GEOGRAPHY RELIEF. 11 
seem to have so far reduced the space between them as to interlock in a rather 
extensive flat at an altitude of approximately 1,500 feet, where a few scattering lakes 
indicate the indefiniteness of the drainage. 
From the White Mountains and from the commanding ridges of the Fairbanks 
region can be seen a group of hills 50 miles or more to the west, which rises abruptly 
from the indistinct level of its surroundings so that it forms the most conspicuous 
topographic feature in all the far western section of the Yukon-Tanana country. 
This group resolves itself on nearer view into the main divide between the Yukon 
and Tanana drainage systems and two prominent extensions from it to the north- 
Lynx Mountain, a ridge several miles in length, and Wolverine Mountain, a massive 
peak which gives to the Rampart region a maximum relief of over 4,000 feet with 
reference to the level of the Yukon at Rampart. 
This portion of the divide contrasts strongly with that immediately to the east. 
It is higher, sharper, and rougher, extends in a northeast-southwest direction with 
a minimum altitude of about 2,000 feet, and separates with no indefiniteness the 
waters which flow to the north and to the south toward Yukon and Tanana rivers. 
Long, rough, lateral spurs extend northward toward the Yukon, and their steep 
sides are deeply cut until there is presented a repetition of sharp spurs separated by 
deep narrow canyons, which has justified the name "Troublesome country," com- 
monly applied to a part of this region. South of the divide there is less complexity. 
Long, more gradually sloping ridges separate the more open valleys and merge 
finally into the extensive flats of Tolovana and Baker valleys. This difference in 
topographic expression so frequently observable on the northern and southern sides 
of the Yukon-Tanana country is here in the narrower space between the two rivers 
brought thus into sharper contrast. 
The name Lynx Mountain has been applied to the southern end of a ridge about 
30 miles southeast of Rampart, which extends northward from the main divide a dis- 
tance of about 5 miles, has an altitude of approximately 4,000 feet, and is topograph- 
ically distinct from its surroundings. The outline is irregular, developing in places 
into rugged, angular points. The upper slopes are steep and have furnished much 
material for the extensive accumulations of talus below. Along the greater part of 
the eastern base they plunge deeply into narrow canyons. Toward the southern 
end of the eastern base, however, the undulating surface of the main divide rough- 
ens in proximity to the ridge, and throws a wave-like prominence high up along 
the slope, the brown moss-covered surface of which contrasts strongly with the 
rock-strewn slopes above. Off to the east is the even surface of the broad divide. 
The southern termination of the ridge and a part of the western base are flanked by 
a slightly concave graded slope, the even surface of which is marked by ripples of 
fine rock waste. As the main divide extends round the southern end of the ridge 
the drainage is mostly toward the Yukon, and numerous tributaries of Hess Creek 
drain northward from both sides. 
Wolverine Mountain is the crowning point of a bulky mass in the main divide, 8 
miles west of Lynx Mountain and about 12 miles southeast of Rampart. It has an 
altitude of approximately 4,640 feet and towers several hundred feet above adjacent 
parts of the ridge. The western slopes descend with steep but more or less regular 
grades to valleys which carry the drainage toward the Tanana. The northern slopes 
are steeper. Sharp spurs with a concave outline plunge in divergent courses toward 
the valley 2,000 feet below and divide into minor steeper spurs which buttress the 
mountain side. The spurs become more rounded and more divided toward the base 
and extend thence northward with more gradual slopes about 1 mile to the main 
drainage line. The edges of the upper spurs are shattered into piles of fragments, 
and the debris-laden slopes of neighboring spurs steeply intersect to form the gulches 
which furrow conspicuously the northern face. 
