GENERAL DESCRIPTION 1^9 



mountain system sweep northwestward as far as mount Saint Elias, near 

 the coast, and mount Kimball, about 200 miles distant from the open 

 waters of the Pacific ocean. In the vicinity of these high mountains 

 the axes both of the coastal and the inland ranges take a more westerly 

 course and, continuing with a general parallelism, turn gradually to the 

 southwest, until they are cut off by the sea in the Kenai and the Alaskan 

 peninsulas. Toward the southwest a similar trend is continued beyond 

 the mainland by the volcanic Aleutian islands. This belt, with a main- 

 land extension of nearly 2,000 miles and a width of from 50 to 250 miles, 

 comprises the principal ranges of the system, disposed in a crescent-like 

 curve concentric with the continuation of the Rocky Mountain axis 

 across the British possessions and northern Alaska, and also with that 

 portion of the Pacific coast whose configuration is determined by their 

 existence. The elongated drainage basin of the Yukon river also con- 

 forms to the contiguous central portion of this great crescent. 



The representatives of the Pacific system from southern British 

 Columbia to Icy strait and Cross sound, Alaska, are the outlying island 

 chain which has been called the Vancouver range and the mainland or 

 Coast range.* 



Beyond the Alexander archipelago the southeastern end of the Saint 

 Elias range, rising from Cross sound to Icy strait, divided by Glacier 

 bay into two portions. The inner of these, which has been called the 

 Chilcat mountains, is overlapped on the landward side by the Coast 

 range, which in this region merges with the plateau of the interior. As 

 it continues toward the north w^est, the Saint Elias range has an average 

 width of not less than 150 miles, but beyond its culminating peaks this 

 great upland belt is divided by the eastern drainage of the Copper river. 

 On the seaward side the coastal mountains connected with the Saint 

 Elias range swing into a westerly trend, and are continued as the Chugach 

 range across the lower course of the Copper river and still toward the 

 west, until they join the mountains of the Kenai peninsula, lying between 

 Prince William sound and Cook inlet. 



The inland continuation of the Saint Elias range maintains a north- 

 westerly trend through the Skolai mountains to the vicinity of mount 

 Wrangell. To the northeast of this volcano lies the Nutzotin range, 

 which likewise has a southeast and northwest trend, but which overlaps 

 the true continuation of the corresponding Saint Elias axis. 



The Mentasta mountains, which are the continuation of the Nutzotin 

 range, are overlapped on the northwest by the Alaskan range, which 

 runs in a northwesterly direction as far as mount Kimball. Here its 



*In the following discussion the writer will refer thus to these mountains, instead of following- 

 Doctor Dawson in designating them as the " Coast ranges." 



