An expedition to the valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah : including a description of its geography, natural history, and minerals, and an analysis of its waters : with an authentic account of the Mormon Settlement : also, a reconnoissance of a new route through the Rocky Mountains.

  • Stansbury, Howard.
Date:
1852
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An expedition to the valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah : including a description of its geography, natural history, and minerals, and an analysis of its waters : with an authentic account of the Mormon Settlement : also, a reconnoissance of a new route through the Rocky Mountains. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    slopes descended from the road on each side of us as we gradually ascended the ridge. From our elevated position, the course and windings of either branch of the stream could plainly be traced by the fringes of rich timber which clothed their banks, while the dull uniformity of the prairie was agreeably relieved by the ravines of numerous tributary waters, extending almost to the crest of the ridge over which we travelled, and wooded to their very heads. As we continued to rise with the country, the graceful undulations of the naked hills and hollows contrasted agreeably with the waving lines of hickory and oak that marked the course of each little rivulet until it joined its destined stream, and formed together a landscape which, for extent and rich picturesque beauty, cannot easily be surpassed. The country generally begins to present a more sandy appearance than heretofore, and the rock to be com- posed of extremely friable materials, from the decomposition of which results much sand impregnated with iron and shale, together with a great deal of gravel. The examination of a ravine near the morning’s camp, the north side of which was very precipitous and about a hundred and fifty feet in height, exhibited a section from N. to S. of the upper strata of rocks, which were in this di- rection horizontal, but with a dip to the west. The strata con- sisted of layers of shales, sand, and detritus of older rocks, mixed with sand—all very friable. In the bottom, limestone again ap- peared. On a hill opposite, the limestone was found cropping out with a dip to the west. The country to-day has presented a differ- ent aspect from that heretofore passed over; being intersected by deep ravines, most of which are heavily wooded to near the summit of the ridge. We encamped at the head of one of these, in a handsome grove of timber, after a drive of seventeen and a half miles. Saturday, June 9.—Bar. 28.66; Ther. 63°. Morning cool and sky overcast. The road continued to ascend for a few miles, when we crossed the Big Vermilion, (a tributary of the Big Blue,) which heads a mile to the N. E. The crossing is miry. In the after- noon, encamped on the right bank of the Big Blue, near a spring of fine wrater, on the margin of a level prairie, bordered with huge trees, under the welcome shade of which we pitched our tents after a fatiguing march of twenty-six miles. The stream is here about seventy yards wide and three feet deep, flowing with a bold current, and is tolerably well wooded. We found the trees and stumps on its banks carved all over with