100 



above the level of the sea. CompariDg these with the altitudes of the 

 other Territories, we fiutl the diftereiice much greater than would be 

 anticipated. For this purpose I give here the elevatious of a few points • 



Feet. 



Albuquerque, N. Mex 5, 032 



Santa Fe, N. Mex C,840 



Denver, Colo 5, 300 



Green River, at the railroad crossing, Wyoming 6, 140 



Salt Lake City, Utah 4, 350 



The Humbolt Sink, Utah...... 4,017 



Fort Laramie, Wyo 4, 519 



Sweet Water River, at Independence Rock, Wyo 5, 998 



South Pass City, Wyo 7, 857 



From this we see that even the lowest point of the Great Basin near 

 the Humboldt Sink" is 1,126 feet above the mouth of the St. Regis de 

 Borgia, and 733 feet above Fort Owen. This very important fact in re- 

 gard to the physical geography of this Territory will serve as an exi>la- 

 nation of its comparatively mild climate, notwithstanding its northern 

 latitude. 



Probably none of the southern and central ranges reach the line of 

 j)erpetual snow. Those in the extreme north are unexplored. It is 

 said that glaciers flow from some of them. 



The western or mountainous i^ortion of Montana is interspersed with 

 many fine valleys well adapted to agriculture and stock raising. The 

 principal forests of the Territory are in this section. 



The most dense and continuous bodies of timber are found on the 

 western flanks of the main range, and on the Cabinet, Co^ur d'Alene, 

 and Bitter Eoot Mountains, which are contiguous to it, or form the 

 boundary line between Montana and Idaho. These forests, which ex- 

 tend to eastern and northern Idaho, are the most extensive and valu- 

 able of any in the Rocky Mountain region. They guard the sources of 

 many important streams, and furnish timber supplies for an adjacent 

 treeless territory of wide extent. Their careful conservation is of the 

 greatest consequence. 



The forests of Montana are composed mainly of Yellow Pine (Plnus 

 ponderosa) ; White Pine (Pinus flexiUs^ Pinus albicaulis and Plnus mon- 

 ticola), Lodge-Pole or Tamarack Pine {Pinus Murrayana) ; Eed or Yel- 

 low Fir (.Pseit^o^si/.//a Bouglasii) White or Balsam Fir (AMes grandis)-, 

 Cedar [Thuya gigantea and Junlperus Virginiana) and Yew {Taxus hrevi- 

 folia). The Yellow Pine and Red Fir predominate, forming the bulk of 

 the forests at the lower altitudes. At higher elevations are found the 

 White Spruce, Tamarack, and Balsam. 



The deciduous species most worthy of mention are the Cottonwood 

 (Populus monilifera and P. angustifolia) ; Balsam Poplar (P. balsami- 

 /era)', Aspen (P. trenuiJoides) ; Box-Elder {Wegundo aceroides); and 

 Mountain Mahogany {Cerco-carpus ledifolius). 



Yellow and White Pine, and White Spruce are the principal timber 

 trees, The first named is the largest and most useful, and furnishes 



