Ruin on Leaning Pinnacle

The author’s limited visit to this region made it impossible to record all the various shapes of eroded pinnacles bearing buildings found in Hill Canyon, but one of the most remarkable of these foundations was observed to lean very perceptibly to one side ([pl. 13]) so that one side of the ruin barely falls within the line of stable equilibrium. The top of this leaning pinnacle was inaccessible, the height being about 50 feet from the base, which rose from a narrow ridge over 200 feet above the plain. The author’s idea of the ground plan and character of the masonry in this ruin is limited to what could be seen from the road, but its general appearance from that distance is the same as the preceding ruin.

In this account the author has mentioned a few of the more prominent mushroom rock ruins, confining himself to those which can be observed in a hurried visit to the canyon. It is undoubtedly true, as reported by several cowboys, that the side canyons, difficult of access, concealed many others which a longer visit would bring to light. The characteristics of the ruin crowned pinnacles, or leaning buttresses of rock in Hill Canyon are shown in [plate 13].