COLORADO MAGAZINE Published Bi-Monthly by the State Historical Society of Colorado

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

COLORADO MAGAZINE Published Bi-Monthly by the State Historical Society of Colorado THE COLORADO MAGAZINE Published bi-monthly by The State Historical Society of Colorado Vol. XVII Denver, Colorado, July, 1940 No. 4 Reunion at Fourteen Thousand Feet, 1872 BENJAMIN POFF DRAPER* In the aunals of Georgetown, Colorado, a onc:e booming r;il ver camp, there is a record of a reunion of the three greatest figures in American botany-John Torrey, Asa Gray, and Charles Christopher Parry. '11 he occasion was the official naming of Gray's and Torrey'< peaks. The assembled company, in addition to the three honored guests who had traveled from Denver by stage coach, was an en­ thusiastic delegation of Joca l citizens from Georgetown. The set­ ting for this impressive cernmony 'ms the top of Gray's Peak at an altitude of fourteen thonsarnl feet-the crest of the continent. The year was 1872. But the r;tor:v behind thir; meeting goes back earlier into the lives of each of these nineteenth century scientists. ,John Torrey (1796-1873), a New Englander by birth, had early achieved fame as an American botanist, working at Columbia Uni­ versity. He was tlie outstandillg imm in his field iu the 1820s and 1830s. To him were referred for classification most of the then unknown plants. "The opportunity for extending his i1nestigations to the great plains and the Rocky l\fountains "·as furnished by the collectiom placed in Dr. Torrey's hands by Edwin ,Tames, botanist of Major Imng 's expedition in 1820." Thus 11-rote Professor Gray, in a bio­ graphical sketch of 'rorrey. Dr. Torrey subsequently eontributed to tlw published teports of ,John Fremont (''the Pathfinder''), General Marcy, and General F. W. Lander of Pacific Hailroad Survey fame. Torrey classified and named most of the plant life of the plains a11d mountains from these collected specimens. This immmer of 1872 was the first time he had ever sren in their natural setting the hundreds of plants he hacl identified fift>·-two years earlier. Asa Gray (1810-1888), was a student of Torrey's at Columbia. 'rheir combined effort, the monumental ]11/ora of North America, first appearing in 1840, established Gray's reputation on the same level with his friend and Professor. In 1842, Gray accepted the Fisher professorship at Harvard and there developed the largest and most valuable herbarium and garden in America. Gray's Strucfaral *Mr. Draper, graduate of Denver University (M.A.) and former City em­ ployee of Denver, is now living in Chicago, w'here he is employed by the Illinois Tax Commission.-Ed. 122 COLORADO MAGAZLNE REUNION AT FOURTEEN THOUSAND FEET, 1872 123 Botany, first published in 1848, has gone through innumerable edi­ Clear Creek canon to the new camp of Silver Plume and pushed on tions and is today still the accepted textbook in this field. to the Bakerville House, a two story log hotel. Here they spent the Charles Christopher Parry (1823-1890), had studied under night and were roundly entertained at the fireplace by tales told by Torrey at Columbia and had worked with Gray. Parry at heart was the strangely assorted company of professors, frontier lawyers, ad­ an adventurer and an explorer. Jn 1849 he first pushed into the venturers, and horse wranglers. The second morning the party unknown regions of the great plains and began his collecting of proceeded up Grizzly gulch to Parry's cabin. Professor Torrey, specimens and recording of his travels. From his own w-ritings, is then seventy-six years old, decided to remain here and not to under­ given an account of his trip to Colorado: take the strenuous climb. The main party proceeded up Stevens ''In my first botanical exploration of the Rocky Mountain region gulch and reached the summit of Gray's Peak shortly after noon. of Colorado, in 1861, I ptrnhed high into the mountains. In my An account of the ceremony, as reported in the Colorado Miner of solitary wanderings over the rugged rocks and through these alpine Georgeto"·n, follows : meadows, resting at noonday on some sunny nook, overlooking wastes of snow and crystal lakes girdled with midsummer ice, I naturally associated some of the more prominent mountain peaks with distant and valued friends. To two twin peaks, always con­ spicuous whenever a sufficient elevation was obtained, I applied the names of Torrey and Gray.'' Parry continued his exploration and scientific studies of the plants of the Rocky Mountains, returning each summer to Grizzly CJ.ulch at the foot of Gray's and Torrey's peaks where he had built himself a cabin. Each winter, upon his return to the East, he visited his good friends, Gray and TorrP~'. and painted for them colorful and exciting pictures of the beauties of the Rocky Moun­ tain West. His annual insistence that they accompany him some :vear led to plans for the expedition of 1872. Georgetown, Colorado, in 1872 was a bustling mining camp as yet not reached by the railroad. Having taken two visits by Presi­ Courtesy, Harvard Alumni Bulletin dent Grant in its stride, the lively town was excited over the pros­ TORREY GRAY PARRY pects of visitors of so much dignity and learning. A local wag referred to Professor Gray as a "weed sharp" but the town turned ''Quite nnexpectecl by Professor Gray, a formal ceremony was out in grand style-volunteer fire companies in full regalia, the held, givi11g pro11ouucement to the names which Pany had earlier Georgetown band, and a delegation headed by the "Professor" of given the peaks. Judge l\fol\furdy, leading citizen and host to the the local public school. The stage coach was escorted through town party, addressed his remarks to Gray, in part, thus: to the leading hostelry, "The Barton Honse." 'Sir, your name is destined to occupy this lofty niche. Your William Barton, a gentleman of ''agreeable deportment and · the finest host in the Territory," greeted the venerable Professor friend, Dr. C. C. Parry, has inscribed your name upon this lofty 'I'orrey, his friend of several seasons-Mr. Parry-and his fellow peak, this wedge that pierces the clouds and divides the waters of Bostonians, Professor and Mrs. Gray, with great cordiality. The this continent, and there we hope it will remain and grow brighter record has it that long after the great banquet and reception had and brighter as long as the waves of the sea dash upon our Atlantic concluded that night, Professor and Mrs. Gray sat up in the "back coast or roll in gentle murmurs upon the golden strand of our quiet parlor" and told Billy Barton stories of his native Beacon Street, Pal!ific. of Cambridge, and other scenes he had left behind when he joined 'We have met here touay to welcome you to this, perhaps the the gold rush and came to Georgetown in 11.\67. highest spot in the Uniteu States, and we rejoice that he who has Early the morning after their arrival. the distinguished guest!'! namecl so many of our beautiful mountain flowers has come into our and a company of Georgetown citizrn tnr+ec1 on horseback for the miust to see with his own eyes on what a magnificent scale nature Gray's Peak country. They proceeded rst, up the narrow rocky earries on her work in Central Colorado. 124 COLORADO MAGAZINE COLORADO PLACE NAMES 125 'We, your friends, would say to you who uow stand here upon to the peak, from whose summit is had perhaps the most extensive the very central pinnacle of our widely extended country, as the and magnificent view in the world.'' inscription on the monument of Sir Christopher Wren, at St. Paul';; Professor Torrey, unable to tax his strength by the long climb, says: Si monumentum reqitiris, circiimspice. 'Ve bid you welcome had been ably represented at the top of Gray's Peak by his daugh­ to this magnificent peak. May you and your excellent wife, when ter. He cheered himself b~- watching from a vantage point the prog­ you leave these wild and rugged scenes for your classic home in ress of the party and responding to tiny flecks of white which were Cambridge, remember the pleasant social gathering we had on handkerchiefs waYed lovingly in his direction. Gray's peak. Gray wrote: '' 'l'orrey enjoyed the rare pleasure of viewing in their native soil and plucking with his own hands many a flower which he had himself named and described from dried specimens in the herbarium. Here he siood on the flank of the lofty and beautiful snow-clad peak to "·hich his grateful former pupil and ardent explorer had given his name." 'l'orrey was more philosophical about his infirmity which had prevented his ascent o.f the peak. ·Dispelling any suggestion that he might have missed something, he uttered his now famous· phrase, "?\o, give me the fountain of old age!" Nor did Charles Christopher Parry go without honor. His name was later bestowed by Surveyor-General F. M. Case on a peak not far distant. The two peaks, Gray's and Torrey's, have since been climbed by hundreds of adverturesome folk. The region which they tower over is still a paradise for collectors of botanical specimens. 'l'heir names, given them by a rugged, exploring bot­ anist, are testimony of the honor to the men who first gave the world knowledge of the floral treasnres in the Rocky Mountain \Vest. Courtesy, Harvard Alumni Bulletin GHAY'S PEAK AND TOHHEY'8 Pl•,AK 'And we who starnl ai·ournl yon here to<lay, in the presence of Dr. Parry, in the name of Uolol'aclo, and in the' name of science, now solemnly confirm and ratify the name of this mountain.
Recommended publications
  • Richard Dallin Westwood: Sheriff and Ferryman of Early Grand County
    Richard Dallin Westwood: Sheriff and Ferryman of Early Grand County BY JEAN M. WESTWOOD ON FEBRUARY I7, I889, RICHARD DALLIN WESTWOOD, twenty-six years old, left Mount Pleasant, Utah, bound for Moab, a settlement in the far eastern edge of what was then Emery County. He was looking for a piece of farm land on which he could build a home for himself, his young wife, Martha, and their baby daughter, Mary Ellen. It was just ten years since the first permanent settlers had moved into "Spanish Valley" by the Grand (Colorado) River in the southeast part of the territory. The valley had long been part of western history. Mrs. Westwood lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. Above: Richard Dallin Westwood, ca. 1888. All photographs accompanying this article are courtesy of the author. Richard Dallin Westwood 67 Indian "writings" are still found on the rocks. Manos, metates, arrow­ heads, stone weapons, and ancient bean, maize, and squash seeds have all been frequent finds throughout the area, attesting to early Indian cultures. The Spanish Trail through here was used first by the early Span­ iards as a route from New Mexico to California.^ Later it was used in part by Mexican traders, trappers, prospectors, and various Indian tribes. The first party traveling the entire trail apparently was led by WiUiam WolfskiU and George C. Young in the winter of 1830-31.2 In 1854 Brigham Young sent a small expedition under William D. Huntington to trade with the Navajos and explore the southern part of Utah territory. They used this route. The next year Young called forty- one men under Alfred N.
    [Show full text]
  • High-Resolution Correlation of the Upper Cretaceous Stratigraphy Between the Book Cliffs and the Western Henry Mountains Syncline, Utah, U.S.A
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Dissertations & Theses in Earth and Atmospheric Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Sciences 5-2012 HIGH-RESOLUTION CORRELATION OF THE UPPER CRETACEOUS STRATIGRAPHY BETWEEN THE BOOK CLIFFS AND THE WESTERN HENRY MOUNTAINS SYNCLINE, UTAH, U.S.A. Drew L. Seymour University of Nebraska, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/geoscidiss Part of the Geology Commons, Sedimentology Commons, and the Stratigraphy Commons Seymour, Drew L., "HIGH-RESOLUTION CORRELATION OF THE UPPER CRETACEOUS STRATIGRAPHY BETWEEN THE BOOK CLIFFS AND THE WESTERN HENRY MOUNTAINS SYNCLINE, UTAH, U.S.A." (2012). Dissertations & Theses in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. 88. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/geoscidiss/88 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations & Theses in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. HIGH-RESOLUTION CORRELATION OF THE UPPER CRETACEOUS STRATIGRAPHY BETWEEN THE BOOK CLIFFS AND THE WESTERN HENRY MOUNTAINS SYNCLINE, UTAH, U.S.A. By Drew L. Seymour A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For Degree of Master of Science Major: Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Under the Supervision of Professor Christopher R. Fielding Lincoln, NE May, 2012 HIGH-RESOLUTION CORRELATION OF THE UPPER CRETACEOUS STRATIGRAPHY BETWEEN THE BOOK CLIFFS AND THE WESTERN HENRY MOUNTAINS SYNCLINE, UTAH. U.S.A. Drew L. Seymour, M.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Book Cliffs the Book Cliffs Rise As If Startled out of the Mancos Shale Desert
    !People of the Book Cliffs The Book Cliffs rise as if startled out of the Mancos Shale desert. This bright edge stretches east-west, two hundred miles between Grand Junction, Colorado and Price, Utah, stair-stepping four thousand feet up from the desert to a summit that’s cloaked in aspen, fir, and spruce. Erosion has dissected the cliffs into isolated canyons, carved by intermittent streams that all flow south toward the Colorado River. Even so, the cliffs and canyons are considered part of the !Uinta Basin because their rock layers, like the Green River Formation, are tilted north. Pockets of true wilderness still exist within the Book Cliffs. Black bear, bighorn, mule deer, and cougars are at home in these canyons. People have lived in and moved through this country for thousands of years−the Utes most recently, the Fremont before them, and the enigmatic Barrier !Canyon people with their alien pictographs staring at us as if from outer space. Wolf Bennett and his daughters came here from Colorado to see the pictographs and to clamber around the rocks of Sego Canyon. Wolf’s spent his life as a guide and values what these canyons !offer his family−opportunities to discover, a diversion from cityscapes, a sense of wonder. A mile down canyon, Bob Holloway and his two adopted children were watering fruit trees at the ranch he’d recently bought. The roof needed work. Bob and his wife wanted to get out of the rat race in Green River. That town’s population of 900 might swell if a proposed oil refinery and nuclear power plant are built.
    [Show full text]
  • BISON HERD UNIT MANAGEMENT PLAN Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek and Little Creek Herd Unit #10A and #10C Wildlife Board Approval November 29, 2007
    1 BISON HERD UNIT MANAGEMENT PLAN Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek And Little Creek Herd Unit #10A AND #10C Wildlife Board Approval November 29, 2007 BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION Uintah and Grand counties - Boundary begins at the Utah-Colorado state line and the White River, south along this state line to the summit and north-south drainage divide of the Book Cliffs; west along this summit and drainage divide to the Uintah-Ouray Indian Reservation boundary; north along this boundary to the Uintah-Grand County line; west along this county line to the Green River; north along this river to the White River; east along this river to the Utah-Colorado state line. NORTH BOOK CLIFFS LAND OWNERSHIP RANGE AREA AND APPROXIMATE OWNERSHIP Bitter Creek Little Creek Combined North Subunit Subunit Subunits Ownership Area % Area % Area (acres) % (acres) (acres) BLM 644,446 45.6 2,389 4.1 646,835 44 SITLA 165,599 11.7 48,912 84.4 214,911 15 DWR 15,138 1.1 6,551 11.3 21,689 1 PRIVATE 70,091 5.0 0 0 70,091 5 UTE TRIBE TRUST 517,506 36.6 82 0.2 517,588 35 LAND TOTAL 1,412,740 100 57,934 100 1,471,114 100 BOOK CLIFFS BISON HISTORY AND STATUS Bison were historically present in the general East Tavaputs Plateau and Uintah Basin. The Escalante expedition reported killing a bison near the present site of Jensen, Utah in September 1776. Bison are also commonly depicted in Native American rock art and pictographs found throughout the area.
    [Show full text]
  • DAR-Colorado-Marker-Book.Pdf
    When Ms. Charlotte McKean Hubbs became Colorado State Regent, 2009-2011, she asked that I update "A Guidebook to DAR Historic Markers in Colorado" by Hildegarde and Frank McLaughlin. This publication was revised and updated as a State Regent's project during Mrs. Donald K. Andersen, Colorado State Regent 1989-1991 from the original 1978 version of Colorado Historical Markers. Purpose of this Project was to update information and add new markers since the last publication and add the Santa Fe Trail Markers in Colorado by Mary B. and Leo E. Gamble to this publication. Assessment Forms were sent to each Chapter Historian to complete on their Chapter markers. These assessments will be used to document the condition of each site. GPS (Lat/Long) co-ordinances were to be included for future interactive mapping. Current digital photographs of markers were included where chapters participated, some markers are missing, so original photographs were used. By digitizing this publication, an on-line publication can be purchased by anyone interested in our Colorado Historical Markers and will make updating, revising and adding new markers much easier. Our hopes were to include a Website of the Colorado Historical Markers accessible on our Colorado State Society Website. I would like to thank Jackie Sopko, Arkansas Valley Chapter, Pueblo Colorado for her long hours in front of a computer screen, scanning, updating, formatting and supporting me in this project. I would also like to thank the many Colorado DAR Chapters that participated in this project. I owe them all a huge debt of gratitude for giving freely of their time to this project.
    [Show full text]
  • Distribution Management Plan 2019-2029
    Colorado Parks and Wildlife Habitat Partnership Program White River DISTRIBUTION MANAGEMENT PLAN Approved – Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission: November 15, 2019 This plan is valid for 10 years from approval date. 2019-2029 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 2 Map: White River HPP Area 3 Committee Members 4-5 Introduction 5-6 - HPP Orientation HPP Statute 5-6 Committee Objectives & Strategies 7-11 Area Description 12-16 -Map: Land Ownership -Habitat Description Big Game Population Summary 16-27 -Maps: Big Game Ranges & Migrations -Map: Impact Areas & Description -Game Management Objectives Project Types & Priorities 27-29 Operating Guidelines 29-30 -Management Strategies Budget Guidelines 30-31 Current & Foreseeable Issues 31-32 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The White River Valley is home to some of the largest herds of elk and mule deer in the State of Colorado and also has small herds of antelope, bighorn sheep, and moose. The area supports a vibrant agricultural community in addition to active coal mining and oil and gas development. Since inception of the WRHPP committee in 1993, it has worked in cooperation with CPW to significantly reduce the White River Elk herd with aggressive antlerless harvest strategies to within the desired population objective, thus conflicts within the WRHPP area have been greatly reduced. However, the success of the distribution management plan depends heavily upon the ability to foster cooperation between the landowners and the hunting public since a major tool for moving the animals from the conflict areas, and decreasing the numbers will be the public hunters. Landowners in the WRHPP area have been reluctant in the past to open their private lands to the general public for reasons ranging from protection of their property to maximizing hunting income.
    [Show full text]
  • Grazing Allotments Table
    RANGELAND PROBLEMS/CONFLICTS 10 YEAR AVERAGE * ALLOTMENT PERIOD OF USE * FORAGE ALLOCATED TO OTHER SPECIES / USES ALLOTMENT ACRES * ECOLOGICAL CONDITION / SUCCESSION ALLOTMENT PERMITTED USE ACTUAL USE % FEDERAL KIND OF ALLOTMENT NAME MANAGEMENT CURRENT GRAZING SYSTEM * RANGELAND HEALTH STANDARDS NUMBER (AUMS) RANGE LIVESTOCK CATEGORY * RIPARIAN INVENTORY BEGINNING ENDING (AUMS) (MILES/ACRES) 1985 BOOKCLIFFS RMP 1994 DIAMOND MOUNTAIN RMP 1-Riparian Areas Unsatisfactory Condition; 2-Infestation of M- ACTIVE SUSPENDED ACTUAL NON-USE CONTINUOUS DEFERRED REST Unwanted Species; 3-Livestock Control; 4-Season of Use; 5- (FEDERAL ACRES) (% PUBLIC ACRES) AS OF 1994 MEETING STANDARDS Management USE ROTATION Excessive Soil Erosion; 6-Vegation Diversity; 7-Insufficient Forage; 8- C-cattle FEDERAL STATE PRIVATE TRIBAL OTHER YEAR YEAR Excessive Slope; 9-Insufficient Water; 10-Recreation Conflicts; 11-Oil I-Improve DEER ANTELOPE ELK BH SHEEP MOOSE WILD C-Custodial S-sheep ASSESSMENT ASSESSMENT & Gas Conflicts; 12-Rock Outcrop/Badlands; 13-Low % Public Land; HORSES H-horses * LENTIC * LOTIC EXCELLENT GOOD FAIR POOR EARLY MID LATE SCHEDULED COMPLETED STD 1 STD 2 STD 3 STD 4 14- Excessive Use Areas Due to Poor Distribution; 15- Tresspass concerns; ANTELOPE DRAW 15854 I 7198 11/16 4/27 1381 2298 X 93 S 155 87 56928 4597 6 3970 19466 28818 0 2002 2002 2,4,10 ANTELOPE POWERS 15879 M 3091 1372 11/20 4/20 1046 2150 X 100 C/S 100 201 106 35697 4221 410 4516 615 2010 4,11 ARGYLE RIDGE 7 04873 I 339 80 6/1 11/15 144 152 X 20 C 350 377 50 9081 1171 8294 3 2 47 51
    [Show full text]
  • COLORADO MAGAZINE Published Quarterly by Vol
    The State Historical Society of Colorado THE COLORADO MAGAZINE Published Quarterly by Vol. XXXIX Denver, Colorado, October, 1962 Number 4 Gold Boats on The Swan The Story of Ben Stanley Revett, Gold Dredger By Belle Turnbull* At the time that the material for use in writing about Revett was first examined, a number of papers were kept for reference. Of other papers, notes were made and the papers returned to Mrs. Melissa Hayden. At the time, since the objective was to use the notes for background in a story, notes were made sometimes without much attention to dates and sources, though they were kept in chronological order by year, only. For color and background the author is deeply indebted to the following, not one of whom is still living in 1962: George Robinson, dredgemaster, and later County Treasurer of Summit County and Mayor of Breckenridge; Mrs. Melissa Hayden, widow of Revett's secre­ tary, and herself Clerk of the District Court for many years; and George Robert Johnson, mining engineer, who permitted my presence on a gold dredge against the wishes of his swing shift crew, to whom a woman on board was anathema. Mr. Johnson's explanations of the operation of a gold dredge were lucid and helpful, even to a woman author. Thanks are also due to Gordon Goodridge, who dug in the Summit County records for data on placer grounds.-Author. In the history of deep mining for gold in Colorado, Ben Stanley Revett ranks as First Gold Dredger. Not only was he the first to carry through the financing, the building, and the management of the first dredge in Colorado to dig for gold; his resourcefulness and bulldog tenacity drove him on, year after year, to finish what he had begun: to find the best possible method of driving to bedrock and to bring up the gold.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ground Squirrels of Colorado
    CIRCULAR 44 NoVEMBER, 1924 THE GROUND SQUIRRELS OF COLORADO BY w. L. BURNETT OFFICE OF STATE ENTOMOLOGIST COLORADO AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE FORT COLLINS, COLORADO OFFICIAL STAFF C. P. GILLETTE. ............. ------------------------------·------·-·---------------------------------------State Entomologist GEORGE M. LIST ........................ __________________ ------------···············-----·-··-·--···---·······--···--·-··Chief Deputy R. G. RICHMOND ................................. __________ Deputy in Charge Apiary Inspection WILLIAM L. BuRNETT ..................................... Deputy in Charge Rodent Control J. H. NEWTON ................................. Deputy in Charge Alfalfa Weevil Control W. L. MAY • ............................................................... Deputy in Charge Weed Control WM. P. YETTER, JR ................................................................................................................ Deputy GEORGE ::;. LANGFORD ................................................................... ------··········--··········--············Deputy E. RoBERTS ········································--·········-·······················································-······························Clerk • Deceased THE GROUND SQUIRRELS OF COLORADO BY W. L. BuRNETT Ground squirrels belong to the rodent family Sciuridae. Other members of this family are tree squirrels, chipmunks, prairie dogs and woodchucks. Colorado ground squirrels are divided into four genera, Citellus, with five members; Callospermophilus, two;
    [Show full text]
  • Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation
    Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation Cortez R18W Karle Key Xu R17W T General Setting Mine Xu Xcu 36 yon Can N Xcu McElmo WIND RIVER 32 INDIAN MABEL The Ute Mountain Ute Reservation is located in the northwest RESERVATION MOUNTAIN FT HALL AIN IND RES Little Moude Mine Xcu T N ern portion of New Mexico and the southwestern corner of Colorado UTE PEAK 35 N R16W BLACK 666 (Fig. UM-1). The reservation consists of 553,008 acres in Montezu W Y O M I N G T MOUNTAIN 35 R20W SLEEPING UTE MOUNT N ma and La Plata Counties, Colorado, and San Juan County, New R19W Coche T Mexico. All of these lands belong to the tribe but are held in trust by NORTHWESTERN 34 SHOSHONI HERMANO the U.S. Government. Individually owned lands, or allotments, are IND RES Desert Canyon PEAK N MESA VERDE R14W NATIONAL GREA W Marble located at Allen Canyon and White Mesa, San Juan County, Utah, T SAL SENTINEL Towaoc PARK Wash T LAKE PEAK T and cover 8,499 acres. Tribal lands held in trust within this area cov Towaoc er M E S A 33 1/2 N er 3,597 acres. An additional forty acres are defined as U.S. Govern THE MOUND R15W SKULL VALLEY ment lands in San Juan County, Utah, and are utilized for school pur TEXAS P IND RES ajo Riv UNITAH AND OURAY v INDIAN RESERVATION Na poses. A W CIFIC 6-INCH OIL PIPELINE Ramona GOSHUTE 789 The Allen Canyon allotments are located twelve miles west of IND RES T AH UT 33 Blanding, Utah, and adjacent to the Manti-La Sal National Forest.
    [Show full text]
  • Pleistocene Surficial Deposits of the Grand Mesa Area, Colorado
    New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook, 32nd Field Conference, Western Slope Colorado, 1981 121 PLEISTOCENE SURFICIAL DEPOSITS OF THE GRAND MESA AREA, COLORADO REX D. COLE Multi Mineral Corporation 715 Horizon Drive Grand Junction, Colorado 81501 and JOHN L. SEXTON Department of Geosciences Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana 47907 INTRODUCTION The Grand Mesa area has been a topic of study since the Hayden Grand Mesa, with an average surface elevation of about 3050 m, Surveys (Hayden, 1876). Most recent studies have focused on the is a basalt-capped plateau that forms one of the most prominent glacial geology of the area (Henderson, 1923; Nygren, 1935; physiographic features in west-central Colorado (fig. 1). Basalt Retzer, 1954; Yeend, 1969). Sinnock (1978; this guidebook) ad- flows capping Grand Mesa have protected the underlying weaker dressed the geomorphology of the western front of Grand Mesa in sedimentary rocks from erosion. Progressive erosion of Grand his study of the Uncompahgre Plateau and Grand Valley. General Mesa since the outpouring of basalt 10 million years ago (K/Ar treatment of the geology of Grand Mesa is given by Young and date of 9.7 ± 0.5; Marvin and others, 1966) has produced an Young (1968, 1977). Detailed mapping of parts of the Grand Mesa area has been done by Yeend (1969), Donnell and Yeend (1968a, impressive array of pediments, alluvial fans, glacial outwash fans, b, c, d, e), Yeend and Donnell (1968), Hail (1972a, 1972b), and Sin- landslides, and colluvial deposits which now flank the mesa on all nock (1978). sides. 122 COLE and SEXTON In this paper we briefly address the general geology of the Grand The Mesaverde and Mancos make up most of the stratigraphic sec- Mesa area, and then we provide a more detailed description of the tion visible on the west and south slopes of Grand Mesa.
    [Show full text]
  • Energy Trail Colorado River Loma DOUGLAS PASS Rangely White River Oil Dinosaur ENERGY TRAIL River Shale 70
    Did you know miners and oilmen have been working BOUNDLESS LANDSCAPES & SPIRITED PEOPLE in northwest Colorado for generations? Douglas Pass Green Energy Trail Colorado River Loma DOUGLAS PASS Rangely White River Oil Dinosaur ENERGY TRAIL River Shale 70 Section on RD 139* Mancos Shale In the 1930s, technology enabled oilmen to drill over a mile down to oil pockets and open Colorado’s most productive oil field; just south of Douglas Pass look for Green River shale. Roan Plateau Energy Trail Color photo: courtesy Mary Lee Morlang; historical Colorado River Grand Junction BOOK CLIFFS ROAN CLIFFS CALLAHAN MT. Parachute ROAN CLIFFS Rifle GRAND HOGBACK 70 photo: courtesy CHS History Collection ca. MCC-2568 1910 Section parallel to I-70 70 FAULT Mancos Shale It is estimated that 1.8 trillion barrels of oil exists in the waxy compound or kerogen of the shale of the Roan Cliffs—the world’s largest known source. Axial to Yampa Energy Trail Oil Field Tow Creek Tow Craig Hayden Milner Steamboat Springs Did you know a wealth of natural resources are found 70 Section on U.S. 40* in northwest Colorado? Shale Mancos Deep below northwest Colorado’s canyons and rivers, forests and wilderness, mountains and parks, mesas and plateaus—lie Starting in the 1870s, coal enticed miners to this region and geological expanses of fossil fuels and minerals. For centuries, continues as a way of life today; and in other geological layers coal, oil, natural gas, and oil shale have lured men to open cut oil is pumped from a depth of 2,500 feet.
    [Show full text]