which he cites seven others unnamed, totaling eighteen mountains 6000 feet or more in altitude. Above 5000 feet, spruce occurs in dense stands on the levels, excluding the sun, and clinging to the sides of sharp slopes, together with oaks, chestnuts and many other hardwoods. Below 5000 feet, balsam is prominent, and on the lower levels the forests become exceedingly rich in variety, size and luxuriance. DESCRIPTION OF EVERY PARK AND MONUMENT For the first time, we believe, in any single volume, we give in the following pages a brief description of every listed National Park and National Monument, arranged in alphabetical order by States. For the information here given, we are largely indebted to the bulletins and publicity circulars of the National Park Service. Concerning some of them the United States Government has published one or more pamphlets and maps. Readers desiring further information in regard to any of them are advised to consult the list on pages 124, 125 preceding, ascertain from the marks preceding each line by what department the park or monument is administered, and address their inquiries to that department at Washington, D. C. Inquiries concerning those administered by the Department of the Interior should be addressed to "The Director of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C." Inquiries concerning those administered by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of War should be addressed to "The Secretary of Agriculture" and "The Secretary of War" respectively in care of those Departments. The National Park Service has a very well developed bureau from which information concerning railroad and other approaches to the parks and monuments can be obtained. ALASKA Glacier Bay National Monument Glacier Bay National Monument was proclaimed by President Coolidge on February 26, 1925. It embraces an area of about 1,164,800 acres on the southern coast of Alaska about 150 miles northwest of Sitka. Glacier Bay is 20 miles wide and 40 miles long and is sentineled by snow clad mountains furrowed by deep ravines and precipitous gorges. The reservation includes three peaks more than 15,000 feet high, Mounts Fairweather, Perouse and Crillon, and eleven immense perpetual fields of ice, including the famous Great and Muir glaciers. The New York Sun of March 7, 1925, says that the interest of scientists centers in Muir Glacier, one of the largest and best known of the Alaskan glaciers, which was named after John Muir, by whom it was discovered in 1878. This ice stream flows down the slopes of Mount Fairweather and enters Glacier Bay as a palisade of ice about 200 feet high and two miles long. Its submarine base reaches down almost 800 feet and is an 66 evidence of the depth of the bay. Its great wall of ice forms a barrier across the head of this body of water. Scientists see in the ice fields of this region an unusual opportunity for the study of the origin and movement of glaciers, and they have for several years urged the preservation of the region as a national reserve." The President's proclamation describes the boundaries of the new National Monument as beginning at the most southerly point of North Marble Island in approximate latitude 58° 40′ north and approximate longitude 136° 4' west and running thence southeasterly to the most westerly point of the largest island at the entrance of Bear Track Cove in approximate latitude 58° 34' north and approximate longitude 135° 56' west; thence following the mean high water line of the southerly shore to the most easterly point of that island; thence east on a parallel of latitude to the crest of the divide between the waters of Bear Track Cove and Bartlett Cove; thence northeasterly along this divide to the summit of the divide between the waters of Excursion Inlet and Glacier Bay; thence northerly along this divide to the crest of the divide between the waters of Glacier Bay and Lynn Canal; thence northerly and westerly along this divide to the International Boundary line between Alaska and British Columbia; thence southwesterly along the International Boundary line to the summit of Mt. Fairweather; thence southeasterly to the summit of Mt. Lituya; thence easterly and southerly along the divide between the waters of the Pacific Ocean and the waters of Glacier Bay and Icy Strait to the summit of Mt. La Perouse; thence easterly across Brady Glacier to the summit of the mountain marked 4480 on Coast and Geodetic Survey chart No. 8306 in approximate latitude 50° 33′ north and approximate longitude 136° 38′ west; thence northeasterly to the summit of the mountain marked 4030 on that chart in approximate latitude 58° 34' north and approximate longitude 136° 33' west; thence northeasterly to the most southerly point on the north shore of Geikie Inlet; thence northeasterly following the mean high water line of this shore to the most easterly point of land at the entrance of Geikie Inlet, thence southeasterly to the place of beginning, containing approximately 1,820 square miles. The National Park Service informs us that the monument was created on the petition of the Ecological Society of America and the endorsement of the National Geographic Society, these organizations pointing out that the Glacier Bay district presents a unique opportunity for the scientific study of glacier behavior, the resulting movements and development of flora and fauna and certain valuable relics of ancient interglacial forests. The region also contains a great variety of forest covering consisting of mature areas and bodies of youthful trees which have become established since the retreat of the ice that should be preserved in their natural condition. The new monument is also of historic interest having been visited since the early voyage of Vancouver in 1794, by explorers and scientists who left valuable records of such visits and explorations. In 1924 approximately 2,560,000 acres were withdrawn by executive order from the public domain in this section of Alaska pending the determination as to what portion of it should be included in the proposed Glacier Bay National Monument. The President's proclamation of Feb. 26, 1925 fixing the size at 1,820 square miles will result in the vacating of the previous order, and lands not included in the new monument will be open to homestead settlement, mineral, and other development. Katmai National Monument Katmai National Monument, comprising 1,087,990 acres, is situated near the base of the Alaska Peninsula on the southern shore of Alaska, bordering Shelikof Strait. It lies in a volcanic belt which has shown extraordinary activity during recent years, and is the largest and most spectacular of the National Monuments. It includes Mount Katmai, which in 1912 gave vent to a violent eruption, during which several cubic miles of material were emitted. The most picturesque feature of the monument is the mountain-encircled Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes in the northwestern portion of the reservation. For over 15 miles down this valley, which measures nine miles at its greatest width, the ground is broken open, giving vent to several million fumaroles or little volcanoes, from which rise jets of steam. Some of the jets throw their steam over a thousand feet into the air, and hundreds of others go up to a distance of five hundred feet, all merging above the valley into one titanic cloud. These fumaroles are surrounded by deposits tinted in all the shades of the rainbow. In many places the ground is too hot to walk upon. Scientists say that this valley is an example of what the geyser basin of Yellowstone Park was when the Yellowstone's volcanoes first ceased their activity. In addition to the volcanic phenomena, the surrounding region contains some magnificent lake and mountain scenery. Mount McKinley National Park Mount McKinley National Park, containing 1,692,800 acres, ranks second only to the Yellowstone Park in size among the National Parks. Its distinguishing feature is its namesake peak, the loftiest mountain in North America, which has an altitude of 20,300 feet and is situated in north latitude 63° and west longitude 150°. The snow-capped mountain is an awe-inspiring spectacle. There are higher peaks in the Himalayas which do not seem so high because they are seen from valleys which have an altitude of from seven to ten thousand feet, while Mount McKinley rises abruptly from valleys having an altitude of 3000 feet or less. The visitor to Mount McKinley looks up more than seventeen thousand feet to the double peak, the upper fourteen thousand feet of which are covered with perpetual snow. The northern slopes of the park are characterized by broad valleys, covered with forests, dotted with lakes, and inhabited. by enormous herds of caribou. Its southern plateau is a wilderness of pereptual winter, through which glaciers of great length and mass |