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Show UNITED STATES SURVEY PAPER BOOSTS SOUTHERN UTAH COUNTRY A very rugged arid area almost a' hundred miles square which lies chiefly in southern Utah but includes a small triangle of land in Arizona near Lee's ferry is described in Professional Pro-fessional Paper 164 of the United States geological survey, department of the interior, recently issued. The area extends from Bryce canyon national na-tional park on the west to Glen canyon can-yon of the Colorado river on the east. It is called the Kaiparowits region, from its dominant topographical feature, fea-ture, the Kaiparowits plateau. The region was approached by several sev-eral of the early Spanish explorers, notably by Cardenas ,one of Corona-do's Corona-do's lieutenants, who in 1540 looked down into one of the canyons of the Colorado from the south rim. It was not until 1776 that Silvestre Velez de Escalante ,a Spanish priest, traveled from Santa Fe by way of the La Plata and La Sal mountains and across the plateaus and gorges until he found a difficult ford across the Colorado, since known as the Crossing Cross-ing of the Fathers. Escalante was the first white man known to have traversed southern Utah and the only explorer who entered Glen canyon before Powell's memorable voyage of 1869. The history of the extension of Mormon settlements in southern Utah from 1861, when St. George was settled ,to 1880, when the first colonies crossed to the east side of the Colorado river, is full of examples exam-ples of heroic endeavor under the most adverse conditions. The geographic and geological description des-cription of the region began with Powell's voyage down the Colorado in 1869 and was continued by the Powell Pow-ell and Wheeler surveys between 1870 and 1877,. The geologic surveys on which the present report is based were conducted conduct-ed by parties under the direction of Herbert E. Gregory and Raymond C. Moore from 1915 to 1924, and for the first time a comprehensive description descrip-tion is given of the region's geography geogra-phy and geologic features .including the mineral resources. In conform ity with the object of the surveys the report will serve as a guide in determining deter-mining the use to which this area of largely unappropriated land may be put. The five settlements Tropic, Can-nonville, Can-nonville, Henrieville, Escalante and Boulder are the only permanent centers of population, and the roads to them are the only ones that are kept in repair. The other roads may be called roads only for the want of a better name. They are in reality trails with alternating stretches of sand, bare rock and steep inclines over which with few mishaps a skillful skill-ful driver may conduct a strongly built, lightly loaded wagon. For most of the region saddle horses and pack trains are the only practicable means of transport. The outstanding topographic features fea-tures of the region, which as a whole lies at an altitude of about 6000 feet, are terraced plateaus, monoclinal ridges, c 1 i ff-bound mesas and straight-sided canyons all impressive, impres-sive, alike for magnitude and rugged-ness. rugged-ness. 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 col-ors seen are the colors of the rocks themselves red, brown, yellow and white, intensified by bands of dark gray. The variety and interest of the topographic forms of the region, some of which are displayed in the Bryce canyon national park, are not surpassed in this part of the United States. Over hundreds of square miles the surface consists chiefly of clean bare rock, but that the soil where present has fertility is shown by the vigorous vigor-ous growth of perennials and annuals annu-als 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. re-gion. The most favorable situated lands are already underirrigation. The region is essentially a Sr"f district, perhaps the largest ttee range" in the United States. le prosperitv of its several communities, depends upon the amount, availablity and value of pasturage, and as m the communities of the near-by Piute and Navajo Indians, the outstanding Citizens are those who have a knowledge know-ledge of water holes .trails, grass and the browse shrubs. Gold has been taken from gravel brs in Glen canyon, and more can doubtless be removed; but amounts justifying large outlays are unlikely to be found. Prospecting for oil has so far yielded no returns. The one known mineral resources of potential value is the coal of the Kaiparowits plateau. |