4,462,636 4,984,982 456,000 925,518 6,366,500 Subject to location and entry under the

143,011 1,062,305 5,713,000 Grazing, farming, timber and mountain

353,168 1,793,500 Small valleys, mountains, timber and grazing.

BUSINESS TRANSACTED AT THE LOCAL LAND OFFICES.

(Note. The area in parenthesis is not included in the aggregate, being accounted for in the original entries.)

The local land offices of the state were created by Congressional act or execution order, and opened on the following respective dates:

The total land area of Montana is 146,240 square miles, or 93,593,600 acres, and the water area is 821 square miles, or 525,440 acres, or a total area for the state of 147,061 square miles, or 94,119,040 acres. There are but two states in the Union-California and Texas-that are larger than Montana. The state is nearly as large as the Philippine islands, Hawaiian islands, Porto Rico, Pine island, Guam and the Tutuila group of the Samoan islands-the recent acquisitions-all added together.

Water Supply of Montana

For the Season of 1900.

Montana is drained by three large rivers, the Missouri and Yellowstone on the east, and Clarke's Fork of the Columbia river on the west side of the Rocky Mountains. All the tributaries of these three rivers rise in the mountains, and derive their water supply from the melting snow that has been stored there during the winter and spring months. By having a knowledge of the depth, character and distribution of the snow that has accumulated during the months of January, February and March, a reliable general forecast of the water supply for the ensuing season can be made for the different streams of the state. There is one element that enters into the forecast that