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the north; and the entire area is fairly well watered by the two Big 
Horn Rivers, the Nez Perce and Rosebud Rivers and their affiuents, 
all of which are tributary to the Yellowstone. . 
Tn the southern part of the reservation are outlying spurs and foot- 
hills of the Wyoming ranges. These are covered to some extent with 
Pine, Fir, and Spruce timber. The foot-hills of the Snow Mountains, 
which encroach upon the western border of the reservation, also bear a 
forest growth, but no report concerning the same has been received. 
WYOMING. 
The Territory of Wyoming, in situation, exterior form, area, and con- 
figuration, has much in common with her southern neighbor, the State. 
of Colorado. Both lie in the northern temperate zone, and cover por- 
tions of the great interior plateau where the open country and mount- 
ains meet. In both are high and rugged mountain ranges, wide plains, 
valleys, and powerful streams. One contains the distribution or radi- 
ating center of the water system of the Northwest; in the other is the 
distributive center of the water system of the Southwest. 
The surface area of the Territory is 100,375 square miles and its mean - 
altitude about 6,000 feet above the sea. The main Rocky Mountain 
range crosses it in a direction from northwest to southeast. This is 
flanked upon either side by minor ranges, groups, and spurs, the most 
prominent of which are the Big Horn Mountains in the north, the 
Laramie and Medicine Bow ranges in the south, and the Bear, Salt 
River, and Teton Mountains at the west. | 
In the southwestern part, and following the trend of the main 
range from northwest to southeast is an area of barren country, about 
200 miles in length and frem 50 to 90 in breadth. Its northern part 
comprises the ‘‘ Colorado Desert,” or Green River Basin; the central 
portion is mostly sage-brush and sand, and the southeastern part 
is known as the ‘‘Red Desert.” The surface of this desolate region— 
which extends southward into western Colorado and eastern Utah—is 
broken by hills, sand dunes, and buttes. 
As an offset to this, in the northwestern corner of the Territory is 
the Yellowstone National Park, a region remarkable for its grand and 
wonderful scenery. Here, amid snowy peaks and vast forests, are the 
sources of the Big Horn, Yellowstone, Madison, Green, and Snake Riv- 
ers; the first three finding outlet through the Missouri and Mississippi 
to the Gulf of Mexico, the next through the Colorado of the West to 
the Gulf of California, and the last through the Columbia to the Pacific 
Ocean. In this part of Wyoming are also a number of beautiful lakes, 
of which the Yellowstone is the best known. 
The North Platte, Green, Big Horn, and Powder are the principal 
rivers. Numerous other streams, of greater or less importance, water 
the different portions of the Territory. 

