84 



FOREST DISTRIBUTION 



Flathead ilountains. The Cabinet Eange rises, especially at 

 its eastern end to heights of 8000 to 9000 feet, rugged and pic- 

 turesque. The Flathead ^Mountains are lower. In the bend of 

 the Kootenai lies the Purcell range, only its southern end reach- 

 ing into ^Montana. The range is fairly even in height except 

 a group of sharp su mm its which rise to 7500 feet near the south- 

 ern end of the chain. 



Table 12. The Forests of the Kootenai Section. 



]\Iost of the Kootenai section is heavily forested. In the 

 narrower valleys, on low flats and about lakes are suitable con- 

 ditions for the white pine, arbor vitae, grand fir and hemlock, 

 on some of the upper benches are extensive pure stands of lodge- 

 pole pine, sometimes of young larch. The hills are often cov- 

 ered with open growths of yellow pine. 



The fifth, or Flathead Section, covers the drainage of the 

 Flathead River, including the North, Middle and South Forks 

 and the Swan river. It fxtt^nds its northern line 60 miles along 

 the Canadian boundary and reaches south 180 miles to the 

 extreme sources of the South Fork. Its western margin joins 

 the Kootenai Section, its eastern follows the crest of the Conti- 

 nental Divide. It includes a part of Glacier National Park. 

 The Flathead Section is one of the most significant of ilontana, 

 both in its topography and its vegetation. It includes several 

 high and rugged mountain ranges, some of them bearing gla- 



