SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA 63 



ley frow two to 25 milos wide, wliich extends in a iKirtlu-rly dirt'cliou to the 

 middle of the county and thin turns oast. In the northeastern part of the 

 county are the Crazy Mountains. The Shields River valley occupies the center 

 of the northern half of the county. It is from 15 to 30 miles wide and extends 

 south for a distance of 50 miles where it merges with the Yellowstone. In irri- 

 gated acreage Park ranks among the leading ten counties. Considerable addi- 

 tional land can be reclaimed. 



Practically all the tillable land in the county is confined to the Yellowstone 

 and Shields River valleys. The growing season in the upper valleys is compara- 

 tively short ; these areas are better adapted to forage crops and 

 Dairying livestock. The proximity of the national forests, which 



and Stock afford summer grazing, accounts, probably, for the fact that 

 livestock production is more important in the county than crop 

 production. On the foothills flanking the valleys non-irrigated farming is followed. 

 On both non-irrigated and irrigated lands the small grains raised are of excellent 

 quality, attested to by the many winnings Parle county products have made at 

 national shows. But little corn is raised. Natural conditions well adapt the 

 region to dairying and it is steadily growing in importance. Jhe largest cheese fac- 

 tory in Montana has been successfully operating for a number of years near 

 Wilsall, in the Shields River valley, and at Livingston there are two creameries. 

 There are a number of good-sized pure-bred beef herds in the county and some 

 large stock ranches. Near Livingston is a truck farm whose products are in de- 

 mand on the fancy markets of St. Paul and Seattle. 



Among other minerals which have been produced on a commei'cial scale in 

 Park county are gold, silver, lead, coal, arsenic, tungsten and brick clay. It 

 also has gypsum, gems, molybdenum and a variety of building and monumental 

 stones. Drilling for oil is under way (1923) in the northern end of the county. 

 Most of the mineral resources are in the southern end of the county. In the 

 Jardine district some low-grade gold properties are being worf^ed, primarily for 

 their arsenical content, the gold being a by-product. The Cooke City district, 

 in the southeastern coimer, is considered one of the most promising mining dis- 

 tricts in the state, but its inaccessibility has retarded its development. Consider- 

 able commercial timber grows on the national forests, which occupy more than 

 a third of the county's area. 



The largest industrial acti\it.v is found in the railroad shops at Livingston. 

 Granite works, a brick jilant, a lime kiln and other industries are also estab- 

 lished. 



Park county has excellent transportation facilities. The main line of the 

 Northern Pacific goes east and west through the middle of the county, and at 

 Livingston, in the geographical center of the county, a branch runs north up 

 the Shields valley to Wilsall and another south up the Yellowstone to the Yellow- 

 stone Park. A main east and west highway crosses the county and the western 

 Park to Park route from Gardiner to Glacier station traverses the county north 

 and south. 



Livingston, the county seat, is one of the larger cities of the state. It is 

 thoroughly modern and the trading center of a rich livestock, agricultural and 

 mining region. Each summer it is host to thousands of tourists en route to the 

 Y'ellowstone Park. Wilsall and Clyde I'ark are the principal towns in the Shields 

 River valleA'. 



