10 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



Lamar River and most of its tributaries are inhabited by native 

 trout. The junction of Yellowstone and Lamar Rivers is noted for 

 fine fishing. Soda Butte is well stocked up to near its head, where 

 a waterfall keeps the fish back. According to Mr. Dinsmore, Fish 

 Lake, where the Bureau of Fisheries has for a number of years col- 

 lected native trout eggs and where in 1921 a small hatchery was 

 established, is a very remarkable water, with an area of only 75 

 acres. It contains a dense growth of vegetation, which in the late 

 summer blossoms near the surface. After sundown the fish, which 

 average about 2 pounds each, will come up out of the weeds and 

 take gray-hackle flies almost as fast as they can be placed upon the 

 water. 



Slough Creek is said to be well stocked with trout up to the lakes 

 at its head, only one of which, Lake Abundance, in Montana, con- 

 tains trout. 



Hellroaring Creek, w^hich joins the Yellowstone from the north 

 below the mouth of Lamar River, is abundantly supplied with native 

 trout in its lower part. 



The tributaries of the west side of the Yellowstone worthy of men- 

 tion all enter this river below the Grand Canyon. The uppermost 

 is Antelope Creek, which joins the river not far from the mouth of 

 Tower Creek. It contains native trout. Tower Creek, for almost 

 its whole length, is hidden in dense forests. Its current is swift, 

 and it is perhaps the coldest stream in the park, the summer tempera- 

 ture being about 45° F. Carnelian Creek is one of its upper branches. 

 About one-fourth mile from its mouth the creek forms a singularly 



f)icturesque, cjuite vertical fall of 132 feet, which is surrounded by 

 ofty towers of volcanic conglomerate. Below the falls is a deep 

 canyon, where the stream is about 10 feet wide and shallow. The 

 waters above the falls were barren previous to the introduction 

 of eastern brook, rainbow, and redthroat trouts. 



The lower tributaries of the Yellowstone in the park are Geode 

 Creek, Blacktail Deer Creek, and Gardiner River. Geode Creek is 

 small. Rainbow trout planted in it in 1909 have not since been 

 observed. Blacktail Deer Creek is a clear, rather cold (55° F.) 

 stream running largely through open pastures, with willows along 

 its course. It has no canyons or falls. Its bottom is of laval gravel 

 and rocks, with some water weeds. In summer it is usually 5 or 6 

 feet wide by 1 or 2 feet deep and is well stocked with native red- 

 throat trout and rainbow trout. Eastern brook trout were planted 

 in 1912, 1913, and 1914. 



GARDINER RIVER AND ITS BRANCHES. 



In the park Gardiner River may be said to be formed by two 

 branches, desi^ated on the maps as Lava Creek and Gardiner River, 

 but the latter is sometimes referred to as the "Middle Fork." 



Lava Creek is a clear, mountain stream in its upper course, flowing 

 through evergreen forests on the north side of the mountain range. 

 The stream is normally about 10 feet wide and 1 or 2 feet deep. 

 Toward its mouth it cuts its way into a broad, fiat shelf of lava, form- 

 ing two falls about one-tenth of a mile apart. The upper falls, called 

 Undine Falls, are vertical for about 30 f(H't, with two additional leaps 

 of about 20 and 10 feet. The lower falls are vertical and about 50 



