FEDERAL AND STATE RESERVATIONS 243 
which flow eastward into the Missouri and westward 
into the Columbia. They are vast mountain wilder- 
nesses. Extending north and south through Oregon 
and Washington there is a great plateau with many 
snow peaks. Although an extension of the Sierra 
Nevada Range of California, it is called in Oregon 
and Washington the Cascade Mountains. On the 
west side the climate is mild and extremely moist, 
and the vegetation, which is mainly coniferous, with 
the Douglas-fir predominating, is extremely luxu- 
riant. On the east side it is dry and more park-like 
in nature. It is used also extensively for pasturage. 
In Oregon the Cascade Reservation extends from 
the Columbia River southward almost to the southern 
boundary of the State. In these mountains numerous 
rivers flowing in both directions are fed by the melt- 
ing snows. The Cascade Reservation includes a part 
of Mount Hood (11,225 feet), with its glaciers and 
cascades. 
Not yet easily accessible is Crater Lake, on the 
summit of the Cascades. It is a huge abyss with 
walls from 1,000 to 2,000 feet in height, in which 
there is a lake of clear water with no apparent inlet 
or outlet. It is fresh and sweet, of a beautiful blue 
color, contains no fish, and is 2,000 feet deep, the 
deepest body of fresh water on the continent. 
On crossing the Columbia, we approach the first 
