GENERAL POEEST ASPECTS 



89 



Table 16. Forests of the Sun River Section. 



The above are the principal species found in this strip and 

 their approximate proportions. The larch and whitebark pine 

 are together reduced to about 1% of the entire stand. They are 

 present only near the top of the Divide where they have dropped 

 over from the western slope. It is probable that Pinus ponderosa 

 is also represented, though sparingly, as well as small quantities 

 of Juniperus scopulornm, J. communis and /. Sabina. The sit- 

 uation on the whole is one of low rainfall and of general difficulty 

 for forest species. 



The Belt Section (No. 9) extends from the top of the Con- 

 tinental Divide near the head of Clark's Fork eastward over 

 100 miles including the Big Belt and the Little Belt ranges. 

 From north to south the area extends roughly from Great Falls 

 to the Three Forks of the Missouri, about 120 miles. This sec- 

 tion is very largely prairie. Only the higher elevations are 

 wooded, so that the forest for the most part lies above 5000 feet. 

 Besides the Belt Ranges are several other more or less elevated 

 masses, the Highwood Mountains and the Little Rockies, which 

 also are forested. 



The percentages here are in the area covered by the several 

 species. The variations in the percentages indicate their relative 



