16 
BOTANY OF THE ROUTE. 
as far as we could see. But large portions of the ridges west of the river were also bare of 
trees to an apparent height of about 3,000 feet. Further north we met with none but scattered 
patches of forest, until reaching the high ridges bounding the valleys of the Methow and Okan¬ 
agan rivers, where, as well as along their banks, trees are grouped in beautiful groves, forming 
a sufficient supply for the population which must in time inhabit these picturesque valleys. 
I have already noticed the prevalence of the forests near the 49th degree along the Columbia, 
and most of the country thence south to latitude 38° 30' is occupied by them. 
From Fort Colville, southward, to the Spokane river, we found a pleasing country of mixed 
forests and prairies, with a fertile soil, which is evidently in part due to the intermingling of 
spurs of the Cascade mountains with those of the Bitter Boot range, which appear towards 
the east well covered with forests on their higher parts. They intercept and precipitate 
over these northern tracts sufficient moisture to make them highly fertile. 
The lowest points on the Great Plain where trees are found in any abundance are about 2,000 
feet above the sea. This most elevated division of the great forest regions of the Territory, 
covering only the mountain slopes and summits, botanically and zoologically constitute a south¬ 
ward extension of the more northern flora and fauna following the mountain ridges, and thus 
irregularly interlocking with the third great region of plains. Towards the east and south a 
dryer climate is found to diminish the extent of forests, until gradually rising higher and 
higher towards the line of perpetual snow, at length they almost disappear on some of the 
eastern slopes of the Bocky mountains and on the ranges of southern Oregon and Utah. 
GREAT PLAIN OF THE COLUMBIA. 
Although the great forests west of the Cascade range might most naturally follow in the 
description of regions after those just mentioned, being allied to them in products and in rela¬ 
tion to climatic agencies, I prefer to give here the brief and incomplete observations which I 
was able to make during our journey over the Great Plain, occupying the central portion of the 
Territory. 
This region, characterized by an entire absence of trees, occupies an intermediate place in 
elevation between the mountain forests and the lowlands. Though its name gives the impres¬ 
sion of a surface uniformly level, it has (as remarked in my preliminary report) its mountains and 
valleys, which cannot be separated by any peculiarities of natural products, and must, in a 
technical sense, be considered as a part of the “plains” region. Thus, on the divide between 
the Yakima and Pisquouse, I noticed that the forests did not appear until near its summit, at 
nearly 5,000 feet elevation. 
East of Mount Adams the greatest height of the woodless regions is 3,000 feet, at the Spokane 
river about 2,600 feet, and the lowest point near the centre of the Columbia plain, at Walla- 
Walla, is 409 feet above Vancouver. Though the canon of the Columbia is cut down through 
the elevated plain to the level of 119 feet at the Dalles, the general surface around is much 
higher, and at the lower points there is little doubt that trees would grow freely if protected 
from fires, being encouraged by the constant supply of moisture carried through the gap of the 
mountain by the prevailing strong west winds. 
I may therefore assume an average elevation of from 500 to 2,500 feet for the dry region of 
the central portion of the Territory, where trees will not grow without artificial irrigation. 
This Great Plain of the Columbia is bounded on the north by an irregular line running between 
the parallels of 48° and 49°, north of which it is presumed that but few branches of it extend. 
