NORTH DAKOTA 



4270 



NORTH DAKOTA 



sculptured into fantastic forms by fire, wind 

 and rain. Back from the streams the surface is 

 more level and . -y hollows are used 



i:i cold weather, the cattle gather 

 around th< se burning coal seams to keep warm. 



Rivers and Lakes. The eastern portion of 

 ; into Hudson Bay by the 

 Red River and its tributaries, the Sheyenne, 

 Goose and Pembina rivers, the latter entering 

 the main stream a little south of the Canadian 

 boundary. The Dakota, or James, River, flow- 

 ing 600 miles from the central plain of North 

 Dakota through South Dakota where it joins 

 the Missouri, drains the south-central part of the 

 state. It is unnavigable throughout most of its 

 length. The Mouse, or Souris River, enters the 

 north-central part of the state from Saskatche- 

 wan, and, doubling on its course, reenters 

 Canada in Manitoba and unites with the As- 

 siniboine. The western part of the state is 

 drained by the Missouri and its tributaries en- 

 tering it from the west, the most important of 

 these being the Little Missouri, which has a 

 course of 250 miles in the state; the Cannon 

 Ball, Heart and Knife rivers, and the Yellow- 

 stone, which joins it just within the western 

 boundary. 



The treeless prairies of the central region are 

 dotted with hundreds of small lakes, the largest 

 of which is Devils Lake, an irregular body of 

 brackish water, lying 1,467 feet above the sea, 

 its wooded shores being the most popular sum- 

 mer resort of the state. 



Climate. Owing to the excessive dryness of 

 the climate, the intense cold of North Dakota's 

 long winters is not felt as keenly as the cold 

 of the more humid latitudes farther south. The 

 winter temperature ranges from 5 F. to 12 F. 

 The snowfall is light, and cattle graze in the 

 open plains throughout the year, but frequent 

 blizzards from the northwest cause great dam- 

 age among unprotected flocks and herds. The 

 summers are cool and delightful, the average 

 temperature being about 65 F. In the mid- 

 summer there are sixteen hours of sunlight a 

 day. The rainfall is heaviest in the Red River 

 Valley, where it is sufficient for agricultural 

 purposes. The annual precipitation of the state 

 averages eighteen inches. This lack of humid- 

 ity renders all seasons healthful and invigorat- 

 ing. 



Agriculture. In the rich bottom land of the 

 Red River Valley is grown the greatest crop 

 of spring wheat produced in any section of the 

 United States. North Dakota leads all of the 

 states in the production of the "number 1 hard" 



variety, which ranks foremost in the wheat mar- 

 ket and makes the best quality of flour. This 

 state also ranks iirst in the Union in the pro- 

 duction of flaxseed. Oats, barley, hay, corn, 

 potatoes and rye are other important crops 

 which give North Dakota fourteenth place 

 among the agricultural states of the Union. 



Beyond the Red River Valley, the land is 

 better suited to ranching, and North Dakota 

 is among the important live-stock states. The 

 central and western prairie lands of wild grasses 

 afford excellent pasture and winter feed. The 

 total value of the live stock of the state in 1916 

 was estimated at $138,311,000. The millions 

 of acres of unappropriated land are rapidly be- 

 ing taken up by "homesteaders," and many of 

 the large ranches of the west are being con- 

 verted into small farms with the increasing use 

 of irrigation. Most of the irrigation is con- 

 fined to the Missouri River Valley. The bed 

 of the river being too far below the surround- 

 ing country to permit the usual gravity meth- 

 ods of irrigation, deep gulches are cut, into 

 which the water flows intermittently, and floods 

 the surrounding country. Water for irrigation 

 purposes in the south and east is furnished by 

 the numerous artesian wells of that section. 

 The forested area of the state is very small, 

 the only wooded regions being in the Pembina 

 and Turtle mountains, and on the borders of 

 Devils Lake and the Missouri River. 



Minerals. The state is of little importance 

 in the production of metals, and its only im- 

 portant mineral product is lignite coal. The 

 entire southwest section is underlaid with thin 

 beds of this half-made coal. This lignite (the 

 soft coal of Germany) has proved of great value 

 to the settlers of the vast, treeless areas, where 

 no other fuel is to be found. As a source of 

 cheap power it furnishes fuel for the large irri- 

 gation plants in the western part of the state. 

 Clay used in the manufacture of brick and pot- 

 tery, natural gas, sand, gravel and some com- 

 mercial mineral waters are produced. The 

 total value of the minerals produced annually 

 in the state is about $1,000,000, two-thirds of 

 which is the value of coal. 



Manufactures. The only manufactures find- 

 ing a market outside of the state are the flour 

 mill and gristmill products, brick and pottery. 

 White wheat flour is the most important prod- 

 uct of the mills, which also produce large quan- 

 tities of offal, feed, grits, Graham flour, corn 

 meal and rye flour. Dickinson and Hebron 

 manufacture pressed brick of excellent quality. 

 Printing and publishing and the making of but- 



