356 



The National Geographic Magazine 



Peak, which has an altitude of 13,165 

 feet. At this peak and in its vicinity there 

 is some of the wildest Alpine scenery in 

 America. There are numerous cliffs and 

 pinnacles over a thousand feet high, with 

 great variety of form and in part inac- 

 cessible. Representative views of this 

 area are given on pages 359 to 361. 



On the east side of Cloud Peak there 

 is a cirque with vertical walls 1,100 feet 

 high, containing in its lower portion a 

 true glacier. This body of ice is several 

 hundred feet thick, over a half mile in 

 length, and it has developed a well-de- 

 fined terminal moraine. A view of its 

 top is shown on page 359. Other similar 

 glaciers occur in deep cirques north of 

 Cloud Peak. The topography in this area 

 presents strongly marked characteristics 

 of glacial origin. The higher mountain 

 slopes are deeply trenched by profound 

 cirques which descend into U-shaped val- 

 leys, with numerous lake basins excavated 

 in the granite. Some of these features 

 are shown on pages 359 and 360. Over 

 70 well-defined cirques are exhibited in 

 the Cloud Peak region. Most of them 

 are in area shown on map, page 357. Some 

 of the notable features in this area have 

 been described by Mr F. E. Matthes, who 

 has also discussed their origin.* Cloud 

 Peak can be ascended only by the spur 

 which leads up to it from the southwest. 



Numerous streams heading in the Big- 

 horn Mountains carry large volumes of 

 water into the adjoining plains region, 

 where the water is extensively utilized 

 for irrigation. These streams are fed by 

 moderately heavy rainfall, and especially 

 by the melting of snow, which continues 

 throughout the summer. Water is the 

 most important element derived from the 

 mountains, for it sustains a population of 



* Glacial Sculpture of the Bighorn Moun- 

 tains, Wyoming. U. S. Geological Survey, 

 2ist Annual Report, part 2, p. 167. 



considerable size in the adjacent lower 

 lands. The mountain pastures are also 

 an important feature, affording suste- 

 nance for a large number of cattle and 

 sheep during four or five months. Not 

 only is the feed excellent in quality but 

 the high mountain climate is especially 

 favorable for the animals. 



The forests of the highlands have been 

 placed in a government reserve, but before 

 this was done they had been cut to some 

 extent and deeply invaded by fires. The 

 timber is mostly of moderate size and use- 

 ful principally for railroad ties. In the 

 northern portion of the range a large 

 number of ties have been cut and floated 

 down the canyon of Tongue River in a 

 flume, some features of -which are shown 

 on page 362. The flume is 17 miles long 

 and in part is carried on trestles varying 

 in height from 6 to 90 feet. At a few 

 points it was necessary to drive tunnels 

 through spurs of rock. About 2,000,000 

 ties have been floated down this flume. 



The mineral resources of the Bighorn 

 Mountains do not appear to be particu- 

 larly promising, although some of the 

 higher areas have not yet been thor- 

 oughly prospected. A few gold and cop- 

 per leads have been found, but they have 

 given but little encouragement for further 

 development. A moderate amount of 

 gold-bearing gravel occurs in the north- 

 ern portion of the range; it was worked 

 to some extent by a jigging machine, but 

 the product was not large. Very large 

 deposits of gypsum occur in the Red beds 

 lying along the foot of the mountains, 

 and in the vicinity of Sheridan and Buf- 

 falo, in the adjoining plains, there are 

 extensive deposits of lignite coals which 

 have proven valuable. 



Maps and descriptions of the geology 

 of the Bighorn Mountains by N. H. Bar- 

 ton have recently been issued by the U. 

 S. Geological Survey as folios Nos. 141 

 and 142. 



