Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1879-11-07

while the upper two-thiris has an eleya.
ton of nom 1000 to 5000 feet. Dat of
tins basin or plateau rise snow.elad
mountains IL an altitude ot from To-
600 TO 1900 feet. Handy any rain
falls upon this upper hasiu OF noun.
taius, But III winter immense drifts Of
snow cover these eternal rocks. When
in summer this snow commences to
melt, ten thousand cascades and little
streams are formed, They plunge down
the rocky mountain-SideS cur their
courses through the immense plstoaus,
and gradually run rs swift rivers through
the silent region. They cut deep chan.
nels through rocks, 81 that the beds of
the these rivers are variouSly from 500
to 1000 feet below the general surface
OF the platesus, For 2M miles the
Green and Grand Rivers run in n chan.
uel cut 10 the depth OF n mile. The
whole upper twoIhiris of Colorado is
cut up Ivy gorges and canyons, 80 the
country Is most impossible There
are no evidences that these CANYONS are
formed by upheavals OF huge masses
vt rocks hut they are all caused Nv the
slow perpetual action ot the mountain
streams 1t LOO mountains like Mt
Washington We're plucked 0p " the
root, they would not fill the Grand Can.
yon OF tile Colorado River The fall ol
this river Is very great, aud differs from
- to zoo feet per mile; and is therefore
not naviSahle. Moreover, for 1000
miles along the Colorado River there is
no place where town or farm could
be located for the river is entirely UNI
approachable for that whole distance
These canyons have carried away vast
areas of sediment. The whole region
has become one Of naked rocks. Geo.
logical studies can hero be made with
certainty; every stratum can be meas
ured. Nature hes before us like an
open book, The amount of material
carried away 10y this river is rs large
MS a rock GOO feet III depth covering the
States Of New York, Pennsvlvania.
Ohio, and lndlana, or Ms large MS Cali.
farnia and Nevada. This vast amount
OF rock the storms OF ages have hurled
OF
The rivers OF Colorado are Older imam
the valleys and mountains. Gradually,
their WAY through them. The strait
tication If these rocks is never sweep
my, but always vertically broken, rising
or falling abruptly from 100 to ~ 600
feet. These strata are always horizon.
tai, and sometimes there are found zones
Of rock twenty miles IN width broken
into irregular fragments. The Colorado
River carries about Ms much water ms
the Ohio Mt Louisville. Where the rock
is soft, It forms n broad, wide river; but
when 1t passes through hasalt its chan
mel Is narrowed down to sixty or seventy
feet, and through it this vast volume Of
water plungec and rushes in n mad,
wild. and irresistible stream, that would
carry anything before 1t. Sometimes
when storm arises and heavy showers
fall, this mile-deep channel of the river
is filled III an incredibly short time to u
hight of hundreds of feet, and the tor.
rent sweeps through it at n most terrific
rate. There are, however no vertical
falls of any magnitude in the Colorado.
Most interesting TO The explorers are
the thousands of ancient ruins found
throughout the whole region. These
habitations are built of stone, and often
reach II height of seven stories. At the
heads OF the streams forming the Col.
orado are the most ancient OF these
ruins, while further down in the deep
cliffs aud canyons they apparently be.
long to n later period. 1t seems that
the people were driven from the beauti.
full valleys above to seek protection on
these high cliffs, which were better
adapted for defense. The Major entered
into general explanation of stone inn
plements found among the ruins. His
remarks throughout received the closest
attention Of the audience.
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