USA > Arizona > The resources of Arizona; a description of its mineral, farming, grazing and timber lands; its rivers, mountains, valleys and plains; its cities, towns and mining camps; its climate and productions; with brief sketches of its early history etc > Part 3
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That vast region west of the Rio Verde, and extending from the Great Colorado to the Gila is crossed by numerous mountain ranges. Running paralleled with the former stream, and west of it are the Verde mountains. The northern end of this ridge is called the Black Hills, and is a massive elevation covered with a heavy growth of timber, having several fine springs and known to contain rich deposits of gold, silver, and copper. The northern slope of the Black Hills is washed by the Verde, and running north of that stream is a range of hills which culminates in the Bill Williams mountain, a prominent peak west of the San Fran- cisco cone. The next range to the west is the Bradshaw and the Sierra Prieta. This is one of the most. magnificent mountain chains in the territory. It may be said to begin at Granite Peak, some ten miles north of Prescott, and extends in a south- westerly direction to the wide plains which stretch along the Salt river near its junction with the Gila, being nearly fifty miles in length with an average width of about twenty miles. This grand mountain ridge is clothed with a fine growth of pine, oak, cedar, and many other varieties; is carpeted with a mantle of succulent grass ; has many fine streams, and dc- liciously cool springs ; is adorned with many a lovely vale and beautiful glen, and throughout its entire length is penetrated by rich veins of gold, silver, copper, lead, and many other valuable minerals. North of the Sierra Prieta and connected with it by a chain of low hills, is the Juniper range, well timbered with the wood from which it takes its name. A great portion of it is covered by the lava flow from the San Francisco, and, as yet, no mineral discoveries of any value have been found in it.
Between the Juniper and the Colorado, and north of Bill Williams fork are a number of irregular spurs running paral- leled, and known as the Mount Hope, the Cottonwood, the Hualapai, the Cerbat, and the Black mountains, bordering on the Colorado. Some of these elevations, such as Mount Hope and Mount Hualapai, are well wooded, while the others have but a sparse growth of timber. But nearly all of them are rich in the precious metals, and have been mined success- fully since the first settlement of Northern Arizona. Between
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PHYSICAL FEATURES.
these ridges are many valleys covered with a growth of coarse grass, cactus, and the hedeundilla, or grease-wood, destitute of water and given over to solitude. Southeast from Prescott, and extending from Date creek to the Hassayampa, is what is known as the Weaver range. It clearly defines the limits of the Upper Colorado plateau, and south of it there is a sharp and sudden descent to the plains and valleys of the Gila and the Salt rivers. It is famous through the length and breadth of Arizona as being the locale of Antelope peak, on the summit of which was found that wonderful deposit of gold, an account of which will be found in another place.
South of the Gila to the Sonora line the ranges of the plateau system are clearly defined. The Peloncillo is the first encoun- tered west of the line of New Mexico. It is low and broken, and generally destitute of timber. Lying to the west, and sep- arated from it by the magnificent San Simon valley-one of the finest grazing regions of the Territory-is the massive chain of the Chiricahua, one of the largest and most continuous moun- tain ranges in the Territory. In places it is twenty miles in width, and is over 100 miles in length, taking the Pinaleño, and the Santa Teresa ranges which join it on the north, and which are really the same mountain ridge-the only break in their continuity being the low divide known as Railroad Pass. The Chiricahuas are well watered, and contain some of the finest timber and picturesque scenery to be met with in Southern Arizona. They are also known to be rich in minerals, and many valuable discoveries have been made within their borders. West of the Chiricahuas, and separated from them by the rich grazing lands of the Sulphur Spring valley, is the Dragoon range. It is not so lofty or so well wooded as the Chiricahuas, but is a well-defined and rugged ridge with many striking pe- culiarities of structure.
North of the Whetstones and connected with them by low, rolling hills, the Santa Catalina lifts its rocky front and majestic crest from the desert plain. It is one of the most imposing of Arizona's many mountains, and as seen from Tucson impresses the beholder with its vastness and rugged grandeur. Its sum- mit is crowned with pine, oak, juniper, ash, and other varieties, while many springs bubble out in its shady glens and find their way to the thirsty plain through deep and rocky gorges which have been worn by the rains and floods of centuries. The Santa Catalina range extends north to the Gila, the upper portion being known as the Tortilla mountains. East of the Santa Catalinas, and between that range and the Pinaleño group, the Galiuro mountain lifts its sombre crest. It extends from the cañon of the Gila in a southwesterly direction, until it abuts on the Sulphur Spring valley, having a length of between thirty and forty miles. In many places its slopes and summit are heavily timbered, and its foot-hills and narrow valleys are among
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THE RESOURCES OF ARIZONA,
the best grazing lands in the Territory. Its formation belongs to the tertiary period. Its northern extremity is crowned by the imposing peak known as Mt. Turnbull, a prominent landmark in this portion of the Territory.
Southwest from the Santa Catalinas is the mountain group known as the Santa Ritas, whose lofty peak, Mt. Wrightson, rises into the clear air some 10,000 feet above sea level. The Santa Ritas are historical landmarks in the modern annals of Arizona. The first attempt at mining, by Americans, was made in this region, and the blood of many a pioneer has moistened their hills and vales. They are rich in all the minerals, and mining has been carried on here since the purchase of the country from Mexico. The Santa Ritas are well timbered towards the summit and have a delightful climate. To the southeast and joined to the Santa Ritas by the Patagonia mountains, is the Huachuca range. This is a massive elevation well wooded, and watered by numerous streams and springs. It contains many beautiful valleys and grassy glades, has a superb climate, and is one of the most delightful spots in the whole Territory. Its eastern slope fronts on the San Pedro valley, and the boundary line of Mexico passes through its southern end.
West of the Santa Rita range and between the Gila and the line of Sonora, the country is composed of wide grassy plains, with detached ranges, isolated spurs, and solitary peaks and buttes covering its surface. The most prominent of these ranges are the Atascoso, which walls in the valley of the Santa Cruz on the west and embraces a rich mining region; the Sierra Verde, which bounds the lovely vale of Arivaca on the west. The Baboquivera peak in this range is one of the most prominent landmarks in Southern Arizona. It rises to a height of over 8,000 feet, and its sharp outlines can be clearly seen nearly 100 miles away. It stands like a giant sentinel guarding that wild and weird region to the west known as the Papagueria or home of the Papagoes. The Cababi, the Quijotoa, the Ajo and many other isolated groups are found in this section. They are generally rugged and rocky with little vegetation, but rich in nearly every variety of mineral.
Between the Gila and the thirty-fourth parallel and west of the 112th meridian, the country is similar to the one we have just described. Extensive plains, covered with coarse grasses, and stunted shrubbery, and barren mountains mostly destitute of water and bare of vegetation. The best known of those rugged groups are the Harcuvar, the Sierra de Estrella, at the junction of the Gila and Salt, the White Tank mountains, the Haqui-hela, the Big Horn, the Plomosa, the Castle Dome, the Chocolate range and the ridges which run paralleled to the Colorado. Nearly all of those rocky elevations carry either gold, silver or copper, and furnish an abundance of water at a short depth below the surface
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PHYSICAL FEATURES.
This sketch will convey to the reader some idea of the grand mountain system of Arizona. They are the most striking feat- ure of the country's topography, and contain within their rocky recesses more mineral wealth than any region of a like extent on the globe. Their rugged outlines have a wild and fascinating beauty of their own; and the delicate tints of light and shade with which an Arizona sun enwraps their jagged peaksand gloomy gorges, form a picture seen nowhere else outside the land of cloudless skies and perpetual summer.
The altitude of the different mountain ranges above sea level is as follows:
San Francisco Peak
12,561 feet.
Sierra Blanca
11,496
Mount Graham.
10,516
Mount Wrightson (Santa Ritas). 10,315
66
Santa Catalina
9,950
Mount Kendrick
9,800
Mount Turnbull .
9,500
Mount Sitgreaves
9,097
Bill Williams
9,080
Chiricahua.
9,000
Mount Union (Sierra Prieta)
9,000 66
Four Peaks (Mazatzal)
8,600 -
First among the rivers of Arizona is the Colorado of the West which washes the western border of the Territory, and takes rank among the great waterways of the continent, both on ac- . count of the vast area it drains, and the mighty volume of water it carries to the ocean. It belongs to that grand system of rivers which have their sources in the Rocky mountain cordilleras, and drain the continent, from ocean to ocean; and next to the Co- lumbia, is the principal tributary of the Pacific ocean on the American continent. The Colorado takes its rise in the Wind river chain of the Rocky mountains, some 12,000 feet above the level of the sea. It flows southeasterly in its upper course, and is known as the Green. In southeastern Utah it is joined by the Grand, which flows down from the western slope of the Rocky mountains. The streams, united, form the Colorado proper, and from the point of junction to the Gulf of California it is known by that name. Below the junction, the course of the stream is southwesterly, until it is joined by the San Juan, from the east, above the entrance to the Great cañon. From there it runs southwesterly through the tremendous chasm of the plateau, to the mouth of the Virgin, and from there it winds its way almost due south to the Sea of Cortez. The great river was discovered by Captain Fernando Alarcon, on the 9th of May, 1540. He ascended the river in boats as far as the cañon, and was proba- bly the first white man who gazed upon the wonders of the Great gorge.
The length of the Colorado, from the headwaters of Green river to the Gult, is over 1,500 miles, and the area of territory drained by this mighty river is larger than New England Penn-
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THE RESOURCES OF ARIZONA.
sylvania and Virginia combined. Above its junction with the Grand its waters are clear and limpid, but after passing through the Grand cañon, they are as turbid as those of the Missouri. The river is navigable by boats of light draft for over 600 miles, but it is one of the most changeable and capricious streams on the continent. It is continually shifting its channel, and it re- quires long experience and careful study to pilot a boat through its sinuous current. It is claimed that the channel changes every twenty-four hours, and where the river ran last year is often a fertile bottom overgrown with weeds and willow. Owing to the shifting sands and shoals, the Colorado can never be utilized to any great extent for travel or traffic. No doubt many of the camps along the river will receive their material by this route, but the building of two trans-continental railroads forever pre- cludes the possibility of its supplying any large area of country. The Colorado drains the entire Territory of Arizona, and every drop of water which falls on its mountains, plains and mesas, finds its way to the great river. In its course through the Ter- ritory it receives but two tributaries of any consequence-the Little Colorado and the Gila.
The Grand cañon of the Colorado is the most stupendous chasm on the globe, and has not a parallel anywhere on earth. It is a tremendous gorge, over 400 miles in length, and from 1000 to 6000 feet in depth, cut through the eruptive rock of the elevated plateau by the river in its passage for ages from its mountain sources to the sea. A recent visitor to this wonder of the western world thus gives his impressions in the Central New Mexico: "Four hundred and sixty-five miles west from Albuquerque, at Peach Springs, Arizona, is the point on the A. and P. railroad ncarest the cañon, it being only eighteen miles northward down Dry Wash and Diamond creek to the river. At this point you take a wagon and start down Dry Wash. Almost from the commencement the scenery becomes interesting. Every mile you advance raises the walls above you; every corner you turn discloses some new castle, a higher pillar or huger column. About half way down you enter the Amphitheatre-well named indeed. The cañon at this point widens out; its walls are a succession of stairways of strata, forums and pillars occupy the arena, and the upper walls arc turreted with sandstone monuments that stand like sentinels against the clear sky.
"Farther down, Diamond creck enters the cañon abruptly through a side door, as it were, from a major gorge of its own. The cañon is very deep at this point, and the rest of the distance to the river grows rapidly deeper. Some magnificent scenery is now presented to view-Noah's Ark, Moses on Sinai, the Par- thenon, etc. The cañon widens out, leaving a sort of triangular mountain in the bottom, and this is nearly 3,000 feet above the water of the creek. A lady, who recently visited this spot, is one
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PHYSICAL FEATURES.
of the first that ever accomplished the feat of climbing to the summit of this mountain in the cañon, and declares that it has pillars on its surface 1,000 feet high, which do not begin to reach the top of the canon proper. She says, also, that the walls of the cañon look just as awfully high after climbing this 3,000 feet as they did from the creek.
"On down the cañon a little further and you are at the great gorge itself. The scenery in this vicinity is beyond the power of language to describe. The pen of T. Starr King would falter at the task. Moran or Elkins would die of grief at the inade- quacy of their brushes to paint it.
"The sun shining in at different peaks behind the castellated walls produces a rainbow here, throws a grotesque shadow there, or brings a profile into relief at another. The rocks in this light are of many colors-white, dark gray, pink and purple. From some of the narrow side cañons the stars are visible at midday. In fact the walls are so high that the sky seems a spangled azurc cover laid gently across from brink to brink. The grand old Colorado itself, fifty feet in depth, is a roaring torrent, rushing on with high wave and fury, wearing its bed even deeper yet.
"Every turn you make in its tortuous course brings newer vis- ions still. Up its side cañons you catch glimpses of heaven through vistas of brink that would enchant a fairy; all along its banks cloud-reaching, polished, buttressed, moss and vine cov- ered castles lift their lofty heads up amongst pictures of light and shadow so high that they are hazy in the distance. Variegated sandstone Babels, run up higher still, until the blue air of heaven clasps them round in gauzy-like embrace.
"The awfulness of the scene is appalling. Rocks overhang the pathway as you advance, and histrionic statues point scornful fingers at you from all directions. Frowning profiles seem to threaten your every step, and misty caves suggest filmy appar- itions as you gaze into their depths.
"Every stream that enters this great gorge has cut another chasm; every rivulet, rill and brook has cut its cañon too. In fact, the whole of the Grand cañon, along its whole length, is a vast labyrinth of gorges, a tangled maze of cañons, pillars, cathedrals, castles, Pisas and battlemented Babels, which, as the sun ad- vances on its course, present an unpaintable, untellable and wholly indescribable picture.
"No description that can possibly be written of this " paradise of the geologist," until it can be more thoroughly explored, can at all convey an adequate idea of its grandeur. Its whole course is through the Union's greatest table land, averaging as high as . 8,000 feet above sea level. It might truly be said that this great river flows on the ground floor of America, and the Rocky moun- tains are built up around it."
This awe-inspiring and mighty work of nature has been ex- plored its entire length by Major Powell, who has given a most
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THE RESOURCES OF ARIZONA.
interesting and vivid description of its many wonders. So grand, gloomy and peculiar a view is found nowhere else on earth. To stand beside the dark and seething waters of a rushing river, over a mile below the crust of the earth, and gaze up at the but- tressed and battlemented walls, whose summits seem to reach the sky, is a spectacle so different from the ordinary scenes of nature that it is sure to attract thousands of visitors from all parts of the country.
The Little Colorado, named by its Spanish discoverers, Rio de Lino, and known to the Mexicans as the Colorado Chiquito, takes its rise in the Sierra Blanca range, near the line of 34° north, and only a short distance from the sources of the San Francisco, the Black and the Salt rivers. The country around its head waters is covered with extensive pine forests, and con- tains many beautiful mountain parks, springs and small lakes, the latter fed by the heavy snows which fall on these mountains. The course of the stream is northwest, and its first important tributary is the Zuni river, which comes down from the pueblos of that name, in New Mexico. A short distance to the north- west it is joined by the Rio Puerco, which likewise has its source in New Mexico. About ten miles above its junction with the Little Colorado, the Puerco receives Lithodendron creek. On the banks of this creek is one of the most remarkable natural curiosities in the United States. It is a large petrified forest, extending over many miles. They are silicified conifera of a gigantic size. One has been discovered that measures more than twenty feet at the base, and at a break, 100 feet from the basc, it was ten feet in diameter. Limbs and branches, pet- rified to solid rock, are found scattered about in every direction. It is also said that many fossil ferns exist in conjunction with the trees. This singular freak of nature belongs to the car- boniferous period, and is evidently a portion of that vast forest which once existed in this treeless waste, and now forms the great coal measures that underlie its surface. The texture and form of the dead trees is clearly discernable, resembling much the immense redwoods of California. Many fossils of animals of an unknown and extinct species are found scattered about among those immense rocky trunks, solidified to pure dolmite or magnesian limestone.
The "Petrified Forest " is one of the wonders of Arizona, and is already attracting many visitors from the Thirty-fifth Parallel Railroad. West of the Lithodendron, the Little Colorado is joined by Leroux fork from the east, and Chevelon's fork from the west, both small mountain streams. From thence the river flows in a northwesterly direction, keeping about thirty miles to the north of the San Francisco peak. Below the Moencopy which joins it from the north, it enters a deep and rocky cañon, whose eroded walls show the action of the water for ages in wearing its bed to the great river. Through this cañon, which
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PHYSICAL FEATURES.
is in places a half a mile in depth, with smooth, perpendicular walls, the stream flows on to the Colorado of the West, which it enters at the Grand cañon. The Colorado Chiquito has a length of nearly 200 miles, and contains some large and fertile valleys along its upper course.
Next to the Colorado the Gila is the largest river of Arizona. Its sources are in one of the eastern spurs of the Mogollon moun- tains, near the summit of the divide that separates the waters flowing into the Mexican gulf from those that seek an outlet in the Pacific ocean. It crosses the Territory from the line of New Mexico to the Colorado near Fort Yuma, following very nearly in its course the thirty-third parallel of latitude. Almost the entire Territory, south of the thirty-fifth parallel, is drained by the Gila, and four-fifths of the streams within its borders are tributary to it. For more than half its length it is a mountain stream, dashing through deep gorges, rocky cañons, and wild and rugged scenery. After passing the boundary line it forms a nar- row valley with a rich soil, until it enters the Sierra de la Petahaya and the Sierra Natanes. From the latter range it receives the Rio San Francisco, a clear and impetuous mountain torrent. A few miles west of the San Francisco the Gila receives the Bonita and Eagle creek, beautiful mountain streams having their sources in the Sierra Blanca, and bordered by grassy valleys containing many acres of rich arable lands. Below the mouth of the Bo- nita the Gila forms a valley nearly forty miles in length, and from two to four in width. This magnificent vale is known as Pueblo Viejo (Old Town), and throughout its entire length are the ruins of former habitations, the marks of large irrigating canals and fragments of broken pottery, showing that a dense population once had their homes here. The valley is being rapidly settled up. At this point the great valley of the San Simon sweeps down from the foot-hills of the Sierra Madre, and the waters of its underground river-the Rio del Sur-enters the Gila near the town of Solomonville.
Below the Pueblo Viejo, the Gila cuts its way through the Santa Teresa, the Galiuro, the Mescal, the Tortilla and other detached ranges. In its course through these rocky barriers, it forms deep gorges and narrow cañons for a distance of nearly sixty miles, exhibiting in places mountain scenery grand in its solitude and savage beauty. Before entering the cañon the Gila is joined from the north by the San Carlos, a large stream with a rich and fruitful valley. The remains of irrigating works and the ruins of former dwellings which line its banks show that a large and industrious population once existed here. The name has become familiar throughout the United States as the home of thousands of idle, worthless and vicious Apaches. Midway in its course through the cañon, the Gila is joined by the San Pedro flowing from the south, one of its longest and most important tributaries, a full description of which will be found later on.
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THE RESOURCES OF ARIZONA.
About ten miles above the town of Florence the Gila emerges from its mountain fastnesses, enters on the wide plains which extend to the Colorado, and flows through a large, rich and fer- tile valley to its junction with the latter stream.
This valley of the Gila embraces a large portion of the arable lands of Arizona; has a soil of exceeding richness, and produces magnificent crops of grain, vegetables, grasses and fruits. At Florence and other points to the west, this valley is under a state of cultivation, a full and detailed description of which will be found under the head of Agriculture. Near Maricopa Wells the Santa Cruz mingles its waters with those of the Gila, by an un- derground passage. It is a sluggish stream, and for two-thirds of its course its waters sink in the thirsty sands. Some ten miles west of the town of Phoenix the Salt river joins the Gila, from the north. This is the most important tributary which it receives in its course. Indeed, it can hardly be called a tributary, as its volume of water is much larger than the last-named stream. From the Salt to the Colorado of the West, the Gila receives no living stream, though several dry river-beds like the Hassayampa and the Agua Fria are often swollen by the summer rains, and carry down vast volumes of water from the Bradshaw and Sierra Prieta ranges.
The Salt river, which joins the Gila below Phoenix, is formed by the Black and White rivers, which unite their waters in the Mogollon mountains, about twenty miles west of Fort Apache. These streams have their sources in the Sierra Blanca, and be- fore they unite receive many sparkling tributaries, fed by the springs and snows of this elevated region. The most important are the North Fork of White river, Bonita fork, and Carizo creek. These water-courses, as well as the White and the Black, con- tain some magnificent mountain trout, and afford fine sport for the angler. Below the junction of the last-named streams the Salt river enters the mountain system through which the Gila winds its way, some forty miles to the south. The cañon formed in its course is longer than that of the Gila, and much more striking in its scenic effects. The deep gorges, with their towering walls on either side, and masses of rock piled in wild confusion and twisted into most fantastic shapes by the storms and floods of centuries ; the numerous cascades and falls over which the water foams and whifls, present a scene of wild beauty worthy the pencil of an artist.
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