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course in a northeasterly direction through the county, receives the 
waters of eleven large affluents. Lost River and its tributaries water 
the southeastern part of the county. The topography of the region is 
greatly varied, and agricultural, grazing, and timber lands cover nearly 
the entire area. In the western part of the county are a number of 
small lakes. | 
Nearly one-half of the county is forest land. Very little, if any, has 
been made waste by burning. Pine, Fir, and Cottonwood are the pre- 
dominant trees. The timber is inferior, the trees rarely exceeding two 
feet in diameter of trunk. Cottonwood is used mostly for fuel. 
With the exception of a few fruit trees no tree planting is reported. 
IDAHO COUNTY. 
(Total area, 9,200 square miles; estimated forest area, 1,950 square miles.) 
Idaho County is essentially a mountainous region, the principal por- 
tion of the Salmon River Mountains being included within its bounda- 
ries. These mountains are in no well-defined range, but are a vast col- 
lection of irregularly scattered peaks, overtopping a wilderness of lesser 
peaks, all of a rugged and forbidding aspect. The average altitude is 
about 6,000 feet, though many peaks have an elevation of nearly double 
that height. . s 
The county is watered principally by the Salmon River and its tribu- 
taries. The northern portion is drained by some of the forks of the 
Clearwater. Salmon River cuts a deep chasm through the county from 
east to west. Its valley is from 3,000 to 4,000 feet lower than the aver- 
age altitude of the mining camps scattered through the adjacent mount- 
ains, causing a marked difference in climate. In the winter snow rarely 
falls before February, and trequently the ground is not whitened during 
the year, while in the surrounding mining camps the snow covers the 
mountain sides from 4 to 8 feet in depth. 
Camas Prairie, comprising an area of six to ten townships on the 
western border, is the only agricultural portion of the county. 
The forests cover the outer portions of the county. Three-fourths of 
the timber-lands are well stocked, one-eighth is young growth, and one- 
eighth made waste by recent fires. The principal species of trees are 
Cedar, White Pine, Tamarack, and Red and Yellow Fir. Some of the 
timber is very large and fine, growing from 1 to 6 feet in diameter. In 
the open. country considerable tree-planting is done without the aid of 
irrigation. 
KOOTENAI COUNTY. 
(Total area, 4,830 square miles ; estimated forest area, 2,400 square miles.) 
This county is in the extreme northern or “‘ pan-handle ” portion of 
Idaho. The high and rugged Ceeur d’Alene Mountains extend through 
the central part from east to west. Flanking this range are lakes Pend 

