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Show GEOLOGY-. A Comprehensive TrenMse on the (ieologleul Formation or Little Coltoii wooI. BY GEMINI.) Feeling that the public geuurally require a lucid report upon the geological geo-logical formations of Little Cottonwood, Cotton-wood, and the diflcrent minerals tliat oxist. in tho granitic, poiphyritic, quartzitic and limonitic bolts of which this district is composed, wc hereby Biibmit a detailed report of the canon as it now exists, without going back to the Azoic period. Cottonwood Canon ii situated in in the Wasatch range of mountains, moun-tains, about twenty miles southeast south-east of Salt Lake City. This range is the highest and most reputablo chain , of mountains between the .Rocky mountains of the east and the snowcapped snow-capped Sierras of the west. Thev have not been extensively prospected aa yet, so that the geological formation forma-tion of the range cannot be accurately accurate-ly arrived at. This article ii more particularly directed to Little CoLton-woo CoLton-woo t Canon. Starting at the mouth of the canon tho first lurmation that attracts at-tracts our attention is qiutrlzite, called by the vulgar melamornhic sand stone; its composition is oxygon aod silicon; its fossils arc primordial sheila supposed to be upheaved by a vast tidal wave some centuries una:' muiidi. Embracing tlij chert?, rmartz and Iving on the east U au immense field of granite, extending some seven miles up the canon, the solid walls of which draw up their substantial battlemeuts to an altitude of several thousand feet, forming scenic effects of unparalleled grandeur and sublimity. On examination wc found this granite comprised of decimated crystals of fieldspar, mica and an impecunious oxyde of alfalfa. It formerly contained j chlorite, tourmalino and malachite, but the latter have been taken up in solution of the melting snows and are now, to the geological eve, invisible. The fossils of this rock, so far as can now be seen, are the roots of pinyon choke cherry and soft maple. Above this granite formation, and overlying it on the east, we come to the first born son of the primary rock, consisting of chips of the old block, and forming a laminated structure of argillaceous rock, known to geologists ah schist. It is composed of alumina, silica, potash, oxide of iron, fhiuric acid, heulendite, aud spodumcm. The fossils in this, formation appear to have attained a great numerical development, and consist of the ((:-pkas ((:-pkas primiicnius, tbe inonm, and the dodo. Passing above the schist we now enter a belt of lauretian limestone, which contains a great variety of ores, as is attested by the number of locations. loca-tions. This formation can he readily traced from summit to summit ou either side of the canon. The composition compo-sition of this rock is oxide of calcium, carbonic acid, ferruin, silica, alumina, alumi-na, and protoxide of cuculyptus. This formation alrio appears to bo re markably prolific in fossils of 'a crua-taceous crua-taceous origin, representing some of the most striking species, the remains of which arc often mistaken for fossil horns. Among the most pcculinrare the cyalhophyUum ryifKixniia and the spirifcr radiatus. Bounding this formation on the east we discover a large belt of quart-zite quart-zite which contains the Fuller, the Frederick, Crown Prince and several other leading mines of the district. It-consists of ruetamorphic sandstone, and its concomitants are liHrknessite, hendersonite, wcllsitc and a town's site now abandoned. But the most striking circumstance connected with this development of reptilian furms of life, consisting of the following well tosstllized specimcus:.The'.'f,'".v)M7's, the M-yirfomnrux, and the PIk-iv'Suh-rus. Overlying this formation above, wc have the magnesium carbonate of lime, in which arc the Emmtt, Flagstaff, Flag-staff, Vallejo and many other prominent promi-nent mines of this dutrict. The fossils consist of pterodaclylors, and will eventually contain the remains re-mains of Micky Free. Above the formation ou the Emma Hill was formerly a belt of fetid limestone, lime-stone, but in recent times the sun's rays and the melting snows have etlected a chemical change, and the fetid portion has been taken up in solution and carried down the canon as far as Granite City, whore tho 1 organic matter, acting as a precipit-, precipit-, ant.it was deposited and still remains. ( Tbe fossiliterous remains in Litis rock have been transmogrified so that 1 no trace remains. (TO HE CONTINUE!!. I |