The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-05-09


No adequate description has ever
been given Of the wonders Of the san
Rafael SWell-a peculiar region that
occupies "a considerable area in Wayne
and Emery counties, in this state. Al
though its northern ramparts are plain
.r H view from the trains of the Den
yer s. Rio Grande railway. as they ap-
preach Green River station, and where
they are pointed out TO tourists as the
Silent City. no attempt has hitherto
been made to impress the public with
IFS great scenic features. Yet they are
Of character so imposing and ex-
-a0-dusry that in any other state
they would be exploited far and wide.
bringing thousands to see them from
every land and adding TO the fame of
Utah as one of the greatest scenic
states u the Union.
Unlike the natural bridge country in
san Juan county, they are easy Of &C
Tess. Three hours drive in d buggy
over level stretches viii bring you al
most To- the entrance gate. but there
are rivers TO ford and bad roads 10
traverse from that time onward. How
ever. few thousand dollars spent on
roads and bridges would carry the
traveller easily and safely into the
heart Of this wonderland. and from
there horse trails in every direction
would take him into a world Of mys-
Terry and delight
To appreciate them fully he should
10 au eastern pilgrim who has already
viewed "the greatest scenic spIendors
Ht America" from the rear Of a Pull
IAN. and has written home about the
Garden of the Gods. Mother viii then
have another letter COMING
What the Swell Is.
san Esfaei Swell is d volcano that
never happened. To the east. i'm full
view. are the lofty eruptive cones of
The Ia Sal mountains. and TO the south
me --gW-clad lavd-uopped Henry
mountains are visible
These are the remains of volcanoes
mat actually arrived, piling their fiery
contents over 1000 feet high. They
.-zau their work i'm an unusual man
quite different to the effete meth
.-. u- tla old countries, due, probably,
Pm The unusual conditions that con-
.HH-.r them. Biologists call Il the
<s.gItn.e origin. Stripped Of technical
Terms. 10 is something like this A large
quantity 9f molten rock, far down in
Inc bowels Of the earth, feeling q de-
SIZE o. emerge into the outer world,
gives shove upward. naturally eN-
-..- that the crust Of the earth
."-. crack. as il does elsewhere, and
=. 'I" stuff come out Nothing doing.
me liquid fire had made its way
.F0"E. about half of the worlds shell
VIE. t was stopped by the upper
res OF the DevOnian epoch and
no lower ones Of the carbOnferous Sc
-9 These u turn were held down by
ne P.miau and the ponderous Trias-
and JuTassic layers of sandstone
.'. which much Of eastern Utah IS
Paved They refused 10 break, but
. not resist the upward thrust
pm. aCreiite forced itself between the
strata u great quantities, bulE-
IFS no the surface of the earth stu
AH-5 fitting the sandstone layers up
"'- toward the center OF the mound
-' MAS being made Finally, after
-- Lla strata thousands of feet the
AVA broke through. and in cases like
-. Obj. the la Sal and the Navajo
pea. volcanoes. poured out its HOOD
- usual manner.
San Rafael Didn't Arrive.
Things were just about TO burst out
way ON the san Rafael swell
..7H The Iarc0lite went out of bust
-u that this particular boil on the
.1.f o. The earth never broke. Bur
.. tilted strata are there just the
sane. and a thin line of lava barely
Hi..a lu a ueighboring valley gives
--.a-r evidence Of what nearly hap
IL. r. geological way there are other
unique features i'm eastern Utah.
to. instance. Green river winds
through comparatively low lands ln
wyoming at an altitude of about 5000
and. entering Utah. butts into the
'- 40. the great Cintah range, slash
IIs way through narrow gorges
nile deep 10 make its way south