1936] MAMMALS AND LIFE ZONES OF OREGON 7 



number of Rocky Mountain species of plants and animals occur. 

 The main peaks rise to sharp pinnacles, 9,000 to 9,800 feet in 

 altitude. The highest shown on the Forest Service contour map is 

 the Matterhorn which reaches above the 9,800-foot level. Eagle Cap 

 (pi. 5), formerly supposed to be still higher, is given as 9,675 feet; 

 and Petes Point and Aneroid Point near Aneroid Lake are shown 

 as reaching above the 9,600-foot contour. 



The peaks are sharp and jagged, separated by steep, ice-eaten 

 cirques and upper slopes and deeply cut canyons. Extensive fields of 

 permanent ice and snow persist on the high cold slopes, and one small 

 glacier still clings to the declivity between Eagle Cap and Sentinel 

 Peak. The many glacier-hewn valleys with numerous lateral and 

 terminal moraines and many lake beds scooped out of the solid rock 

 are conspicuous features of the landscape. Wallowa Lake at about 

 4,500 feet on the northern side of the range is an especially beautiful 

 example of a glacial scoop, deep, long, and narrow, with high lateral 

 and terminal moraines. Higher up some of the numerous small lakes 

 in rocky basins close to the snow banks are frozen over for the 

 greater part of the year, but during the summer they send down 

 torrents of ice-cold water. 



The Wallowa Mountains are well supplied with permanent streams 

 that cut their way down through deep and picturesque canyons to the 

 Snake River on the east, the Powder River on the south, and the 

 Grand Roncle on the north. Most of the canyon walls are of basalt 

 or other rocks of volcanic origin, but in many places on the south and 

 east slopes the older geological formations are exposed. Some of 

 these are rich in valuable minerals. 



While most of the Blue Mountain Plateau is covered with 

 splendid forests, the higher parts of the range reach near or above 

 timber line and are barren or but sparingly wooded. 



The Elkhorn (or Baker) Range, rising abruptly west of Baker 

 City, is similar in general character to the Wallowa Mountains but 

 slightly lower and less rugged. The highest peak, formerly known 

 as " Rock Creek Butte " but changed by the Geographic Board of 

 Oregon to " Hunt Mountain " in honor of Wilson Price Hunt, leader 

 of the John Jacob Astor party in 1811 and so far as known the first 

 white man to see the peak, is given on the Geological Survey quad- 

 rangle as 9,097 feet in altitude. Many other points are almost as 

 high, and the crest of the range is well above timber line, with bare 

 peaks and upper slopes snow patched even in late summer. 



The high part of the range consists largely of crystalline, sedi- 

 mentary, and metamorphic rocks, including many ore-bearing forma- 

 tions, but the surrounding country is a part of the Blue Mountain 

 Plateau. 



The Siskiyou Mountains, on the southwestern border of the State, 

 represent one of the geologically very old land formations. They 

 are composed largely of granite, quartz, limestone, marble, sandstone 

 shales, and various metamorphic rocks. On the west they extend 

 down to the coast and locally yield valuable deposits of gold and 

 other minerals. Siskiyou Peak at 7,662 feet and Sterling Peak at 

 7,150 feet reach slightly above timber line on their northern slopes. 

 The higher parts of the mountains are steep and deeply eroded, 

 numerous long narrow spurs or ridges winding down between deep 



