The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-01

RADIO river, while the central and south
ern empty their waters into the San
Juan river, which flows soutnwesterlv
through the southern part of the county
INTO the Colorado. In this large area
covering about one-eighth of the entire
state, there are only three towns of anv
size at all-MonticellO, the county seat.
situated in the eastern part of the
county, at the foot Of the Blue noun
tains; Grayson, about twenty-five miles
south of Monticello, a hamlet lust
springing into existence, and Bluff. sit
uated twenty-five miles southwest of
GraysOn, on the San Juan river. Bluff
Is the largest and wealthiest of the
three, and the chief center of activity
in the county.
Region and Formation.
About fifty-fve miles northwest Of
Bun White canyon extends it branches
from the western slope of the Elk noun
talns and carries their surplus waters
about sixty miles westward into the
colorado river. The, canyons are all
deep gorges, the battIements of whose
sides usually rise several hundred feet
above the wash at the bottom. Ages ago
the formation of this entire region was
pushed upward, evidently, until it
checks and cracked in ZiZag lines away
from the mountains that were made bv
material from beneath being forced up
ward entirely through the formation
round about, and piled uD in heaps
above. This process of elevation was
probably a gradual one. and as the wa
Jers from the mountains naturally
sought lower level. they took their
courses through these irregular cracks
ana seems, searching for the ocean. |
which then was not far away. Their
TnEn1nR nd
wore on the sharp corners. sought out
the soft places in the yielding sand
stone, digging out deep caverns and re-
cesses in the cliffs and left behind them
a series OF graceful curves and fantas-
tic forms that amaze and delight the
at every turn. As the forma- !
ton was pushed upward from time to |
time, these rushing torrents kept on
with their work Of smoothing, cutting |
and filling until they have produced the |
deep box canyons so prevalent. I'm this
section, sometimes widening out into |
small valleys Of rich alluviaI deposits. /
and again narrowing down to a mere /
slit between huge masses Of cliffs.
Action of the Water.
This elevation and opening of the for
nation often left narrow neck Of the
cliff extending outward for rods, around /
rs it rushed onward in its course The
constant surging of the waters against
his barrier often found a soft place in
he sandstone, where it gradually ate
)ut half dOme-shaped cave In a few
instances, as the waters swiried around
he other side of this barrier they found
! similarly soft place opposite to the
former and ground out a similar half
iomes on that side. When in the course
II time the backs of these two semi
circular caves came together there the
waters found q shorter course through
hat opening and quickly enlarged the
lrchway and smoothed off and round
ID into sra ceful curves the sides of its
massive buttrcSses.- Thus q bridge was
'ormed and became n mighty span of
rock, whose foundations and
graceful superstructure were laid by
he ages.
There are three of these mighty
structures that thus have been carved
'ut of the sandstone formation by tho
orces of nature; and water and wind
ire still at work doing their utmost to
these vast projects of engin-
,ering and art.
The Edwin. or Little. bridge is locat-
d in Armstrong canyon. about three
niles above where it opens out into
White canyon. 1t is a graceful struc-
ure, as viii be seen from the accom-
,anying illustration, having q span of
"a feet. whose arch at the highest point
f elevation is los feet from the bot
ON. This long span of sandstone is !
My ten feet thick in the center, and
hus one sees how these proportions 1
i've an impression of lightness and |
hinness that is most pleasing to the :
We Round about are domes and tur- ]
etts fashioned by the same hands that I