TOPOGRAPHY OF FERGUS COUNTY. 



Fergus County lies in the geographical center of Montana. From 

 east to west it has an extent of about 125 miles, and from north to south 

 about 110 miles. The area of the county is 6,762 square miles. Beginning 

 at the Highwood Mountains, at the union of Cascade, Choteau, and Fergus 

 Counties, a point which forms the extreme north-western angle of Fergus 

 County, we follow the boundaries of the county north-east along Arrow 

 lliver to its junction with the Missouri River. Along the northern boundary 

 we journey eastward down the Missouri to the mouth of the Musselshell, 

 thus reaching the north-eastern corner of the county. Traveling southward 

 up the Musselsbell River, we reach the Great Bend of that river, which 

 marks the south-eastern corner of Fergus County. Following up the Mus- 

 selshell toward the southwest, we trace the southern boundary of the 

 county to Elk Creek, which joins the Musselshell in a course from the 

 Lorthwest, forming with Careless Creek the south-western boundary of the 

 county. Traveling directly westward across the Judith Gap, we strike the 

 Little Belt Mountains, whose ridge forms the further boundary of the 

 county until we reach the north and south line between Cascade and Fergus 

 counties. 



The physical features of Fergus County are so varied that its avi- 

 fauna is correspondingly enriched by representatives of various zones or 

 conditions of bird-life. More than three-fourths of the boundary ' of the 

 county is formed by the Missouri River and its branches. As the river is a 

 great natural highway of bird movement, many species, which otherwise 

 would limit their activities to the Mississippi valley and the Great Plains, 

 ascend far up the river and its head-waters, and thus become a part of 

 the avi-fauna of the region. It is likely that such species as brown 

 thrasher, catbird, red-eyed vireo, bronzed grackle, bobolink, kingbird, 

 flicker, red-headed woodpecker, Bartramian sandp'iper, and other Missis- 

 sippi valley species have worked their way gradually along the great water 

 highway, and have established themselves around the upper waters of 

 the Missouri. 



The western portions of the county include several of the out- 

 lying spurs of the Rockies. Indeed, the Big Snowies and the Little Snow- 

 ies cut their way eastward more than half the length of the county, while 

 in the northern part lie the two groups of Moccasins and the Judith 

 Mountains. These elevations vary between six and eight thousand feet in 

 height, and the higher Snowies even exceed these limits. 



By way of these mountain spurs, the typical alpine species and moun- 

 tain residents frequently find their way far into the county. Hence we 

 note the occurrence of the mountain chickadee, pygmy nuthatch, Amer- 

 ican dipper, pine siskin, gray-crowned leucosticte, Clarke's nutcracker, 

 Rocky Mountain jay, and perhaps others. 



The portions of the county east of the mountains partake of the 



