coiors No "Iiis can PANT this "eetin
very striking feature OF this region Ia the lofty
phedns. IneI nanijer aad tie siea, oxen. oi t'n
tieln have led Prot. Powell to call TINS he plateau
soDs the principal S0dti-eastwtr1 Is tae Ee.t
Aqediius plateau ahd south" "SsIwaIa the kai-p'p
tcislse, covering area Of nearly lOuVJ hI..le
NM NM Iaey are az an ai, Ul mem s;N9s U li', "u "Htr
sye As On '4e se,ieF p@ie,ta Tais , las reen