26 BOTANICAL SURVEY OF THE CCEUR D'ALENE MOUNTAINS. 



part of the larger valleys along their slack-water portion. In their 

 upper sections are circumscribed spots of meadow land here and there, 

 but the total amount of this is comparatively small. The narrow 

 lateral ravines which branch oft' from the larger valleys have practi- 

 cally none, and the hillsides are commonly too steep to utilize for these 

 purposes. 



Commencing with the St. Mary valley, we find some agricultural laud 

 along the valleys of its western tributaries. The largest and most 

 important of these is the Santianue, which has a length of about 22 

 kilometers (13.6 miles). The agricultural lands here consist of a strip 

 of meadow on both sides of the stream channel, averaging less than 

 500 meters (1,040 feet) in width. There are also some timbered bench 

 lands bordering the valley which by clearing can be made tillable. 

 The valleys of the other western tributaries of the St. Mary arc similar 

 in character, but have a much smaller area. The largest among these 

 is Emerald Creek. The streams putting into the St. Mary from the 

 east are mere rivulets and have no bottom lands. The lower portion 

 of the St. Mary near its junction with the St. Joseph is bordered for a 

 distance of 5 or kilometers (3.1 to 3.7 miles) along the slack-water 

 portion by a fertile strip of bottom land, which averages about 1.2 

 kilometers (0.75 mile) in width. Some parts of this are very swampy 

 and springy, and are not utilized. Above the slack w T ater the river 

 runs through a gorge excavated through the basalt for a distance of 

 about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles). Xo arable land is found here. Above 

 the gorge the valley widens and small patches of low meadow land 

 alternating with rocky bluffs line the stream. Further on, in the 

 upper part, the valley varies from 0.5 to 1.2 kilometers (0.30 to 0.75 

 mile) in width, and strips of meadow land alternating with willow and 

 poplar swamps make up the character of the bottoms. At elevations 

 varying from 20 to 40 meters (00 to 130 feet) above the river are 

 stretches of bench laud, comprising in the aggregate perhaps 12,000 

 or 15,000 acres. These are pretty generally timbered with a more or 

 less old and dense forest, varying in these respects with the severity 

 of the fires that have swept over them in the past. 



At a distance of 51 kilometers (31.7 miles) from its junction with the 

 St. Joseph the St. Mary divides into several forks. Here is found 

 the largest amount of agricultural land occurring in one body above 

 the slack-water portion of the river. There are about 500 acres of it. 

 Practically all the low-lying meadow lands and some of the timbered 

 bench lauds in the St. Mary valley below the forks and along its two 

 principal tributaries, the Santianue and Emerald ('reek, are occupied 

 by settlers. The settlements on the St. Mary do not extend above the 

 forks. There are no agricultural lands farther up the river. 



In the St. Joseph valley the bottom lands, from the outlet into Lake 

 Cceur d'Aleue to a distance of 22 kilometers (13.7 miles) up the river 

 are fertile meadow lands, but in some cases so low as to form perennial 



