Douglass: A Geological Reconnaissance. 213 



knowledge of the country, and help a little toward the solution of some 

 perplexing problems. 



Some portions of the large extent of territory over which the route 

 lay have been the subject of detailed investigations. This is especi- 

 ally the case with Minnesota. The geology of North Dakota is now 

 being systematically studied by the state Geological Survey. The 

 geology of eastern Montana is still very imperfectly known. A few 

 expeditions in search of fossil plants and vertebrates have traversed 

 portions of the region, and formations from the Pierre shales to the 

 Fort Union have been recognized ; but in no case is the extent of the 

 areal distribution of the formations known. Some splendid scientific 

 work has been done by Hatcher and Stanton in tracing the Judith 

 and related formations, but much more work of the same kind ought 

 to be done. In western Montana we have the work of Dr. Hayden, 

 marvellously good for the time and circumstances under which it was 

 executed ; and some quadrangles have been mapped by the United 

 States Geological Survey. 



It is proposed in the first portion of this paper to give something of 

 a connected report of the physical features and geology of the country 

 which it imperfectly covers, so far as it has come under the observa- 

 tion of the writer, in the form of an itinerary, which, though based 

 on the route taken in 1905, includes observations made in former 

 years. This, it is hoped, may be of interest to inquiring residents in 

 the regions described, as well as a guide to those who are making geolog- 

 ical explorations. In the second part (p. 266) the geology will be 

 treated in a more systematic manner. The geology of the western 

 portion of Montana, with especial reference to the Tertiary deposits, 

 furnishes the subject of a more exhaustive memoir, which is not yet 

 completed. 



From St. Paul to North Dakota. 

 In going northwestward on the Great Northern Railroad, except in 

 a few isolated places, one sees little of the older rock in place, as the 

 surface of the country is mainly composed of different phases of the 

 glacial drift. The general aspect of the country is that of an undu- 

 lating plain, partly wooded and partly occupied by lakes, swamps, 

 and meadow-lands. There are moraines and glacial knolls, or hills, 

 but no high mounds, buttes, bluffs, or mountains. The river-valleys 

 are shallow, and there are few high cut-banks, except those made in 

 constructing the railroad. Much of the soil is light and sandy and the 



