LIVINGSTON QUADRANGLE. 



DRAINAGE CONDITIONS. 



Most of the quadrangle lies within the Yellowstone drainage, small tracts onl}^, 

 situated on the western slopes of the Bridger and Gallatin ranges, draining into the 

 Missouri through other channels than the Yellowstone. The run-off is large, most 

 of it being supplied from the 38 per cent of its area covered with the spurs, 

 peaks, and canyons of the range. This tract, the altitude of which insures an 

 abundance of rainfall, is, in fact, an immense natural reservoir, and as such of the 

 greatest importance to the central regions of the Yellowstone drainage. Next in 

 importance is the Shields River drainage, but outside its freshet period in early 

 summer the volume carried by the stream is small. The lesser creeks and streams 

 originating in the Gallatin and Bridger ranges are small and variable in their flow. 

 A large number of ravines and canyons head in the small tract of the Crazy 

 Mountains in the north-central part of the district, but the run-off carried bj- them 

 is comparatively insignificant. The minor creeks, which head in the rolling areas 

 of the plains, carry water during the spring break-up, but are dry in the 'summer 

 and fall. 



AGRICULTURAL LANDS. 



The cultivable lands, comprising nearly 12 per cent of the quadrangle, border 

 the streams either directly in the flood valleys or on the lower teri'aces not far from 

 the main stream or its ti'ibutaries. The largest single area of cultivable land is 

 situated within the Shields River drainage. Irrigation is required everywhere for 

 the successful cultivation of crops. Doubtless much of the land now utilized as 

 cattle and sheep ranges can be reclaimed by means of high-line ditches, but the 

 generally high and rolling character of the plains region, and the lack of large 

 volumes of water, except in the low-lying Yellowstone River, will probably preclude 

 any extensive scheme of reclamation of lands remote from the, flood valleys of the 

 streams. The agricultural areas in the mountain districts consist of small, level 

 pieces of bench or semimarsh land in the bottoms of the larger canyons below the 

 6,000-foot contour, the total comprising less than 16,000 acres. The soil on the 

 lowest terraces in the valleys is usually rich and deep. A large amount of land 

 situated on the upper terraces and on the swells away from the streams is covered 

 with bowlder and gravel drift of glacial origin, and is worthless for agricultural 

 pursuits. Grain, hay, small quantities of apples, and the ordinary northern bush 

 fruits are produced- 



GRAZING LANDS. 



The grazing lands ir the quadrangle comprise a trifle more than 33 per cent of 

 its area. Thej' consist in part of the rolling plains region in the northern part of dis- 

 trict, and in part of tracts in the mountain region situated at or above timber line, 

 while a large remainder is made up of fire glades, mostly in the subalpine forest, 



