Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/746

 no ARIZONA of Prescott, reach an altitude of from 8,000 to 9 000 ft. The San Francisco, a grand volcanic cone is the highest mountain in Arizona, its summit being over 11,000 ft. above the sea. N and N. E. of the San Francisco mountains, an immense mesa, increasing in altitude toward the Utah line, extends for hundreds of miles. The largest river of the territory is the Col- orado, which is formed by the junction of the Green and Grand rivers in the S. part of Utah, and has a southerly course along the W. boun- dary of Arizona. It has a very rapid current, and is navigable as far as 'Callville, 612 m. above its mouth. The canons formed by the pas- sage of the river through the lofty table lands are unequalled in grandeur. In the Grand cafion of the Colorado the deep and narrow current flows between massive walls that rise to a perpendicular height of nearly 7,000 ft. above the water. The principal tributaries of the Colorado are the Colorado Chiquito, which flows N.W. through the N. part of the territory, the Diamond river, and Bill Williams's Fork, into which flows the Santa Maria. The Gila rises in New Mexico, flows W. through the S. part of Arizona, and joins the Colorado about 180 m. above the gulf of California. It is a very narrow stream with a swift current, shal- low during most of the year, but in the rainy season vastly increasing its volume. Its prin- cipal tributaries in Arizona are the Salado or Salt river, Verde, San Carlos, Bonito, and Prieto from the north, and Santa Cruz and San Pedro from the south. Granite, red and white sandstone, limestone, slate, quartz, and metamorphic rocks abound in the mountains. The plains along the lower Gila are entirely made up of quaternary and tertiary deposits, which also form the great Sonora desert S. of that stream. In the Colorado valley, the sed- imentary strata consist of quaternary and ter- tiary gravels and conglomerates, varied in a few localities by a layer of white infusorial earth. The bottom lands consist of calcareous sands and clays, the former predominating. The mountain chains are composed of granites, syenites, porphyries, trachytes, greenstone, ba- salt, and metamorphic slates. A section of the Grand canon of the Colorado, 6,800 ft. above the sea level and 5,500 ft. above the river, ex- hibits the following sedimentary strata down to the underlying granite : upper carboniferous limestone ; cross-stratified sandstone ; red cal- careous sandstone, with gypsum ; lower car- boniferous limestone; limestones, shales, and grits Devonian; limestones, mud, rocks, and sandstones Silurian ; Potsdam sandstone ; granite. No one of the mineral-bearing terri- tories of the Pacific slope is rhher than Ari- zona, though the mines have not iteen generally worked. The inaccessibility of the territory (it being off from the great overland lines of travel and without seaports), and the fierceness of the Apaches, have preventei the full devel- opment of its mineral wealth. The mountains of southern and central Arizona are nearly all mineral-bearing, and contain lodes of gold, sil- ver, copper, and lead. The ores of silver found in this region are argentiferous galena, native silver, auriferous sulphuret of silver, black sul- phuret of silver, sulphate of silver, sulphate of iron, combined. The ores of copper are usually the sulphurets, principally gray. Nearly all the silver and copper lodes show traces of gold; and placers have been found at many points, but have not proved sufficiently extensive to attract much attention. Gold is found in cen- tral Arizona, the ore yielding from $25 to $100 per ton. Iron in carbonates and oxides is abundant, and traces of tin and nickel exist. Platinum (metallic) is shown in the placers of the Black canon. Copper, silver, and quick- silver are found together in a rare combination, but the lode is not large. Lime of a superior quality exists in large quantities near Prescott and Tucson, and is found at other points. Beds of gypsum exist in the San Pedro valley. The salt mountains near Callville and a few miles E. of the Colorado are among the most remark- able formations in Arizona. The deposits of pure, transparent, and beautifully crystallized salt are very extensive, and no salt is superior for table and general use. Traces of coal have been discovered in this locality. The bullion product of Arizona for 1868 was estimated at $250,000; 1869, $1,000,000; 1870, $800,000. The climate is mild and generally healthful. In southern Arizona the temperature ranges from 34 to 118 F. The atmosphere is dry, and this region is singularly free from malarious diseases. Snow falls in central Arizona, but, excepting in the higher mountains, disappears in a few hours. The temperature in summer rarely exceeds 90, and seldom falls below zero in winter. Rain falls mainly in the months of July and August, but there are frequent showers in April and May, as well as in the winter months. The average fall of rain in southern Arizona for 1867 was 2-94 inches; 1866, 4'20; 1858, 8-57 ; 1857, 0>88. The climate of Ari- zona is said to be highly beneficial to those afflicted with bronchial or lung diseases. Ac- cording to the census of 1870, the total deaths in the territory for that year were 252, of which 116 resulted from general diseases, 71 from local diseases, 60 from accidents and in- juries, and 5 from poisons. Of the local dis- eases, 44 were diseases of the respiratory sys- tem and 15 of the digestive system. The vegetation of southern and western Arizona is scanty and limited to a few genera, such as cac- tus, aloe, artemisia, polo verde, ironwood, and mesquite, the last a remarkably hard wood. In the middle and N. E. portions of the terri- tory a more varied vegetation prevails. On the hills and mountain sides a rich and abun- dant pasturage is found. Pine and cedar forests abound ; while along the course of the streams ash, walnut, cherry, willow, cottonwood, and many other forest trees grow, and large oak trees are seen on the summits of some of the highest mountains in the Sierra Prieta. The