New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1920-09-10

mons. the Winthrop Tue Ia
homa and the Kautz glaciers. iiat many OF great
Slze and impressivcneSs are born oi the SHOWS
in rock pockets or cirqucs. ice-sculpturcd bowls
of great dimensions and ever-increaSing depth'
from which they merge into the @listentng arinor
Of the huge volcano. The most notable of these
are the CoWlitz, the Paradise, the Fryingpan. the
Carbon. The Russell, the North and south Mo"lcl'
the Pu>allup and the Pyramid glaciers,
Twcuty-pieht glaciers, great and small, CLONE
Rainirr-riyers of ice, with many ri the claraf-
teristics Of rivers of water. roaring AT times over
prccipiees like waterfalls ripping and tunblins
down rocky slones-Neritable noisy cascades, rlS-
ing smoothly up ON hidden rocks 10 foam, brook
like. over its lower edges.
Every winter he maisturrladon winds from the
Pacific. suddenly cooled against lis summit, deposit
upon It's top and sides enormous SHOWS. These,
settling in the crater which WIS left after the
great explosion in some prehistoric age carried
away perhaps 1000 feet of the volcanoes former
height. press with ovcrwh elming weight down the
mountains slipping sides.
Thus are born me glaciers, for the SNOW under
lis own pressure quickly hnrdens into ice. Through
"a valleys self carved III the solid rock flow these
rivers of lee, now turning, rs rivers of water turn,
TO avoid fine harder rock strata, now roaring over
prccipices like concealed waterfalls, now ripping,
Hike water currents, over rough bottoms, pushing,
pouring relenllesSly ON until they reach those
parts Of their courses where warmer air turns
them into rivers of water.
In glowing contrast ia this marvellous spectacle
Of Ice are the gardens of wild flowers surrounding
The glaciers. These flowory spots are called parks.
one will find ON the accompanying map Spray
Park. 81. Andrews Park. Indian IIenry's Hunting
Ground. Paradise. summer Land; and there are
many others.
".Aboye the forests" writes John Muir. "thcre
Is a zone Of the loNrlieSt flowers, fifty miles in cir
cult and nearly two miles wide, 50 closely planted
and luxurious that It seems as II nature, glad TO
make an open space between woods - dense and
ice 80 deep, were economizing the precious ground
and trying to see how many of her darlings she
can get together in one mountain w~reath-laisirs.
anemoncs, rolumbine, crythroniunis, larkspurs, etc.
among which We wade knee deep aud waist deep.
the bright corullas in myrads touching petal to
petal. Altogether this is the richest suhalpine
garden | have found, u perfect flower elysium."
The lower attitudes of the park are drnsely tim
bered with fir, cedar, hemlock. maple. alder. cot
tonwood and spruce. The forested areas, extend
ing to an altitude of about $500 feet, gradually
decrease in density of growth after an altitude of
1900 feet is reached, and the high. broad plateaus
between the glacial canyons present Incompatible
scenes of diversified beauties.
\ large part of the area above the 400 foot
contour consists of open. grassy parks, rocky and
barren submits. snow fields. and glaciers. Tracts
of dense subalpine forest occur in sheltered loca-
tons. Dut lhcy are noNheFe very extensive, and
their continuity is broken 10y open swamp glades
and meadows and small bodies of standing wa
ter. The steep upper slopes of the spurs d.
yuiging from the main ridges are frequently COW
cred with a stunted. scraggy growth of low trees
firmly rooted in the crevices between the rocks
The most beautiful of the alpine trees are about
the mountain parks. Growing in scattered groves
and standing in groups or singly in the open
grassland and on the margins of the lakes. they
produce a peculiarly pleasing landscape effect
which agreeably relieves the traveller from the
extended outlook to the snow fields Of the noun
tain and broken ridges about it. At the lower
levels of the subalpine forest the average height
Of the largest trees is from 80 TO 60 feet. The
size diminishes rapidly as the elevation increases.
The trees are dwarfed by the cold. and their
trunks are bent and twisted by the wind. Small
patches of low. weather-beaten. and stunted noun
tain hemIOck. alpine fir. and white-tar'- pine occur
up to 1900 feet. The trunks are quite PROSTATE.
and the crowns are fattened mats of branches
lying close TO the ground. The extreme limit of
tree growth on Mount Rainier is about 1900 feet.
There is no distinct timber line. 1