Bass Station and Bright Angel Wash. Leaving El Tovar (elevation six
thousand eight hundred and sixty-six feet), the road winds for over, five
miles through the Coconino Forest, mainly following the railway track until
Bass Station appears (elevation six thousand four hundred and seventeen
feet). The road now enters a narrow defile known as the Bright Angel Wash,
giving one a fine opportunity to learn the singular drainage system of the
Canyon plateau, which, as has been explained elsewhere, is away from the
Canyon for many miles. The Wash is picturesque and rugged, the side walls
occasionally appearing as bare masses of rock, and again covered with
fertile soil on which grow great pines, also ferns, mosses and flowers. The
road is fairly easy, and the horses travel well. Six and a half miles away,
the Coconino (Kohonino) Wash is passed on the left. A little further on,
the Canyon widens somewhat, and a rude meadow, occasionally filled with
rich and luscious natural grass, is crossed, after which the road makes a
slight ascent to the plateau, and more open country is reached.
Over the Plateau. From this point, the ride is diversified. There are no
steep hills, but the road aims directly for its objective point, taking the
visitor through growths of pinion,--from which the Indians gather the
delicious pine nuts,--juniper,--from the crushed berries of which they make
a sweet and refreshing drink,--and over levels where rich grama grass grows
side by side with the cactus, the amole and the yucca, brightened and
vivified by the Indian paintbrush, sunflowers, lupines and scores of other
gorgeously colored flowers.
Midway between Bass Station and Bass Camp, ten miles each way, the road
passes a United States Geological Survey monument, which records the fact
that here the plateau is six thousand three hundred and seventy-two feet
above sea level.
The Surrounding Mountains. On the journey, glimpses are had of the San
Francisco peaks, and Mounts Sitgreaves, Kendricks, and Floyd, while, in the
far-away west and south, the blue ridges of the plateau, descending to the
lower levels, are clearly discernible. To the north and west, Mounts Emma
and Trumbull and other peaks of the Uinkarets appear like deep blue clouds
on the horizon. They lie on the further side of the Canyon, and are seen
more distinctly from Bass Camp.
Hotouta Amphitheatre. When fifteen miles from El Tovar, the first gaze into
the Canyon is afforded at Hotouta Amphitheatre, a deep indentation in the
walls of the south rim. The road here runs close to the rim. This
amphitheatre receives its name from Hotouta, the son of Navaho, the last
great Havasupai chief. Hotouta was an enlightened Indian, friendly to the
better class of whites, clear-headed and honorable in his dealings with
them.
The Cisterns. Thence to Bass Camp the drive is entirely through pinions and
junipers. About a mile before the destination is reached, the road passes
"The Cisterns," where the horses are watered.
Bass Camp. Bass Camp consists of one small central building, containing a
dining-room, sitting-room, kitchen and several bedrooms. Around are
tent-houses and tents for the further accommodation of guests, with stable
and saddle-house, etc. Almost immediately in front of the main building the
trail begins.
Powell Plateau and Dutton Point. Taking a seat at the head of the trail,
let us now give our undivided attention to the scene spread out before us.
The predominating feature is the great uplift of the opposite wall, and the
aggressiveness of its salient promontory. Here is a break in the continuity
of the wall of the Kaibab Plateau. This break affords an immediate view of
the highest portions of the Canyon's walls. To the right of the break is
the Kaibab Plateau, its highest portion being eight thousand three hundred
feet above sea level. To the left is Powell Plateau, seven thousand six
hundred and fifty feet elevation. The great point, nearest to us, was named
Dutton Point, after the poet-geologist, whose monograph on the Canyon will
ever be a memorial to his love of the place, his scientific accuracy of
observation, and his poetic eloquence of description. It is between Kaibab
and Powell Plateaus that Bass's Trail to Point Sublime climbs its
circuitous and winding way,--this portion being called "The Saddle." The
dark growths which crown the plateaus are in reality pine trees, which, on
the north rim of the Canyon, attain immense size. They, and lesser tree
growths, descend to the bottom of the second mass of talus.
The Rocks of the North Wall. The rock bands on the opposite walls, a large
part of the way down, are like those found on the same north wall seen from
El Tovar. First there is the band of cherty limestone, from which a sloped
talus leads to the creamy sugary sandstone. Immediately below this begins
the "red," which descends in strata of varying width and color down to a
rather narrow-appearing slope of red talus, which leads the eye to the
widest member of all the Grand Canyon strata. This is the so-called
red-wall limestone. All these strata, from the rim down, are said to be in
the Upper and Lower Carboniferous Systems.
Below this majestic wall appear the variegated strata of the Cambrian, in
grays, buffs, olives, greens and yellows.
The Tilts. Now we see a large exposure of the nonconformable strata, which,
on account of their very markedly tilted condition, have been named "The
Tilts." Below this is found the Archaean rock.
It is hard for any but the well-trained observer to realize that
practically the same conditions that exist on the north wall, exist on the
south wall, directly under his feet, except that the Algonkian is absent.
The talus shuts off the view, and it seems impossible that there can be
such great precipice walls as the opposite mural face reveals. It is not as
high, however, on this side as it is on the other, by fully one thousand
six hundred and fifty feet. The difference is caused by the great upthrust
in the earth's crust, which detached Powell's Plateau from the Kaibab
Plateau.
One may approximately estimate the various strata of the wall of the Kaibab
as follows:
Colorado River, say. . . 2400 feet above sea level
Archaean . . . . . . . . 1000 " thick
Algonkian . . . . . . . 1100 " "
Cambrian . . . . . . . . 1000 " "
Carboniferous . . . . . 2750 " "
---------
Total level above sea. . 8250
Bass Tomb or Holy Grail Temple. The great north wall is not featureless.
There are a number of architectural forms, of wonderfully varied shape,
resting upon bases of massive solidity. The most striking of these is a
squarebased monumental mass,--Holy Grail Temple, formerly Bass Tomb,--on
which rests a well-shaped pyramid, crowned with a red and white circular
shaft. The whole butte is well proportioned, having a base of sixteen
square miles, and rising to a height of six thousand seven hundred and ten
feet.
King Arthur Castle. Slightly to the east of it is another majestic butte,
inferior only in size. The crowning shaft is missing here, but a
castellated structure of red rock suitably dominates it. It bears the name
King Arthur Castle, and is seven thousand three hundred and fifteen feet
elevation.
Guinevere Castle. Still further to the east a winding ridge of rock,
standing over one of the many oblique gorges within the main gorge, leads
up to a third dominating figure of rock sculpture. This is Guinevere
Castle, seven thousand two hundred and fifty-five feet.
Huethawali. Now let the eye rest upon the objects immediately before it,
and more in the center of the Canyon. The chief object is an almost
detached mountain, crowned with irregular cross-bedded layers of white
sandstone. The Indians call this mountain Hue-tha-wa-li, (the final "i"
being pronounced as "e,") which signifies White Rock Mountain. This is now
the name they give to Bass Camp, and the Havasupais at El Tovar, who are
starting for their Canyon home, will often remark: "We go Huethawali
tonight." Its elevation is six thousand two hundred and eighty feet.
Darwin Plateau. The main plateau before us is named Darwin Plateau, after
the learned evolutionist. Take this plateau as a rude and misshapen hand,
imagine the thumb and little finger gone, and it will be seen that the
other three fingers radiate from Darwin Plateau in the shape of three
irregularly contoured, but fairly level plateaus, Huethawali resting like a
great wart upon the base of the middle one of the three. To these plateaus
have been given the following names: the one to the right is Grand Scenic
Divide, the middle one is named Huxley Terrace, and the one to the left
(the west) is Spencer Terrace.
For a few moments let us look at each of these plateaus, and grasp such
features as the eyes may observe.
Grand Scenic Divide and Dick Pillar. Grand Scenic Divide was so named
because it is the point where the granite of the Inner Gorge disappears
from the Grand Canyon, and this disappearance makes as vast and wonderful a
difference in the Canyon scenery as it is possible to find in its whole two
hundred and seventeen miles of length. To the right of the Divide,
looking eastward, where the granite is still in evidence, one can see the
temples, buttes and towers that make the view from El Tovar and Grand View
Points so interesting. Looking westward, the whole aspect changes, so
markedly, indeed, that one scarcely can believe it to be the same Canyon.
Hence the appropriateness of the name. At the extreme end of this plateau,
a detached rocky pillar stands peering down into the deepest recesses of
the Inner Gorge. This bears the name Dick Pillar, from Robert Dick, the
baker-geologist of Thurso, Scotland, who gave such material assistance to
Hugh Miller in his studies of the Old Red Sandstone.
Huxley Terrace. Huxley Terrace is the center plateau. At its end is an
eroded mass of red sandstone, to which the name of the noted naturalist and
evolutionist, Wallace, has been attached. Still nearer the end, and
belonging to the marble wall, is a pagoda named Tyndall Dome.
Spencer Terrace. Spencer Terrace is the most western of the plateaus, and
is where the Mystic Spring used to be, which for many years gave its name
to Bass's Trail--the Mystic Spring Trail.
These three plateaus vary in width from a quarter of a mile to over a mile
wide; they are dotted with what seem to be patches of grass, but which in
reality are juniper and pinion trees from ten to forty feet in height.
Terraces of the Explorers. About a quarter of a mile to the west of Bass
Camp is the amphitheatre in which my earlier book, "In and Around the Grand
Canyon," and a large part of the present book were written. From this
restful spot I have looked out thousands of times across the great bend of
the river and Garnet Canyon to the five terraces named after the early-day
Spanish explorers, Marcos, De Vaca, Tovar, Alarcon, and Garces.
Points of the Explorers. To the west stands out Chemehuevi Point, six
thousand six hundred and twenty-six feet, while across the river,
terminating Powell Plateau, are Wheeler Point, six thousand seven hundred
and fifty feet, and just beyond it Ives Point, six thousand six hundred
feet.
To the north of Ives Point, but hidden from view, are Beale Point, six
thousand six hundred and ninety-five feet, Thompson Point, six thousand
seven hundred and thirty feet, and Newberry Point, six thousand seven
hundred and fifty feet, all named after early Arizona explorers and
geologists.
Conquistadore Aisle and Steamboat Mountain. The dark chasm of the river
itself, where it moves almost due west, has been named Conquistadore Aisle,
in honor of the men whose names are attached to the terraces above. Here
the river again curves, and its course is seen to be to the northeast, as
if doubling behind Powell Plateau. It then turns back upon itself, and goes
to the southwest. If the conditions are favorable, one may see, to the left
of Ives Point, a majestic butte, detached from the further wall of the
Canyon, and generally known as Steamboat Mountain. It is an object of great
interest, when seen from the saddle on the north rim by those who have
crossed the Canyon and are journeying to Point Sublime.
The Scenic Divide. Now let the observer compare the view to the left with
that which he has carefully examined on the right. There, in the latter
view, are towers and buttes, detached monuments, and a perfect bewilderment
of scenic features; here, to the left, save for the aisles, terraces and
further wall, there is little to attract attention. The view,
comparatively, is uninteresting. The reason for this is clear. The granite
of the Inner Gorge has disappeared. Here is the Scenic Divide, the natural
line of demarcation between two distinctive portions of the Canyon, the
scenery of which is markedly diverse. Where the granite is in evidence, the
stratified rocks resting upon it are carved into varied forms: Where the
river flows through the stratified rocks, and no granite appears, there are
few or no buttes, no towers, no monuments. Nowhere else, in the accessible
portions of the Canyon, is this difference seen, for at Grand View, the
head of the old Hance Trail, the Red Canyon Trail, Boucher's and the Bright
Angel Trails, the outlooks are over areas where the granite has thrust
itself out of the bowels of the earth.
Bass's Cable Crossing. The ride down Bass's Trail is an interesting one,
passing on the way two prehistoric water-pockets and several
cliff-dwellings. On the plateau below, forty miles of trail riding, almost
on the level, may be indulged in, before one descends the narrow Canyon to
Bed Rock Camp and the river. Here a ferry and cable crossing have been
established, the former for use during low water, while, after the flood
season begins, the latter enables travelers and stock to make a safe
passage in the cage suspended from the cable.