MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 



Montgomery is the southernmost of the Piedmont counties, lying 

 immediately north of the District of Columbia. It is bordered on the 

 south by the Potomac Eiver. The northern and western parts of the 

 county consist of rolling land with a few prominent hills, while the 

 southeastern section, bordering on the Coastal Plain, is very nearly 

 flat. The lowest elevation is adjacent to the Potomac River in the ex- 

 treme southern section, and only about 50 feet above sea level, while 

 the highest is in the most northern part where an altitude of 800 feet 

 is reached. The principal elevation, however, extends through the cen- 

 tral part of the county, from north to south, with a gradual rise to 

 form an elevation which farther north is known as Parr's Ridge. The 

 soils are mainly of sands and clay loam typical of the Piedmont 

 Plateau, becoming almost pure sand in the southeastern section near 

 the Prince George's County line. The forest areas are rather evenly 

 distributed, and there is comparatively little land in the county that 

 is not suitable for tillage, such areas consisting usually of rocky knoUs 

 and steeper hillsides, found somewhat scattered all through the county. 



The Forests. 



Just 22 per cent of Montgomery County is wooded, and the only 

 large areas of woodland found are those near Rockville and to the 

 south, with a few fair-sized tracts of forest around Buck Lodge. 

 Nearly all the forests are of the characteristic mixed hardwood type 

 prevalent all along the Piedmont Plateau. The only areas where pine 

 is abundant are east of Rockville and in the vicinity of Clarksburg. 

 The principal timber species are chestnut, white oak, some of the 

 mixed oaks, tulip poplar and hickory. Chestnut, in mixture with the 

 oaks, is found generally distributed over the county, often occurring 

 in pure stands on the ridges and upper slopes in the northern and 

 northwestern sections of the county. Such stands are usually of cop- 

 pice growth, and consist principally of small trees which have been 

 less damaged by the blight than in any other part of the Piedmont 

 section. White oak is most abundant in the southern and eastern sec- 

 tions of the county, where it occurs in mixture with black, pin and 

 Spanish oaks, tulip poplar, hickory and chestnut. 



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