TOWTSrSHIP DESCRIPTIONS. 55 



Composition of forest in T. 6 8., R. 10 E., including trees of all species with basal diamHers of 3 inches and 



upward. 



Per cent. 



Lodgepole pine 60 



White-bark pine 4 



White pine Scattered trees. 



Eedflr 8 



Subalpine fir 15 



Engelmann spruce 13 



Township o South, Range 11 East. 



Topography. — ^The township consists of an extremely rough mass of mountains 

 rising to altitudes of nearly 11,000 feet, bristling with peaks, pinnacles, ci"ags, and 

 overhang, cut by rocky, cliff-bound canyons, the bottoms of which are littered with 

 masses of gravel and bowlders. 



Mining. — None. 



Soil. — The soil is thin and barren and is chiefly made up of sand and gravel 

 with a thin cover of loam. Large tracts of the alpine and subalpine areas are 

 entirely devoid of soil cover. 



Agricultural adaptability. — There is no tillable land in the township; the entire 

 district is nonagricultural. 



Grazing capacity. — A limited amount of pasturage is furnished by small glades 

 along the bottoms of the different canyons, and by high alpine and subalpine 

 meadows on the summits of the ridges. However, most of the high-lying glades 

 and meadows are practically inaccessible for stock and can not be utilized for range 

 purposes. 



Drainage conditions. — ^The run-off from the township is large, the discharge 

 being chiefly by way of West Boulder River. Springs, small creeks, and alpine 

 rivulets abound, and the higher peaks retain large banks of snow on their northern 

 slopes throughout the summer. 



Snow and rocle slides. — These are frequent in all parts of the township. Few 

 of the slopes have as yet acquired stability; the crests of the ridges are deeply 

 fissured, broken, and crumbling, and with the vast amount of overhang existing 

 in many places rockslides and landslips are of common occurrence. 



Towns and settle/merits. — The region is uninhabited. 



Forest conditions. — Most of the forest is of subalpine type and consists of 

 old-growth stands. Up to timber litie the ridges bear scattered copses and lightly 

 stocked stands of lodgepole pine, spruce, subalpine fir, and white-bark pine, all 

 low and limby and, near the timber line, depressed to the stature of shrubs. The 

 heaviest stands occur in the valley of the West Boulder and are composed of lodge- 

 pole pine and spruce, with red fir on the drier and warmer exposures. The timber 



