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Glimpses of our National Monuments

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  • wcu_great_smoky_mtns-10675.jpg
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  • 20 OUR NATIONAL MONUMENTS It is hoped that the skeleton of a dinosaur may be worked out in relief, protected from the elements and left in position for the enlightenment and entertainment of the general public. One can conceive of no more impressive and instructive project than to permit the visitor to see partly uncovered and protruding from the surface and edges of the strata the skeleton of a monster lying where it was buried millions of years ago in deposits of mud and sand which are now shale or sandstone beneath thousands of feet of other beds from which the mountains and mesas of the region have been carved. Such a project was contemplated in a bill which Congressman Colton, of Utah, introduced in the Sixty-eighth Congress, but which failed of passage. The quarry is on top of a sharp ridge between two gulches. According to the theory advanced by most scientists who have visited the region many dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals must have floated down some ancient river, from a source unknown, and became inbedded in a sand bar. They lay for countless years until they were covered to great depth in the mud and sand. Then came an upheaval which forced the fossil bed to an upright position where it outcrops on the mountain tops. From the quarry at the top of Dinosaur Peak and from the peaks and ridges near-by the view is of much interest to the lover of the picturesque. The rock formations, upended, aggregating about 3 miles in thickness and representing deposits of millions of years, lie open to view, stratum on stratum of various colors and shades. High, rugged hills, deep gulches, sharp ridges, in the distance a picturesque river valley, rolling plains, bad lands, and many other physical features add to the attractions of the scene. The proclamation creating this monument, which is 80 acres in extent, was dated October 4, 1915. The Dinosaur Monument is easily reached by private automobile from Jensen, Utah, on the Victory Highway between Denver, Colo., and Salt Lake City. It is only a short side trip of 6 miles to the monument. The town of Vernal is located 12 miles west. The nearest rail approach is Watson, Utah, on the Uintah Railroad, a narrow gauge line connecting at Mack, Colo., with the main line of the Denver & Rio Grande Western. It is 54 miles by auto stage from Watson to Vernal. EL MORRO NATIONAL MONUMENT The El Mono National Monument, in west central New Mexico, contains an enormous varicolored sandstone rock rising about 200 feel out of a lava-strewn valley and eroded in such fantastic forms
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Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).