The New Student's Reference Work/Black Hills

Black Hills, a range of mountains in South Dakota and Wyoming, about 100 miles long and 60 miles wide, or an area of about 6,000 square miles. They are a continuation of the Big Horn and Snow Mountains, which branch off from the Rockies. The highest point is Laramie Peak, in Wyoming, nearly 8,000 feet above sea-level. About one third of the area is covered with vast forests of black pine, giving the name to the mountain range. Gold has been discovered and extensively mined in the Black Hills, and other mineral wealth is believed to be abundant. The value of the mineral products of South Dakota in 1905, which were chiefly gold, was close upon seven million dollars; though this is a large falling off from the era of the seventies, when the region was opened to settlement. Harney Peak is the most elevated point in the Black Hills, reaching an altitude of over 7,200 feet.