224 GEOLOGICAL SUEVEY OF THE TEEKITOEIES. 



a large forest area, but even here it is somewhat difficult to obtain it. 

 transportation for a considerable distance being necessary to supply the 

 demands of the agricultural population. And the rapid consumption 

 for building, railroads, mining, and other purposes is rapidly sweeping 

 away the more accessible portions of the mountain forests. And here, 

 as in other parts of the mountain region, fire is playing sad havoc with 

 the arborescent covering of the mountain side. 



The j)rincipal timbered sections of Wyoming are those along the 

 southern boundary of the Territory, and in the extreme northwestern 

 corner; large tracts of country, even within the mountain districts, as 

 Laramie Plains, the Green Eiver Plains, and Sweet Water Country, being 

 almost entirely timberless. Utah has no important forests, except those 

 found along the higher portions of the Wahsatch Eange, the entire Salt 

 Lake Basin furnishing few spots covered with forests of any value for 

 timber or lumber. The northwest part of Montana contains a consider- 

 able area covered with valuable forests, which will aftbrd excellent lum- 

 ber, but which can be made available only to a limited district until 

 penetrated by railroads, by which it may be transported to those sections 

 which do not possess it. 



But to say the best we can in this respect, a population of this part of 

 the West equal to that in California will, at the present rate of destruc- 

 tion, soon strip the accessible forests of their valuable timber. And 

 unless some method of preventing the present wanton destruction can 

 be adopted, the supply will be cut off much sooner than anticipated ; for, 

 as stated in the quotation made, this destruction increases in a much 

 larger ratio than the increase of x)opuiation. And not only is this true 

 if we limit our calculations to that which is applied to some useful pur- 

 poses, but the destruction by fires, and that which is without any equiv- 

 alent benefit, also increases in the same rapid i)roportion. In traveling 

 through the mountain districts I was surprised at the large number of 

 burned streaks which I observed. In some places we would not travel 

 more than a mile or two without seeing either to the right or left a 

 blackened belt stretching up the mountain side. If these spots would 

 again be covered by a new growth the result would not be so disastrous; 

 but as has been truly stated in the quotation, this is not the case, for 

 when once the forest covering is destroyed, it is never restored, but 

 remains forever bare. Whether this be wholly due to the climatic con- 

 ditions or not, I do not know, but there are some reasons to believe that 

 even where undisturbed by the hand of man the forests are gradually 

 disax^pearing under the influences of natural causes. 



The smooth and rounded hills in parts of Wyoming, Utah, Southeast 

 Idaho, Southern Montana, and other parts of the Eocky Mountain region, 

 have occasionally here and there a few trees which have every appear- 

 ance of being the remnants of former forests. These hills bear unmis- 

 takable evidence of having been worn down by the action of the atmos- 

 phere, water, ice, snow, &c. The debris which has been worn down has 

 covered up the former ruggedness of their declivities. This is so appar- 

 ent that in many places its course can be traced down the sides along 

 the graceful curves to its termination in the valley. But where the 

 original rugged declivity has resisted this action there almost invariably 

 forests will be seen. I have, therefore, come to the conclusion that the 

 forests of the Eocky Mountains, as a general thing, are decreasing from 

 natural causes, and I base my conclusions on the following grounds: 



First. The wearing down of the mountains and hills ; the debris, as 

 it descends destroying the forests on their sides. At Pleasant Valley, 

 (where the stage-road from Corinne to Helena crosses the range,) in 



