The University of Colorado Studies Volume 3; General Series A. (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1906 Excerpt: ...genetically, distinct. Scudder has shown that, while the fossil insect fauna exhibits distinct tropical affinities, there is also a very definite relation to the present insect fauna of the region. The latter relation applies also to the fossil and recent flora. The fluctuation in climate since Eocene time has been much greater than indicated by the difference in plant and animal life as shown by the fossils of Florissant. The glacial epoch has intervened, during which time, although glaciers apparently did not actually reach this valley, they were in such close proximity and so extensive through the higher mountains that the climate was probably considerably colder than now, and differed in other respects, such as precipitation, relative humidity, etc., from that of either Tertiary time or the present day. Many giant fossil Sequoia stumps and logs are found in the southern part of the lake basin. These have been visited by hundreds of tourists, and large quantities of the "petrified wood" have been carried away by relic-hunters. Several years ago an effort was made to cut the largest stump into three or four sections for transportation and exhibition, but the attempt met with failure, and portions of the broken saws still remain in the stump. A photograph of one of these stumps is reproduced in Fig. 3. It was long ago pointed out that the drainage and destruction of the lake were probably brought about by the tilting of the region from the southeast, reversing the drainage and causing the lake to overflow its northwestern rim and cut down its barrier at that end. It is believed that the valley formerly drained southward into the Arkansas River, but now, with the exception of the extreme southern portion, the drainage is westward into the South Pl...