Bitterroot and Bergamot

Valley of the Knobs - western Montana, originally uploaded by Bitterroot.

The grass on the hills turns brown and sere in the heat of late summer. Angry gray clouds boil up with the promise of moisture, only to sail on by with nothing more than a few droplets.

Meriwether Lewis came through this country in the upper Blackfoot Valley near what is now Ovando. He named it quite aptly "The Prairie of the Knobs." This knobby topography was caused by glaciers pouring into the Blackfoot Valley and then dumping piles of silt and boulders as they receded.

Here's a nice link to the history of the area around Ovando.

# posted by Bitterroot @ 8:01 AM