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 

 Eiver 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 Eiver, 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 Kew Mexico, 

 Utah, and Nevada. 



Elevations in Montana, chiefly along a line running east and west 

 near the middle of the Territory : 



Feet. 



Fort Uuion, at the mouth of the Yellowstone 2, 022 



Trading Post, on Milk Eiver 2, 388 



Fort Benton 2,780 



Forks of Sun Eiver 4, 114 



Lewis and Clark's Pass 6, 519 



Blackfoot Fork, near the mouth of Salmon Trout Creek .. 3, 9Co 



Blackfoot Fork, near its junction with Hell Gate Eiver .. 3,247 



Missoula Eiver, near the mouth of St. Eegis de Borgia 2, 897 



Summit of Coeur d'Alene Mountains, at Cojur d'Aldne Pass. 5, 089 



Fort Owen, in Bitter Eoot Valley 3,284 



Deer Lodge City, in Deer Lodge Valley 4, 763 



Prickly Pear Valley, near Helena 4, 000 



Little Blackfoot, or Mullen's Pass 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 j and that 

 the least altitudes of the eastern slope range from 4,000 to 2,022 feet 



