MISSION MOUNTAINS, MONTANA. 



MORTON J. ELROD. 



The Mission mountains, of which I en- 

 close a photo, are in Western Montana. 

 The range is only about ioo miles long, 

 extending the entire length of the Flathead 

 lake, and South along the valley bor- 

 dering the lake. At the Southern end are 

 the high peaks of the range, rising abrupt- 

 ly to a height of nearly 10,000 feet, which 

 is 6,000 feet above the plain. The Northern 

 end has had its ridges all knocked off by a 

 glacier, no doubt the continental glacier, 

 and the hills are consequently smooth and 

 rounded. Huge boulders, scarred and 

 scratched, lie high up on these elevations. 



waterfalls of great height and surpassing 

 beauty, clear atmosphere and beautiful 

 sunshine, are some of the attractions one 

 may find. In the spring and early sum- 

 mer there is a profusion of flowers of gor- 

 geous color. Ferns higher than a man's 

 head grow in the canyons. Ruffed grouse 

 nest in dense thickets and blue grouse in the 

 hills. Goats and sheep live among the 

 rocky crags, and deer and bear feed on the 

 lower slopes. All the streams abound in 

 trout. For the hunter, the fisherman, the 

 artist, the lover of nature unadorned by act 

 of man, the range offers a retreat. 



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MISSION MOUNTAINS, CROW CREEK IN FOREGROUND. 



AMATEUR PHOTO BV M J. ELROD. 



The rock is unlike that of the mountains 

 themselves, and has no doubt been ^brought 

 a long distance. This range of mountains 

 was made by an immense fault. During 

 upheaval the rock on one side of the rent 

 was elevated, the other depressed, thus 

 making a jagged and abrupt ridge and a 

 lake. Since their formation both the lake 

 and the mountains have undergone great 

 change. The Mission range contains some 

 of the most beautiful scenery in the world, 

 and will some day be a retreat as alluring 

 to the traveler as the Alps or the Adiron- 

 dacks. Jagged peaks and cliffs, everlasting 

 snow, beautiful lakes of crystal clearness, 



The view here given, the Mission range 

 after a storm, was taken late in August. 

 The negative was made with a wide angle 

 lens, Forbes' orthochromatic plate, and 

 ray filter. The range is 12 or 15 miles 

 distant, and on account of the wide angle 

 lens is much reduced. 



The ascent is not specially difficult, Y\ 

 of it on horseback, the remainder a 4 

 hours' climb. Owing to its remoteness 

 from large centers this range is not vis- 

 ited much, but as it becomes better known 

 and facilities for reaching it are improved, 

 the range will be visited by greater num- 

 bers of people. 



