TOPOGRAPHY 29 



head River at the outlet of the lake has cut its way toward its 

 junction with the Clark's Fork some sixty miles to the southwest. 



The second of these chains lies between the Mission Moun- 

 tains and the Divide, and between the Swan River and the 

 South Fork of the Flathead. It is called the Swan Range, is 

 somewhat longer than the Mission, merging at its southern end 

 with the plexus of ridges that form the three-way divide between 

 the waters of the Jocko, the Swan and the Blackf oot Rivers. It 

 is scarcely as high as the Mission Range in the southern portion, 

 but to the north sustains its elevation almost to the main chan- 

 nels of the Flathead River. Its peaks rise to 7000 feet more or 

 less and its sides are less precipitous than those of the Mission on 

 the west and of the main range on the east. It is practically 

 forested to the summit, but with here and there high, barren and 

 exposed ridges. 



Having considered the mountain chains which lie west of 

 the Divide, there remain to be considered two or three areas on 

 the eastern side which have a part in the problem. The first 

 of these lies mainly in the southwestern corner of the State, in 

 the forks of the Missouri and among the higher tributaries of 

 the Yellowstone. This group includes the Beartooth, the Absa- 

 roka and Gallatin mountains and some lesser ranges. The second 

 group includes the Big Belt the Little Belt, the Crazy and the 

 Snowy ranges and covers an area roughly 10,000 square miles 

 in extent in the central part of the State, in the great bend of 

 the Missouri, north of the Yellowstone and about the sources 

 of the Musselshell. The third comprises the Bear Paw Moun- 

 tains, the Sweet Grass Hills and lesser elevations in the northern 

 part about the sources of the Milk River. The special features 

 of these will be taken in order. 



The first group, embodying several ranges presents features 

 which seem to link it with the main backbone of the Rockies of 

 which it was apparently at one time a part. It includes lofty 

 and rugged peaks and deep, narrow gorges. The highest point 

 in Montana, Granite Peak, stands north of Yellowstone Park 

 and rises to an altitude of 12,847 feet. A high, plateau-like area 

 extends eastward, the Beartooth Plateau, furrowed, pitted and 

 covered by low buttes and rounded elevations. The plateau 

 varies from 10,000 to 12,000 feet in altitude, and slopes grad- 



