The traveler in passing through the country never gets entirely out of
the sight of mountains. They rise up all about him and bound the
horizon near and far in every direction. In riding along he always
seems to be approaching some distant mountain barrier that ever recedes
before him as he advances. He is never clear of the encircling
mountains for, as often as he passes out of one enclosure through a gap
in the mountains, he finds himself hemmed in again by a new one. The
peculiarity of always being in the midst of mountains and yet never
completely surrounded, is due to an arrangement of dovetailing or
overlapping in their formation. His winding way leads him across
barren wastes, through fertile valleys, among rolling hills and into
sheltered parks, which combine an endless variety of attractive scenery.
An Arizona landscape, though mostly of a desert type, is yet full of
interest to the lover of nature. It presents a strangely fascinating
view, that once seen, will never be forgotten. It stirs a rapture in
the soul that only nature can inspire.
Looking out from some commanding eminence, a wide spreading and
diversified landscape is presented to view. Though hard and rugged,
the picture, as seen at a distance, looks soft and smooth and its
details of form and color make an absorbing study.
The eye is quick to note the different hues that appear in the field of
vision and readily selects five predominating colors, namely, gray,
green, brown, purple and blue, which mingle harmoniously in various
combinations with almost every other color that is known. The most
brilliant lights, sombre shadows, exquisite tints and delicate tones
are seen which, if put on canvas and judged by the ordinary, would be
pronounced exaggerated and impossible by those unfamiliar with the
original.
The prevailing color is gray, made by the dry grass and sandy soil, and
extends in every direction to the limit of vision. The gramma grass of
the and region grows quickly and turns gray instead of brown, as
grasses usually do when they mature. It gives to the landscape a
subdued and quiet color, which is pleasing to the eye and makes the
ideal background in a picture.
Into this warp of gray is woven a woof of green, spreading in irregular
patches in all directions. It is made by the chaparral, which is
composed of a variety of desert plants that are native to the soil and
can live on very little water. It consists of live oak, pinion,
mesquite, desert willow, greasewood, sage brush, palmilla, maguey,
yucca and cacti and is mostly evergreen.
The admixture of gray and green prevails throughout the year except
during the summer rainy season, when, if the rains are abundant, the
gray disappears almost entirely, and the young grass springs up as by
magic, covering the whole country with a carpet of living green. In
the midst of the billowy grass myriads of wild flowers bloom, and stand
single or shoulder to shoulder in masses of solid color by the acre.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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