The most unique of these is Mt. Mazama, of southern Oregon. This mountain represents a truncated cone in the top of which there is an immense depression now occupied by the waters of Crater Lake. The almost vertical cliffs which surround it rise to elevations of 2000 ft., and the maximum depth of the lake is almost as great. It is believed that this peak once reached an elevation of at least 15000 feet, and that it was then an active volcano with a summit crater filled with lava. It is thought that at a later period, the lava found distant means of escape, and that the support of the lava being withdrawn from the crater walls caused the summit portion of the mountain to sink in. That the summit was engulfed and not blown away by explosions is proved by the total absence of fragmental material on its slopes. That volcanic activity as resumed again later is recorded in the presence of Wizard Island, a secondary crater or cone, raised within the main cavity.

CLIMATE

Climatic contrast.-The great belt of mountains thus produced is by far the most pronounced physiographic feature of both Washington and Oregon. Lying, as these mountains do, directly in the path of the prevailing westerly winds, they exert a powerful influence upon the climate of the region. Their eastern and western slopes, as well as the eastern and western divisions of the states through which they pass, differ widely in their general climatology, the eastern exhibiting an almost arid climate with extremes of temperature, while the western is wet and equable.

Precipitation. The chief source of rainfall in the Pacific States is evaporation from the Pacific Ocean. As the moisture laden westerlies move eastward, they are forced upward along the western slopes of the Cascades, where the air is cooled, largely as a result of expansion. This increased cooling causes a gradual increase of precipitation along the western slopes. In the north, the annual precipitation increases gradually from 45" near the base of the range to 100" at the summit. In Oregon, increase is also noticeable, but it reaches. little more than 50′′, due to decrease in elevation. In descending the eastern slope, the air steadily advances into a region having greater capacity for moisture, and so condensation and precipitation decrease rapidly. In the Columbia Valley, east of the Cascades, the annual precipitation ranges between 10 and 15 inches. The following figures illustrate clearly this rapid diminution of precipitation eastward. At the Cascade Locks on the Columbia near the 122nd Meridian the rainfall is 80"; at Hood River (121°30′) it is 43′′, while at the Dalles near the 121st Meridian it is only 16".

Monthly distribution. These rains are not evenly distributed throughout the year. 90% of the precipitation occurs during the eight months from October to May inclusive, leaving but 10% for the remaining 4 months. This is due to the fact that in summer the land is warmer than the ocean and the vapor is carried eastward over the mountains for lack of sufficient cooling to condense it. In winter on the other hand, the warm air is cooled quickly in traveling over the cold land mass and the moisture is precipitated.

Contrast in temperature east and west.-The eastern and western slopes also exhibit a marked diversity in temperature. The western slope enjoys the uniformity characteristic of a marine climate, interrupted only by occasional hot or cold winds from across the mountains. The winters are mild, due to the warm winds from the ocean and the heat emitted through the condensation of vapor. This is not true of the eastern slope, for here the climate is subject to sudden changes and to great extremes of temperature.

RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES

Forests

The main wealth of the Cascade Range lies in its forests. The mountains are included in what may be known as "The Great Forest Belt of the Pacific," which begins in southern California and extends northward to Alaska. It extends up the western slope of the Cascades to elevations of 6000 ft., in the northern and 7000 ft., in the southern part of the range. These forests are continuous through the lower passes far down the valleys on the eastern or sunny side of the mountains. Owing to the equable temperature and abundance of moisture, the densest forests and largest trees are found on the western slope. Below 4000 ft., where the soil covering is thick and exceedingly rich in vegetable mould or humus, and where the temperature is favorable, the trees are so close and the underbrush so dense that travel is well nigh impossible. As higher altitudes are reached, there is a gradual thinning out due to the slight depth of the soil cover and adverse climatic conditions. On the eastern slope, the stand of timber is not nearly so great owing to the lack of rainfall. For the same reason, the density of the forests also decreases southward.

Species. These forests consist almost entirely of conifers. Owing to the wide range of latitude and altitude the species vary in different places. The western slope is occupied mainly by the red fir, hemlock, cedar, and spruce. Of these the red fir is by far the most prevalent, hemlock being the next most common. On the western slope, in lower latitudes, and on the entire eastern slope where there is a reduction in rainfall, the species are the same but percentages vary. Here the red fir forms but a small percentage of the forests, while the yellow pine, almost absent west of the summit, becomes the predominating species.

Uses of different species. Of these trees, the fir is pre-eminently useful. It is of greater strength than any of the others and is, therefore, adapted to structural work of all kinds, while the variety of grains and the high finish of which it is capable makes it extremely desirable for the inside finishing of houses, etc. The yellow pine is used extensively in the construction of irrigation flumes and for the manufacture of fruit boxes and crates to supply the demands of the enormous fruit-growing industry of the region.

Logging.-Along low-lying areas, where access is comparatively easy, and along railroads and such streams as lend themselves to the transportation of

lumber, logging has been extensively carried on. Parts of the Cascade forests are, however, practically untouched, due to the lack of transportation facilities.

Forest reserves.-The national government has at length awakened to the economic importance of its forests. It has begun to appreciate that their chief value is not represented in the timber, but in the important relation they bear to the problem of irrigation; in their capacity to store and later distribute the waters, which would otherwise rush to the sea, laying waste the fertile uplands and slopes and destroying the rich bottom lands with floods. That it has entered actively upon the work of conservation in this region is indicated by the continuous belt of reserves found in the Cascade Range.

Agriculture and Fruit-raising

Owing to the extreme ruggedness and the dense forests of this physiographic province, agriculture cannot be carried on extensively, yet it has been practiced with great success in the rich, alluvial bottom lands found along the lower stretches of all the streams. The Yakima, Hood, Kittitas, Entiat and Chelan valleys have become renowned as fruit-raising centers.

Hood River Valley.-One of the best known of these is probably the Hood River Valley almost every acre of which is now in cultivation. The Hood River and its tributaries furnish the water necessary for irrigation and during the fruiting season water is supplied daily in order to force the plants to yield their fullest capacity.

Yakima Valley.-The richest agricultural district of the province is found along the Yakima and a number of the small streams tributary to it. Here the disintegration of the basalt has given rise to soil of wonderful depth and fertility. Through irrigation, this has made one of the most productive regions of the West. One of the largest irrigation projects, involving the irrigation of 100,000 acres of land, is located here. The valley has become famous particularly for its apples, peaches and grapes, although small fruits, vegetables, grains, hay, alfalfa and hops are also raised in great quantities.

Grazing

Grazing is confined chiefly to the open forests of the eastern portion of the range, where the slopes are covered with grass and nutritious forage plants. Succulent herbage is also found in the "burned areas." Cattle, and horses, but particularly sheep belonging to the farmers and ranchmen of neighboring lowlands are pastured here in summer. These sheep are wintered on the bunch grass plains, but as soon as spring comes thousands leave for the mountains, which are reached in early May. Here they remain until the latter part of September. While this sheep pasturing is exceedingly profitable in itself, it is ruinous to the forests and there is a conspicuous dearth of young trees wherever flocks have been summered. For this reason "herding" of sheep has been prohibited in parts of the forest reserves.

Quarries

The Cascade region is also rich in the possession of a variety of rocks suitable for building and monumental purposes. Many of these, however, are in inaccessible places. The only quarries opened thus far are in the immediate vicinity of the railroads. Marble is found in the Northern Cascades but owing to the lack of transportation facilities is little used. Sandstone of commercial value is found along the western border of the range. Valuable granite quarries are found in Washington along the Great Northern Railroad from Index to Leavenworth. Except for the finer varieties used in monumental work, these quarries have enjoyed a practical monopoly of the granite business in the Puget Sound region. Large quantities have here been used for street curbing, monument bases, foundation work for buildings and other purposes.

Mining

Coal.-Mining is rapidly becoming an important industry. The leading product thus far is coal. Coal-bearing rocks are known to occur in many places along the western slopes of the Cascade Mountains. Excellent coal has been found in the Mt. Baker and Hamilton districts near the international boundary. The largest and best coal mines of the province, however, are found east of the Cascades in the Roslyn and Clealum districts. This coal is bituminous, and the mines not only supply Eastern Washington, but a considerable quantity of the coal finds its way to Seattle where large coal bunkers have been built to take care of the export trade.

Metals. In metal mining the province has barely made a start, but it may some day play an important part in this industry. Gold, silver, copper and lead have been discovered in various parts of the range especially in northern Washington, but owing to the isolation of these deposits, they are necessarily of slow development. With the building of railways into the mining districts this industry will no doubt develop.

Water Power

The factor that will no doubt figure most prominently in the industrial development of this region is the water power, which is greater, perhaps, than that of any other section of the United States. The streams of these mountains possess all the requisite properties for the production of power, an abundant and uniform flow of water and many falls.

The extremely heavy rains, together with the snow which accumulates to great depths during the winter and melts off gradually during the dry summer months, insure an almost uniform flow of water for the large number of streams that leave the crests. That the term "Cascades" is no misnomer, can be seen in the upper courses of all of the streams, for they abound in foaming cataracts and cascades, showing only here and there stretches of more quiet

water.

At present, these streams are supplying power for street railways, for electric lighting and manufacturing purposes to the adjacent centers of popula

tion. Outside the manufacture of lumber and timber products, manufacturing has not yet assumed great importance in this region. Of the 13,125,000 horse power available in the state of Washington only 38,000 horsepower has supplied public corporations; the remainder is undeveloped. The undeveloped power in Oregon is estimated at 3,317,000 horsepower. Considering the cheap power and the almost unlimited resources of forest, mine and soil, together with the new opportunities offered by the opening of the Panama Canal, these states will no doubt, in the near future, become manufacturing centers of considerable prominence.

TRANSPORTATION

As has been noted, all resources of the Cascade Mountains are practically undeveloped because of the lack of transportation facilities. Yet rapid strides have been made in this direction within the past few decades. Several of the old immigrant roads have been placed in excellent condition. These are now used as wagon roads and are owned and controlled by corporations which exact toll from all travelers. One of these is the old Barlow Road, which leads across the mountains just south of Mt. Hood from the Williamette Valley to eastern Oregon, while another follows the Middle Fork of the Williamette River through most of its extent. In addition to these old roads new ones have been built at great expense. Among the best known are the Snoqualmie Pass Road of Washington, and the Williamette Valley and Cascade Mt. Toll Road which crosses the range at Lat. 44°30'. Another has been recently completed near the international boundary. From these main roads, numerous shorter wagon roads and trails follow the wider divides and the rivers into the heart of the range and are of great use to prospectors, foresters, cattle and sheep men and tourists.

Although the building of these roads has aided greatly in opening up the region, the development of its resources amounted to nothing until the coming of the railroad. Five lines now cross the range, the Great Northern, the Northern Pacific, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul, the Oregon and Washington R. R. and Navigation Co., and the Portland and Seattle R. R. A comparative study of the activities in the regions adjacent to these lines and the more isolated portions of the range suggests the progress that the building of proposed new lines will inaugurate.

The Association of American Geographers is almost the only geographical society in which membership is limited to technically-trained and scientifically-recognized professional geographers. Its membership is about one hundred. By co-operative arrangement its annual volume is sent to many members of the American Geographical Society in New York, and the monthly Bulletin of the American Geographical Society is sent to all members of the Association of American Geographers. The two societies hold a joint meeting every spring in New York City, and maintain a joint Research Committee.