The so-called practicable road-passes are simply those portions of the
range more degraded by glacial action than the adjacent portions, and
degraded in such a way as to leave the summits rounded, instead of
sharp; while the peaks, from the superior strength and hardness of their
rocks, or from more favorable position, having suffered less
degradation, are left towering above the passes as if they had been
heaved into the sky by some force acting from beneath.
The scenery of all the passes, especially at the head, is of the wildest
and grandest description,--lofty peaks massed together and laden around
their bases with ice and snow; chains of glacier lakes; cascading
streams in endless variety, with glorious views, westward over a sea of
rocks and woods, and eastward over strange ashy plains, volcanoes, and
the dry, dead-looking ranges of the Great Basin. Every pass, however,
possesses treasures of beauty all its own.
Having thus in a general way indicated the height, leading features, and
distribution of the principal passes, I will now endeavor to describe
the Mono Pass in particular, which may, I think, be regarded as a fair
example of the higher alpine passes in general.
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