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Show Interest Shown In Kaiparowits Region Report on a Little Known but Picturesque Region in Southern Utah A very rugged area almost 100 miles square which lies chiefly in southern Utah but includes a small triangle of land in Arizona near Lees Ferry is described in Professional Paper 164 of the United States Geological Survey, Department of the Interior, recently re-cently issued. The area extends from Bryce Canyon National Park on the west to Glen Canyon of the Colorado River on the east. It is called the Kaiparowits region, from its dominant topographic feature, the Kaiprowits Plateau. The region was approached by several of the early Spanish explorers, ex-plorers, notably by Cardenas, one ui Coronado's lieutenants, wno m 1540 looked down into one of the canyons of the Colorado from the south rim. It was not until 177b that Silvestre Vele7. de Escalante, a Spanish priest, traveled from Santa Fe by way of the La Tlata and La Sal Mountains and across the Wasatch Plateau to Utah Lake thence south to the Virgin River and east across plateaus and gorges gor-ges until he found a difficult ford across the Colorado, since known as ihe Crossing of the Fathers. Escalante was the first while man known to have traversed southern south-ern Utah and the only explorer who entered Glen Canyon before Powell's memorable voyage of 1369 The history of the extension of Mormon settlements in southern Utah from 1361, when St. George was settled, to 1880, when th; lirst colonies crossed to the ettt side of the Colorado River, is full of examples of heroic endeaver under the most adverse conditions The geographic and geologic description de-scription cf the region began with Powell's voyage down the Colorado In 18P& and was continued by the Powell and Wheeler Surveys between be-tween 1870 and 1877. The geological surveys on which the present report is based were conducted by parties under the direction of Herbert E. Orezory and Raymond C. Moore from 1313 to 1924. and for Ihe first time a comprehensive description is given of the resion's geography and geologic geo-logic features, Including (he mineral min-eral resources. In con'irmity with the object of the surveys the report will ferve as a guide in determining determin-ing the use to which this area of largely unappropriated land may , j be pat. The five settlement Tropic, Oannonville, Henrieville. Escalante, . and Boulder are the rnlv pcrma-; pcrma-; nent centers of population, and the roads to them are the only ones that are kept ln repair, Thc ether roads may be called roads only for the want of a better name They are in reality trails with alternating al-ternating stretches of sand, bare rock, and steep inclines over whicn with few mishaps a skillful driver driv-er may conduct a strongly built, lightly loaded wagon. For most ot the region saddle horses and pack trains are the only practicable means of support. The outstanding topographic features of the region, which as a whole lies at an altitude of about 6,000 feet, are terraced plateaus cliff-bound mesas, monoclinal ridges, rid-ges, and straight-sided canyons--all impressive, alike for magnitude and ruggedness. The canyon walls, the faces of the mesas and buttes, and expanses of rock are wind swept and are so bare of vegetation that green tints and subdued tones resulting from plant covering are rarely present in the landscape. The conspicuous colors r.een are the colors of the rocks themselves red, brown, yellow, and white intensified by bands ol dark gray. The variety and interest inter-est of the topographic forms of the region, some of which are displayed dis-played in the Bryce Canyon National Na-tional Park, are not surpassed in this part of the United States. Over hundreds of square mileu the surface consists chiefly ol clean bare rock, but that the scii where present has fertility is shown by the vigorous natural growth of perennials and annuals where sufficient water is present. Unfortunately there Is not enough water available without prohibitive cost, to irrigate more than a few square miles in the Kaiparowits region. The most favorably situated situ-ated lands are already under irrigation. irri-gation. The region is essentially a grazing graz-ing district, perhaps the largest "free range" in the United Stated. The prosperity of its several communities com-munities depends upon the amount availability, and value of pasturage, pastur-age, and. as in the communities ol the nenr-by Piute and Navajo Indians, the outstp.nding citizens are iiiore who have a Knowledge of water holes, trails, grass, and browse fhnibs. Gold has been taken from gravel grav-el be.rs in Gien Canvon, and more can doubtless be recovered; bui amount". Justifying large outlay.., are unlikely to be found. Pros petting for oil has so far yielded no returns. The one known min-I min-I tral resources of potential value i Is the coal of the Kaiparowits Plateau. I The report is entitled "The Kai-j Kai-j parowit". retion, a Biographic and g'-ologic reconnaissance of parts of j Utah and Arizona" It can be obtained ob-tained at $1.05 a copy from the Superintrnderit. of Documents, I Washington, D. C. |