Colorado Geological Survey

PHYSIOGRAPHY
cally from the valley bottom; west of the river glacial boulders are found
at practically all, elevations between the river land the cirques near the
top of the Sawatch Range. Many glacial lakes are found between the valley
and the crest of the range. Near Pando rocks show smoothing bymoving
ice, and roches moutonnees are very common in Homestake Gulch.
Two large glaciers have moved through the region, and converged or
followed nearly the same path at and from a point about two miles northwest
of Pando. One started near Fremont Pass in the Tenmile district,
moved westward north of Chalk Mountain, and down the valley of Eagle
River. There is good evidence that the greater part of the ice moved
northwestward through the valley now followed by the highway north of
Pando (Fig. 5), and not through the present valley of Eagle River where
it bends to the right between Coal and Silver creeks. However, nearly
Figure 5. Glaciated valley connecting Eagle and Homestake valleys, looking
northwest; shows also dip slope of Sawatch quartzite in background
all the hill between Eagle River and Homestake Creek nas been glaciated,
and considerable morainal material is found close to Eagle River south of
Red Cliff. A larger glacier headed high on the slopes of the S'awatch
Range, moved down through Homestake Gulch, and scoured out the gulch
to a depth of about 1,000 feet and to a width of a quarter of a mile. Midway
between Pando and Red Cliff it joined the Eagle glacier, or followed
the path of the Eagle glacier from this point northward. Other glaciers
came into Eagle Valley north of the Homestake glacier. Both the Homestake
and Eagle glaciers eroded their valleys to a depth considerably below
the pre-glacial level. This is shown by the many hanging valleys, of which
one is Yoder Gulch Where the creek forms a waterfall near the railroad
(Fig. 6). Eagle Canyon between Homestake Creek and Rock Creek
has evidently been much deepened by stream erosion since the glaciers
melted. (See also interpretation by M. R. Campbell in Bulletin 707, U. S.
Geological Survey, p. 115.) i
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