104 
and North-American Tetraonidae, the burrow- 
ing owl, horned lark, and shrike. 
On the Yellowstone national park, or reser- 
vation as it may perhaps more fitly be called, 
much has already been written, both of a scien- 
tific and popular 
character ; but the 
second volume of 
SCIENCE. 
the region itself does not abound in grand 
scenery, consisting chiefly of high rolling pla- 
teaus covered with dark coniferous forest, but, 
along the borders of the streams, opening out 
into the attractive park-like country charac- 
teristic elsewhere 
of many of the 
sub-alpine valleys 
the present report 
is the first proxi- 
mately complete 
account of its 
physical and geo- 
logical features. 
The first scien- 
tific exploration 
of this wonderful 
region was that of 
the survey of the 
territories in 1871 
and 1872; and it 
of the Rocky 
Mountains. The 
mean elevation, 
being about eight 
thousand feet, 
renders it subject 
to frosts through- 
out the summer, 
and quite unfit for 
agriculture:  in- 
deed, the frequent 
reference to snow- 
storms as inter- 
is largely due to 
the personal ef- 
forts of Dr. Hay- 
den that the dis- 
trict was set apart 
as a national park. 
Though — reports 
more or less gar- 
fering with the 
operations of 1878 
would alone be 
sufficient to indi- 
cate the sub-are- 
bled, of its gey- 
sers and_ hot- 
springs, were 
from an early pe- 
riod in circulation 
in the west, they 
were not gener- 
ally credited ; and 
itis a remarkable 
fact, that this re- 
gion, in the midst 
of so much active 
tic character of 
the climate. 
The geology of 
the park is re- 
ported on by Mr. 
W. H. Holmes, 
who carries with 
him throughout a 
clear appreciation 
of the bearing of 
observed facts on 
the causes and 
history of the re- 
markable events 
of which this por- 
exploration of the 
west, continued 
so long practically 
unknown. It re- 
mained for the 
ubiquitous western ‘ prospector ’ to afford some 
intelligible account of its character between 
1863 and 1869; and Dr. Hayden’s first explo- 
ration followed not long thereafter. 
The reservation is situated mainly in north- 
western Wyoming, but embraces also portions 
of Idaho and Montana. It is about 65 by 53 
miles in extent, with a computed area of 3,312 
square miles, of which nearly 200 square miles 
are occupied by lakes. To the north and east 
are bounding ranges of lofty and rugged moun- 
tains ; but, apart from the canons of the rivers, 
tion of the ‘ great 
divide’ has been 
the theatre. 
While most of the 
formations known 
in the north-west are represented in the park, a 
glance at the map shows that those of volcanic 
origin cover by far the greatest area; and it is 
in connection with these that its special fea- 
tures have been developed. Volcanic conglom- 
erates of. tertiary age are particularly prominent, 
and attain in some places a very great thickness. 
Rhyolite preponderates, but basalts also fre- 
quently occur ; and the existence of large mass- 
es of obsidian or volcanic glass is a point both — 
of mineralogical, and, from the use made of it 
by the Indians, ethnological interest. 
[Von IIL, No. 51. 
. 
f 
