GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 3 



The scenery of tbe Tetou Eange is trul}^ alpine in its character, ap- 

 proaching that type more nearly than any other known in the West. 



Leaving the Teton Basin, the party ijroceeded np Henry's Fork of 

 Snake Eiver, and at its sonrce, snrveyed one of the most interesting and 

 important geographical points in the West. At the head of Henry's 

 Fork are fonr remarkable passes, representing the four points of the 

 compass, with Henry's Lake located in the center. TheTargee, or East 

 Pass, is 7,063 feet elevation, and forms one of the gateways to the Mad- 

 ison Valley and to the sources of the Madison and Yellowstone. Hen- 

 ry's, or South Pass, is about 6,250 'feet elevation, and opens into the 

 great valley of the Snake River from the Atlantic slope. Red Rock, or 

 West Pass, is 7,271 feet elevation, and connects the great valley of the 

 Jefferson Fork, while the Raynolds or North Pass, 6,911 feet elevation, 

 leads into the valley of the Lower Madison. These remarkable passes, 

 thus linking the Atlantic with the Pacific slope, are so smooth, that a 

 carriage could be driven over them at a high rate of speed. In a prac- 

 tical point of view these passes, as well a*,the Snake Eiver Valley, must 

 soon become of great importance to the West. 



The Snake River and Henry's Fork Valleys form by far the most feas- 

 ible routes for railroads, connecting Montana and the entire Northwest 

 with the interior basin and the Pacific slope. Compared with the pres- 

 ent stage-routes to Montana, a road by this valley would be from one hun- 

 dred to one hundred and fifty miles shorter, and would open up for settle- 

 ment avast area of arable and pastoral land. The immense forests of pine 

 timber would be made available, and I am convinced that in a few years, 

 on account of the scarcity of good timber in the interior basin, this will 

 become one of the most important lumber regions in the West. If the 

 railroad w^hich contemi)lates connecting Corinne, Utah, with Helena, 

 Montana, passes up Henry's Fork, it will render available two thousand 

 five hundred square miles of pine timber. All the wonders of our great 

 iSTational Park can be seen in one day's travel on horseback from this 

 route. 



About ten miles northwest of Henry's Lake a new lake was discov- 

 ered, which from its i:)eculiar character merits some notice here. It is 

 called " Cliff Lake " on the map, from the fact that it seems to be con- 

 fined to a deep fissure in the basaltic rocks. It is triangular in shape, 

 its length about one and a half miles, and half a mile in its greatest 

 width. Several streams of considerable size flow into it, but no outlet 

 could be discovered. High, nearly vertical walls inclose it on every 

 side. 



From Henry's Lake the party crossed the water-shed by way of the 

 Targee Pass into the Madison Valley, and passed up that stream to the 

 Fire Hole Basin, where both of the parties met on the same day, Au- 

 gust 14, though starting about two months previously frbm points sev- 

 eral hundred miles apart. Tke Snake Eiver division remained in this 



