6 FIELD OPERATIONS OP THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1916. 



depressions with no definite or continuous channel. Along the lower 

 courses of the larger draws, however, the valleys are sharply cut into 

 the plain and are defined on their outer edges by steep slopes or 

 bluffs, which in a few places are rugged and barren of soil. The 

 floors of the small valleys, however, are comparatively wide and 

 nearly level, due to partial filling with alluvium. Small, isolated, 

 level-topped hills or buttes and low, rounded knolls seldom more 

 than 20 to 50 feet above tne general level of the surrounding lower 

 lying areas are features of the upland plain. These appear to be 

 erosion forms, and their presence seems to be due to a capping of 

 local beds of hard rock. There are also numerous slight basins or 

 depressions without drainage outlets scattered over the table-land. 

 These are all shallow, lying 20 to 50 feet below the surrounding land, 

 and vary in size from 2 or 3 to about 1,000 acres. They appear to 

 represent original depressions in the constructional plain, but have 

 probably been increased in size by wind erosion. 



The general elevation of the county varies from about 4,800 to 

 5,300 feet above sea level, and the general slope of the plain is east- 

 ward. The drainage is principally through Lodgepole Creek, the 

 only stream of importance in the county and a tributary of South 

 Platte River. A small area in the extreme northern part of the 

 county is drained by Rocky Hollow, which flows into Lawrence Fork, 

 a small tributary emptying into North Platte River. Short tribu- 

 tary branches, or draws, occur throughout the uj^land, and the region 

 is one of very light rainfall, so that no part of the county is poorly 

 drained, except some of the low bottom land along Lodgepole Creek. 

 The draws are dry throughout the year, except immediately after 

 occasional heavy rainstorms. Lodgepole Creek has a small flow of 

 water. It is a perennial stream, although for a few miles of its 

 course in the eastern part of the county it disappears beneath the 

 sand and gravel which fill its channel. The general direction of the 

 drainage is eastward in conformity with the general slope of the 

 constructional plain. 



The region is practically treeless; in its natural state it supports a 

 thick growth of grasses. The county lies in what is commonly re- 

 ferred to as the '' short-grass country." The principal grasses are 

 grama grass and buffalo grass. The only trees native to the region 

 consist of scattered and stunted pines on the rougher and more 

 broken land along the larger streams and draws, with some cotton- 

 wood, box elder, ash, willow, and juniper. 



Lodgepole Creek affords a supply of water for irrigation and other 

 purposes, and abundant water is obtained from shallow wells in the 

 valley. On the upland plain water is obtained from wells 100 to 250 

 feet deep. The water is generally suitable for domestic use, and the 

 quantity is ample for farm and ranch requirements. 



