CO - Wells Gulch: Narrative and Environmental Setting

 By Mark Henderson and Rachel Preston Prinz

Summary 

The Wells Gulch Trail segment of the North Branch of the Old Spanish Trail (1829-1848) runs through Western Colorado  - from the treacherous crossing of the Gunnison River (historic name: Uncompahgre River (1853) or Grand River during the mid 19^th Century) five miles west of Delta, northwest across the arid dissected uplands on the east side of the Gunnison River, to a perennial water source on the south side of Deer Creek about 17 miles southeast of Grand Junction.  The Wells Gulch Trail segment qualifies under Criterion A for listing on the National Register of Historic Places for its association “with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history.”   This section of the North Branch of the Old Spanish National Trail is inextricably tied to the Ute Indian trading enterprise of Antoine Robidoux (1825-1844).  The Uncompahgre River corridor was established as a trapper trail from New Mexico – not primarily to California, but to the northern Great Basin and Columbia River - and was closely associated with the commercial trapping and merchant ventures of the Robidoux and Bent families based in St. Louis and Taos.   By 1853 the Uncompahgre River drainage section of the “North Branch,” in which Wells Gulch is located, was promoted as “the Central Route” of an emigrant wagon route to intercept the “Spanish Trail” near the crossing of the Colorado River at modern day Green River, Utah, as described by the US Government Railroad Survey completed by Gunnison and the posting of Edward Fitzgerald Beale as US Indian Agent in California (Beckwith 1853, Heap 1853)]. The resources within the Wells Gulch Trail segment measuring about eleven miles include four contributing sites and four contributing structures; non-contributing resources. 

Environmental setting

The Wells Gulch trail segment is located in the Colorado Plateaus physiographic province (Loomis 1937) and also the Colorado Plateaus Ecoregion (US EPA 2011).

The Wells Gulch segment ranges  from just under 5000 feet to almost 5400 feet in elevation.  It is characterized as a bench between the steep slopes of the southern point of Grand Mesa (on the east) and the Dominguez Rim escarpment (on the west) overlooking the Gunnison River, and is generally referred to as “the Adobe Badlands” (USDI BLM 1987:3-35).  This corridor crosscuts western trending fingers of Mancos Shale capped by terrace and pediment gravels, including basalt boulders originating from Grand Mesa with armour eroded side slopes (Ellis and Gabaldo 1989).  Vegetation is generally classified as desert shrub dominated by salt-tolerant low growing shadscale (Atriplex confertifolia), mat saltbrush (Atriplex corrugata) and black greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus).  Native grass is galleta (Hilaria jamesii), but is decreasing with the expansion of flash fuel fire adapted invasive, non-native cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum).  Prickly pear (Opuntia sp.) is also encountered in low frequencies, particularly in western and southern exposures (USDI BLM 1987:2-8).

In the foreground of the Wells Gulch trail segment the most notable natural geographic features are a series of drainages descending from Grand Mesa on the northeast to the Gunnison River on the Southwest.  Proceeding downstream (southeast to northwest) these named drainages are: Akalai Creek, an unamed drainage at “730 Road,” Wells Gulch, Beaver Gulch, and Windy Creek which flows into Deer Creek before entering the Gunnison River.  These drainages and parallel ridges form the primary natural obstacles which affect the design of the transportation routes.

In the mid-distance for the traveller down the route are several important geographic features:

Gunnison River (parallels treadway alignment between ¾ to 2 ½ miles west southwest).  The Gunnison River (called the Grand River by Heap and the Uncompahgre by Beckwith) flows northwesterly from a bed on the Entrada and Chinle Formations at 4875’ at the eastern end to 4725’ at the northwestern paralleling the transportation corridor.  The eastern margin of the river channel is marked by the cliff forming Dakota Sandstone.  The current and historic transportation corridor is in a shallow valley of soft Mancos Shale and quaternary deposits at the toe of the Grand Mesa pediment offset ¾ to 2 ½ miles to the northeast of the river. 

Dominguez Rim .  The Dakota sandstone cliffs, known locally as the “Dominguez Rim” rise 400 to 500 feet above and forming the northeast margin of the Gunnison River.

In the background forming the skyline are a number of notable regional landforms which are described in the geologic literature (for example Chronic 1980, Mutel and Emerick 1984):

Grand Mesa (Bearing 8.6° North to 72° East and 8.25 to 9 miles distant).  The dominant geographic feature from the Wells Gulch segment is Grand Mesa (known historically as “Elk Mountain” by Beckwith (1855) and “Pareamoot” (Heap-date).  Grand Mesa (at just over 10,000 feet in elevation) rises over 5000’ above the level of the trail corridor and the Gunnison River (4750 feet in elevation).  Grand Mesa is capped by 10 million year old Tertiary basalt lava flow which prevented erosion of the soft underlying mesolithic shale and sandstone making this the largest flat topped mountain (“mesa”) in the world.   “Indian Point” is the southwestern-most extent of Grand Mesa, at the head of the “Indian Trail” marked on the 1882 General Land Office township survey map.  “Point Peninsula” is the name applied to the southeastern-most extension of Grand Mesa.

Uncompahgre Plateau (Bearing 170 ° South to 260° West and 50 to 25 miles distant).  Forming the horizon and gently ascending to almost 10,000 feet to the southwest is the Uncompahgre Plateau, capped by erosion resistant early Cretaceous Dakota Sandstone .  Drainages flowing to the Gunnison river to the northeast dissect the pediment of the “plateau.”

San Juan Mountains (Mt. Sneffels 160° south southeast, 55 miles distant ).  Rising to over 14,000 feet, Mt. Sneffels is the most distinctive peak in the San Juan Mountains cluster as viewed from the Wells Gulch segment.  The San Juan Mountain Peaks are composed of highly resistent metamorphosed PreCambrian age rocks which form a very complex drainage pattern that is very difficult for humans to traverse.  The “Main Route” of the Old Spanish Trail passes to the south and west of the San Juan Mountains, where the “North Branch” passes to the north.

Book Cliffs and Roan Cliffs (Bearing 350° north north east to 305° northwest, 20 miles to 65 miles distant).  Named for their “stacked” (Book Cliffs) and coloring (Roan Cliffs), the Book Cliffs sit stratigraphically (Cretaceous Mancos Shale) below the Roan Cliffs (Tertiary Green River Shale).   Viewed from the Wells Gulch corridor the Book Cliffs crest rises as much as 2000 feet above the Colordo River floor (at 4700 feet) and the Roan Cliffs (7000 feet), set back from the Book Cliffs which crest at about 8500 feet).