108 ALASKAN MINERAL RESOURCES IN 1904. [bull. 259. 
times through differences in elevation with reference to the water level.? 
The eastern extension of the high bench gravels, so far as traced, is 
indicated on the accompanying map (fig. 6, p. 105). 
The important tributaries of Minook Creek from the east are Hunter, 
Little Minook, Little Minook, Jr., Hoosier, Florida, and Chapman 
creeks. The largest of these is about 15 miles long. Their ramifying 
headwaters have deeply incised themselves within the steep-sided high 
ridge which limits in this direction the drainage area of Minook Creek, 
and they all enter the main valley by narrow V-shaped valleys which 
cut the high bench above described into several portions, to some of 
which distinctive names have been given by the miners. The impor- 
tant tributaries from the west are Ruby, Slate, and Granite creeks. 
These head several miles back from the main valley and are similar in 
character to those that flow from the other side. 
Troublesome Creek is about 12 miles east of Minook Creek. It 
receives several tributaries which drain the area between Lynx and 
Wolverine mountains and flows in a general northerly course to Mike 
Hess Creek. Its course for the most part is outside of the area here 
considered. The valleys of the upper tributaries, like those of Minook 
Creek, are narrow, but their heads are frequently open, park-like 
spaces bounded by precipitous rocky slopes. Terraces are common 
but are not developed to so great a degree as in the valle} r of Minook 
Creek. Quail Creek, the most important tributary, heads opposite 
Hoosier Creek, and its smaller branches drain the steep flanks of 
Wolverine Mountain. 
The area south of the divide is of a different character. The two 
elements that stand out most prominently in the landscape are the 
ridges and valleys of the southern slope of the divide and the exten- 
sive lowland known as Baker Flats, across which flows Baker Creel 
A low ridge bounds the valley of Baker Creek on the south, and above 
this ridge, in clear weather, are visible the lofty masses of Mount 
McKinley and Foraker, 160 miles away. 
The streams of economic importance are only a few miles long. 
They flow from their sources on the divide in more or less parallel 
courses southward and westward. After leaving the base of the hills 
they unite with one another, lose themselves in Baker Flats, or iind 
their way by winding courses to Baker Creek. The heads of the 
valleys are narrow and deep like those of the northern slope, but after 
leaving the region of the high divide the valleys become more open, 
the ridges between them lose their roughness, maintain an even, 
bench-like character for a considerable distance, and then descend very 
gradually to the level of Baker Flats. 
TANANA DRAINAGE. 
! 
