Professional Paper No 50 Series B, Descriptive Geology, 79

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

CHARLES D \\ALCOir, DlRECTOP

THE

MONTANA LOBE OF THE KEEWATIN

ICE SHEET

BY

FRED. H. H. OALHOUISr

WASHINGTON '

GOVERN MBNT FEINTING OFFICE 

1906

OF Mm

IARY

APRS 1975

LIBRARY
CONTENTS.

Page

Introduction................. ..----... . - ..-..-- . - - - -. - --.... ... ............... 7

Genei al features of the area . - . __.-__. .-. ... ..... ....-- -. ........... ............... 8

Location..-......--... . - .. .. ... .. ......... ..... ...... ................. 8

Problems presented. ... . . .......... . ... ... ............ . . . -.....-..-..--..-. 8

Physiography.. ....... . .. ... - ........ ... ............ . -. ................. 8

Structure............ .. ....... ............ .......... . ... ....... ... .... .... 9

General geology..... .. ... . .. ........ .. --........-. ........-..--...-..-.---. 10

Sedimentary rocks . . - - - . . ........................... .... ............---.- 10

Igneous rocks....... - .. -...-.--..-.----...-.....--.-. ... ....-.-.-..-.---...- 11

Surface formations.......... .. .. ... ............ ......... .. -..--..-. ........... 13

Quartzite gravels......... ........ . .......... ... ....... . .. .....'.. . ........... 13

Character-. .... -..--...... . .......... ................ ........................ 13

Distribution........................... ......... ... - .... ... ...-...-..-..--- 13

Drift of the mountain ice...... .....-.........--...-..-..--.---.--.- ............. ..... 14

Distribution of the mountain glaciers........................ ........................ 14

Detailed descriptions of the mountain glaciers.. ............ ..... ............... .... 15

Sun River Glacier--.-....-.-----..- .-..-... ... .-------...... . .--...-..-- 15

Deep Creek Glacier........................... . ........... . ................. 16

Teton River Glacier............. ......................... . ................... 17

Muddy Creek glaciers........ ............ . ........ . ...................... 17

Dupuyer Creek Glacier... ............... ............. .... ................... 18

Sheep Canyon Glacier...... ....... .. ... ... . ......................... ..... 18

Blackfoot Glacier..... .................................................. , 5 ..... 18

Cutbank Creek Glacier.................. ..... .... .... ....................... 20

Milk River Glacier.......................... . ........ ........................ 20

St Mary River Glacier ......--.----.---..------.-...---.......-................ 21

Drift of Keewatm ice sheet.... ............................................... ......... 22

Terminal moraine-........ ......---......--.--....... . ..........................1 22

Later moraines.................................... t ................................ 26

Character of the drift... .......... ....----...-...-....--.... ..................... 27

Ice surface......... . ........................................................... . 28

Height........ . . ... ....................................................... 28

Slope......... ... ... ..................... ................................. 28

Drainage.... ............ ................................................................ 28

Lakes................................................................................. 28

Character of the lakes.....---.-----..... .................... ................. 28

Location of the lakes..................................... ...................... 29 '

Lake in St Mary Valley....................... ................................. 29

Lake in Two Medicine River Valley............. ................................. 29

Lake in Teton River basin....................................................... 29

Lake in Missouri River Valley.................................................... 30
4 CONTENTS.

Drainage Continued - , Page

Rivers................................................................................ 32

Effect of mountain glaciers.......................................................... 32

Effect of northeastern ice sheet,...................................................... 32

St Mary Rivei................................................................. 32

Milk River..................................................................... 32

Two Medicine River......................'...................................... 32

Birch Creek.................................................................... 33

Muddy Creek.................................................................. 33

Teton River................................................................... 33

Missouri River................................................................. 34

Interrelations of surface loimations........................................................... 45

The quartzite gravels and the two drift sheets.............................................. 45

The northeastein and the mountain drift sheets............................................ 46

Deductions ft om interrelations................................................. ......... 49

Age of the quartzite gi avels.......................................................... 49

Age of the northeastern duft........................................... ............. 52

Evidence from erosion............................/............................ . 52

Evidence from topography of terminal moi aine..................................... 53

Evidence from relations of the two drift sheets..................................... 53

The drift outside the terminal moraine.................................................... 54

Summary...........-...------...-..-.......-..........-.-...--...--.--.--..-.---...-...... 56

Index................-.....--........--......-..-...---.-..-.--.-...---.....--.......-.... 59

ILLUSTRATIONS.

< " Page. 

PLATE I Map of nortnein Montana, showing the glaciated area.................................. 7

II A, Perched concietion weathered from Cretaceous sandstone, B, The Shonkin Sag.......... 12

III A, Summit Pass and adjacent valleys, B, Sun River Canyon...-......--.-.-----........ 18

IV. A, Eagle Butte nearly encircled by moraine of northeastern ice sheet; B, Till section 100 feet

high on Muddy Creek......._.._..........-....--.-....--..-...---.-...-------.-- 26

V. Map showing area covered by the Great Falls Lake and the position of the terminal and later

moraines......--.-......-.......-.......-.......-.......---.....-----.-.------- 30

VI A, Falls of the Missouri, B, One of the falls of the Missouri, showing amount of post-Glacial

erosion-..........-.........-...............-.......---..--.--..-.-.--...-.--... 34

VII. A, Water gap formed by Missouri River; B, Wind erosion near Dry Fork of Marias River.... 36

FIG 1 Section in the Canadian Rockies, showing thrust-fault relations of Cretaceous to Algonkian

and Cambnan................................................................... 9

2. Section along the 49th paiallel, showing thrust-fault relations of Cretaceous to Algonkian

and Cambrian................................................................... 10

3. Cross section showing relations between the two lake deposits in the Missouri Valley west of

Great Falls..................................................................... 30

4 Longitudinal section showing relations of the lake deposits to the drift dam and the ice dam.. 30

5. Section showing relation of the lacustrine clay to the giavels and till of the noitheastein ice

sheet........................................................................... 31

6. Section on Belt Creek, showing the moraine covered by lake deposit..................... 31

7. Relative size of post-Glacial and pre-Glacial valleys of Two Medicine River............... 32

8 Cross sections showing relative sizes of Two Medicine, Cutbank Creek, and Marias valleys.. 33 

9. Valley of the Missouri, showing post-Glacial cutting in sandstone and drift................ 34
ILLUSTBATTONS. 5

Page 

FIG. 10 Section showing the pre-Glacial valley of Missouri River............................... 35

11 Cross section showing the drift in the valley through which Highwood Creek now flows..... 37

12 Map showing the pre-Glacial course of the Missouri between Sand Coulee and the mouth of

Highwood Creek................................................................. 37

13 Relations of the post-Glacial and the pre-Glacial channels of the Missouri between mouth of

Highwood Creek and mouth of Little Sandy Creek................................... 38

14 Map showing outlines of the great pre-Glacial valley between Missouri and Milk nvers..... 39

15 Map of the vicinity of Havie, showing the relation of the pre-Glacial Missouri to the valleys of

the post-Glaual streams...._.--.....-........_..._....__..._.__................... 39

16 Map showing pre-Glacial river system of northern Montana............................. 40

17. Map showing drainage of northern Montana, when ice had maximum extent and also preGlacial river system......----.-.-------------.----.-......-.-..-.-.-..-.-..-..... 41

18 Map showing drainage of northern Montana at stage of younger moraine................. 41

19 Map showing post-GIacial drainage system of northern Montana, with a part of the preGlacial system...-__..-....-._.--._-----..--..-----.-...._......-............... 42

20 Cross section of the Shonkin Sag at the time the ice was present-......---..-.-..-.-.-... 42

21 Section across the Shonkin Sag, showing how it was formed on the slope of Highwood Mountains. __._.__._-_.._-_-..---.--.-.----..----.--..-.---.-..--..--..----.--...-._. 43 

22. Sketch map showing how the Shoukm Sag was developed from pie-Glacial valleys........ 43

23 Map showing m detail how the Missouri was forced across the valleys of Arrow, Judith, and

Musselshell i ivers................................................................ 44

24 Longitudinal profiles of Judith River and Dog Creek valleys............................ 45

25 Section on Buch Creek............................................................. 46

26. Section near mouth of Dupuyer Creek................................................ 47

27 Section on the Two Medicine at point where Summit Glacier crossed it................... 47

28 Section on the Two Medicine 7 miles west of mouth.................................... 48

29 Section on St Mary River near Sloan's ranch......................................... 48

30 Section on St Mary River north of Sloan's ranch...................................... 49

31 Section on Belly River within the terminal moraine oi the Keewatm ice sheet............. 49
THE MONTANA LOBE OF THE KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

By FRED. H. H CALHOTJN.

INTRODUCTION.

Just south of the forty-ninth parallel and east of the Rocky Mountains is an 

area that is of much interest to glacialists It is the area which lay between the 

Keewatin ice sheet and the mountain glaciers coming from the west. Although it 

has been known for nearly twenty years that the bodies of drift deposited by the ice 

coining from opposite directions were closely associated, little detailed field work has 

been done in this region. As early as 1881 Sir James Geikie prophesied that a 

careful study of the region would clear up many important points in glaciology. ° In 

1885, Dr. T. C. Chamberhn and Prof E. D. Salisbury, in a reconnaissance of the 

region, determined roughly the course of the terminal moraine of the eastern ice 

sheet and obtained data concerning the character and extent of the mountain glaciation 6 In 1890 Mr. G. E. Culver, while a member of the military party under the 

command of Lieutenant Ahern, U. S. Army, gathered many data concerning the 

geology of the region, publishing the results of his investigations in the Transactions 

of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, in 1891.° Doctor Dawson and Mr McConnell, of the Canadian Survey, have worked out the geology of the region north of 

the boundary lme.d Their reports are unusually complete, but the area to the south 

offers better opportunity for study, and somewhat different conclusions were reached 

from a study of that region.

The work on which the following discussion is based was done during the field 

seasons of 1901, 1902, and 1903. During the first season the writer was accompanied by Mr. Bruce McLeish, then a student at the University of Chicago. The 

second year Mr. Porter Graves, of the Kansas City High School, rendered valuable 

assistance The writer is most deeply indebted to Dr. T. C. Chamberhn and Prof. 

E. D. Salisbury, of the University of Chicago, for friendly interest shown while 

superintending the compiling of this manuscript. Professor Salisbury also personally directed a portion of the field work and made many practical suggestions. 

Thanks are" also due Dr. G. K. Gilbert for careful criticism of the report.

a Am Naturalist, vol. 15, pp 1-7

6 U S Geol Survey, Seventh Ann Kept, 1888, pp 147-248 ' 

cTrans Wis Acad Sci, vol 8,1891, pp 187-205

iGeol Survey Canada^ Kept ol Progress, 1884, sec C, Geol Survey Canada, vol 1, n. a, 1885, sec. C ; Bull. Geol. Soc. 

America, vol. 7, pn 31-66

7
8 MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATITST ICE SHEET.

GENERAL FEATURES OF THE AREA. 

LOCATION

The area covered by this investigation lies along the eastern front of the Montana Rockies, between longitude 108° and 113° 40', and latitude 47° 15' and 49° 30'. 

Over the eastern and northern part of this area the ice from the northeast deposited 

its drift. Over the western part the ice from the Eockies pushed down the mountain valleys and, deploying on the plain, deposited large and well-defined terminal 

moraines. Extending from the Canadian line to the Missouri there is a strip of 

country, varying greatly in width, which the ice did not cover.

PROBLEMS PRESENTED.

In studying this region four important subjects present themselves the eastern 

drift, the mountain drift, the deposits on the .intervening area (which was not 

glaciated), and the relations of these three surface formations to one another. In 

order that these relations may be clearly understood the physiography and the 

general geology of the region must be briefly considered.

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

The region may be divided into three physiographic provinces the greafe plains 

that cover the eastern part of Montana, the foothill belt, and the Rocky Mountains' 

proper. The plains begin at the edge of the foothills and slope eastward with sharp 

descent. At Midvale, near the base of the mountains, the elevation is 4,788 feet 

above sea level; at Blackfoot, 20 miles distant, 4,145 feet, giving a slope of 30 feet 

per mile; at Shelby Junction, 52 miles from Blackfoot, 3,279 feet The fall between 

the last-named places is, therefore, 16 feet per mile

The foothill region separates the plains from the mountains This confused 

mass of hills and ridges narrows as it extends southward until, at the mouth of Sun 

River Canyon, it disappears altogether and the mountain walls rise abruptly from 

the plains. The height of the foothills averages 1,000 feet, though many individual 

peaks measure 1,500 feet.

As the foothills are distinct from the plain, so are the mountains distinct from 

the foothills Towering above the smaller hills at their base, these mountains raise 

their nearly vertical faces 4,000 to 5,000 feet above the plain.

The Rocky Mountain divide separates three drainage basins. A drop of water 

falling near the summit may be carried eastward by the tributaries of the Missouri 

to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico, northward by St. Mary River or its tributaries into Hudson Bay, or westward by Flathead River into the Pacific. Of these 

three drainage basins this report is chiefly concerned with the first two. All the 

streams considered rise on the eastern slope of the Rockies, flow through deep 

mountain valleys with high, nearly vertical walls, across the foothills in deep, 

narrow canyons, and finally make their way across the plains in great U-shaped 

valleys whose forms suggest a long period of erosion.

The region shows at least three periods of erosion, when the land stood at different levels. Running out from the mountains in a general eastward direction are 

plateaus 900 to 1,000 feet above the present level of the streams. These plateaus
STRUCTURE OF THE AREA'. 9

have plane surfaces, except for dissection by valleys, and slope sharply eastward at 

sfbout the same grade as that of the present streams. The plateau between South 

Fork of Milk River and Cutbank Creek, from a point near the mountains to Rocky 

Coulee, has a decline of 900 feet The fall of Milk River in the same distance is 

practically the same, while Cutbank Creek has a drop of 850 feet. Milk River Ridge, 

a plateau lying between Milk River and the valley of St. Mary River, has essentially 

the same slope. The distance is 33 miles and the decline about 28 feet per mile. 

Near the mountains these plateaus are from 1 to 3 miles broad. Toward the east 

they^narrow to ridges, the ridges give place to buttes, and the buttes in turn yield to 

small piles of sandstone debris, rising but little above the lower surface of another 

erosion cycle. The ridges now forming the remnants of this old base-level are found 

between streams flowing from the mountains, their narrowness in places being due 

to the lateral cutting of the streams during succeeding periods of erosion. In some 

cases this lateral planation has -been carried so far as to remove the ridge entirely. 

On Cutbank Ridge there is a low, flat butte, rising 200 feet above the plateau level, 

which represents a still older surface, possibly a still older plateau base-level.

South of Sun River are a number of great buttes, not capped with the gravels 

supposed to have been deposited during the time of the first base-level Possibly, at 

the time these gravels were being deposited, the buttes stood too high to receive 

them; they now stand 1,300 feet above the Sun River Flat. These flat-topped rock 

masses, while suggestive, are scarcely sufficient to determine the existence of an 

earlier base-level.

Between the first base-level and the third erosion level developed along the 

present stream courses, in which the streams are now cutting a fourth level, a welldeveloped second cycle is shown'. This is found in nearly all the river valleys, but 

in some places the erosion in the third cycle was so long and vigorous as to destroy all 

traces of the second along the sides of the valleys'. The second cycle was the least 

persistent of the series; the third cycle was the most complete. The great flats along 

Milk River and Cutbank Creek and those along the upper courses of Muddy and 

Teton rivers were formed at this time. In places the third cycle may be divided into 

two distinct cycles, and more detailed work may establish these in all the valleys. 

Taking the doubtful stages into account, six erosion levels can be differentiated.

STRUCTURE.

The present topography is the result of three physiographic processes, diastrophism, volcanism, and gradation. The Rocky Mountains were formed by a great

DEVONO-CARBONIFEROUS

-CRETACEOUS-* 

/ I

FIG. 1. Section ot frontal range of Canadian Rocky Mountains along South Fork of Ghost River, showing thrust-lault 

relations of Cretaceous to Algonkian and Cambrian After R G McConnell t

fault which thrust 8,000 to 10,000 feet of Algonkian rocks obliquely up and over 

upper Cretaceous beds for a distance of 7 miles or more. This fault has been worked
10 MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

out by Willis 0 in the vicinity of Chief Mountain, near the international boundary Jme, 

but the same fault appears to extend both northward and southward. 6 It is seen in

- CRETACEOUS

PIG 2 Section of frontal range oJ Rocky Mountains along the forty-ninth parallel, showing thrust-fault relations of 

Cretaceous to Alfconkiim and Cambrian. After Bailey Willis

Sun River and Teton River canyons, though there the Cretaceous appears to lie under 

a great thickness of limestone, which in this case is not Algonkian but Carboniferous.

GENERAL GEOLOGY 

SEDIMENTARY BOOKS.

The "rock material forming the mountains is varied. North of Summit Pass 

the basal member of the series is a hard buff limestone Above the limestone 

are argillites, quartzites, and conglomerates In some places the limestone has been 

metamorphosed. A fine exposure of the resulting marble is seen on the south side 

of Rising Wolf. The argillites are red, green, and black, and so hard as to withstand weathering to a remarkable degree The quartzites are commonly red and 

white, and are even more durable than the argillites Some of them contain flat 

pebbles of argillite, giving to the formations the appearance of a quartzite with 

interstratified layers of shale. The evidence of their shallow-water' origin is seen 

throughout the series. Ripple marks and sun cracks are found even at. the summit 

of Rising Wolf, nearly 10,000 feet above the sea Into this great sedimentary 

series there has been at least one igneous intrusion of diorite. Exposures of this 

intrusive rock occur in Swiftcurrent Canyon and at several other places on the 

west slope of the mountains. c This rock appears in the drift along the face of the 

mountain, being abundant in the St. Mary River Valley but gradually decreasing 

in amount toward the south.

The region lying at the foot of the mountains consists of a high plain sloping 

abruptly eastward. The beds forming the surface are upper Cretaceous; the 

lowest member of the system is referred to the Pierre formation of the Montana 

epoch; the upper member of the system is the Laramie. In the southeastern 

portion of the area the rocks of the Colorado formation are exposed along Missouri 

River This classification of the strata of the region is based wholly on Dawson's 

classification of the formations to the north The shales and sandstones of the 

Pierre formation are exposed at Midvale, in Two Medicine Valley on the Marias 

near its headwaters, on the Teton, and north of Shelby Junction on the line of the 

Great Falls and Canada Railroad. There are also outcrops in the disturbed region 

between the foot of the mountains and the area of horizontal beds.

Near the mountains the Pierre shales become sandy and in places conglomeratic, indicating proximity to an old shore line. The conglomeratic character

a WiUis, Bailey, unpublished manuscript.

6 (Jeol Survey Canada, 1886, vol 2, Rept. D.

c Culver, G E , Trans Wis. Aoad. Sci., vol 8,1891,p 195.
GENERAL GEOLOGY. 11

is well developed in Summit Pass and along the face of the mountains generally. 

The Fox Hills beds are regarded as deposits of a stage existing between the marine 

conditions of the Pierre and the fresh-water conditions at the time of the Laramie, 

and were not identified.

Concretions are found on the surface in great numbers, frequently arranged in 

belts extending uninterruptedly across the country (PI. II, A).

These concretions are often found in the drift.

IGNEOUS BOCKS.

a v

The continuity of the sedimentary series of the plain is interrupted by igneous 

outcrops in various parts of the region studied Chief among these are the Sweetgrass Hills, igneous intrusions south of Sun River on the headwaters of the Muddy, 

the Highwoods, the Bearpaws, the Little Rocky Mountains, and the Larb Hills.

The Sweetgrass Hills afford data for the solution of some of the glacial problems of the region, and therefore deserve especial mention. These hills or buttes 

are usually spoken of as outliers of the Montana Rockies, but they are not such in 

any proper sense of the term. The Rockies were formed by a series of faults, 

while the Sweetgrass Hills are the result of igneous intrusions, which lifted the 

sedimentary layers and left them dipping at high angles from the central igneous 

core. The hills are three in number, known as East, Middle, and West buttes. 

Of these, West Butte is the highest, its summit being about 6,800 feet (aneroid) 

above sea level. The East Butte is several hundred feet lower, while Middle 

Butte, the smallest of the three, is but 6,000 feet in height.

The igneous intrusions which formed these buttes may have belonged to the 

mountain-making period at the end of the Mesozoic, as volcanic activity was at 

this time great, or may be still younger Gold, silver, and copper are found to 

some extent in the buttes, occurring in veins, usually along the contact between 

the sedimentary series and the intrusive mass

The area of igneous rock found south of Sun River is some 30 miles from the 

base of the mountains. It caps some of the high buttes between Sun and Missouri 

rivers The easternmost outlier is found at Square Butte, in T. 20, R 2 W. The 

rock is pyroxene-porphyry, rather dense and roughly columnar It rests on a 

sandstone formation, which contains oyster shells and fine examples of the straight 

baculite shell. These fossils lie within a few inches of the contact and are perfectly 

preserved The sandstone shows scarcely a sign of metamorphism, even at the 

zone of contact The lava flowed over a very uneven surface. On Square Butte 

the contact is 400 feet above the level of the plain; on Crown Butte the bottom 

of the porphyry is but 100 feet above the plain.

The Highwood Mountains are the result of former extensive volcanic action. 

Early in the Eocene a great igneous mass pushed its way through the sedimentary 

layers to an unknown height above the plain. At the present time the mountains 

are much subdued by erosion and weathering, a number of peaks have been formed, 

and great buttes have been separated from the main mass of the flow. The mountains and the plains surrounding them have been cut by dikes, which radiate in all 

directions. a

o Weed, W. H., Description of the Fort Benton district Geologic Atlas U S , folio 55, U S GeoL Survey, 1899.
12 MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

Just north of the Highwood Mountains lies a very peculiar valley, locally 

known as the Sag (PI II, B), which extends from Highwood Creek Valley on the 

west to Arrow River Valley on the east The Sag is 80 miles long and in many 

places is very wide and deep. Near Steele it is over a mile wide, with valley walls 

600 to 800 feet high Its great size and peculiar course have led some geologists 

to consider it a pre-Glacial channel of the-Missouri, but its close association with 

the ice edge suggests another interpretation, which will be discussed later.

Directly northeast of Highwood Peak, the highest point of the Highwoods, 

and at a distance of some 70 miles, the Bearpaw Mountains rise above the plain. 

Like the Highwoods, these mountains are volcanic, being composed of lava flows 

resembling those which formed the Highwoods. Dike rock is less common, and as 

a whole the Bearpaws arc older, being past their maturity. The range is made 

up of low rounded peaks separated from one another by wide fertile valleys The 

two ranges are connected by a system of dikes, but it seems evident from the 

topography that if volcanic activity began at the same geologic period, the Highwood center continued active long after flow in the Bearpaw group had ceased.

The Little Rockies, the most picturesque and interesting of the three mountain groups, are situated some 50 miles southeast of the Bearpaws In contrast 

to the Bearpaws these mountains appear young Mission Peak, the highest, 

stands 3,000 feot above the level of the plain. The valleys are narrow and canyons 

are not infrequent. The canyon through which the St. Paul's Mission-Landusky 

road passes is 5 miles long and often 500 feet deep. The central mass of the 

mountains is of porphyry, which is surrounded on all sides by limestone of Carboniferous age Cretaceous sandstone lies on the limestone and extends outside 

the limestone area, dipping away from it at a low angle The porphyry and the 

limestone are cut by dikes of gneiss and schist None of these dikes were observed 

to extend into the sandstone, but some doubtless intersect it also. The gneisses 

and schists are of many varieties and are not found in the other mountain groups. 

In the porphyry are pockets of crystalline limestone and quartzite, which appear 

to be part of the sedimentary series, inclosed in some way by the igneous mass. 

In places near the porphyry shaly parts of the limestone have been turned to 

phylhte

The metamorphic rocks that occur in the mountain group have been earned 

out by streams and deposited along their channels and on their flood plains These 

rocks are in no wise different from some of the bowlders of the Keewatin drift and 

occur in the same area. Where all morainic topography has been destroyed by 

erosion, and where that topography was never developed, the tracing of the 

former extent of the ice becomes a complex and difficult problem.

The Larb Hills seem to be the top of a dome through which the streams have 

eroded great valleys but have not yet cut sufficiently deep to reach the igneous 

center. These hills lie east of the Little Rockies and form the breaks of the 

Missouri. The highest point is some 3,500 feet above sea level and 1,200 feet above 

the level of the plain. Between these mountain groups lie broad plains, which 

had a marked influence on the edge of the ice.
MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET. 13

SURFACE FORMATIONS.

QUARTZITE GRAVELS. 

CHARACTER.

On the plateaus between the streams, on the terraces and slopes in the stream 

valleys, and in the present channels of the watercourses are found the surface 

formations with which this report deals. There are four such surface formations: (1) A gravel deposit, found in the driftless area; (2) morainic material 

brought in by the ice from the mountains; (3) morainic material deposited by 

the ice from the northeast; and (4) the present fluvial deposits. The last are of 

so little importance that they need not be considered.

Between the moraines deposited by the Keewatin ice sheet and the valley 

glaciers and on the surface of the strip of nonglaciated country lies a peculiar 

formation which will be spoken of as the quartzite gravels. These gravels are 

made up of argillite and quartzite formations of the mountains. Limestone is 

rarely present. The few fragments found show the result of long-continued 

weathering. In some cases all the calcium carbonate has disappeared, leaving 

nothing but irregular masses of chert. In general the quartzite and argillite 

pebbles making up the formation are well rounded, though some still show traces 

of angularity. The fact that these hard quartzites are generally smooth and 

round, taken together with the absence of any appreciable quantity of limestone 

or other nonresistant rock, shows conclusively that the constituents of the gravel 

were subjected to prolonged wear. In size the pebbles are rather uniform, being 

on the average 3 or 4 inches in diameter. Isolated specimens found near the 

mountains measure as much as 12 inches in diameter.

South of the forty-ninth parallel the character of the gravels changes with 

the character of the rocks forming the front of the mountains. South of Birch 

Creek the quartzites and argillites are less common. South of the Teton Ridge 

the gravels consist of small cherty pebbles, the residual material of the original 

cherty limestones.

DISTRIBUTION.

How far eastward the gravel extends is not known. East of latitude 112° 

the formation is buried by drift beds. Beneath the drift the gravels have been 

found on the Milk, Marias, Teton, and Missouri rivers. Dawson describes them 

as found 200 to 500 miles east of the mountains. They appear in the drift of the 

Keewatin ice sheet and make up a considerable per cent of its rock material. Their 

topographic positions are significant. The high divides between the watercourses 

are capped by them to a depth of from 1 to 10 feet, but they are absent from the 

divides near the mountains and from some of the high buttes south of Sun River, 

which, lava-capped and standing 1,000 feet above the plains, are covered only by 

the residual material from the lava itself. The gravels appear on the slopes descending from the higher to lower levels and for the most part covering them. On the 

flats adjacent to the present streams they are sometimes absent, and isolated 

areas in front of the moraine deposited by the Keewatin ice sheet are not covered 

by them. Taking the entire area into consideration, the gravels are very persistent. Their relation to the other surface formations, their origin, and their 

age will be considered later.
PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO 60 PL II

PERCHED CONCRETION WEATHERED FROM CRETACEOUS SANDSTONE

JJ THESHONKIN SAG 

The sag at this point is about 600 feet deep
14 MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

DRIFT OF THE MOUNTAIN ICE. 

DISTRIBUTION OF THE MOUNTAIN GLACIERS.

In the distribution of glaciers, living and extinct, in the western mountains, 

one feature which stands out above all others is their greater extent on the western 

slopes In the Sierra Nevada in Glacial time the western slope was one continuous ice sheet," while on the eastern side of the range the glaciation was confined 

to a few narrow gorges. In Colorado the heaviest glaciation was on the west side 

of the mountain ranges; the La Plata Mountains, which are the first to catch the 

moist winds from the Pacific, were heavily glaciated on the west side; in the San 

Juan Mountains there was not only a much greater thickness of ice on the west 

slope, but the territory covered by the ice was much larger. 6 In Washington the 

western sides of the ranges suffered severe glaciation, and the Wasatch Mountains 

were more heavily glaciated on the west than on the east.

The reason for this is evident. The prevailing winds over the western mountains were from the west and carried 'with them moisture gathered from the 

Pacific. This in part was deposited on the first mountain slope, because here the 

currents were forced to ascend and therefore precipitated their moisture. The 

larger part of what was carried over was deposited, not on the eastern slope of 

the same range, where the air currents were descending and where instead of 

precipitation there would be, to some extent, drying winds, but on the western 

side of the next. Glaciation in the mountains of Montana should follow the same 

law, and the western slope should be more heavily glaciated than the east. During 

the work in the field evidence was found to show that practically all the mountain 

valleys between the Waterton and the Missouri on the east side of _the range were 

once filled with glacial ice. The western slope, though not studied in detail, appears 

to have been more nearly covered. Large glaciers occupied South and Middle 

forks of Flathead Eiver, and into these main valleys there flowed small ice tributaries from the sides. Into the valley now occupied by Flathead Lake these ice 

streams poured and united to form a great piedmont glacier. 0 This glacier was 

augmented by an ice lobe coming from the north, for striations have been found 

running north and south on the west side of the Kootenai Mountains and on the 

low mountains north of Kalispel The moraines along the southern edge of Flathead Lake appear to have been deposited by the piedmont glacier thus formed. d 

Whether the lobe from the north was a part of the Cordilleran ice sheet or a great 

glacier formed in the valley north of Kalispel is yet to be determined.

The main divide of the Rockies formed the collecting ground for the glaciers. 

Those which made their way down the west side were of great extent, and in some 

cases covered the ridges between the streams. Those on the east slope were confined to the mountain valleys, and appear to have had no connection with each 

other until the separate glaciers reached the plain and, deploying, united to form 

a piedmont glacier extending along the foot of the range. During Glacial time 

all the great valleys and many of the minor ones in the area studied contained

»Kneeland, Samuel, Glaciers of the Yosemite Valley Proc Boston See Nat Hist , vol 15, p 37 

6 Stone, George H , Glacial gravels of Maine Men U S Geol Survey, vol 34,1899, pp 338-355 

» Garrey, George, unpublished manuscript 

<J Chamberlin* T C . Seventh Ann Kept U S Geol Survey, 1888, p 78
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 50 PL. II

A. PERCHED CONCRETION WEATHERED FROM CRETACEOUS SANDSTONE.

R. THE SHONKIN SAG. 

The sag at this point is about 600 feet deep.
DRIFT OF MOUNTAIN ICE. 15

glaciers. From 14 mountain valleys the ice reached beyond the mouth of the 

canyon and deployed upon the plains. In other valleys the ice did not reach 

the plain, but deposited its moraines across the canyon somewhere above the 

point of debouchure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF THE MOUNTAIN GLACIERS.

Sun River Glacier The area comprised in the Sun River system is that 

which lies between Dearborn River on the south, Missouri River on the east, and 

Teton River on the north. For the first 50 miles of its course North Fork of Sun 

River (the main branch) flows nearly due south, parallel to the main divide of 

the Rockies. It receives numerous tributaries from the west which have their 

heads at the very top of the divide The course of the river abruptly changes 

in T 22, R. 9 W , whence it flows eastward through a deep, narrow canyon in the 

mountains and, emerging on the plain, continues in the same direction to its 

junction with the Missouri, 75 miles distant.

The glacier which occupied the valley of Sun River was the largest one south 

of Summit Pass At the present time Sun River drains a considerable area of 

mountain territory, and -in the past it was well situated for collecting the glaciers 

which made their way down the eastern slope through its tributary valleys For 

a distance of 50 miles Sun River received those tributary ice tongues which, had 

the drainage been to the east, would have been carried in independent valleys 

directly to the plains. The result of this concentration of the ice into one valley 

was a glacier of considerable size

The mouth of Sun River Canyon is narrow, but it was through this restricted 

opening that the ice pushed, tearing great blocks from the sides, cutting deep 

grooves in the valley walls, and smoothing and polishing the rock to a greater 

extent than in any other canyon along this part of the range (PI. Ill, B )

The sides of the canyon are glaciated to a height of over 1,600 feet, the change 

from the glaciated to the nonglaciated surface being easily made out by the rather 

abrupt change in the topography. From the upper limit of glaciation at the mouth 

of the canyon to the terminal moraine, a distance of 18 miles, the fall of the upper 

surface of the ice was about 2,200 feet, giving an average decline of about 130 feet 

per mile. This glacier at its maximum extent reached to a point northeast of 

Augusta, where its moraine now crosses Sun River in a north-south direction. On 

the south side of the river and about 1 mile from it, the moraine turns S. 70° W. 

and continues in that direction for some distance Beyond this the moraine on this 

side of the river was not traced, but it probably joins that deposited by the glacier 

which occupied South Fork of Sun River

On the north side of Sun River the ice pushed eastward on the south side of a 

high ridge which forms thei divide between Sun River and Deep Creek. For a 

distance of about 3 miles the moraine lies along the south side of this ridge, but at 

a point 3 miles north of Willow Creek it reaches the top of the ridge and swings to 

the north. Near the mountains the moraine of the Sun River Glacier joins that of 

the Deep Creek Glacier

The outer moraine of the Sun River Glacier is well marked. In places it is 

about one-half mile wide and bears many basins which contain water in spring but
16 MONTANA LOBE OP KEEWATIN IOE SHEET.

are dry in summer This moraine, in sharp contrast to those farther north, is 

strewn with great numbers of large limestone bowlders, the largest noted being 

18 by 12 by 12 feet. Part of this bowlder is buried and the numerous large fragments scattered around its base show that it was once much larger

Three miles west of the outer moraine there is a well-marked recessional moraine. 

A second recessional moraine is found just west of Willow Creek This is not so 

well defined as the first, though it is of sufficient size to indicate that the ice front 

remained stationary here for a considerable period of time The topography of 

these two recessional moraines is not so characteristic as that of the terminal ridge. 

There are no well-defined basins, and the bowlders are not so large nor so numerous. 

The third recessional moraine is of a very different type It is marked by a series 

of sharp ridges inclosing lake basins The bowlders are again numerous and large, 

and bear marks of severe glaciation, some of them showing grooves 3 feet across 

The bowlders in this recessional moraine appear to have suffered considerably less 

'from weathering than those in the outer moraines As will be pointed out later, 

this same difference in the character of the recessional moraines is found in other 

valleys, and it is possible that this better-developed moraine is the result of a rather 

distinct ice stage

Between the third recessional moraine and the mountains there is an extensive 

lake flat, now drained by Willow Creek Over this old lake bed are scattered a 

number of alkali lakelets, in which so much alkaline deposition has taken place that, 

at a distance, they look like ice surfaces.

The bowlders deposited by the Sun River Glacier are chiefly of limestone. 

Sandstone of all varieties and colors, a peculiar flinty rock, and both red and black 

slates are also found. Besides these sedimentary rocks there are several varieties 

of diorite

At the mouth of Sun River Canyon there is no rock but limestone exposed. 

The sandstone, slate, and diorite must have been derived from the upper portion of 

the river basin. The valley trains reached at least to the town of Sun River, where 

the river runs onto a plain with a fall of but 2J feet per mile. Because of the sudden 

check in the velocity of the stream, the gravels, if they extend farther, are covered 

by later fluvial deposits.

Deep Creek Glacier. Deep Creek, one of the most important branches of Teton 

River, issues from the mountains through a very narrow canyon. This stream does 

not extend far back into the mountains, and the area at the head of the creek was 

too small to gather any great accumulation of snow during Glacial time. The north 

and south course of Sun River for so many miles enables it to gather most of the 

precipitation on the east side of the divide In Glacial time the same was true. 

Most of the ice which gathered along the present valley of Sun River was tributary 

to the glacier which formed in that valley, and little got into the streams to the 

north. For this reason the Deep Creek Glacier was .small and moved but a short 

distance out from the foot of the mountains, its terminal moraine being found in 

sec 32, T 23, R. 8 W The local character of the drift is evident from the absence 

of diorite, quartzite, and sandstone bowlders, showing that the glacier could have 

moved only over limestone rocks and could not have extended far back into the 

mountains. The ice which issued from the mountains appears to have been confined

\
MOUNTAIN GLACIERS. 17

entirely to South Fork of Deep Creek, for the valley of North Fork is not glaciated. 

The moraine from South Fork does not cross North Fork, though at some places it 

lies so near it as to suggest that the ice filled the old channel and pushed the stream 

to the north. South of Deep Creek the ice was continuous with that of the Sun 

River Glacier, but to the north the plain at the base of the mountains is not glaciated 

for a distance of 8 miles. In this direction the mountains rise abruptly from the 

plain, and there is no opening through which a glacier could have come till Teton 

River is reached

' Teton River Glacier. Two streams but half a mile apart issue from deep, 

narrow gaps in the mountains, and, ]oming a mile or two below the mouth of the 

canyon, form Teton River Like Sun River the course of the Teton in the mountains is north and south, and though much of the ice which collected near its headwaters was diverted into the Sun River'basin, enough was left to form two goodsized glaciers The ice 'issuing from these narrow passes immediately joined and 

deployed upon an unusually flat plain. The glacier thus formed, though extending 

but a few miles east of the mountains, gives evidence of having been very powerful 

and active. The terminal moraine on the north side of the river consists of a series 

of sharp ridges, which form a belt over a mile wide. They are so steep and are 

covered with so many limestone bowlders that the moraine is difficult to cross on 

horseback. The terminal moraine is covered with a growth of stunted ipine trees, 

which are found neither on the ground moraine nor on the plain to the east The 

north and south edges of the ice formed two moraines which extend parallel to each 

other for a* distance of 6 miles from the mouth of the canyon. They are about 3 

miles apart and are well developed throughout their entire extent. This development of the moraines along the side of the glacier is in sharp contrast to that formed 

at the end of the ice. There the moraine is low and of weak relief. Either the ice 

did not form a strong terminal moraine or the river has since eroded a considerable 

portion of it. The amount of ice coming from the north gap was greater than that 

which came from the south one. This is shown by the great amount of ice erosion 

in the north valley, the higher level to which the canyon walls were glaciated, and 

by the fact that the ice spread north from the mouth of the canyon of North Fork 

for a greater distance than it spread south of South Fork. The bowlders of the 

Teton Glacier till sheet consist of limestones and sandstones, no dionte being found. 

Muddy Creek glaciers Muddy Creek is formed by the union of many small 

streams, but two of which issue from the mountains. Most of the tributaries have 

their source in springs on the sides of the mountains and are intermittent, contributing to the main stream 'only while the mountain snows are melting. The two main 

branches issue from what are known as Black Leaf and Muddy canyons. Of these, 

Black Leaf Canyon lies to the south and contained a glacier which extended somewhat more than a mile beyond the mouth of the canyon The material making up 

the moraine of this glacier is a heavy bowlder clay, containing many limestone 

bowlders ,and few of sandstone The moraine, which reaches a height of 200 feet 

and has the form of a sharp ridge' is the highest seen in this region The glacier 

from Black Leaf Canyon was not connected with any other glacier either north or 

south The canyon of the Muddy also contained a glacier which pushed out on the 

1280 No 50 06 2
18 MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

plain a mile from the mouth of the canyon, and resembled in many ways the glacier 

which issued from Black Leaf Valley

Dupuyer Creek Glacier. The next glaciated canyon to the north is the one now 

occupied by Dupuyer Creek. This stream heads in the mountains just north of the 

sources of Teton and Sun rivers and contained a glacier which extended 3 miles 

eastward from ,the mouth of the canyon and formed a well-defined moraine, dotted 

with many small lakes and ponds Lakes in the moraines south of Dupuyer Creek 

are common. Bowlders, which are numerous in the till of the other moraines, are 

not abundant here. The height to which the ice reached is shown on the surface of 

the canyon walls, and from these we may determine its slope. At the mouth of the 

canyon the walls are glaciated to a height of about 1,000 feet. Beyond the canyon 

for the first three-fourths mile the decline of the ice as shown by the slope of the 

moraine was 750 feet, in the next 2J miles to the terminal moraine it was but 450 

feet, making 1,200 feet for the 3 miles, or an average of 400 feet per mile. As soon 

as the ice left the confines of the canyon it deployed rapidly

Sheep Canyon Glacier There was a small glacier in SheVp Canyon, but its 

moraines show no striking peculiarities.

Blackfoot Glacier Properly speaking, the Blackf oot Glacier consisted of a group 

of glaciers which, reaching the plain, joined and spread to the east. At least 5 such 

ice lobes were concerned in the formation of a large piedmont glacier which extended 

about 50 miles from the main divide, and which, in its widest part, was over 30 miles 

across

The main collecting ground for the snow which furnished the ice was in the low 

pass now crossed by the Great Northern Railway (PI III, A ) From this pass 

the ice moved both eastward and westward The center of accumulation may 

have been west of the top of the pass, for the rocks for nearly 2,000 feet above Summit station are smoothed and polished, and well-marked glacial bowlders are found 

at a height of 1,000 feet above the 5,205-foot bench mark at the summit. Along 

the side of the mountains north of the track and east of Summit station there is a 

terrace 1,800 feet above the valley level, which seems to coincide with the upper limit 

of glaciation and to represent the thickness of the ice near the point of origin. 

Thence the front of the ice descended to an altitude of 3,800 feet This would give 

a slope to the surface of 65 feet per mile, a low slope for a mountain glacier.

The southernmost glacier that was tributary to the Blackfoot Glacier came from 

the valley of Birch Creek. It extended southward as far as the divide between 

Birch and Sheep creeks, but in no place did it meet the ice which issued from Dupuyer 

Creek Canyon The eastern edge of the ice swung across the river due north and 

south at a point in sec. 30, T. 29, R 8 W , but on the flat on each side of the river 

the ice front curved to the west North of Birch Creek is a high ridge, which forms 

the divide between that stream and Blacktail Creek so high as to prevent the ice 

of the piedmont glacier from extending far into the narrow Blacktail Valley The 

bowlders in the Birch Creek drift are lor the most part limestone; the most common 

variety being a dull noncrystalline limestone. A light-colored crystalline type 

and a cherty variety are also common. There are sandstone bowlders, but they 

are not abundant. The glacier in Birch Creek Valley formed several recessional 

moraines, but they are not so sharply defined as those in the valleys farther south.
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 60 PL. Ill

A. SUMMIT PASS AND ADJACENT VALLEYS. 

The main valley was completely filled with glacial ice. The one at the left contained a glacier tributary to the main stream.

B. SUN RIVER CANYON. 

This photograph shows the glaciated surfaces in the background and the amount of post-Glacial cutting
MOUNTAIN GLAOIEES. 19

The valleys of Blacktail and Whitetail creeks furnished great glaciers to the 

ice mass at the foot of the mountains, causing a bulge in the ice front, which 

carried the edge of the ice nearly to Fourhorn Lake The moraine deposited was 

of the same character as that in Birch Creek Valley, and contains the same sorts 

of rock Within the moraine of the Blacktail Glacier the country is rolling, and 

there are a few shallow lakes, the topography being essentially that of a ground 

moraine The bowlders south of Badger Creek consist of dull-colored limestones 

and sandstones of the same character as those found in the till of each valley glacier 

north of Sun River

North of Badger Creek, near the Little Badger, the character of the drift suddenly changes The dull rocks give place to the red, green, white, black, and mottled quartzites and argillites that are characteristic of the drift from this point north. 

Diontes and a peculiar conglomerate also appear This conglomerate is formed 

of siliceous material, varying in size from pebbles an inch in diameter to the finest 

grains, the entire mass being cemented by silica and hard as quartzite The limit 

of the two sorts of bowlders is marked approximately by the line where the ice from 

Badger Creek and the valleys south of it joined the ice which issued from Summit t 

Pass

The influence of the Two Medicine Glacier upon the confluent piedmont glacier 

is seen by the great extension of the ice to the east in this latitude The terminal 

moraine of the piedmont glacier ]ust west of Fourhorn Lake suddenly swings to the 

east and crosses the Piegan-Robare trail about 4 miles south of the Old Stockade. 

Here its direction is N 40° E, and its edge lies along the foot of a cliff about 250 feet 

high In some places the ice carried its moraine to within a hundred yards of the foot 

of the plateau In Glacial time the drainage may have lam between the moraine and 

the cliff, where it formed coulees, wluch left small valley trains beyond the edge of 

the ice These coulees appear to have contained but little water since the ice left. 

The moraine extending from this point northeastward is sharply defined Shallow 

basins, which are filled with waiter in spring and dry m late summer, dot its surface at frequent intervals The country is very rough, and the hummocky topography is common The surface slopes abruptly toward Two Medicine River, but 

post-Glacial eiosion has made but little headway The moraine crosses Two 

Medicine River 8 miles west of the point where that stream joins the Marias, and 5 

miles east of its junction with the Badger On the north side of the river the moraine 

i& finely developed Lakes are numerous, fine outwash plains are common, and valley 

trams occur at many places along the front of the moraine The valley train of 

Two Medicine Valley is now covered by later deposits

Within the terminal moraine several recessional moraines are found, one of 

wluch lies just east of Kipp A second forms the site of the village of Browning. 

Between Browning and Kipp there is a flat plain, which at one time was covered 

by a lake, wluch persisted until WiMow Creek cut through the terminal moraine at 

Carlow and drained it The third recessional moraine is- found near the mountains on the plain just cast of the North Fork of Two Medicine River This moraine 

appears to be much younger than the moraines at Browning and Kipp. The lakes 

in it are so numerous and so close together and the topography is so' sharply defined 

that it is a trying undertaking to cross it. There has been little erosion of the drift.
20 MONTANA LOBE OP KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

though the moraine is on a slope, and the average rainfall 30 inches. This moraine 

corresponds with the better-developed recessional ridge found in Sun River Valley. 

There are other recessional moraines in the valleys of North and South forks of Two 

Medicine River. Lower and middle Two Medicine lakes were formed by the deposition of a ridge or ridges of till across the valley, while the iipper lake basin was 

formed by the gouging out of the rock by the ice and by deposition.

The ice in the vicinity of lower Two Medicine Lake was somewhat over 1,500 

feet thick. Along South Fork of Two Medicine Valley there are also several recessional moraines. One well-defined ridge with lakes and kettles occurs 7 miles east 

of Summit station, while,another, not so well defined, is found at Summit.

The ice which filled the valleys of the various branches of the Two Medicine 

River formed the northern part of the piedmont glacier. The northern edge ot the 

ice lay along the south bank of Cutbank Creek from the junction of the two forks to 

a point north of Blackfoot. The relation existing between the streams and the 

moraine is such as to suggest a considerable change in drainage.

Cutbank Creek Glacier. North of the great glacier just described the ice from 

the valleys of the North and South forks of Cutbank Creek joined and pushed eastward as far as the junction of the two streams The outer moraine is well marked, 

and is about three-fourths of a mile wide. On ascending the valley of the North 

Fork, which is the larger of the two tributaries, four recessional moraines are crossed. 

There is no appreciable difference in the appearance ot these moraines, though some 

of those found within the outer moraine are better developed than the outermost 

ridge itself

Between the two outer moraines are dramloidal hills, small but perfectly formed. 

Esker-like ridges were seen in a number of places, but in no case was a ridge over 

100 yards in length found. Several of the recessional moraines in this valley show 

themselves as terraces on the sides of the bluffs, and as spurs from these terraces. 

The moraine between the spurs, if ever continuous, appears to have been removed 

by erosion. The valley floor back of the last complete recessional moraine is composed of stratified gravels, in places 40 feet deep. There was not only a great amount 

of water associated with the glacier, but it was concentrated into a comparatively 

narrow channel. A gravel train extends for miles down the valley east of the outermost moraine.

The ice which came down North Fork of Cutbank Creek completely filled the 

valley, though this, at the mouth of the canyon, is more than 1,200 feet deep, but 

did not spread over the plateau to the north To the south the ice partly covered 

the ridge between the North and South forks of Cutbank Creek. The slope of 

the ice from the mouth of the canyon to the terminal moraine was about 200 feet 

per mile.

MilTc Rirer Glacier. The valley of South Fork of Milk River contained a glacier which was developed in Cutbank Valley and not in Milk Valley itself. South 

Fork of Milk River heads back on the slopes of Wolf Calf Mountain, and has cut but 

a very small valley, far too small to give rise to a glacier of such proportions as those 

of the glacier which deposited moraines along Milk River east as far as Antelope 

ranch The divide which extends between the headwaters of North Fork of Cutbank Creek and South Fork of Milk River contains a depression through which the ice
MOUNTAIN GLACIERS. 21

from the former valley spread into the latter. The moraine formed by this lobe is 

well defined and extends about 4 miles down the valley.

The country between the Milk River lobe and Milk River Ridge, a notable 

eminence that runs in a northerly direction from Divide Mountain, is not glaciated. This ridge, which, near the mountains, is more than 1,500 feet high, prevented the ice occupying St. Mary Valley from flowing directly east and diverted 

it to the north. At the foot of the lower St. Mary Lake the ridge becomes lower and 

the ice from the St. Mary Valley, crossing it, spread to the east in the valley now 

occupied by Duck Lake. The area between Duck Lake and South Fork of Milk 

River is the largest driftless area along the face of the mountains between the fortyninth parallel and Sun River.

St. Mary River Glacier. A glacier of great size occupied the valley of St. Mary 

River and extended northward over- the Canadian plains for an unknown distance. 

The valley of the St. Mary is somewhat typical of the glacial valleys along the east 

face of the Rockies and for that reason will be described in detail, the data concerning it having been collected for the most part by Mr. Brace McLeish.

St. Mary River rises at the very foot of the mam divide of the Rockies, and after 

flowing eastward through a most picturesque valley suddenly bends to the north 

and crosses the forty-ninth parallel in longitude 113° 20'. In two places in its course 

the river widens into lakes of great beauty. The lower St Mary Lake is about 7 

miles in length, the upper about 10 miles Both lakes are narrow, neither exceeding 

1J miles in width. St. Mary River below the lakes is a wide, shallow, rapid stream, 

which carries in the course of a year an immense volume of water

At the present time there are a number of glaciers found at the headwaters of 

St. Mary River and its tributaries Some of them, such as the Blackfoot and the 

Gnnnell glaciers, are several square miles in extent. These glaciers may be the last 

remnants of a great ice mass which formerly filled the basin of the St. Mary River. 

In following this stream to its 'source many recessional moraines are found, deposited as the ice retreated up the valley. The last moraines are those now forming at 

the very edge of the glaciers Some 60 miles intervene between the accumulations 

of material at the edge of the ice and those deposited when the glacier had its greatest 

known extension to the northward. The numerous recessional moraines show 

plainly where the ice rallied in the unequal contest with adverse climatic conditions. 

The different stages in the retreat are also indicated by a dozen or more terraces 

which rise in succession on the western slope of Milk River Ridge to a height of 1,000 

feet. It was suggested by Culver 0 that these terraces were the result of lake action; 

but as they slope sharply to the east at about the angle that the surface of the ice 

should have maintained they are clearly not the work of lake water. The numerous 

lakes, the sharp ridges, and the great number of bowlders that occur on these terraces'indicate glacial action and they fall into the class of moramal terraces. As 

these terraces are traced eastward it is found that they develop below Duck Lake 

into terminal and recessional moraines. The ice below Duck Lake turned westward 

and again crossed Milk River Ridge in a north-south direction and spread east and 

west in St Mary River Valley. The outer moraine was deposited as a' terrace on the

"Trans Wis Acad Sm , vol 8,1891
22 MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

north slope of the ridge. This terrace descended 1,200 feet in 4 miles, giving the ice 

an average slope of 300 feet per mile in this valley.

The St. Mary Glacier proper received a number of large tributary ice streams, 

the largest of which was formed in Swiftcurrent Valley and was but little inferior 

in size to the St. Mary Glaciei. Its thickness where it joined the mam ice mass 

must have been over 1,300 feet. Both the north and south forks of Kennedy 

Creek contained glaciers, which, however, were smaller than those found in the other 

valleys. That they were local is shown by the great abundance of limestone bowlders in the drift they deposited and the absence of any other variety of rock. The 

region occupied by these glaciers was surrounded by the Algonkian limestone.

The valleys ofWaterton and Belly rivers and of Lees Creek were also glaciated. 

Whether the tongues of ice from these valleys joined one another north of the boundary line and formed a piedmont glacier similar to that south of the forty-ninth parallel has not been determined, but from their size such a conclusion seems tenable.

DRIFT OF THE KEEWATIN ICE SHEET. 

TERMINAL MOEAINE.

During the Glacial period as many as five ice sheets, it is believed, covered the 

northern part of the United States. The bodies of drift deposited by the successive 

ice sheets have never been found one above another in a single locailty, but from 

their interrelations the following order of deposition has been established. (1) SubAftonian, (2) Kansan, (3) Ilhnoian, (4) lowan, (5) Wisconsin. Between these 

drift sheets interglacial deposits occur which indicate modifications of the climate, 

sometimes very important, between the successive advances of the ice.

In the region just north of the area under consideration Dawson found three 

drift sheets. The earliest he named the Albertan. The drift sheet resting on the 

Albertan is correlated with the Kansan and the upper bowlder clay with the lowan. 

Between the two upper drift sheets are interglacial deposits which are best developed along Belly River. This classification of Dawson's a was merely tentative, and 

it is a question whether it can be held. The following detailed description of the 

terminal moraine and the subsequent discussion of the relations of the Keewatm 

drift to the drift deposited by the mountain glaciers in the various river valleys will 

throw some light on the age of the various drift sheets found in this region.

During the season of 1901 the moraine of the northeastern ice sheet was traced 

from the Missouri below Great Falls westward to Choteau, and thence northward to 

the international boundary line in longitude 112° 20' From this point it bends 

westward until it reaches Waterton River, where it turns to the north, following a 

course nearly parallel to the mountains 6 During the seasons of 1902 and 1903 the 

moraine was traced from Great Falls to a point east of the Little Rocky Mountains 

Its course is very irregular, being influenced in great measure by the three groups of 

mountains and the great valleys between them. The moraine was followed for a 

distance of about 510 miles, in which distance it exhibits many phases of moraine 

topography. While to trace it in detail throughout its length and to describe every

"Bull Geol Soo America, vol 7,pp 66-66

6 Map accompanying report on Bow and Belly rivers. Geol. Survey Canada, 1882-1884.
DRIFT OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET. 23

turn and twist and lobe would be a profitless repetition of what is better shown on 

the map, some of its features deserve special mention.

Doctor Dawson traced and mapped its western limit from a point some hundreds 

of miles north of Calgary to Waterton River, finding it at different heights and at 

varying distances from the mountains. The remainder of the drift, comprising the 

part south and east of the Waterton, will be considered here.

The terminal moraine of the continental ice sheet crosses Belly River about 10 

miles north of the line. It consists of a sharp ridge, in front of which there is no outwash or valley train Within the terminal ridge there is a well-defined ground 

moraine, which, at this point, is 4,163 feet above sea level. ° Between the Belly and 

St Mary rivers the edge of the drift is in places attenuated. The ice sheet pushed in 

from the northeast and surrounded but did not cover an irregular series of foothills 

which trend-in an irregular line between the two rivers. These hills are about 800 

feet above St. Mary River. Their tops and slopes for about 400 feet from the summit 

are covered with quartzite gravels, below which appear the crystalline bowlders characteristic of the drift of the Keewatin ice sheet Small lakes dot the surface and the 

topography is hummocky and irregular.

Fium the top of one of these hills at the, edge of the drift the country covered by 

the northeastern drift can easily be distinguished from that covered by the mountain 

drift by the number of its lakes and ponds. To the north many small bodies of water 

may be seen, while to the south, nearer the mountains, there are but few The local 

mountain glaciers were eroding and not depositing, and as a result but few moramal 

depressions were formed, so that the line of abundant lakes marks appioximately 

the edge of the northeastern drift. The moraine between Belly River and Lees Creek 

shows well developed kettles.

In the St. Mary basin the ice pushed farther south than on either Belly River or 

Lees Creek. The moraine crosses the St. Maiy just north of the line. One-half mile 

east of the river it swings south of the forty-ninth parallel, and for a distance of 3 or 

4 miles lies in the United States. The boundary monument on the ridge just east of 

St. Mary River is built of the crystalline bowlders of the moraine. The ridge south 

of this point was not glaciated, a fact strikingly shown by the contrasting topography 

of the two portions of the ridge. The region within the moraine at this point might 

well be called the " lake country." One standing on the northern edge of the ridge 

just mentioned may count 120 lakes and ponds without stirring from one position. 

These bodies of water vary in extent from a few square yards to several acres. Many 

more may exist in this area, though invisible from this position on account of the 

numerous glacial hills and hummocks. In Willow Creek Coulee, east of the ridge 

just referred to, the ice pushed as far west as Galbraith's ranch and as far south as 

Milk River Ridge, which rises 400 to 500 feet above the valley of Willow Creek. At 

this point the ice did not push south over Milk River Ridge but deposited its moraine 

along the northern slope. In places the ridge was dissected by pre-Glacial streams, 

and into these valleys the ice pushed to the very banks of Milk River This happened in McCloud Pass and in the pass farther northeast, known as Whiskey Gap. 

West of the McCloud-Fort Benton trail the moraine assumes a ridge-like form 60 to 

80 feet high and 100 yards wide at the base At this place there are splendid examples

a Bench mark Canadian Survey
24: ' MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

of kettle configuration. The bowlders are numerous and of the crystalline type, 

though large bowlders of mountain origin are plentiful This moraine resembles 

more than any other seen during the summer that formed by the Green Bay lobe, 

especially the portion of it developed in the vicinity of Baraboo, Wi's. Northeast of 

this point the ice reached the flat top of Milk River Ridge and spread over it to the 

south, forming a wide moraine characterized by lakes, undrained depressions, and 

hummocky topography of strong relief, the difference between the tops of the knolls 

and the bottom of the kettles in many cases being 120 feet At the point where the 

moraine swings to the top of the ridge it has an altitude of about 4,720 feet, and at a 

point 6 miles to the west of about 4,300 feet; this gives a slope of 70 feet per mile to 

the edge of the ice of the northeastern ice sheet

Although the ice reached the summit of Milk River Ridge it did not move for any 

considerable distance across its plateau-like top. The ridge separated the ice into 

two parts, one lobe entering St. Mary Valley while the main sheet was forced farther 

east, causing a great reentrant to be formed If Milk River Ridge had not been 

present, the ice would undoubtedly have extended much farther into the United 

States The ice crossed the forty-ninth parallel again in longitude 120° 20', having 

a general northwest and southeast direction.

From the boundary line to the Great Northern Railway in the vicinity of Baltic 

the relief of the moraine is pronounced, the difference in height between the hills and 

hollows being often 100 feet and sometimes more The edge of the drift north of the 

railroad is associated with outwash plains and valley trains. In the valleys considered up to this time the slope has been toward the direction from which the ice was 

moving; that is, the ice moved up the valleys. Under such conditions valley-train 

deposits were impossible, but here 'the slope was south and west into the Cutbank 

Creek and away from the ice edge.

Just north of Baltic the moraine is not so well developed as nearer the Canadian 

line The lakes are shallower, and the topography more of the swell and saucer type. 

At Baltic the moraine is interrupted; the gap continuing to a point south of Two 

Medicine River. In this interval bowlders and till are present, but the edge of 

the drift is not in the form of a ridge. Instead it is spread out in a great sheet, with 

occasionally a very shallow basin and rolling topography It is entirely possible 

that back from the edge of this drift sheet a ridged moraine will be found, as is the 

case on the banks of the Missouri. The edge of the drift crosses Cutbank Creek 5 

miles below the railroad bridge at Cutbank and Two Medicine River about 7 miles 

west of its mouth. Along Cutbank Creek and Two Medicine River bowlders not 

associated with till line both banks of these streams and their tributary coulees. 

The till once present has been removed by the action of wind and wash.

The moraine south of Two Medicine River consists of a broad, undulating till 

sheet which is much more moraine-like than that to the north of the river, but far 

inferior to that north of the railroad. A well-defined moraine of pronounced topography is not found again until the Pondera basin is reached, this basin being a large 

reentrant in the plateau between Dry Fork of Marias and Muddy rivers. Between 

the ridges facing the north and south sides of the basin the ice is pushed to the west, 

and the moraine becomes once more well defined The lakes are as numerous as in 

the moraine near the forty-ninth parallel, while the general roughness of the surface
DRIFT OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET. 25

is even more pronounced. At its greatest westward extension the ice is pushed 

sharply against the bluff which limits the basin on the west, at its southern edge it 

did not reach the ridge but left its material piled in the form of a high moraine onefourth of a mile north. The drainage during the time the ice was present was 

between the moraine and the plateau to the southeast along the edge of the ice. 

The habit of the ice of pushing for miles into a valley and of not occupying the 

ridges, though they are but 100 to 150 feet above the level of the moraines, is characteristic. In the Pondera basin the ice extended for 5 miles between ridges 150 feet 

high, but not once in the distance did it reach their tops. Reasoning from these data 

the slope of the surface could not have been more than 30 feet per mile. The tendency also of the edge of the ice to move around buttes, leaving deposits on all their 

sides But not covering their tops, is also characteristic.

Five miles east of the western edge of this basin ..the ice reached the top of the 

ridge north of North Fork of Muddy River, and extended across it in a general northsouth direction. While not so well defined as the edge of the drift in the Pondera 

basin, the moraine on the higher level is distinct, consisting of a broad, flat ridge 

with many shallow depressions containing water. At the southern edge of the flat 

the moraine turns abruptly to the southwest and runs along the north bank of the 

Muddy. In this valley is seen one of the best examples in Montana of a striking 

terminal moraine. There is no well-marked terminal ridge, but the valley north of 

the creek is one great expanse of hummocks and kettles. The topography is so 

rough that wagons could cross this section of the country only with the greatest 

difficulty, while without a compass one not familiar with the region might easily be 

lost A mile south of the Kropps ranch, in T. 26, R. 3 W., the ice edge turned abruptly 

toward the west and filled the valleys of the Muddy and the Teton with a drift 

sheet of considerable thickness. The western edge of the ice lay across the valley a^ 

few miles west of the one hundred and twelfth meridian, and crossed Teton River a 

few miles east of Choteau. Here its farther southern progress was checked by the 

Teton Ridge, which is about 500 feet high and extends in a general northeastsouthwest direction, and which held in the ice as far east as the Great Falls and 

Canada Railroad. The ice crossed Teton River in T 24, R. 3 E., and on the slope 

south of that river deposited morainic material to the height of 220 feet. Above this 

level, which is the upper limit of the crystalline bowlders, and on the top and the 

slope of Teton River Ridge there is gravel composed of limestone, sandstone, and 

quartzite pebbles. These gravels are not glaciated, and belong to the quartzite 

gravel formation.

Eight miles due south of Brighton there is a break in Teton Ridge, through 

which the Great Falls and Canada Railroad passes At this point the ice pushed 

through and for the first time deposited material on the south slope of this ridge. 

Not only did it push into the pass, but it also covered the ridge east of the railroad, 

a fact easily seen by the difference in topography between the east and west portions 

of the ridge.

The character of the moraine changes abruptly after it passes over Teton Ridge. 

There is no longer a well-defined ridge-like edge, but more often a low, broad rise, 

usually too slight to be noticeable. The drift in the pr'e-Glacial valleys south of the 

Missouri and east of Great Falls is 100 to 200 feet thick. Near its edge the drift is
26 MONTANA LOBE OF K.EEWATIN ICE SHEET.

usually thin, but along Belt Creek, in sec. 30, T. 21, R. 7, it is 250 feet thick. In many 

places in the valley of Belt Creek and in the valleys of the neighboring streams there 

are cuttings of over 100 feet into the drift which do not reach the underlying sandstone.

The moraine swings southeastward from. Great Falls to a point north of Belt. 

Here the Highwood Mountains caused the ice to turn to the north, hence the moraine 

from Belt Creek runs in that direction for 15 miles Turning then to the east, it 

crosses both Belt and Highwood creeks and follows in general the north bank of the 

Sag to Arrow River In this part of its course the moraine, where found at all, is 

low, br.oad, and of the swell-and-saucer variety, with shallow lakes The drift is 

in most places loss than 30 feet deep. The same type of moraine continues as it 

swings along the west bank of the Arrow, but for some distance east of the Missouri 

there is no ridge of any kind and only here and there a thin ground moraine

On the southwest side of the Bearpaws, a bowldery ridge with many lakes is 

again encountered. From this place the moraine swings around the Bearpaws, 

nearly encircling them (PI. IV, A) and exhibiting at every point a moraine as well 

defined as that seen along the north slope of Teton Ridge. On the northern slope 

of the mountains the ice pushed into the foothills and reached an altitude of 4,250 

feet. Here, also, the edge of the ice developed many irregularities, due to the great 

number of valleys. This is shown by the irregular contour of the moraine.

A lobe of ice pushed south between the Bearpaws and the Little Rockies into the 

valley of Little Rocky Fork Creek The moraine north of the latter group of mountains does not approach as close to the foothills as it does in the case of the Bearpaws. 

It lies about 7 miles north of St Paul's Mission and runs directly east until T 26, 

R. 26 is reached, where it turns abruptly southeast and continues in that general 

direction until all morainic form is lost in the breaks of the Missouri South of the 

Missouri, in the valley of the Big Dry, the edge of the drift sheet was traced for 60 

miles, but no moraine was found

LATER MORAINES

On the east bank of the Missouri south of Floweree a later moraine, rather well 

defined, may be made out In front of the moraine the relation of tho stratified 

drift (till and lacustrine clay) is so complex as to suggest an oscillatory ice edge and 

much water.

North of the Great Northern Railway and near the divide between Teton 

and Missouri rivers occurs a second later moraine, which exhibits some unusual 

features. The edge of the ice advanced into pre-Glacial valleys leading north to the 

Teton and filled them with drift The post-Glacial drainage has established itself 

along these old drainage lines, and the moraine appears to be the divide between 

the Teton and the Missouri, just as the ridge which it now caps was the divide 

between the pre-Glacial Teton and the pre-Glacial Missouri. Along this ridge 

the moraine contains many soft and friable sandstone erratics, which were doubtless plucked from Teton Ridge, lying to the north Bowlders of local origin are 

not common in the drift The soft sandstone over which the ice moved during:

o

the last hundred miles of its course yielded but little material, and even this is not 

so sandy as might be expected. From all indications the ice sheet was not only
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 50 PL. IV

A- EAGLE BUTTE NEARLY ENCIRCLED BY MORAINE OF NORTHEASTERN ICE SHEET.

B. TILL SECTION 100 FEET HIGH ON MUDDY CREEK. 

Note the absence of bowlders.
CHARACTER OF DRIFT. 27

incapable of any considerable amount of erosion at its edge, but it deposited material 

over such formations as the quartzite gravels without disturbing them

This moraine may be traced, with few breaks, directly across the country 

from Teton Ridge to the Bearpaws It is better developed than the terminal 

moraine, which, while having the essential elements of the kettle moraine, often 

shows them in a feeble state of development South of Tunis the moraine is between 

3 and 4 miles wide and is covered with lakes and lake basins, some of which extend 

50 feet below the general level. This moraine is again seen, though, not so clearly 

defined, along the north bank of the Missouri, near the mouth of the Teton Between 

the headwaters of Big and Little Sandy creeks there is another excellent example 

of morainic topography, continuing to the foot of 'the west slope of the Bearpaws. 

North on the ground moraine there are occasionally ridges, never more than a 

few miles in length These were doubtless caused by the halting of the ice for a 

short period, but they are not sufficiently continuous to be mapped as moraines.

CHARACTER OP THE DRIFT.

The material carried by the ice was of four kinds crystalline erratics, small 

pebbles of mountain origin, sedimentary rocks derived from the plains over which 

the ice passed, and a matrix composed of sand and clay The crystalline erratics 

are of such variety as to furnish specimens of the whole rock series In a small 

area, not over 5 square yards in extent, the following rocks were found Limestone, 

sandstone, shale, coal, granites (both fine and coarse grained, and with different 

percentages of v quartz and feldspar), syenites, diorites, basalts, and hornblende, 

mica, and garnetiferous schist, and all gradations between these and gneissic rocks

The granite and the syenitic rocks predominate Basalts and rocks containing 

a large proportion of the ferromagnesian minerals are not so common. There 

seems to be very little change in the variety and the nature of these bowlders 

throughout the length of the moraine. Limestone is more common in the northern 

part and sandstone occurs more frequently in the southern part. The character 

of the crystalline bowlders remains the same. The ice must have passed over 

a wide extent of country, for the nearest outcrop of crystalline rock is 700 miles 

distant.

To these rocks may be added those which are of mountain origin and which 

make up from 5 to 25 per cent of the bowlders of the drift. Originally they belonged 

to the quartzite-gravel formation, and were picked up by the ice from the northeast and incorporated in its drift.

The crystalline bowlders are common on the surface of the drift, occasionally 

occurring in such numbers as to cover the ground. In some post-Glacial cuts, 

'bowlders from 1 to 4 feet in diameter are accumulated in the bottom of the channel 

to a depth of 5 to 10 feet. In the body of the drift a large crystalline bowlder is 

seldom seen. Small crystalline fragments and quartzite pebbles are found, but 

even, these are uncommon. The explanation of the position of these bowlders on 

the surface of the drift has been given by Prof. R. D. Salisbury. 0

The great body of the drift is a hard, sandy clay, which as a rule is unstratified 

and stands in vertical faces where trenched by streams (PI. IV, 5). Its thickness

o Jour Geology, vol 8, pp 426-432
28 MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATIW ICE SHEET.

is variable. On Belly River an exposure of till 120 feet thick was measured; near 

Baltic, north of the railroad, post-Glacial drainage has cut 100 feet into the drift 

without reaching the underlying sandstone, on Two Medicine River exposures 50 

to 75 feet thick are seen, and on the Teton drift banks 150 feet high border the river. 

In the ground-moraine belt the drift is not only thin, but in places is entirely absent. 

Between the moraine and the Sweetgrass Hills the drift is frequently wanting.

^ ICE STJBFACE «

Height The edge of the ice stood at various levels during the time of its 

greatest extent, a few of the more prominent elevations being as follows, aneroid 

determination:

Approximate height of edge of ice

Feet 

Milk Biver Ridge .. .. .. . .... ... ... .. 4,720

Baltic.. . . ..... ... . 3,900

Ridge south of Baltic ...... . ...... 4,000

Two Medicine River. ...... . ... . 3,800

Feet 

Bearpaw Mountains. . . ..... . . 4, £30

Muddy Creek... . . .... .. . . 3,500

Teton Ridge. .... . . .... . . . 3,800

Highwood Mountains... . _ 4,200

Slope. As has been noticed, the slope of the surface of the Keewatm ice sheet 

was not great. In the Pondera basin the slope was about 30 feet to the mile; on 

Teton Ridge the slope, much less exactly determined by the slope of the moraine, 

was about 40 feet per mile, and on the slope of Milk River Ridge it was 50 feet per 

mile. The most satisfactory determination was made between the Sweetgrass 

Hills and the edge of the ice to the west. A careful examination of these buttes 

showed conclusively that they were not covered by the ice sheet, but that they 

stood as great nunataks about 2,000 feet above its general level/ Not only were 

they not covered by the ice of the Keewatin ice sheet, but there is no evidence that 

they were locally glaciated. The ice from the northeast, when it reached them, 

was near the end of its long journey, and was a depositing rather than an active body. 

On the west, north, and east sides of West Butte a well-defined terminal moraine 

is banked against the slope. On the south side there is no such terminal moraine, 

and for some distance south the country is driftless The ice, divided by the butte, 

did not come together till it reached a point about 2 miles south of its foot. The 

moraines left by these two ice edges as they circled the butte and pushed south 

over the plain are well defined. The moraine on the west slope of the butte is 1,200 

feet above the plain; along Milk River on the north side it is 1,500 feet, and on the 

southeast side it is 1,300 feet. This, then, would make the average thickness of the 

ice about 25 miles from its edge. In this distance the slope of the upper surface 

of the ice averaged about 50 feet per mile On the southeast side of West Butte the 

slope of the ice, as determined by the slope of the moraine, was 70 feet per mile. 

Thus it is seen that along the edge of the ice the slope was low, due in great measure 

to the level plain over which the ice traveled.

DRAINAGE.

LAKES

Character of the lakes. The relation of the ice to the river valleys was such 

that the formation of lakes in front of the ice was inevitable. These lakes may 

be divided into two classes those dependent on the ice as a barrier and those
DRAINAGE BY LAKES. < ~' 29

dependent on a moraine as a barrier. Those of the first class existed while the 

ice was present and gradually lowered as the edge melted back. Those of the 

second class were more enduring bodies of water, which were formed in front of 

the terminal moraine. Yet even these were short lived, for the swift mountain 

streams soon trenched the moraine and drained the lakes. The former existence 

of the lakes is not made known by degradational phenomena but by aggregational 

The extent of the first and more extensive lakes is shown by the presence of crystalline erratics deposited by floating ice The limits of the more restricted lakes 

are marked by the deposition of a peculiar lacustrine clay in and on which there 

are but few bowlders.

Location of the lakes. Nearly every river valley in the area studied contained 

a body of water, and in some cases this water extended over the divides between 

the rivers and formed long, narrow lakes in front of the ice. The water forming 

these lakes was that which gathered at the margin of the ice as the result of the 

damming of the mountain streams and the melting of the ice itself There were 

probably four such lakes; the first in the basin of the St. Mary River, the second 

in that of Two Medicine River, the third in the basin of the Teton, and the fourth, 

the largest of all, in the basin of the Missouri.

Lake in St. Mary Valley -The lake in St. Mary River Valley reached a point 

about 8 miles south of the forty-ninth parallel The edge of the crystalline bowlder 

area, which marks approximately the extent of the old lake, is found along the 

slope of Milk River Ridge and on both sides of the ridge which runs north of St. 

Mary River. The southern limit of these erratics crosses St. Mary River just 

north of the mouth of Kennedys Creek, but it is not at all well defined. A few 

scattered crystalline bowlders, most of them small, lie along the banks of the 

river, but south of the creek even these fail The extent of the lake was doubtless 

somewhat greater than the bowlders indicate, for these may have been covered 

by later deposits or washed away by the river or may have failed to reach the 

extreme limit of the lake.

Lake in Two Medicine River Valley From the forty-ninth parallel to the 

vicinity of Cutbank Creek no lake existed along the edge of the ice. The slope of 

the land here is to the southeast, and the waters formed by the melting ice flowed 

to the south in many channels instead- of collecting into a lake. These streams 

were tributary to a lake that existed in the valleys of Two Medicine River and 

Cutbank Creek, a considerable portion of this water finding its way through the 

Rocky Coulee. Granite and other crystalline bowlders are found along the present 

bottom of the coulee, though not to such an extent as might be expected The lake 

in the basin of Two Medicine River was of irregular shape one great arm extended 

up the present Cutbank Valley, another into, the fiat coulee several miles south of 

the railroad, and a third into Two Medicine Valley as far as Robare. This last 

bay was much larger than any of the others along the west side of the lake. Into 

the valley of the Dupuyer Creek the lake advanced as far west as sec. 31, T. 28, 

R. 6 W., and a small arm extended up the valley of Dry Fork of Marias River.

Lake ^n Teton River basin. The next lake to the south was in the basin of the 

Teton The great plateau between the Dry Fork of the Marias and Muddy Creek 

was not covered by water and served as a divide between Two Medicine and Teton
80 MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

lakes The western edge of Teton Lake was near Bynum and Choteau, in Muddy 

and Teton valleys, respectively, and its southern edge was against Teton Eidge. 

Lake in Missouri River Valley Between the Teton and the Missouri River 

basins a lake of large size existed, its waters extending into the valleys of Missouri 

and Sun rivers and covering the lowland between the two. Square and Round 

buttes were islands situated at the extreme western edge .of the lake; around them, 

as around all the other hills and buttes in the neighborhood, are found crystalline 

bowlders at approximately the same elevation. Some of these are large; the 

exposed part of one found near Ulm on the Ulm-Great Falls road measured 8 by 

4 by 4 feet.

PIG. 3 Ideal cross section showing relations between the two lake deposits in the Missouri Valley west of Great Falls 

c, Level of the moi e extended lako, d, level of the more restricted lake

As will be seen from the topographic map of the Great Falls and Fort Benton 

areas (PI V), this lake had a very irregular extent The level of the water during the 

maximum stage of lake development was between the 3,800 and 3,900 foot contour 

lines. At this level bowlders characteristic only of the northeastern drift are found, 

few in numbers in the smaller and more distant coulees, but numerous in the valleys 

in which floating ice could easily enter and be carried about by the wind and currents. 

The waters of this lake extended for a considerable distance up both Smith and Missouri rivers, but the upper valleys of the two streams are canyon-like, with high 

walls that afford no resting place for bowlders even if the ice could have made 

headway against the swift current of the mountain streams.

The bowlders are not found on all parts of the area' mapped as covered by 

water, for they do not appear on the flood plain that extends along both sides of '

FIG. 4 Ideal longitudinal section showing relation of the two lake deposits to the drift dam and the ice dam a, Ice edge; 

6, moraine, c, level of the more extended lake, <j, level of the restricted lake

the Missouri. This plain was formed when the waters were held back by the 

morainic dam, forming a restricted lake, the area of which is essentially that along 

the Missouri and its tributaries below the 3,400-foot contour line."

The relations between the deposits of the two lakes are shown in figs. 3 and 4.

The deposits of the more restricted lake consist of a finely laminated clay, 

which when dry is hard and cleaves like shale. When wet it becomes soft and 

pliable and would make an excellent molding clay. Interstratified with the clay 

are smal crystalline pebbles one-fourth to one-half inch in thickness. They 

usually consist of quartz or feldspar crystals, or of small fragments containing 

several minerals, showing that the rock from which they were derived was granite,

i Shown on PI. V by unshaded area along Sun and Missouri rivers
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 50 PL. V

.o «">*«,»*+>»< .°.o.--V.o.".-. fe^^>:^^l^^

 o::^y^-:?:^.:\°:o'. 0 : 

^/4^-p-V°o: .;.b':°\ £'-': P. : o.

.- .' ; o ° ^o'/f^u . ' ' V-^._ .'n '

____TE.TPN C0> 

I CASCADE CO.

'l^\s^mmSJ -° y' " x° ' " ' n'^T^^^^'' ?^:- :;7^

Later moraine Terminal moraine Drift of the

of the Keewatrn of the Keewatin Keewatin

ice sheet ice sheet ice sheet

Contour interval 500 reet 

&a£ujnistn.e<iTi.5ea Level

MAP SHOWING AREA COVERED BY THE GREAT FALLS LAKE AND THE POSITION OF; THE TERMINAL AND LATER MORAINES.
DRAINAGE BY LAKES. 31

syenite, or basalt. Very seldom a large crystalline bowlder is found embedded 

in the clay. These bowlders and pebbles connect the formation with the Keewatin 

ice sheet. This formation is found in each of the old lake basins, though in St. 

Mary Valley but one section of the clay was seen. In Two Medicine Valley exposures of it 10 to 20 feet thick are common. The best development of this formation is found in the Teton River basin, this being due in part to the relation 

that the terminal moraine bears to the underlying topography Fig. 5 shows a section of the moraine, the clay, and the underlying formations

The relations of the various formations shown in the above diagram have given 

rise to the conditions for artesian wells. The limestone gravels from the mountains 

washed over the old pre-Glacial surface 

collect the water and carry it under the 

clay, which acts as an impervious cover 

layer. At a, fig. 5, a well 80 feet deep 

has been drilled, from which the water

Comes OUt of an 8-inch pipe with. Considerable force At &, fig. 5, nearer the 

mountains, the limestone gravel is 

 reached by an artesian well 60 feet deep, 

while at c the wells are between 10 and 20 feet in depth. The water obtained is 

used for irrigation.

Along the Missouri the clay is found about 10 miles west of Great Falls near 

Ulm. Here it is about 40 feet thick and contains the small crystalline pebbles 

characteristic of it farther north.

The clay is not always found lying in front of the moraine In some places 

the lacustrine deposit lies upon the moraine itself, and in some places under the 

till. The edge of the ice appears to have oscillated, retreating first and allowing 

the deposition of lake sediment and then advancing and covering the deposits 

of the lake (fig. 6).

FIG 5 Section showing the relation of lacustrine clay to 

gravels and till of northeastern ice sheet d, Terminal 

moraine of the Keewatin ice sheet, e, gravels washed out 

from the mountains, /, lacustrine clay, a, b, c, artesian 

wells

FIG. 6 Section on Belt Creek, showing the moraine covered by lake deposit a, Lake deposit, 60 feet, 6, drift, 70 feet;

c, shale, 80 feet

The drainage of the lakes north of the Teton Ridge was eastward under the ice. 

The waters of these lakes could not have escaped into the lake that existed in the 

valley of the Missouri except by some subglacial passage The latter lake was 

drained by an outlet through the Sag into the Arrow and to the eastward, following 

tributaries of the streams that flowed north. It was through the erosive action 

of the waters that poured out from this lake that the Sag was formed and the 

present course of the Missouri determined.
32 MONTANA LOBE OP KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

RIVERS. 

EFFECT OF MOUNTAIN GLACIERS.

The ice deploying from the mountain valleys had but little effect upon the preGlacial courses of the more important streams. Small valleys that were tributary 

to the main watercourses were blotted out, and after the retreat of the ice the 

change m topography forced the drainage ways to follow new courses In some 

parts of its upper course Cutbank Creek was crowded northward by the ice, and 

its valley was partly filled with valley trains, in which the present streams have 

cut their channels, though the cutting has in no case been great.

EFFECT OF NOBTHEASTEBN ICE SHEET.

In contrast to the effect of mountain glaciation the coming of the ice sheet from 

the northeast changed the character of the drainage markedly. Every river 

flowing north and east from the mountams was obstructed by the drift, had its 

waters expanded into a lake, and then, cutting through the morainic dam, found 

itself superimposed, perhaps some distance from its old bed, upon a body of drift.

OB)

FIG. 7. Relative size of post-Glacial and pre-GIaoial valleys of Two Medicine Elver A, Post-Glaoial valley of Two 

Medicine River, B, pre-Glacial valley of Two Medicine Elver In" A " the bluffs are covered with till from the 

Keewatm Glacier, in " B " the valley itself is covered by a deposit of till laid down by the Summit Glacier

In most cases the displacement of the stream channel was not great, the post-Glacial 

streams generally occupying the same valley, though not the same channel.

St. Mary River. About a mile north of the international boundary line St. 

Mary River was superimposed upon a sandstone ledge, its old channel being filled 

with drift. At this place it has cut a narrow gorge over 100 feet deep. The postGlacial cutting in the drift near this place has been from 20 to 60 feet In a number 

of other places along St. Mary and Belly rivers the streams have been forced to 

cut into sandstone. In no case near the boundary line was the change in drainage 

more than a slight shifting of the stream channel.

Milk River. In pre-Glacial time Milk River flowed in a deep, wide valley, and 

for this reason was little affected by the drift in the area studied.

Two Medicine River. West of the place where it is crossed by the terminal 

moraine of the northeastern ice sheet', Two Medicine River flows in a broad U-shaped 

valley, which was once filled by the ice from Summit Pass. East of the moraine 

the stream flows in a post-Glacial valley. It is no longer broad, with gently sloping
DRAINAGE BY BIVEKS. 33

sides, but is narrow and gorge-like (fig 7). The walls are nearly vertical sandstone 

bluffs capped by northeastern drift The pre-Glacial course of the Two Medicine 

appears to have entered that of the Marias 5 miles below its mouth in post-Glacial 

time.

The following cross sections show the width of the Two Medicine "at its mouth 

compared with the cross sections of the valley of the Cutbank above and that of 

the Marias below (fig. 8). The fact that much more water flows through the valley 

of the Two Medicine than through that of the Cutbank and that this water has a 

greater velocity renders the difference in width much more striking Fig. 7 

shows the width of the Two Medicine above and below the terminal moraine.

Birch Creek North of the big bend Birch Creek flows between sandstone walls 

capped with drift. In some sections of the drift the capping is 80 feet in thickness, 

but usually 10 to 40 feet. The pre-Glacial channel of Birch Creek was not determined' It doubtless led to the Two Medicine or the Marias much farther east than 

at present.

FIG 8 Cross sections showing relative size of Two Medicine, Cutbank Creek, and Marias valleys. A, Two Medicine Valley 

just above its mouth, B, Cutbank Valley above its mouth, C, Marias Valley below junction of the Cutbank and the 

Two Medicine

Muddy Creek. East of the terminal moraine of tie Keewatm ice sheet the 

valley of Muddy Creek is post-Glacial This part of its valley is 80 to 100 feet 

deep. Locally the stream has cut through the drift into the sandstone beneath 

The old pre-Glacial valley of Muddy Creek is completely hidden, but the general 

topography of the region shows that its course was not very different from that 

of the present stream.

Teton River. InTeton Valley a similar condition exists, and the present channel 

follows somewhat closely that of the pre-Glacial stream. The Teton has in places 

cut a valley 150 feet deep in the drift Lower in its course the Teton has been 

subjected to more important changes. North of Fort Benton, above the elbow 

(PI. Ill), the Teton flows in a drift-filled valley. The present stream has cut into 

the modified pre-Glacial valley from 200 to 250 feet. At the north end of the elbow 

the river turns suddenly to the south and, after flowing for 2 miles in a narrow 

valley between rock walls, again finds itself in the drift-filled valley of the preGlacial Missouri Here post-Glacial erosion has formed a valley 200 feet deep and 

1280 No 50 06 3
34 MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

a mile wide, similar to that above the elbow. The Teton appears to have been 

forced into the valley of the Missouri by the drift filling the eastern end of its old 

channel This extends from the north end of the elbow through the valley now 

occupied by Sheep Creek into the'Marias. East of Fort Benton the Great Northern 

Railway has tunneled through the ridge between the Teton and the Missouri. 

Here the two streams are but half a mile apart, and are separated by a divide 200 

feet high, at least 120 feet of which is drift

Other stieams in the area studied were turned from their pre-Glacial courses by 

the ice, but as in each case the change was closely associated with the change 

in the Missouri, they will be considered in connection with the pre-Glacial and 

post-Glacial history of that stream

Missouri R^ver. Of all streams in northern Montana, the Missouri was the one 

most affected by the ice sheet, to which is doubtless due the fact that it is a tributary 

of the Mississippi and not of the Saskatchewan or the Red River of the North.

I Great Falls

FIG 9 Valley of the Missoui i, showing post-Glacial cutting in sandstone and drift

When the old channel of the Missouri became filled with drift, the river was turned 

from its former course and forced to find a new channel for itself south of the edge 

of the ice sheet In some places the post-Glacial stream followed the old valley 

for some distance until at last, turned aside by some barrier, it was forced to follow 

a tributary stream across a col into the valley of another river The changes in 

the course of the Missouri have been varied and are given in detail.

The river rises in the extreme southwestern portion of the State and flows northeastward. For the first 300 miles it is confined by mountains, but after passing 

between the main range of the Rockies and the Little Belt Mountains it escapes 

to the plain From this place to Great Falls the river meanders over a wide flood 

plain, flowing 75 miles with a fall of but 85 feet At Great Falls an abrupt change 

in the character of the stream takes place. Leaving the plain it flows through a 

canyon with high sandstone walls and falls 512 feet in 12 miles.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. 50 PL. Vl

A FALLS OF THE MISSOURI

S. ONE OF THE FALLS OF THE MISSOURI, SHOWING AMOUNT OF POST-GLACIAL EROSION.
DRAINAGE BY KIVEES. 35

In this part of its course the river runs in a sandstone valley, in which cataracts 

have developed (PI VI, A, B) because of the harder ferruginous layers found in 

it The unequal rate at which the falls have retreated is due to the varying hardness of these layers It is not known exactly at what point the falls originated, 

but it was doubtless where the superimposed Missouri found its way over the side 

of an old valley wall, either into its own pre-Glacial channel or into that of one of 

its tributaries This, so' far as now known, may have happened at any one of a 

number of places. At a point near the mouth of Belt Creek the valley suddenly 

broadens and at the same time turns abruptly to the north (PI VII, A) Here 

the river flows through an old drift-filled pre-Glaoial valley (fig 9). The postGlacial river does not everywhere flow in the old channel but crosses it at all angles. 

This unconformity of the old channel to the present one is shown in the sections 

forming fig 10

- 

of the Missouri, 1>, a", c , cutting across the pre-Glacial channel d,t a tight angle

At the big bend of the Missouri, at the mouth of.Little Sandy Creek, there is 

another abrupt change in the character and direction of the valley. The river, 

which has been flowing northeastward, turns abruptly to the southeast. The 

valley narrows, becomes more canyon-like, and loses its drift walls. The bench 

on both sides of the stream slopes to the north while the river flows south At the 

mouth of Arrow River there is a sudden turn to the east, though the character of 

the valley does not change. The river continues to flow between high rock walls, 

with little bottom land, and in a valley which narrows and widens without apparent 

cause. From the mouth of the Musselshell to that of Milk River the valley is narrow, 

with walls 600 to 1,000 feet high. Beyond Milk River it takes on the broad, shallow
3(5 MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

character of that stream and becomes wide, the banks being very low At Wilhston, 

N Dak , it appears to have been turned to the south by a great moraine (fig 14, 

p. 39), which crosses the Great Northern tracks west of Tioca. Beyond this place 

the valley is much deeper and narrower

It is evident that the river near Great Falls is not in its old valley Between 

the meandering stream west of the town and the river in its great drift-filled valley 

cast of the mouth of the Highwood, extends a canyon-like valley with a series of 

rapids and falls. Well borings along the river southwest of the town show that 

the stream is now flowing at the top of a flood plain about 270 feet above the bottom of the pre-Glacial valley. A well at Ulm, drilled by the Great Northern Railway Company about 1888, went down some 270 feet through sand and clay into a 

gravel layer. a A well located on the Odell ranch on the Missouri south of Great 

Falls went through the following material

Record of well on Missouri River bouih of Great Falls, Mont

Feet 

Soil ...... .... 20

Quicksand ...... ... ... 125

Clay ...... .... .... CO

Feet

Gravel.... - - ...... . .... .... 7

212

These two well sections show conclusively that the valley of the Missouri was 

formerly much deeper and'that it has been filled with deposit. The problem that 

presented itself in the field was to find the old channel extending from the valley 

above the falls to the drift-filled valley below them This pre-Glacial valley must 

have had the general altitude of 3,050 feet, or 270 feet below the present surface, 

and must reentcr the post-Glacial valley of the Missouri at an elevation sufficiently below this level to allow for the fall of the river Such a Aralley is found in 

what is known as Sand Coulee, now occupied by a small mountain stream.

This little creek, which during most of the year is dry, occupies a valley over 

half a mile broad, with sandstone banks 150 to 200 feet high The rcasoiis for thinking 

that Sand Coulee Creek now occupies the old channel of the Missouri are as follows 

(1) The topographic relations are such that a broad valley like that now occupied 

by,Sand Coulee Creek could not have been formed by that stream or by any stream 

flowing westward; (2) the cross section of Sand Coulee Valley, while not quite as 

large as that of the Missouri, is of the same general shape, (3) Sand Coulee Valley 

contains great meanders, and if the Missouri could be turned into it the resemblance 

to the Missouri from Ulm to the junction of Sand Coulee Creek would be striking; 

(4) the tributary valleys which now join Sand Coulee Valley have their acute 

angles downstream, and therefore appear to have been formed when the water 

in the valley flowed in the other direction; (5) at the lower end of Sand Coulee 

Valley there is a deposit of lacustrine clay and at the upper end a deposit of 

bowlder clay, which appears to block the old channel at this point

East of Senator Gibson's ranch Sand Coulee runs into a broad plain, the southern edge of which marks the limit of the drift Here the old valley had been filled 

by a drift dam to such a height that drainage from the water ponded in front of 

the moraine was to the north over Cretaceous sandstone The waters of the diverted

» This information was given me by Mr P \V Bradford, of Great Falls No record was kppt of tho depth and of the 

material Ly the railway company, Lut his figures agree essentially with those of Mr Chaffie, a well digger of Great Falls, who 

has sunk other wells in the vicinity
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SLJRVEV PROFESSIONAL PAPER NO. BO PL. VII

A. WATER GAP FORMED BY MISSOURI RIVER,

The wide valley has been reexcavated from one filled with drift. The narrows are found at a point where the stream was superimposed on

the top of a pre-Glacial sandstone ridge.

li. WIND EROSION NEAR DRY FORK OF MARIAS RIVER.
DRAINAGE BY RIVERS. 37

stream entered the old valley near the mouth oi the Highwood, and it was doubtless 

at this point that the falls originated (fig 11).

FIG 11 Cross section showing the dr ft in the valley through which Uighwood Creek nov/ flovs Looking north downstream

Into tills pre-Glacial valley, situated south of the present stream, flowed 

Belt and Highwood creeks When the major stream was diverted to the north 

these streams were obliged to cut through miles of sandstone to find an outlet.

FIG 12 Map showing the pre-Glacial course of the Missouri hetween Sand Coulee and the mouth of Highwood Creek.

The map (fig. 12) shows the relation of these streams to the pre-Glaeial Missouri 

and to .the present river

Into the old valley, now filled with drift, the post-Glacial stream cut its channel,
38 MONTANA. LOBE OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

meeting no more serious obstructions than are usually encountered by a superimposed stream Fig. 13 gives some idea of how the new channel cut across the 

meanders of the old

At the mouth of the Little Sandy, the sudden turn to the south, the nanow 

valley with its rock walls, and the great, wide, drift-filled valley stretching off to 

the northeast to the Milk River, all suggest that the river has again been diverted 

This valley is 35 miles long and is occupied by two streams the Big Sandy flowing 

north into Milk River and the Little Sandy flowing into the Missouri The two 

streams rise in the same vicinity but are separated from each other by a moramie 

dam that stretches across the valley 8 miles north of the Missouri (fig. 14)

, The thickness of the drift deposit in Big Sandy Valley is not easy to estimate. 

Near the Missouri, where the river makes its sudden turn, there appears to be

FIG 13 Relations of the post-Glacial and pro-Glacial channels of the Missouri letwbpn mouth of Highwood Creek and mouth

of Little Sandy Crrck

200 feet of till, but this at lower levels may be talus-covered rock Forty* feet 

above the present level of the river near Blankenbaker's ranch is a bed of river 

gravels covered by cross-bedded sand These gravels are found on the top of the 

sandstone at many other places and consist of smoothed and rounded pebbles of 

both Rocky Mountain and northeastern origin The thickness of the drift deposit 

in this valley north of the Missouri could not be determined The Little Sandy 

has cut a channel 60 feet into the drift without reaching rock From this point 

to Havre there is no cut of more than 20 feet

This valley joins that of Milk River east of Havre South of the town there 

is a drift filling 140 feet thick The map gives the relations of the present valleys 

to the old valley (fig 15)
DRAINAGE BY RIVERS. 39

TIG 14 Map showing outlines of the great pre-Glacial valley between Missouri and Milk nvers The map also shows the

moraine that forced the river south

p1G 15 Map of the vicinity of Havre, showing the relation of the pre-Glacial Missouri to the valleys of the post-Glacial

streams
40 MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

The valley of Milk River above its junction with the pre-Glacial valley of the 

Missouri varies in width from one-fourth to one-half mile, but below the junction 

becomes much broader, being 2 to 3 miles wide.

South from the turn at the mouth of the Little Sandy the Missouri flows between 

high rock walls. The bottoms are few and small and the current rapid. The 

Arrow, the Judith, the Musselshell, and the Dog are tributaries in this part of its 

course, and each one has been affected by the change in the direction of the trunk 

stream

In order to illustrate the conditions under which these various changes took 

place and the reason for each change figs 16, 17, 18, and 10 have been prepared.

PIG 10 Map showing pre-Glacial river system of northei n Montana

Fig 10 illustrates the pre-Glacial drainage system, fig. 19 the post-Glacial system, 

and figs. 17 and 18 intermediate stages. Fig. 16 is more or less ideal, for, owing 

to the weathering of the soft sandstone, valley contours have been greatly modified 

by the drift, making difficult the work of restoring the minor drainage lines

The more important changes in drainage caused by the ice sheet appear to be 

closely connected 'with the history of the Shonkin Sag, a valley which runs from 

Highwood Creek to Arrow River. The sag is in places nearly a mile wide and over 

500 feet deep. It is entirely independent of rock structure and runs across the 

present drainage lines at right angles. Another curious feature of its position 

is that it is superimposed on the northern slope of the Highwoods. It would be
DRAINAGE BY RIVERS. 41

LEGEND

Contemporaneoua -Pre-Glacial 

drainage,morame drainage

£55&A^--""--^,.--" ,.-

FIG 17 Map showing drainage of northern Montana when ice had maximum extent, and also pre-Glacial river system.

Contemporaneous drainage Drainage maximum epoch 

Later moraine Terminal moraine

FIG 18 Map showing drainage of northern Montana at stage of younger moiaine
42 MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATT35T ICE SHEET.

impossible for a river in the normal course of development to erode such a channel. 

At the time of the maximum extent of the ice sheet, the drainage of Great Falls 

Lake was to the eastward. The west end of the Shonkin Sag must have been 

covered by the ice edge because the waters touched the 3,900-foot contour level.

PIG 19 Map showing post-fflacial drainage system of northern Montana, with a part ol the pre-Glaciil system

At this level a wide, shallow valley extends 200 or more feet above Belt and Highwood creeks and runs at right angles to them. Though most plainly marked 

between these two streams, the same valley is found at intervals along the south 

bank of the sag, sometimes with two banks, sometimes with one, the north wall 

in the latter case having been formed by the ice itself (fig. 20).

FIG 20 Cross section of the Shonkin Sag when the ice was present a, Edge ol the ice, &, terrace on south bank of the sag, 

c, level of water in the outlet to Grout Falls Lake, d, the sag

The valley is such as would be formed by a great quantity of water flowing 

for a short time from a lake After this valley had been cut and the floating ice 

had carried the bowlders over the region covered by Great Falls Lake, the ice 

retreated to the north bank of the sag and allowed the waters to flow at a lower
DBA.INAGE BY BIVERS. 43

level. The method of formation of the sag seems to have been as follows- The 

drainage of the lake was forced by the position of the ice edge across the streams 

flowing from the Highwood Mountains. The waters of the lake took advantage of 

each col and tributary and swung in great meanders around the mountains. The 

sag appears to be the result of superimposing across the pre-Glacial valley a drainage

FIG 21 Section across the Shonkm Sug, showing how it was formed on the slope at the Highwood Mountains

system determined partly by topography and partly by the position of the ice 

edge. Figs 21 and 22 illustrate the manner in which this change was brought 

about

The sag continued to be the outlet for the waters of the lake Aintil the ice had 

retreated north of Fort Benton. The ice then either halted for a considerable

FIG 22 Sketch map showing how the Shonkm Sag was developed from pre-Glacial valleys

length of time, forming a recessional moraine along the north bank of the Missouri, 

or retreated to an unknown distance. In the latter case, a readvance of the ice 

formed a later moraine which stretches from the Teton Ridge to the Bearpaws. 

In either case this moraine seems to have determined the position of the present 

channel of the Missouri for a greater part of the distance between Great Falls and the
44 MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

mouth of the Little Sandy This moraine was also responsible for the permanent 

diversion of the Missouri to the south at the mouth of Little Sandy Creek. With 

its old channel' leading north filled with Glacial ice and drift, the waters found an 

outlet to the south either through a small tributary to the Missouri from the 

south, or through Arrow River, which in pre-Glacial time may have emptied into 

the Missouri at this point The latter hypothesis appears for many reasons to be 

the true one The valley of the Arrow enters that of the Missouri at the present 

time in such a manner as to suggest that it once flowed north. Not only does the 

angle at which the two valleys meet suggest this, but the tributaries to the Missouri above the junction of the Arrow indicate that the river formeily flowed northward The elevation of the bench near the junction of the two streams is greater

FIG 23 Map showing in detail how the Missouri wasfoiccd across the valleys of Arrow, Judith, and Musselshell riveis.

than any portion of the bench to the north Either the Missouri at this point is an 

antecedent stream or the pre-Glacial drainage was through the Arrow north to the 

Missouri west of the present mouth of the Little Sandy

The waters, finding no outlet south through the Arrow, turned to the east 

and, following a tributary from that direction, passed over a narrow divide into a 

tributary of the Judith. This was doubtless the course followed by the waters 

of the lake that existed while the ice was advancing from the former mouth of 

the Missouri near Havre until it retreated again beyond Fort Benton. The course 

for the new stream had already been determined by the drainage from Groat Falls 

Lake. The peculiar course of the Missouri between the mouth of the Arrow and 

the mouth of the Judith, as well as the shape of its valley, -would seem to favor
INTERRELATIONS OF SURFACE FORMATIONS. 45

this conclusion. The map shows the relation between the tributaries of the Judith 

and the Arrow and the valley of the post-Glacial Missouri (fig 23)

During pre-Glacial time the course of the Judith was northward, joining 

the Missouri near the mouth of the pre-Glacial Arrow Since the Missouri was 

thrown across the Judith at right angles, it has cut 500 feet below the old channel 

of that stream This is shown by the great valley that stretches away to the north 

500 feet above the level of the Missouri, and by the behavior of the Judith and 

other streams tributary to the Missouri at this point Fig. 24 shows the relation 

between the slope of the old Judith valley and the present slope. The same condition exists also in the valley of the Dog, though in this case it is even more 

pronounced

For 30 miles east of the Judith the bench on either side of the Missouri rises 

gradually; then falls again to the east into the Musselshell system. The Dog flows 

westward for 25 miles parallel to the Missouri The other streams also come in 

at such angles as to lead one to expect them to empty into a river flowing either 

west or north. East of the divide just mentioned, the tributaries again enter the 

main stream, following the usual law It would appear that what took place west 

of the Judith was repeated east of that stream The waters flowed eastward 

through a tributary of the Judith over a col into a tributary of the Musselshell

FIG. 24 Longitudinal profiles of Judith River and Dog Creek valleys a, Level of the old valley, b, level of the present 

valley, c, valley of the Missouri The cutting of the Missouri from a to c, at the mouths of Judith River and Dry 

Creek, has caused these tributaries to work back

This stream is also supposed to have flowed north through the Great Lonesome 

Prairie Valley, joining the Missouri in the vicinity of Saeo The same process was 

repeated in the valley of the Big Dry From this point the river again found its 

old channel and flows in a modified pre-Glacial valley eastward for many bundled 

miles.

On the whole the changes in drainage induced by the ice of the Keewatm 

sheet in the area studied were not great. If, as Dawson thinks, an earlier drift 

sheet covered the region, changes in drainage may have been brought about by 

that more far reaching and more profound than those induced by the later ice.

INTERRELATIONS OF SURFACE FORMATIONS.

THE QUARTZITE GRAVELS AND THE TWO DRIFT SHEETS

The surface formations of the area have been described in detail. It now 

remains to consider their relations to each other.

The quartzite gravels may be summarily treated. In the area between the 

drifts of the two ice sheets the gravel occurs as a suiface formation, lying on 

Cretaceous beds Near the mountains the gravels are found under the drift of the 

local glaciers This relation is seen north of the forty-ninth parallel in the vicinity
46 MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATIST ICE SHEET.

of Duck Lake and on the high ndgo north of North Fork of Cutbank Creek. The 

sections show a layer of rounded, weathered, quartzite gravel covered by angular 

striated bowlders, having among them a large proportion of limestone and dioritc. 

In sections exposed along the edge of the Keewatin drift sheet the gravels aie 

likewise found beneath the till Their relative positions are shown in fig. 29, page 48. 

The position of the quartzite gravels makes them older than both the mountain 

drift and the northeastern drift. Their age, an interesting question because of 

the conclusions of Dawson upon the subject, will be discussed after the relations 

of the other surface formations have been treated.

THE NORTHEASTERN AND THE MOUNTAIN DRIFT SHEETS.

As already stated, a number of broad valleys have been cut into the Cretaceous 

rock of the plains Into these valleys glaciers deployed, forming moraines, 

outwash deposits, and valley trains. Into these same valleys from the east came 

the ice from the Keewatin Glacier, winch threw moraines 

across the valleys and formed at its edge various extramoramic deposits. It is the relation of such deposits to each 

other in the several river valleys that is now to be considered. 

In Sun River Valley the moraines of the two ice tongues are 

about 60 miles apart. Down the stream for some distance 

from the moraine of the mountain ice extends a valley train. 

In front of the Keewatin ice sheet there existed in Sun River 

Valley a large lake, in which lacustrine clay was deposited. 

The relation between these two formations, if they come in 

contact anywhere, would give a clue to the relative age of 

the two ice movements, but, though such a relation doubtless 

exists, it was not seen in any section along Missouri or Sun 

rivers. Similar formations are found in the valleys of Teton 

River and Muddy Creek, but, though a relation between the 

deposits in front of the two ice sheets ought to be made out 

in these valleys, in no section was such a relation shown. 

Gravels are found along these rivers under the lacustrine clay, 

but they are of soft limestone, without glacial marking, and 

whether they belong to the valley train or to fluvial deposits of unknown age was 

not determined.

In Birch Creek Valley, however, the two moraines are only about 18 miles 

apart As along Sun River, a glacio-fluvial train extends down the valley of the 

Birch and into this the stream has since cut a narrow channel At a number of 

places along the creek there are exposures showing a thickness of from 20 to 30 

feet of these gravels. Although a few of these are striated, the majority have been 

subjected to so much water action that all trace of glaciation has been removed. 

Lying on the gravels, and never in or beneath them, are large crystalline bowlders 

of northeastern origin, which were carried by floating ice on the lake extending 

along the Keewatin ice edge, and which were scattered at irregular intervals over 

the lake bottom Farther east, nearer the terminal moraine of the Keewatin .ice 

sheet, the lacustrine clay appears, also lying on the gravels. Fig 25 shows the 

relations of the bowlders and the clay to the gravels of the valley train.

2So*oo£4flj

2<?0 (V7 « P 4

Co O o° <?C e""O"r> cj^^^c^q"

FIG 25 Section on Birch 

Creek A, Valley tram 

containing striated limestone pebbles, 20 feet, B, 

soil, C, gravel made up 

to a large extent of crystalline pebbles
NORTHEASTERN AND MOUNTAIN DRIFT SHEETS. 47

In

_&___LOn Birch and Dupuyer creeks and on the tributaries opening into them aie 

many sections which show essentially the same order and deposits In these valleys, then, we may see the relative age of the two drift sheets as shown by the 

deposits formed in front of the ice (fig 26)

In the valley of the Two Medicine also the moraines 

come close together, and here two very interesting and 

compiehensivo sections arc found within 2 miles of each D 

other The first occurs where the terminal moraine of 

the Blackfoot Glacier is trenched by Two Medicine Kiver 

and the second where a meander of the same river has 

recently undermined a portion of its bank

The first section (fig 27) shows that the ice of jthe c 

Blackfoot Glacier formed its moraine across Two Medicine River and retreated, and then the northeastern ice 

sheet pushed into the valley and deposited its moraine 

within a mile of the edge of the mountain drift, while in 

the lake formed west of its edge lacustrine clay was laid 

down above the till from the mountains

A

second section (fig 28) the 50 feet of till 

belonging to the Keewatm drift 

sheet lies above a layer of glacial _ ,, . J " Itc 26 Section near mouth ol Dugravel of mountain origin, which 

was doubtless deposited at the 

time the valley to the west was 

occupied by the mountain ice 

Between the till and the valley 

intervene

train two formations

Resting upon the gravel is a layer of sand 

and clay, part of which was deposited by wind and part 

by water, and above this layer a bed of lacustrine clay 

occurs It would appear that after the deposition of the 

clay in the lake along the front of the ice, the ice advanced 

and covered a part of its own lake deposit In this section 

the till of the northeastern drift sheet lies above the deposit formed in front of the Blackfoot Glacier

We have seen how the ice in the mountains in St Mary 

River Valley, after it had crossed Milk River Ridge irom FIG 27 Section on the Two Medi- " - fa

cme at point whme Blackfoot north to south, spread eastward, depositing its moraine

Glacier crossed it A, Sandstone, along foe norfo &Jope of foe rlaVc Jt ^ also beon shown 

50 leet, B, till formed by Black- , & , . . ^ ° ,,11,1,1 foot Glacier, is feet, c, lacustrine (p 23) how the Keewatm ice sheet was held back by the 

cia> formed m the lake which ex- same iidge and deposited its terminal moraine along the

isted in front of the Keewatm , i

ice sheet, 10 feet, D, windblown Same north slope

deposit, 3 feet jn foe coulee in which Galbraith' s ranch is located, near 

the ranch, the moraine of the mountain glacier disappears under the drift of the 

northeastern ice sheet

Although in general the two drift sheets are quite distinct, the line of demarcation is not sharply drawn The Keewatm drift contains mountain bowlders which

pujor Creek A, Sandstone, B, 

valley tram from Birch Creek 

Glacier, C, lacustrine clay containing crystalline pebbles, D, 

colian deposit
48 MONTANA LOBE OP KFEWAT1N TOE SHEET.

were picked up by the ice as it moved westward over the earlier drift sheet Lying 

upon the drift from the mountain are fragments of crystalline rook from the northeast, which were carried out beyond the edge of the eastern drift sheet by floating 

ice. The two drift sheets are not exposed in section in this valley

In St Mary Valley proper the mountain ice pushed much farthei north 

Great argilhtic bowlders from the Rookies are found 10 miles north of the fortyninth parallel in such a position that it is evident that 

they were left by mountain ice Others are found on 

top of St Mary Ridge, at a point where the ice from 

tho northeast leached the top of the ridge and mingled its 

bowlders with the mountain drift Figs 29 and 30 show 

significant sections along St Mary River

In the valley of Belly River the contact of the two 

drift sheets is seen in section About 10 miles north of the 

forty-ninth parallel the moraine of the northeastern ice 

sheet crosses Belly River and swings in a northwestern 

direction toward Waterton River Two hundred yards 

south of the point where the moraine crosses the river, 

and therefore outside of the noitheastern duft sheet, the nver has 

cut through about 60 feet of dnft 

The lower 30 feet consists of a bed 

ot roughly stratified, somewhat 

glaciated mountain g r a v el s 

Above this is 30 feet of heavy 

bowlder clay The bowlders are, 

without exception, from the B 

mountains, and are ice marked 

to an unusual extent At the very 

top of the section, lying upon the 

till, but never m it, a

B

*£ .*> ; 

 *,*<* r

a °

1 J_

1 JL

QP^LJ^S* " o^£o^.a & Q g_-~ j~ a " o 

FIG 28 -section on the TWO Mediome 7 miles west of mouth A, iew crystalline bowlders aie found

Sandstone, B, valley tram from ~r± nwr «nr>i n till fnrma Mackfoot Glacier, 25feet, C,eolian it; WaS OT6r SUCn fl tlU Iormadepo&it, jo foet, D,lacustrine ciay, tion as this that the ice from the

30foa, E,northwestern till,SOfeet northeast moved. In most of the

sections exposed by post-Glacial cutting within the edge of

the eastern drift the two tills are mixed, showing that the

later ice handled, to a greater or a less extent, the material

deposited by the valley glaciers Only one section, where

the line between the two bodies of drift was sharply marked,

was seen, though in many places the plane of division could

be made out approximately The drift from the northeast

contained but few bowlders, while that deposited by the

mountain ice was heavily loaded In any mixed body of drift, the upper

part would contain both ciystalline and sedimentary bowlders m small numbers,

while the heavy bowldei clay at the bottom of the section, though it sometimes

IG 29 Section on St Mary 

River, near Sloan's ranch 

A, Sandstone, B, waterworn, 

nonglaciated gravels, C, glaciated, angular pebbles from 

the mountains, not waterworn 

to any extent, but apparently 

part of a valley tram, D, till 

of the northeastern ice sheet, 

containing many small cry stallme pebbles, but no large 

bowldeis, B andC grade into 

each other, B is evidently a 

pre-GIacial formation
DEDUCTIONS FBOM INTEBRELATIOHS. 49

contained a few crystalline bowlders, represented the mountain drift sheet, as far 

as it could be made out. The talus always present along the banks of the streams 

often obscured this indefinite division line. Within the moraine, not far from 

the edge of the drift, the section shown in fig. 31 is exposed. This section is the 

only one along the banks of Belly River that shows the two 

drift sheets separated from each other by a definite division 

line.

Thus, in these river valleys, a definite relation has existed 

between the two drift sheets a relation which warrants the 

conclusion that the Keewatm ice sheet advanced into the 

region after the deposition of the moraines of the mountain 

glaciers

DEDUCTIONS FROM INTERRELATIONS.

' ti

op «

AGE OF THE QTJARTZITE GRAVELS.

As has been shown, the qitartzite gravels are* found on

the plateaus that mark the earliest level of the plain next the

mountains, on the slopes that lead to lower erosion plains, on

the terraces above the present stream FIG so -section on su Mary 

beds, and in the stream channels Eiver- north ol Sloan 's 

themselves. The topographic position of these gravels and their nature 

are such that they could not have 

been deposited by the ice which 

formed the existing moraines in the 

present mountain valleys. This is 

seen in their topographic relations, 

in the absence of glacial markings, in 

the absence of limestone and diorite 

bowlders, and in the great weathering to which they have been subjected. The till laid down by the 

mountain glaciers contains a large 

percentage of limestone bowlders,

the glacial markings are distinct, and very little weathering has taken place The gravels are found above the 

level reached by the ice in the mountain valleys and outside of the area covered by the Keewatin ice sheet or by 

the lake which existed in front of it. These facts prove 

that the gravels antedate the last Glacial epoch

The question of most importance is whether they are 

or are not of glacial origin. Were they deposited by 

earlier mountain glaciers or by an earlier Cordilleran ice

sheet, or were they formed by streams? Dawson 0 is of the opinion that they

are of glacial origin, and calls the formation the Albertan.

o Dawson, G M , Glacial deposits of southern Alberta. Bull Geol Soc America vol 7, pp 39, 42, 54 

1280 No 50-

ranch A, Shale, B, northeastern dnlt, 2 feet, containing many decomposed bowlders, C, typical loess, 5 loot, 

containing concretions, hard 

shells, and bones ol small 

animals, D, soil, 10 leet, of 

black clayey loam, consisting ol the weathered surface 

ol the lower loess bed; E, 

loess, 6 leet in thickness, 

sandy at the top, F, northeastern till, containing crystalline bowlders This section lurnishes the only discovered evidence ol two distinct glacial ppoohs As 110 

other section was Jound 

showing like or similar phenomena, littlo stress is laid 

upon this

FIG 31 Section on Belly River 

within the terminal moraine ol 

the Keewatin ice sheet A, Till 

lormed by Belly lliver Glacier, 

containing many bowlders, all 

of which arc smoothed and striated to an unusual degree, 75 

leet, B,soil,of which only a small 

exposure was seen, which contained no fossils, C, till formed 

by theKeewatmice sheet .SOfeet
50 MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

His description is as follows 

Deposits ot coarse gravels, often containing' stones up to G inches in diameter, all well smoothed and 

waterworn, but often not'perfectly rounded. They are generally arranged in iatlicr tumultuous manner 

that is, not in regular lines graded according to size, and with pebbles sometimes standing on end The stones 

are chiefly Rocky Mountain quartzite, but a considerable number of pebbles of limestone from the same 

source are included Some of these gravels are striated The Saskatchewan gravels of the 

plains represent and gradually pass into a western bowlder clay m approaching the mountains

The only bowlder clay seen along the eastern face of the mountains is that 

deposited by receiit ice action, and none was found passing into the gravel formation. 

Those who have seen the great moraines and have,observed their lakes, the freshness 

of their bowlders, the slight weathering and erosion to which the surface of the 

till'has been subjected, and their general look of newness, would call them Wisconsin 

in age rather than Albcrtan.

As Dawson suggests, the gravels are older than any Keewatin drift found in 

the region They are also older than any till deposited by mountain glaciers, 

and, as will bo, shown later, older even than the valleys now occupied by Milk 

River, Cutbank Creek, and Two Medicine River. The question of their origin 

is a troublesome one, but from a careful study ot the formation south of the boundary 

line, they are believed to be not of glacial origin, but to have been deposited by 

streams in pre-Glacial time. In support of this interpretation there are the 

following reasons

The gravels are waterworn and generally rounded Their size is uniform 

over a great extent of country, though the pebbles found near the mountains are 

a little larger than those 20 miles out on the. plains ' From the forty-ninth parallel 

south there is a change in the character and position of these gravels which would 

suggest water deposition, for in each river basin the pebbles are similar to the rock 

exposed along the upper course of that particular river, though the varieties in 

the basins differ from one another The pebbles, too, are wanting on some of the 

higher divides and buttes An ice sheet of size sufficient to have covered the 

gravel area would have left a more heterogeneous deposit, arid one covering the 

heights.

On the other hand, there seems to bo no reason whatsoever for assuming 

them to be glacial The question of the origin of these gravels was kept in mind 

during the entire summer, and the area covered by them was carefully worked 

over, but they show no marks of an ice-deposited formation There are no glacial 

markings of any kind where they have not been affected by the ice of the later 

Glacial epoch In no case is till associated with the gravel, nor is there ever a 

suggestion of terminal or ground moraine topography, though the gravels arc 

found on tops of great plateaus, where any such formation would naturally have 

been preserved Then, too, in regions where the moraines deposited by mountain 

ice contain limestone and other easily weathered rocks, the gravels are composed 

of only the most durable materials.

The valleys which have been developed in the drift are small, those which 

have cut into the plain since the gravels were deposited are very large Two 

Medicine, Milk, and Sun rivers flow at the bottom of valleys which are in places 

500 to 1,200 feet deep and 5 to 10 miles wide. Between these river valleys are
AGE, OF QUARTZ1TE GKAVELS. ' 51

flat plains covered with gravel formation, wide near the mountains, but toward the 

east gradually nairowing to, a small ridge, and finally disappearing altogether. 

Where the slope is great the energy of the stream has,been spent in downward 

cutting Farther east, where the slope is less, the river,has cut laterally and 

developed.flood plains at the expense of the divides, which are of approximately

, the same height. There appears to be a slight slope to the southeast, which would 

indicate that the major streams responsible for tlus base-level flowed in that direction The gravels must have been deposited before these groat valleys were cut 

and at the time of the development of this first base-level, otherwise their position 

on isolated points could not be explained

Th.e date of the first base-leveling epoch has not been exactly determined. 

It must have occurred after the Cretaceous sea had retired from the region, and 

long enough before Glacial time for the development of the great river valleys 

which trench the western portion of the plains This may carry it back into the 

Tertiary perhaps to the end of the Miocene, for there are a few scattered Miocene 

deposits on some of the isolated high points which rise above the Canadian plains. 

This, too, would throw the date of the first base-level back far enough to give 

time for the eiosion of the great valleys. If the base-level is referred to the Pliocene, 

it is hardly conceivable that Milk River and Cutbank valleys could have been

 eroded.

The distribution of the gravels resembles to a remarkable degree the distribution 

of the Lafayette formation in the east, though the relief of the underlying surface 

is much greater here The various stages in the history of their deposition appears 

to have been as follows: Base-leveling in the later part of the Tertiary removed 

a great part of the Eocene and Miocene beds that are now exposed in a few isolated 

places in Canada and left the Cretaceous rocks exposed over a great plain stretching 

north and south along tlie face of the mountains. If then the mountains were 

slightly lifted while the plain was not, the streams would have been rejuvenated 

and the carrying out of the mountain material begun At the foot' of the mountains and at the bordei of the plain the velocity of the streams was checked and 

the material carried out deposited somewhat evenly over the surface, the coarser 

material near the' mountains and the finer farther out. Next followed a rise of 

the whole region and the streams of the new cycles began to cut into the plain 

covered with the gravels from the mountains As erosion went on, the gravels 

followed the streams both vertically and horizontally, tending all the while to 

become concentrated in the bottoms of the valleys and scattered eastward >along 

the banks of the streams. While the gravels were descending from the upper 

plain to the lower terraces, gravels of the same sort were being brought out by 

mountain streams and mingled with those reworked from the older formations. 

At the time of the Glacial epoch the valley trains forming in front of the moraine 

contained not only bowlders marked and polished by the ice but also the, gravels 

that had been lowered into the stream beds by lateral erosion and side wash The 

original formation remains as it was first deposited only upon the old high levels. 

Below these high levels it has been augmented at vail stages by the accession of 

material washed out from the mountains by streams of -later times.
52 MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

There seems to be one conclusion to be drawn from the nature, character, 

and position of these gravels, and that is that in their original form they are not 

a glacial or fluvial-glacial formation, but are of pre-Glacial age. On the lower 

levels material derived from the older formation is mingled with material carried 

out during and since Glacial time, segregated along the banks of the streams and 

covered by later drift deposits.

AGE OF THE NORTHEASTERN DRIFT.

The general opinion among geologists has been that the drift sheet of this 

area belonged to one of the earlier epochs of glaciation. Dawson correlates it with 

the "lowan drift," the western extent of the Wisconsin being marked by the Missouri Coteau. Tyrrell calls it Kansan. On the Glacial map prepared by the United 

States Geological Survey this region is mapped as covered by Kansan drift. a The 

Wisconsin drift is represented only east of the Missouri Coteau and north of the 

forty-ninth parallel. In the light of recent studies, this correlation of the drift 

in the area under consideration is no longer tenable. The conclusion is held that 

the drift jsheet under consideration was deposited by ice of the Wisconsin and 

probably of the late Wisconsin stage, this hypothesis being based on the newness 

of the region in terms of erosion, the sharply denned character of the terminal 

moraine, and the relation of the drift of the Keewatln sheet to that deposited by 

the mountain glaciers.

Evidence from erosion. In order to discuss a question involving so many factors 

as the rate of erosion of a land surface, something besides the amount of -weathering 

and trenching which have taken place must be considered In the Montana region 

the post-Glacial cutting, with the exception of that accomplished by the large superimposed streams, has been slight; the lakes and marshes are still undrained; the 

till is weathered but a short distance from the surface, and the surface bowlders of 

the drift have suffered but little change.

The erosion along the moraine and the amount of weathering on its surface is 

about the same as that suffered by the drift of the Green Bay lobe in the vicinity 

of Baraboo, Wis. The following table shows the amount of rainfall for the last 

four years at Portage, Wis , and at Kipp, Mont , near the edge of the drift of the 

two regions.

Rainfall at points in Wisconsin and Montana, 1896 1899

Locality

Kipp - .. . .... .... ... . .

ISOfi

26 28

1897

22 21 

28 04

1898

18 2fi 

25 00

1899

25 61 

30 43

It will be seen from the table that while the average rainfall is greater at Portage 

the difference is not so great as to affect profoundly the amount of erosion. A 

factor favoring erosion at Kipp as compared with that at Portage is the concentration of rainfall at the former place. Other conditions being equal, a great amount

"Leverett, Frank, The Illinois glacial lobe Mon U S Geol Survey, vol 38,1889, PI I Upham, Warren, The Glacial 

Lake Agassiz Mon U S Geol Survey, vpl 25, 1895, PI XVI
AGE OF NORTHEASTERN" DRIFT. 53

of rainfall during a single shower will occasion greater erosion than the same amount 

distributed through a longer interval. From personal observation in both regions 

it may be said that the amount of water falling in the course of a few hours is much 

greater in Montana than in Wisconsin When the amount of post-Glacial erosion 

and the number of undramed lakes and depressions are taken into account, the 

Montana drift edge appears as young as that in Wisconsin. The conditions for 

erosion are different in the two regions, but the difference has not favored either 

place in the final Tesults.

The amount of weathering suffered by the bowlders and the upper surface 

of the drift is less in the Montana region than in Wisconsin In Wisconsin the drift 

is leached of its soluble materials to a depth of from 2 to 3 feet In Montana the 

average depth of the weathered zone is rather less. The bowlders in the former 

drift sheet are decomposed, in some cases, so badly that a blow of the hammer will 

shatter a granite bowlder a foot in diameter, while the bowlders in the drift of the 

western area are not decomposed to a great extent. On the other hand, mechanical 

agents of weathering, such as wind erosion (PI. VII, B, p. 36) and the sudden changes 

of temperature, are active On taking these various factors of erosion and weathering into consideration, it is thought that the age of the Montana drift can not be 

greater than that of Wisconsin

Evidence from ike topography of terminal moraine. The edge of the Kansan 

drift sheet is generally attenuated. It is somewhat thickened in places and occasionally ridged, but is not usually marked by a definite terminal moraine. The 

edge of the lowan formation is better marked, though in no place is it known to 

form a continuous or conspicuous ridge. The ice of the Wisconsin sheet alone 

appears to have produced the great terminal ridges which cover the country. In 

Dakota Prof. James E Todd has described a series of these moraines which correspond roughly with the series found in Montana The Dakota moraines are of Wis- 

, consin age, and when these have been traced westward it may be found that they 

join those in Montana. If sharp terminal topography counts for anything in the 

classification of drift sheets, the Montana moraine is of Wisconsin age.

Evidence, from relations of the two drift sheets. As has been shown, the Keewatin 

drift of this region is, at its edge at least, younger than the drift of the mountain 

glaciers If any data could be obtained that would throw light upon the age of 

the latter, the relative age of the former might be assumed. Very little has been 

written concerning the age of the mountain drift, but the main portion has usually 

been assumed to belong to a late stage of the Glacial epoch. It is so mapped on 

the two plates to which reference has been made (p. 52, footnote). The drift 

deposits of Colorado/Wyoming, California, Utah, and Washington are supposed to 

be the work of glaciers belonging to a late epoch, the Wisconsin.

The moraines of Montana appear as young as those of these other States Their 

fresh moraine topography, their lakes, and the little erosion to which they have 

been subjected all stamp them as young formations. In the mountain canyons the 

exposed rocks in situ still bear marks of the glaciers in the form of polishings, stnations, and grooves No long interval of time could have intervened since the last 

advance of the ice without the destruction of all marks of glacial action by weather-
54 MONTANA LOBE ' OF KEEWATIN IOE SHEET.

mg Especially this would be true in a region where the work of the wind and sudden changes of temperature are ever active

Granting that the mountain ice is of Wisconsin age, the Keewatin drift sheet 

must belong to the same Glacial epoch. The length of time that existed between 

the deposition of the till from the mountains and that laid down by the Keewatin 

sheet can not be told definitely by any field observations. The amount of erosion 

to which the two drift sheets have been subjected is the same so far as field studies 

show. The agents of weathering have attacked the surface of the'till and the bowlders to about the same extent in'each drift sheet. Where the two sheets of drift 

are found side by side, as in the St. Mary basin, it would be difficult to tell their 

relative ages from any topographic 'feature.

The ice from the mountains and from the Keewatin centers may have been 

formed by the same climatic episode. The ice in the mountain valleys may have 

pushed out upon the plain, deposited its moiaines, and then, not being of large extent 

and hence being easily and quickly affected'by climatic changes, may have withdrawn 

promptly at the beginning of adverse climatic conditions The continental ice 

sheet, on the other hand, with its vast dimensions and its center far to the north, 

may have continued to push outward for some time after adverse conditions on its 

extreme southwestern border had set in, and hence may have invaded the area of 

the more local drift after the mountain glaciers retired The general conclusion 

is that the two drift sheets weie formed during tlie same ice epoch, and that where 

they overlap they were deposited within a short period of each other.

THE DRIFT OUTSIDE OF THE TERMINAL MORAINE.

s

Beyond the terminal moraine the glacial deposits are of two kinds scattered 

bowlders with till, or a thin till sheet, grading at the edge into a bowldery area. 

The edge of this till sheet is in some places marked by a slight ridge that resembles 

a terminal moraine in a feeble state of development More often there is no defi-' 

nite ridge, but a rolling country, covered with shallow lakes and lake basins, which 

frequently gives place to a simple thinning out of the till sheet, with no evidence of 

either a terminal ridge or of ground-moraine topography.

The bowlders are scattered over areas that were once covered by Glacial lakes. 

These lakes have already been described as existing along the western margin of 

the ice edge in two separate basins, and also south of the ice sheet in the valley of 

the Missouri That these bowlders were deposited in lakes is evident from the fact 

that m each small valley tributary to the main basin the bowlders are found at the 

same general level above the river. In many cases the level of the old lake may be 

followed for miles around the head of a valley, every few rods being marked by a 

deposit of one or more bowlders of northeastern origin The bowlders are most 

numerous along the shores of the lake, where floating ice grounded. Over the bottom of the valley such deposits are fewer and more scattered. Near the border of 

the lake an ice floe or iceberg carrying moramic material would strike the shore 

and remain there until it was entirely melted, leaving its deposit in a small heap 

near the old shore line. In some of the smaller valleys, distant from the ice edge, 

instead of a regular line of bowlders two or three small bowlder piles were found. 

Over the bottom of the lake there are few such piles, the material having appar-
DE1BT OUTSIDE OF TERMINAL MOKA1NE. 55

ently been dropped a little at a time as' the ice drifted over the surface , The 

bowlders are more numerous on the eastern valley slope than on the western, 

and decrease in number with increase of distance from, the ice edge. Around the 

inlet of these lakes, where the currents made by the entering rivers were strong, 

few or no bowlders are found They are most numerous along the outlet.

The thin sheet of drift is present at various places along the ice edge In the 

vicinity of Great Falls there is a large area of the deposit, which grades into the 

bowlder belt Noith of the Ilighwoods the same formation is found. In the valley of the Musselshell and on the north bank of the Missouri opposite the mouth of 

, the former river, a formation occurs which may have been deposited either by ice 

or by water. The edge of this deposit has not been completely mapped, and sufficient field work has not been done~to determine its nature. On the map the edge 

that has been traced is marked by a full line, while the dotted line marks the supposed position of the part not yet surveyed

The fact that there is such a bolder of drift without the terminal moraine suggests two different ice epochs, but very little was found in the field to support this 

theory.

The material of the ground moiame within the terminal moraine does not differ 

essentially from the material in the till sheet which bordeis it The bowlders are 

of the same variety, and exist in the same proportion. A limestone is equally 

abundant and equally weatheied 011 both sheets No embedded soil or other evidence of interglacial phenomena is found, although unusual opportunity was offered 

both for its preservation and its discovery The till in many places rests upon a 

bed of pre-Glacial gravels in such a way that not a stone seems to have been disturbed or removed by the ice Certainly ice that passed so lightly over a gravel 

surface would not destroy evidence of old soil or other indications of an interglacial 

period.

Excellent opportunities were offered for studying sections of the drift at and 

within the terminal moraine. The Missouri has exposed sections of the drift 200 

feet thick The Great Northern cut-off near Fort Benton has exposed sections 

that clearly show drift from bed rock to the top of a 250-foot exposure, but in no 

section was there any suggestion of an interglacial period

The evidence in favor of the existence of two distinct till sheets is also not 

convincing The relation of the terminal moraine to the border of the thin drift is 

such as to suggest the pushing in of the ice after the'deposit of the first sheet. In 

other words, the moraine appears to be later rather than recessional. This rela- 

'tion is shown on the map (p 30) If the moraines were recessional, one would expect a thin border fronting the moraine at all points instead of occurring only here 

and there along the edge. The fact that there is more erosion in the thin than in 

the thicker drift ought to be indicative of their respective ages. Along the Missouri, between the mouth of the Highwood and' the mouth of Little Sandy, 27 coulees of size large enough to be mapped are found Seven of these come in from the 

north, or from the area of the thick drift, and 20 from the south, or from the area 

of the thin drift sheet It is probable, though, that the greater amount of erosion 

in this area may be accounted for by the fact that there is greater drainage from 

this direction on account of the presence of the mountains south of the drift border.
56 MONTANA LOBE OF KEEWATIN ICE SHEET.

SUMMARY.

The Keewatin ice sheet covered the northern part of Montana east of the Rocky 

Mountains and extended south to the Highwood Mountains and into the valley 

of Musselshell Riyer. The point where the meridian 113° 15' crosses the fortyninth parallel marked its westernmost extent in the United States North of the 

boundary line, in Alberta, the drift is found still farther west Its southern edge 

was lobate in form, the lobation being due to the presence of the Highwood, Bearpaw, and Little Rocky mountains, which retarded the forward progress of the ice 

while the great valleys between them allowed it to move farther south

The Sweetgrass Hills, just south of the Canadian line and about 30 miles back 

from the edge of the ice, were not covered, but stood as three great nunataks, the 

highest reaching 2,000 feet above the ice surface.

From data gathered here and at the edge of the drift, it was found that the 

average slope of the glacier must have been about 50 feet per mile Wherever, 

along the sides of various valleys, measurements could be taken, it was found that 

the slopes of the surface had been slight.

Along the Rocky Mountains glaciers issued from the valleys and deployed 

upon the plain to the east The moraines of 14 of these glaciers were traced and 

mapped. In a number of cases, the ice from several mountain valleys had united 

and formed piedmont glaciers. The ice from a single mountain valley seldom 

reached far out on the plain, but the piedmont glaciers extended many miles from 

the foot of the mountains. This was especially true of the Blackfoot Glacier, 

formed by the union of the Two Medicine, Birch Creek, Blacktail, and Whitetail 

glaciers This sheet of ice extended 35 miles from the foot of the mountains, 

measuring in its widest part over 30 miles Each glacier deposited at its edge a 

very well defined moraine, characterized in general by bowlders peculiar to the 

mountain valley from which the ice issued. These moraines were in places 200 

feet high and often a mile or more wide

The basins of four large rivers the St Mary, Two Medicine, Teton, and Missouri were dammed by the ice and the drift of the Keewatin ice sheet. The result 

was the formation of extensive lakes in the river basins west of the ice These 

lakes can be divided into two classes those formed in front of the ice itself and 

those formed in front of the drift dam The former were large and existed only 

while the ice was present. The latter were more restricted in size but were more 

permanent, remaining until the drift dam had been cut through The deposits made 

by the first lakes consisted largely of bowlders carried out by floating ice The 

deposits in the smaller and later lakes were clays and gravels brought in by the 

rivers. The largest of ttiese bodies of water was caused' by the damming of the 

Missouri.

Just southi of the forty-ninth parallel, between the meridians 113° 10' and 

113° 15', the till of the Keewatin ice sheet and that of the mountain glaciers overlap. 

At no other point south of the boundary line did ice from opposite directions occupy 

the same territory, but in Two Medicine Valley the ice from the east advanced to 

within 2 miles of the position occupied by the ice from the mountains

The Keewatin sheet reached its most advanced position after the valley glaciers 

from the west had retreated, for the drift of the former overlies the drift of the
SUMMARY. 57

latter at various points both north and south of the national boundary In some 

cases the till from the northeast overlies the till of the mountain glaciers This 

is true in the St Mary Valley, as mentioned above, and also in the valleys of St Mary 

River, Belly River, and Lees Creek In other places till from the cast overlies 

fluviatile deposits that are connected with the western drift; but extend down the 

valleys several miles beyond the ends of the mountain glaciers Again, we find 

that lake and berg deposits, having their sources in the northeastern ice, overlie the 

till left at an earlier time by the mountain glaciers.

It is believed at the present time that as many as five separate ice sheets covered the northern part of the United States. These, named in chronologic order, 

are as follows- (1) Sub-Aftoman, (2) Kansan, (3) Illmoian, (4) lowan, (5) Wisconsin. 

The drift deposits formed by the mountain glaciers belong to a late epoch They 

are certainly not earlier than the lowan and are probably as recent as the Wisconsin 

So far as can be shown by the evidence gathered, no great period of time elapsed 

between the deposition of the Rocky Mountain drift and the deposition of the 

Keewatin drift Beyond the edge of the Wisconsin drift sheet is one somewhat 

older, though the data obtained in the region covered were not sufficient to determine its age.

In the region between the two drift deposits, there is, on the high divides 

between the rivers, on the terraces along the flood plains, and in the stream beds, 

a curious formation which has been called the quartzite gravels They are composed of resistant quartzite and slate and contain no limestone or other less durable 

rock. Though waterworn, they show no signs of glaciation. From their topographic 

position and from their character it was concluded that they were deposited by 

streams .flowing over a flat plain This deposit occurred along the eastern front 

oi the mountains and extended out from them many miles Subsequently the land 

was raised, great valleys were cut into the old base-level, and the quartzite gravels 

were lowered upon the terraces and scattered still farther eastward along the 

courses of the revived rivers. The base-level probably occurred in the latter 

part of the Tertiary, and the gravels date from that time. When the Keewatin ice 

advanced into the region, many of these gravels were picked up, glaciated, and 

deposited in the under portion of the drift sheet They are undoubtedly the 

Saskatchewan gravels of the Canadian geologists, by whom, because of their weathered appearance, their glacial markings, and their position at the bottom of a young 

drift sheet, they were classed as an earlier glacial deposit the Albertan. It seems 

necessary now to reject the Albertan, and to class these gravels not as an old glacial 

deposit, but simply as old river gravels incorporated in a later drift.

As a result of the deposition of drift of the mountain glaciers, there were minor 

changes in drainage. Streams were shifted from one side of the valley to the other 

and their slope was modified More marked were the changes effected by the 

Keewatin ice. The Shonkin Sag was developed by ponded glacial waters. The 

Teton River was shifted from its old valley into the valley of the Missouri and minor 

changes were produced in the courses of Two Medicine River, Birch Creek, Cutbank 

Creek, and St. Mary River Missouri River was turned from its course at a number 

of places, causing the falls m the river near the city of Great Falls and the rapids 

and narrows in other parts of its course This ice sheet also undoubtedly turned 

the Missouri from a northern course and made it tributary to the Mississippi River.
INDEX.

Page

Albertan drift, establishment of, by Dawson.. 22,49 

rejection of ..... .... . .. -... . 57

Algonkian rocks, occurrence of .......... 22

relation of, to Cretaceous, figure show ing ... 9, 10 

Argillite, occurrence of .... . . .... 10

Argillite gravel, occurrence of ... .... . - -. 19,48

Arrow Ri\ er, channel of, effect of glaciers on . 40-45 

channel of, effect of glaciers on, figure sho\\ ing . 44 

drainage by ........ . . - 31

moraine on .. ........ .... . 20

Artesian wells, conditions for, figure showing 31 

location of ... ..... . . . ... ... 31

B

Badger Creek, gra\el on

Baltic, drift near ....... . .

moraine topography at ..... 

Babalt pebbles, occurrence of., ... 

Bearpaw Mountains glaciation at

moraine at, view of

rocks of....... .. , . ... .-.-.

Belly River, drift on

glaciation on . .... . . ...

mterglacial deposits on . .

relations of the two drift sheets on

section on, figure showing ... 

Belt Creek, channel of, effect of glaciers en .. ..

moraine on . .. .....

section on, figure showing rclition ot dritt and

clay ..... 

Big SandyCreek, drift on ... ...

moraine on . 

Birch Creek, channel of, effect i, 1 gla acrs <m .

cUy on ... ....

glaciation on . .

relations of the two drift sheets on ' . 

Birch Creek Glacier, description of.

section of, figure showing 

Black Leaf Canj on, glacier in .... 

Blackfoot, elevation at . 

Blackfoot Glacier, description of

sections of, ngures showing . 

Blacktail Glacier, description of. 

Bowlders, description of . ..

occurrence and eharai ter of . .

19

28 

21

27, -51

20-28 

26 

12 

28

22-23 

22

43,57 

40 

37 

26

21,29-JO 4h, £

t ansportation of, b> ice . - 

Bradford, P \\ , well record bv. 

Brighton, gup near, gl iciatioii in 

Browning, moraine at . . 

Buttes, location and character of

G

Cambrian rocks, occurrence of - -.... ...

relation of Cretaceous and, figure showing

31 

38 

27

33,57 

40 

Ib

46-47 

18 

47 

17 

8

18-20, 47 

47,48 

19

16-22 

10-22, 

passim 

J4-55 

36 

25 

19 

9

12

9,10

Page 

Carboniferous rocks, relation of Cretaceous and ..... 10

Chamberlain, T C , work of, in area diseu&sed ..... 7

Clay, lacustrine, character of. . .. . ... . ... 30-31

occurrence of ........ ... . ..29,31

relations of drift and, figures showing . . . . 31

Colorado, glaciers in .. .... ...... 14

Colorado formation, occurrence of .. . . ... 10

Concretion, perched, view of. . . . . .. 12

Concretions, occurrence of ..... . .. .. 11

Conglomerates, occurrence of. .. .... ..10,19

Copper^ occurrence of . . ...... 11

Coulees, location of . . . ....... 55

See aho Sand Coulee, Rocky Coulee, Willow Creek

Coulee 

Cretaceous rocks, occurrence of . . ...... 10,12,45

perched concretion in, view of . . ..... 12

relation of, to Algonkian and Cambrian, figure

showing .... . .... 9,10

to Carboniferous. ... . . .. 10

Crown Butte, rooks of.. .... ... . .. ... 11

Crystalline erratics, character of .. . . . .... 27

deposition of . . ... ... ... .... 29

occurrence of . .... ... 23,29-30,46,48-49

Culver, G E , on St Mary River glacier . ... 21

work of, in urea discussed ... ..... 7

Cntbank Creek, channel of, effect of glaciers oil . 57 

glacier on . ... . ........ .. 20

glacier on, connection between Milk River glacier

and .... . . ... 20-21

lake on. . . .... 29

quartzite gravels on.. ... ... ... 45-46

relatue size of, figure shoumg ... 33 

Cutbank Creek glacier, description of. 20

D

Dakota, moraines in, resemblance of Montana moraines and..... . . . ... 53

Dawson, G M , on lee invasions . . 22,45,49-50,52 

011 quartzitc gravels . . ... 13,49-50

work of . . . - . . . 7 23 

Deep Creek Claeier, description of . .... 16-17

Diastroplnsm, effects of. ... . . ..... 9-10

Dikes, occurrence of ... .... 11-12

Dionte, intrusion of. .... ... 10

Dionte gravel, occurrence of . ...... 16,19

Dog Kivcr, channel of, effect of glaciers on .. 40,45

Drainage, changes in, due to glaciers . . . 28-45,57

changes in, due to glaciers, figures showing. . 32,

34,37,38,39,41,42,43,44

description of ... . . 8,28-45

figure showing .. 31,37,08,39,42,43,44

prc-Glacul statusot, figures showing 35,37,38,39,40,41,42

Drift, composition ot . ... - - 13,10-19, 27-28

See a(sn Glaciers, mountain, Kcewatin ice sheet 

Drift bejond the terminal moraine, occurrence and 

character of . .. .. .. .... . ....... -. - .... 54,57

59
60 INDEX.

Page

Dnftless areas, location of.... ... .. . - - 8,21

Duck Lake, glaciation of... ..... 21

quartzitc gra\ els on . . . ... 45-4G

Dupuyer Creek, glacier on .... . - 18

lake on........ ........ . 29

relations of the two drift shoots on 47

section near, figure showing . 47

source of ...... .. 18

Dupuyer Creek Glacier, description of . ... 18

E

Eagle Butte, Bearpaw Mountains, moraine on, viow of. 26 

Erosion, evidence of age from ... . 52-5,!

occurrence of .... . . . . passim

periods of, results o£ . . . . - 8-9

views showing ........ . . . - . 34,3G

Exploration and study in region discussed ... 7

Fault, occurrence of..... . ... ..... .... 9-10

Flathead Lake, piedmont glacier in . . 

Flathead Kiver, glaciers on . . 

Floweree, moraine near .......

Foothill province, description of ..... .

Formations, surface See Surface formations 

Fossils, occurrence of.......... . ... .....

G

Galbraith's ranch, location of . .... . ........ 23

Geikie, James, on area discussed ........ ....... 7

Geology, general, description of... ....'....... ....... 10-12

Ghost Elver (South Fork), section along.. .. . .... 9

Glaciated area in Montana, map of ..... ...... 7

Glaciers See put ticular glauei s, Glaciers, mountain,

Keewatin ice sheet, Piedmont glaciers 

Glaciers, mountain, collecting ground of ..... . 14,18,56

descriptions of. ...... . . . .. . .. . . .... ... 15-22

distribution of........ ..... .. .... .... 14-15,56

drift of, age of. .. . ....... ........ 53-54,57

description of. .... .... .... .... 16-22,48

relations of Keewatin drift and. .. . 46-49,56-57

evidence as to age from .. .. ..... . ... 53-54

relations of quartzite gravels and .... .. . ... 45-4t>

effect of, on drainage.. .... .. .... .... 32

moraines of, description of .............. 16-22

occurrence of .. . . ..... ........... 56

Gneiss, occurrence ol..... ........ ... ...... 12

Gold, occurrence of .. ..... . . ........ ... 11

Gradation, effects ol . .... ... ... .... 9

Granite pebbles, occurrence of ............ .... ... 27,29

Gravel, composition of.. ... .. ....... ... Li, 27-28

flee also Drift, Quartzite gravels, individual rod

names 

Graves, Porter, work of.. ........ . .. .... ... .... 7

Great Falls, origin of..... ...... .. ........ 35,57

viewof............... .. .... .....

Great Falls Lake, drainage of.. .... . ....

vicinity of, map of ........ .... . .

Green Bay lobe, erosion of ...... .. ...... . .

Grmnell Glacier, extent of ........ . .. .

34

42-44 

30 

52 

21

H

Havre, vicinity of, pre-Glacial drainage at, figure showing .. ........ ...... ... .... .... 39

Highwoocl Creek, channel of, effect of glaciers on. 37,40-45 

channel of, section across, figure showing . .... 37

Highwood Creek, moraine on. ......

Highwood Mountains, glaciation on 

origin of..... ... . . . .. .

Page

Ice, barriers of, lakes due to ....

height of . .... ... ...

invasions of, age of.. ...

changes in drainage due to .

effects of ... . . .

lakes due to ...

list of . . ... 

Igneous rocks, character of . . 

Intrusions, igneous, occurrence of . 

lowan drift, distribution of

... '26,28 

11

. 28-29

28

22

.. 29-45

passim 

.. 28-29

. J9-45 

- 11-12 

. . 10-12 

... 22,52

Judith River, channel of, effect of glaciers on . .... 40,45 

channel of, effect of glaciers on, figure showing .. 44

K

Kansan drift, distribution of.. ... . . ... 22,52

Keewatin ice sheet, drift of, age of.. .... ... ...52-54

drift of, character of. .... ....... . 27-28,47-48

description of . .... .... .... ... 22-28

relations of mountain drift and . . ... 46-49,50-57

evidence as to age from . . ..... . 53-54

relations of quartzite gravels and . .. . ... 45-46

thickness of .. .......... ... ... .. '27-28,38

effect of, on drainage.. . .. .... . ............. 32-45

extentof.... ... . ... ...... .. ....... . 22-27,50

moraines of.... ...... .. ........ .... . ... 22-27

character of, evidence ot age from . . 53 

description of ............ . . . . 22-27

stages in, evidence concerning..... .... 55

terminal moraine of ... ............. . 22-20

relations of lacustrine clay and, figures showing ....... .. ....... ...... .. ... 31

section of, figure showing . .... . . . 49

Kennedy Creek, glaciers on....... . ... .... . . .. 22

Kettles, occurrence of .. ..... ..... ....... .. . . 2J-21

Kipp, moraine near ....... . . ..... . . 19

rainfall at ...... ................. .... 52-53

Kootenai Mountains, glaciers in . ... .... .......... 14

La Plata Mountains, glaciers on ......... .. .... 14

Lacustrine ulay Kee Clay, lacustrine

Lafayette formation, distribution of quartzite gravels

and, resemblance of . . ... .... . ... 51

Lakes, changes in, due to glaciers ......... .... 28-31

character of .. ........ . .... . 28-29,56

description of.. . . ....... .......... 29-31

drainage of .... ...... . ... . ... 31

location of.. .. ... .. . 17,19,23,26-27,29,54,56

. 29 

.. 10 

. 12 

.. 22 

.. 57

sedimentation in .. .. ... ..... .

Laramie formation, occurrence of. .......

Larb Hills, character of . . ...... .. . .

Lees Creek, glaciers on ... .... ..... . ....

relations of the two drift sheets on .....

Limestone, occurrence of . .. .... ....... . . .. . 16,22

Limestone gravel, occurrence of. . ... . .... .. 16-19,22,27

Little Rocky Fork Creek, glaciation on. 

Little Rocky Mountains, rocks of. ... ..

Little Sandy Creek, drift on ...... ....

moraineou.. ............... . ... .

Location of area discussed..... .........

26 

12 

3b 

27 

8
INDEX. 61

M Page 

McCloud Pass, glaciation on. ..... . . . . . 23

McConnell, R G .figure b\ .. .. ... '9

work of .... .... . 7

McLeish, Bruce, work of . .. -.7,21

Map of Glacial Great Falls Lake, and vicinity.. . 30

of northei n Montana, showing glaciated area 7

Marias .River, gravels on. ... .... .13

relative si?e of, figure showing ... ... 33

rocks on. . ...... .... . ... 10

Marias River (Dry Fork), late on . ..... . . 99

wind erosion near ......... . ... 36

Metamorphic rocks, occurrence oh... ... ... 12

Midvale, elevation at. . . ..... ...... 8

rocks at . . . ............ . . .... 10

Milk River, channel or, effect of glaciers o i ... 32 

character of . ----- . .... ...... . . 20-21

connection between old Missouri River and, figure 

showing...... ... . ... ............ . 39

glaeiation on . ..... .. ... ... .... . .. 20-21,23,28

gravels on........ .. . . .. 13,50-51

valley of,character of. . . .'.... hO-51

Milk River Glacier, connection between Cutbank

Creek Glacier and.. ...... . .... 20-21

description of.. ... ..... . ... 20-21

Milk River Kidge, character of ....... . 21,23

glaciation on... ..... . . . ...... 24,28

Mission Peak, altitude of ... .... . . 12

Missouri River, channel of, effect of glaciers on 31,34-45,57 

channel of, effect of glaciers on, hgures showing . 35,

38,39,44 

clayon. ... . . .... .... . . ...... . ... 31

relations of drift and, section showing. . . 31 

course of, establishment of ...... ... . 31

drift on, post-Glacial cutting on, figure showing . 34 

erosion on, view of .... ... .... .. .. 34

fallb of, views of. ......... ..... 34

former channel of. .... ... ....... . 36

connection between Milk River anrl, figure 

showing .... ...... .... ... . 39

map showing ... .. . ... . .. . ... 37,40

sections of, figures showing ........ ... 35

relations of present channel and, figure showing .. .. ... :... .... 38

relations of present streams and, figure showing ... . '. . . ......... 39

gravels on .... ...... .... . 13

lakeon - .... . - .... .. 80-31,56

sections at, figures showing . . 30 

sediments in, character of . . . ... 30

figures showing . . . . ...... 30

moraine on ..... ... . . .. .. 26

rocks on. .... ..... .... 10

source and course of ... .... ..... 34-36

water gap on, view of . . . . ..... 36

wells on, record of ....... .... 36

Montana, erosion in.. . ... . . . .... . 52-53

glaciers in, changes due to, figures showing. .. 42 

descriptions of ....... .... . 15-22

distribution oi ........ . .. ... 14-15

map of northern part of, show ing glaciated area 7 

moraines of, age of.... .. .. .. .... . 53-54

pre-Glacial drainage oi, map showing...... .. 40,41,42

Moraines, changes in streams due to... ... . . . 29-45

lakes due to. . .... . ... . ......... 2S-29

See also Glaciers, mountain, Koewatin ice sheet 

Mountain glaciers See Glaciers, mountain

Page

Muddy Creek, channel of, effect of glaciation on ... 33 

glaciation on.. ........ i ..... . 17-18,28

origin of . ... ... ... ... . . 17

relations of the two drift sheets on .* .. . 46 

section on, view of.. ..... . .... 26

Muddy Creek Glacier, description of . . . ... 17-18

Muddy River (North Pork), glaciation on ... . 25

lake on ......... . ... . 30

Musselshell Kiver, channel of, effect of glaciers on . 40, 45 

channel of, effect of glaciers on, figure showing.. 44

Physiographic provinces, descriptions of 

Physiography, description of. . ... 

Piedmont glaciers, formation of - - - - . . 

Picrre formation, character and occurrence of. 

Plains province, description of . . . 

Plateaus, location and character of 

Pondcra basin, glaciation in .... 

Porphyry, occurrence of . 

Portage, \Vis , rainfall at .... 

Pyroxene-porphyry, occurrence of ....

Q

Quartzite gravels, age of . ... . . . ...

character of .... . .....

correlation of Saskatchewan gravels and . 

distribution of ... . .....

erosion in.... - ... .. ........

history of - . . - - ........

8-9

. . 8-9

14,18,56

. 10-11

8

8-9

. 24-25,28

.... 11-12

... 52-53

.... 11

..... 49-52

.. 13,50,57

..... 50,57

...... 13

. . 50-51,57 

... 51

occurrence of.......... ..... 19,23,27,45-46,50,67

origin of . ...... ... ....... 49-50,57

relations of drift sheets and. ... ......... 45-46

Qnartzites, occurrence of. . .... . . .10,12

R

Rising Wolf Mountain, rocks of. . ....... ..

Rivers, changes in, due to glaciers .... . ...

changes 111, due to glaciers, figure showing . .

relative si/es of, figure .showing . 

Rocky Coulee, drainage b> .. . . . 

Rocky Mountain glaciers See Glaciers, mountain, 

Kocky Mountain province, description of . 

Rocky Mountains, sections of, figures showing. . ..

Sag, The, description of. . .....

drainage bv.. . .. .....

location of . .....

St Mary Lakes, description oi . .

St Mary River, channel of, effect of glaciers on.

clayon ... ....

description of ....

glaciation on .....

lakes on. ..... .....

relations of the two drift sheets on ....

rocks on ...... ....... . . .

sections of, figures showing ......... .

St Mary River Glacier, description of. .. 

Salisbury, R D , on crystalline bowlders.. ...

work of, in area discussed . ...........

San Juan Mountains, glaciers on ....

Sand Coulee, history oi ..........

- 21. 

47-48,

10

32-45

32

33

29

8-9 

9,10

12 

31 

12 

21

82,57 

31 

21

21-23

29, 56

54,57

10,32

48,49

21-2i!

27

7

14 

36
62 INDEX.

Page 

Sandstone, occurrence of ............. . . . . 32

Sandstone gravels, occurrence of .... . Ifi-19,26-27

Saskatchewan gravels, correlation of qunrtzite gravels 

and -....- . . . ... . .50,57

Schist, occurrence of .... . . - 12

Sedimentary rocks, character of . _ . 10-11

Sheep Can> on Glacier, location of . . 18

Shelby Junction, elevation at . . . 8

rocks near...... . 10

Shonkm Sag, description of . '. . 40-45 

development of, maj) showing- ... . . 13

formation of... . ... 40,57

sections of, figures showing. . ... ... 42,43

view of. ... . - .... ... - 12

Sierra Neva da, glaciers ot .. 14 

Silver, occurrence of .. . ....... ... 11

Slates,' occurrence of .... 16

Smith Ku cr, lake on ..... . oO

Square Bntte, ro( ks of. ... . . .... 11

Structure, description ol .... 9-10

Summit Pass, glnciation at .... . ..... . .. 1 Q

rocks near . .... . ... 10-11

view of... .... . . IS

Sun River, canyon of, view ol. .......... . 18

clay on ..... . .... ... . .. 4G

course of .... ..... ... . .. 15

fault in ......... 10

glacier on - ... . 15-16

lake on.. . . ... .. . 30,46

rocks near. ... . .. . -.11,16

relations ol the t«o drift sheets in ... 46 

valley ot, character of. . .. .... ... 50-51

Sun River Glacier, description of . . . ... li-ld

Surface formations, descriptions of ..... . 13-28

) ntcrrelations of .. . 45-55 

Swectgrass Hills, glaeiation on . . . ... 28,50

rocks of... ... . . . . 11

Swiftcurrunt Creek, glacier on . . . .... 22

rocks on . .... . . . .... 10

Syenite pebbles, occurrence of .... ... ..27,31

Teton Lake, location of - - .... ..... .. 29-30

Teton Ridge, glaciation on ......... . . .. 25,28

Teton River, channel of, eneot of glaciers on .. 33-34,57 

clay on ... -. ...... . . 31

drift on . . ..... .... ..... 28

faulton... ..... .... ... . .. 10

glac-stoon on ..... ....................... .... 17,25,26

Teton Krv er, gravels on . .. ... .. ....

lake on ....... . ....

moraine near . . . ......

origin of .. .. , ....

relations of the two drift shoots on . .

rocks on . . .. .. ...

Teton River Glacier, description of . ..... . ...

Todd, J E , on Wisconsin sheet moraines 

Tunis mor.ime near . ....

Two Medicine Glacier, description of

Two Medicine Lakes, description of ......

origin of.... ..... , .

Two Medicine Eivcr, channel of, offectof glaciers on

channel of, effect of glaciers on, figure showing 

flay on . ...... . ...

drift on ... . . .

lakes on . . . . . .

relations of the t\\o drift sheets on 

relative size of, figure showing. - 

rocks in ...... .. . .

section on, figures .showing 

valley of, character of ....

Tjrrell, on Keewatm drift. . . . . .

Ulm, bowlder near 

clay near .... 

well at, recoid ot

Page. 

13

29,56 

26 

17 

46 

10 

17 

63 

27 

19

29-30

20,29

32-rfd,

57

32

31

28

29,5fi

47, 56

33

10

- 47,48

50-51

62

30

31

36

Vuhamsm, effect* ot. ...

\\

AYasatch Mountains, glaciers in 

Washington, glaciers in 

AVaterton Kivcr, glaciers on . . . 

Whiskey Gap, glaciation on . .... .

Whitetail Glacier, description of .....

Willis, B.uley, figure by . - .....

on Rocky Mountain lault .- . .- .. 

Willow Creek Coulee, glaciation on ...

lelation of the two drift sheets on 

Wind erosion, occurrence of- .....

view of ... . ...

\Vis< onsin, erosion in. . ...

Wisconsin drift sheet, correlation of Keewatm ice 

and .. ...

distribution of .... . . .... ... .......... .

sheet

9-10

14

14

22

23

19

10

9-10

16, 23 

47 

53 

30

52-53

52-53 

52
PUBLICATIONS OF UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SUEYEY

[Professional Paper No 50 ]

The serial publications of the United States Geological Survey consist of (1) Annual Reports, 

(2) Morlographs, (3) Professional Papers, (4) Bulletins, (5) Mineral Resources, (6) Water-Supply 

and Inigation Papers, (7) Topographic Atlas of the United States folios and separate sheets thereof, 

(8) Geologic Atlas of the United States folios thereof The classes numbered 2, 7, and 8 are bold 

at cost of publication, the others are distributed free A circular giving complete lists may be had 

on application

Most ot the above publications may be obtained or consulted in the following ways

1 A limited number are delivered to the Director of the Survey, from whom they may be 

obtained, free of charge (exiept classes 2, 7, and 8), on application

2 A certain number are allotted every member of Congress, from whom they may be obtained, 

free ot charge, on application.

3 Other copies are deposited with the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D C , from 

whom they may be had at practically cost.

4 Copies of all Government publications are furnished to the principal public libraries in the 

large cities thioughout the United States, where they may be consulted by those interested

The Professional Papers, Bulletins, and Water-Supply Papers treat ot a variety of subjects, and 

the total number issued is large They have therefore been classified into the following series A, 

Economic geology, B, Descriptive geology, C, Systematic geology and paleontology, D, Petrography 

and mineralogy, E, Chemistry and physics, F, Geography, G, Miscellaneous, H, Fore&tiy, I, Irrigation, ,T, Water storage, K, Pumping water; L, Quality of water, M, General hydrographic investigations, N, Water power, O, Underground waters, P, Hydiographic progress icports. This paper 

is the seventy-ninth in Series B, the complete list of which follows (PP=Protessional Paper, B = 

Bulletin, WS=Water-Supply Paper )

SERIES B, DESCRIPTIVE GtOLOGY

B 23 Observations on the junction between the Eastern sandstone and the Keweem,w series on Keweenaw Point, Lake

Superior, by K D Irvmg and T C Chainberlm 18S5 124 pp , 17 pis (Outofstoek) 

B 33 Notes on geology of northern California, by T S Diller l&8b 23 pp (Outofstoek)

B 39 The upper beaches and deltas of Glaeial Lake Agassiz, by Warren Upham 1887 8tpp , 1 pi (Out of stock ) 

B 40 Changes in river courses in Washington Territory due to glaciation, by Bailey Wilhs 1887 10 pp , 4 pis (Out of

stock )

B 15 The present condition of knowledge of the geology of Texas, by R T Hill 1887 94 pp (Outofstoek) 

B 53 The geology of Nantucket, by N S Shaler 1889 55 pp , 10 pis (Outofstoek) 

B 57 A geological reconnaissance in southwestern Kansas, by Robert Hay 1890 49 pp , 2 pis

B 58 The glacial boundary in western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, by G F Wright, with introduction by T C Chainberlm 1890 112 pp, 8 pis (Out of stock ) 

B 67 The relations of the traps of the Newark system in the New Jersey region, by N H Barton 1890 82 pp (Out of

stock )

B 104 Glaciation of the Yellowstone Valley north of the Park, by W H Weed 1893 41 pp , 4 pis 

B 108 A geological reconnaissance in central Washington, by I C Russell IS93 108 pp , 12 pis (Out of stock ) 

B 119 A geological reconnaissance in northwest Wyoming, by G H Eldndge 1894 72 pp , 4 pis 

B 137 The geology of the Fort Riley Military Reservation and vicinity, Kansas, by Robert Hay 1890 35 pp , 8 pis 

B 144 The moraines of the Missouri Coteau and their attendant deposits, by J E Todd 1896 71 pp , 21 pis 

B 158 The moraines of southeastern South Dakota and their attendant deposits, by J E Todd 1899 171 pp , 27 pis 

B 159 The geology of eastern Berkshire County, Massachusetts, by B K Emerson 1899 139 pp , 9 pis 

B 165 Contributions to the geology of Maine, by H S Williams and H E Gregory 1900 212 pp , 14 pis

I
II SERIES LIST.

WS 70 Geology and water resources of the Patrick and Goshen Hole quadrangles in eastern Wyoming and western

Nebraska, by G I Adams 1902 50 pp , 11 pis

B 199 Geology and water resources of the Snake Elver Plains of Idaho, bv I C Russell 1902 192 pp , 25 pis' 

PP 1 Preliminary report on the Ketchikan mining district Alaska, with an introductory sketch of the geology of southeastern Alaska, by A H Brooks 1902 120 pp , 2 pis

FP 2 Reconnaissance of the northwestern portion of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, by A J Collier 1902 70 pp , 11 pis 

PP 3 Geology und petrography of Crater Lake National Park, by J S Diller and H B Patton 1902 167 pp , 19 pis 

PP 10 Eeconnaissance from Fort Hamhn to Kotzebne Sound, Alaska, by way of Dall, Kanuti, Alien, and Kovvak rivers,

by W C Mendenhall 1902 68 pp , 10 pis

PP 11 Clays of the United States cast of the Mississippi Kiver, by Heinnch Kies 3903 298 pp , 9 pis 

PP12 Geology of the Globe copper district, Arizona, by P L Eansome 1903 168 pp , 27 pis 

PP 13 Drainage modifications in southeastern Ohio and adjacent parts of West Virginia and Kenutcky, by W G Tight

1903 111 pp, 17 pis 

B 208 Descriptive geology of Nevada south of the fortieth parallel and adjacent portions of California, bv J E Spurr

1903 229 pp , 8 pis

B209 Geology of Ascutney Mountain, Vermont, bv R A Daly 1903 122 pp , 7 pis 

WS 78 Preliminary report on artesian basins in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon, by I C Russell 1903

51 pp , 2 pis 

PP 15 Mineral resources of the Mount Wrangell district, Alaska, by W C Mendenhall and P C Schrader 1903 71 pp ,

10 pis 

PP 17 Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of Nebraska west of the one hundred and third meridian,

by N H D.irton 1903 69 pp , 43 pis

B217 Notes on the geology of southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon, by I C Eussell 1903 83 pp , 18 pis 

B 219 The ore deposits of Tonopah, Nevada (preliminary report), by J E Spurr 1903 31 pp , 1 pi 

PP20 A reconnaissance in northern Alaska in 1901, by P C Schiader 1904 139 pp, 16 pis

PP21 The geology and ore deposits of the Bisbee quadrangle, Arizona, by F L Eansome 1904 168 pp , 29 pis 

WS 90 Geology and water resources of part of the lower James River Valley, South Dakota, by J E ToddandC M Hall,

1904 47 pp , 23 pis

PP 25 The copper deposits of the Encampment district, Wyoming, by A C Spencer 1904 10V pp , 2 pis 

Pp 26 Economic resouices of the northern Black Hills, by J D Irvmg, with contributions by S F Emmons and T A

Jaggar, jr 1904 222 pp , 20 pis 

PP 27 A geological reconnaissance across the Bitterroot Range and Clearwater Mountains in Montana and Idaho, by

Waldemar Lindgrcn. 1904 122 pp , 15 pis 

PP 31 Preliminary report on the geology of the Aibuckle and Wichita mountains in Indian Territory and Oklahoma,

byj A Taff, with an appendix on reported ore deposits in tlie Wichita Mountains, by H F Bam 1904 97 pp ,

8 pis 

B 235 A geological reconnaissance across the Cascade Range near the forty-ninth parallel, by G O Smith and F C

Calkins H04 103 pp , 4 pis

B236 The Porcupine plater district, Alaska, by C W Wright 1904 35 pp, 10 pis 

B 237 Igneous rocks of the Highwood Mountains, Montana, by L V. Pirsson 3904 208 pp , 7 pis 

B 238 Economic geology of the lola quadrangle, Kansas, by G I Adams, Erasmus Ha worth, and W R Crane 190-1

83 pp , 1 pi

PP32 Geology and underground water resources of the central Great Plains, by N H Darton 1905 433 pp , 72 pis 

WS 110 Contributions to hjdrology of eastern United States, 1904, M L Puller, geologist in charge 1905 211 pp , 5 plb 

B242 Geology of the Hudson Valley between the Hoosic and the Kindcrhook, by T N Dale 3904 63 pp , 3 pis 

PP 34 The Delavan lobe of the Lake Michigan Glacier of the Wisconsin stage of gl.iciation and associated phenomena, by

W C Aldeii 1904 106 pp, 15 pis

PP 35 Geology of the Perry Basin in southeastern Maine, by G O Smith and David White 1905 107 pp , 6 pis 

B243 Cement materials and industry of the United States, by E C Pckel IW 395 pp , 11 pis 

B216 Zinc and lead deposits of northeastern Illinois, by H P Bam 1901 56 pp , 5 pis 

B 247 The Fairhaven gold placers of beward Peninsula, Alaska, by F H MoHit 1905 85 pp, 14 pis 

B 249 Limestones of southwestern Pennsylvania, by P G Clapp 1905 52 pp , 7 pis 

B 250 The petroleum fields of the Pacific coast of Alaska, with an account of the Bering River coal deposit, by G C

Martin 1905 65 pp , 7 pis 

B 251 The gold placers of the Fortymile, Birch Creek, and Fairbanks regions, Alaska, by L, M Pnndle 1905 89 pp

16 pis

WS 118 Geology and water resources of a portion of east-central Washington, by F C Calkins 1905 96 pp , 4 pis 

B 252 Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of central Oregon, by I C Russell 1905 ]S8pp,24pls 

PP 36 The lead, zinc, and fluorspar deposits of western Kentucky, by E O Ulnch and W. S Tangier Smith 190B

218 pp , 15 pis ' 

PP 38 Economic geology of the Bmgham mining district of Utah, by .1 M Boutwell, with a chapter on area] geology, by

Arthur Keith, and an introduction on general geology, by S F Enimons 1905 413 pp , 49 pis 

PP 41 The geology of the central Copper Eiver region, Alaska, by W C Mendenhall 1905 133 pp , 20 pis 

B 254 Report of progress in the geological resurvey of the Cripple Creek district, Colorado, by Waldemar Liudgren and

P L Eansome 1904 36 pp

B 255 The fluorspar deposits of southern Illinois, by H Foster Bam 1905 75 pp , 6 pis 

B 256 Mineral resources of the Elders Ridge quadrangle, Pennsylvania, by R W. Stone 1905 85 pp , 12 pis 

B 257 Geology and paleontology of the Jndith River beds, by T W Stauton and J B Hatcher, with a chapter on the

fossil plants, by F H Knowlton 1905 174 pp , 19 pis
SERIES LIST. Ill

PP 42 Geology of the Tonopah mining district, Nevada, by J E Spurr 1905 295 pp , 24 pis '

WS 123 Geology and underground water conditions of the Jornada del Muerto, Now Mexico, by C R Keyes 1905.

42 pp , 9 pis

WS 136 Underground waters of Salt River Valley, Arizona, by W T Lee 1905 191 pp , 24 pis 

PP 43 The copper deposits of Chfton-Morenci, Arizona, by Waldemar Lindgren 1905 375 pp , 25 pis 

B 265 Geology ol the Boulder district, Colorado, by N M. Fenneman 1905 101 pp , 5 pis 

B 207. The copper deposits of Missouri, by H F Bain and E 0 Ulnch 1905 52 pp , 1 p_l

PP44 Underground w uter resources of Long Island, New York, by A C Veatch and others 1905 394 pp , 31 pis 

WS 148 Geology anil water resourc s ot Oklahoma, by C N Gould 1905 178 pp , 22 pis 

B 270 The configuration of the rock floor of Greater New York, b\ ^Y H Hobbs 1905 96 pp , 5 pis 

B 272 Taconie physiography, by T M Dale 1905 fi2 pp , 14 pis 

PP 45 The geography and geolog} of Alaska, a summary of existing knowledge, by A H Brooks, with a section on climate,

by Cleveland \bbe, jr , and a topographic map and description thereof, by R M Goode 1905 327 pp , 34 pis 

B 273 The drumlms of southeastern Wisconsin (preliminary paper), by W C Alden 1905 46 pp , 9 pis 

PP 46 Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas, by A C Veatch 1906 

PP49 Geology and mineral resources of part of the Cumberland Gapcoal field, Kentucky, byG H AshleyandL C Glenn,

in cooperation with the State Geological Department of Kentucky, C J, Norwood, curator 1906 239 pp , 40 pis 

PP 50 The Montana lobe of the Keawatm ice sheet, by F H H Calhoun 1906 02 pp , 7 pis

Correspondence should be addressed to 

T^HE DIRECTOR,

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,

WASHINGTON, IX C. 

JUNE, 1906

o

1280 No 50 06 5