6 Visher, Birds of Harding County, South Dakota. [jan" 



part of the county. The Cave Hills Forest Reserve covers over 

 23,000 acres. (2) Slim Buttes. This much dissected ridge extends 

 for about twenty-five miles from almost the south line northward, 

 and within a few miles of the eastern edge of the county. The 

 Slim Buttes Reserve covers about 58,000 acres. (3) The East 

 and West Short Pine Hills (Forest Reserve covers 23,000 acres) 

 lie in the southwestern portion of the county. (4) The Long Pine 

 Hills are west of the Little Missouri River and mostly in Montana, 

 but differ from the Short Pines only in 'being larger and more 

 heavily forested. 



The large streams of the area are: (1) The Little Missouri River 

 which flows northward into North Dakota almost across the 

 county and near its western border. It is ordinarily but a small, 

 shallow and swift stream. (2) The North Fork of the Grand 

 River, along the north edge of the area. The South Fork drains 

 most of the county. It flows eastward from near the center of the 

 region. (3) The North Fork of the Moreau River flows east from 

 the Short Pine Hills. The only other flowing streams are one or 

 two short brooks in each of the forested buttes. The larger 

 creeks have permanent water holes. After heavy rains, pools, 

 usually but a few inches deep, are formed in blow-outs on the 

 plains. The year 1910, until August 15, was unusually dry. 



The vegetal covering of most of the area is that of a steppe, low 

 'buffalo' grasses and scattered perennials and annuals. On the 

 'tables' of the buttes and along the flood plains of the streams a 

 ranker growth of grass is found. Along the streams are groves or 

 individual trees of cottonwood, box-elder, willow or ash, or thickets 

 of buffalo-berry, etc. The largest groves are in the Little Missouri 

 Valley near Camp Crook, which is in the central western part of 

 the county. Trees are almost lacking along the Grand and 

 Moreau Rivers. The canons of the higher buttes are more or 

 less filled with groves of the deciduous trees mentioned above and 

 thickets of plum, hawthorn, choke-cherry, etc. The slopes of the 

 high buttes are largely covered with western yellow pine (Pin us 

 ponderosa scopulorum). The terraces of the streams, especially 

 in the western part of the county, are covered with sage-brush. 

 The local badlands present thickets of cedar and patches of juniper 

 as well as sage-brush and grease-wood. 



