258 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 



the north, and is coveredj for the most part, with forests of pine, fir, 

 and tamarack. 



It will be seen from the foregoing description of this northwestern 

 section that it contains a considerable number of arable areas, and 

 although, with the exception of Deer Lodge and Bitter-Eoot Valleys, 

 these are of small size, yet in the aggregate they furnish quite an exten- 

 sive agricultural surface. The detached form, surrounded by elevated 

 ridges and mountain ranges, secures to each an ample supply of never- 

 failing streams for irrigation. The extensive forests of the west side 

 will also prove a source of wealth whenever a means of distributing the 

 lumber is furnished by railroad communication with the less favored 

 sections in this respect. The climate is also much less rigorous than 

 would be anticipated in this northern latitude and mountainous region. 

 I must acknowledge that I was agreeably disappointed in this respect. 



Mr. Granville Stuart estimates the ratio of farming, grazing, and tim- 

 bered lands in Deer Lodge County as follows : Farming, one-eighth ; 

 grazing, five-eighths ; timbered, one-fourth. This estimate, with a slight 

 change, will probably apply to the entire section, the proportion of tim- 

 bered land being somewhat larger, and that of grazing lands smaller. 



SOUTHERN SECTION. 



This section includes that portion of the Territory drained by the 

 three forks of the Missouri, viz, the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin 

 Eivers, and the regions as far north as Helena. It is bounded on the 

 south, west, and partly on the north, by the Eocky Mountain Eange, on 

 the east by the divide, which separates the waters of the Gallatin from 

 those of the Yellowstone, and embraces Beaver Head, Jefferson, Madi- 

 son, and part of Gallatin Counties. It is so irregular in form that it is 

 difficult to estimate its area, but this probably amounts to fifteen 

 thousand square miles. 



The i3hysical geography of this section, and especially the mountain 

 regions surrounding it, is very enteresting, as here some of the great 

 rivers of the West have their origin. Here the great Missouri, which 

 traverses an area of sufficient size for an empire has its origin. In 

 the mountain area, in the extreme northwestern corner of Wyoming 

 Territory, which borders on this section, the Big Horn, 5rellowstone, 

 Madison, Green, and Snake Elvers all take their rise, the first three 

 finding an outlet for their waters through the Mississippi to the Gulf 

 of Mexico; the next through the Colorado to the Gulf of California; and 

 the last through the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, three thousand 

 miles from the exit of the first. Here, amid a collection of the most 

 wonderful scenery of the continent, is found the chief radiating point 

 of the water systems of the Northwest, being equaled in this respect 

 only by the mountain group of Colorado Territory. A minor radiating 

 center is also found in the western part of Meagher County, where 

 the Musselshell, Judith, Deep, and Shield's Elvers all take their rise 

 within a small area. 



Mr. Stuart divides what is here given as one section into two basins, 

 the one drained by Jefferson Eiver and its tributaries, the other being 

 drained by the North and South Boulder Creeks and a few small tribu- 

 taries of the Missouri below tjie junction of the three forks. The first 

 basin embraces all of Beaver Head County and the western half of Mad- 

 ison, and is drained by three streams, the Big-Hole (or Wisdom) Eiver, 

 Beaver Head, and Stinking Water, which unite at the northeast angle to 

 form the Jefferson. The first of these rising in the extreme western 



