SURVEYS OF FOREST RESERVES. 11 



The triangiilatiou party commenced field work July 5, and first 

 secured control for topographic work over that part of the reserve in 

 the vicinity of Cloud Peak. This necessitated the selection and occu- 

 pation of ten stations. Positions of these were computed at once and 

 furnished to the topographic party to which had been assigned the duty 

 of mapping the area. The further work of the triangulation party in 

 the vicinity of the Yellowstone and the Teton timber and forest reserves 

 consisted in the selection and location of twelve stations. The field work 

 of this party ended on November 10. 



One leveling party was outfitted and commenced work at Sheridan, 

 Wyo., on June 26, and terminated field work on iN^ovember 6. A second 

 leveling party commenced work early in July, and was disbanded on 

 the same date as the other party. The total length of level lines for 

 these two parties is 330 miles. Their work also included the establish- 

 ment of 80 permanent bench marks. 



One topographic party commenced a survey of the Cloud Peak area 

 on the 12th of August and continued in the field until jSTovember 2. 

 During this period an area of 4.'0 miles was surveyed, including a care- 

 ful location of the outlines of all timber areas. The second party com- 

 menced field work on July <S and was disbanded on September 5, on 

 account of illness iu the immediate family of the chief of party. During 

 this period of activity an area of 245 square miles was mapped and the 

 outlines of timber were carefully sketched. 



The total cost of the work in the Bighorn area, including that of the 

 triangulation party, which also did work for the Teton Eeserve, is 

 $8,952-.^ 



^Examination of forests. — Mr. P. E. Town was employed as special field 

 -^sistant for the examination of this area. He commenced work about 

 the middle of July and ended at the close of September. 



The limits of the reserve conform, in a general way, to the outlines of 

 the Bighorn range, although not closely. In some places they inclose 

 small areas of the plains upon the east and west, while iu others con- 

 siderable mountain and forest areas are excluded. The range, however, 

 extends far to the south of the southern limit of the reserve. The area 

 is 1,198,080 acres, or 1,870 square miles. 



The Uighorn range has the form of an ellipse, the axis of which is 

 somewhat curved, trending, in the southern part, nearly north and 

 south, and in the northern part to the northwestward. The breadth 

 ranges from 30 to 50 miles and the length is between 75 and 100 

 miles. Upon the east are the plains and upon the west the Bighorn 

 basin. Structurally the range consists of a great anticlinal fold, broad, 

 flat, and rising steeply upon the flanks. The country upon either side 

 has an elevation of 4,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level, while the 

 summit of the range has an altitude, for the most part, of 7,500 to 

 9,000 feet. In general the summit of the range is a plateau whose 

 surface is undulating and hilly and presents comparatively little relief, 

 but here and there rise granite summits to altitudes exceeding 10,000 

 feet, and about the middle of the plateau there rises abruptly a range 

 of mountains 3,000 to 4,000 feet above its surface, or 12,000 to 13,000 

 feet above the sea, the highest summit of this range being Cloud Peak, 

 with an altitude of 13,100 feet. 



While the entire area of the Bighorn Mountains, with the exception 

 of a small region above timber line, is, judgiug from its climate and 

 other indications, capable of producing forests, still the general aspect 

 of the reserve is that of a lightly timbered region. It contains no large 

 or valuable timber. It is only in a very few localities that any timber 



