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bases of the buttes & ridges. A dwarf live oak 2 feet high form [[thickes?]] near Duran and Rhus trilobata is common. The surface rock is generally limestone and numerous large sink holes occur from Leoncita to Ilavo. There should be extensive caves. Cattle, horses & lots of sheep & a few goats were seen. At Torrence we change to the Santa Fe Central & turn north past the Gallinas Mts., a high timber covered range with lots of tall timber, yellow pine & probably other trees. Then the Mesa Jumanos follows along our left and on its highest North slope are tall trees, apparently yellow pine but rather distant. The Animas & Pedernal Hills mapped as over 1000 feet high on the contour map[[strikethrough]] pe [[/strikethrough]] & as an important range on the Land Office map do not exist. In their place is a level plain, sloping down to the Salt Basin. [[end page]] [[start page]] The Salt Basin is a great alkalie valley bounded on the wesst by the Manzano Mts., a high and heavily forested range. Numerous snow white salt basins were seen and much of the ground was white with alkalie. [[strikethrough]] S [[/strikethrough]] Atriplex canescens is abundant over the valley, also Guterrizia, Helianthella salt grass. At Willard the new line of the Santa Fe crosses and runs west between the Manzano Mts. & Mesa Jumanos. At Estancia we stopped for dinner & got a poor layout at a good price. Grass is poor, cattle are scarce and a few poor ranches have little growing or other visible property. Some sheep & few goats were seen. New ranches are being started & people seem to have faith in farming here by dry farming methods. Much of the soil is firm & rich and dry farming may succeed. The valley is level & very extensive. At Morarity the branch road runs west to Albuquerque. Open valley contours.
Transcription Notes:
'Morarity' = Moriarty - nwmath