

GENERAL FEATURES GOVERNING LIFE IN 

 GLACIER NATIONAL PARK. 



By Vernox Bailey. 



I. PHYSIOGRAPHY. 



Glacier National Park lies in northwestern Montana, along the 

 main range of the Eocky Mountains from the Canadian boundary 

 south to the Great Northern Railway. P>om the rugged crest of the 

 Continental Divide it descends on the east to the edge of the Gi-eat 

 Plains, and on the west to the dense forests of the Flathead Valley. 

 Its sinuous and spiny backbone forms one of the roughest ranges on 

 the Continent; and, while its highest peaks reach an elevation but 

 little above 10,000 feet, it has all the appearance of a more lofty 

 range, for the timberline is low and its upper slopes and peaks reach 

 far into the snow and glacier-laden Arctic- Alpine Zone. Its steep and 

 jagged sides are deeply cut and furrowed by ancient glaciers, and the 

 old glacial troughs are now filled by long, deep lakes of wonderful 

 purity and beauty. Some of the smaller lakes are still milky from the 

 grinding of the glaciers above them, but those farther from the ice 

 throw back from transparent depths the deepest shades of blue and 

 green. The long lake valleys on both sides of the range extend out 

 between riblike lateral ridges almost as high and rugged as the dorsal 

 crest of the range. In fact some of the highest peaks rise from these 

 lateral ridges, while the main divide- has been eaten through by the ice 

 in notches that serve as the only available passes for present trails and 

 future highways. 



The tilted and heavily stratified shale, limestone, sandstone, and 

 argillite, which make up a great part of the range, have given strik- 

 ing contrasts to the configuration of the park. Great cliffs and ter- 

 races, sharp peaks and jagged walls on one side and shelving slopes 

 on the other, render many of what seem to be unattainable heights 

 from some points of view quite possible of access- from other points. 

 Faint trails of mountain sheep and mountain goats may be found 

 threading the narrow shelves and niches to the tops of many of the 



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