99) 
MONTANA, 
The Territory of Montana, having the form of an immense parallelo- 
gram, and embracing a superficial area of 145,776 square miles, occupies 
a large space upon the map of the United States. It is situated in the 
extreme northern tier of Territories, bordering upon the British Pos- 
sessions. The Rocky Mountain chain, constituting the Continental 
Divide, passes through the western portion. About four-fifths of the 
entire area belongs to the Atlantic slope, being drained by the Missouri 
River and its tributaries, and one-fifth to the Pacific slope, being drained 
by the headwaters of the Columbia. The mountain range separating 
so unequally the two parts of the Territory is comparatively low, and 
the contiguity of the region to the Pacific Ocean renders it, to a degree, 
subject to the climatic influences governing the western coast. 
Three-fifths of Montana, comprising the eastern and central portions, 
is a rolling plateau, having an average elevation of 3,000 feet, broken 
by mountain spurs, buttes, and headlands, and watered by numerous 
streams. It is pre-eminently a grazing country, and is largely covered 
with the nutritious bunch grass. In this eastern part, north of the Mis- 
souri River, are vast plains. The western two-fifths of the Territory is 
mountainous. 
As a general thing the mountains of this section are less rugged than 
in the Colorado group; although here and there are sharp angular 
peaks, yet as a general rule, instead of the rocky, jagged sides and 
serrated crests, there are smooth slopes and rounded outlines. The 
height of both mountains and valleys, as will be seen from the list of 
elevations presented below, is much less than that of the great mount- 
ain belt of Colorado and Wyoming, and even that of New Mexico, 
Utah, and Nevada. 
Elevations in Montana, chiefly along a line running east and west 
near the middle of the Territory: 
Feet. 
Fort Union, at the mouth of the Yellowstone. ............ 2, 022 
miner ost, On Mall River... 26.0. Lecce Lo ee ot 2, 388 
UREN RDIMT OR fe Roe ot ee ete ass Sek cei ce cleiee oecieSs Leis 2, 780 
LS GS 2) Sele) een ee ae Se 4,114 
ee RTIER US TA! SEAS cto iw ni'a/aretemiciat) cima sl acaw incense cee 6,519 
Blackfoot Fork, near the mouth of Salmon Trout Creek -. 3,966 
Blackfoot Fork, near its junction with Hell Gate River .. 3,247 
Missoula River, near the mouth of St. Regis de Borgia-... 2, 897 
Summit of Cour d’Aléne Mountains, at Coeur d’Aléne Pass. 5, 089 
Pore won, un Bitter Root Valley. i... 0 <-o0 see ce ee seen 3, 284 
Deer Lodge City, in Deer Lodge Valley.........-...--.-. 4,768 
PniekiynLear-y alley, NearHelena..- 0-6 «260 -n-2 eee eee 4, 000 
Dinieeenaekioot, or Mullen’s Pass ...... ..2..-..-.s-ce.-- 6, 283 
From this list we see that the western or intermontane basin has 
a depression less than 3,000 feet above the level of the sea; and that 
the least altitudes of the eastern slope range from 4,000 to 2,022 feet 

