EPPING, =348.5 m.= (2,224 alt., 183 pop.), named for Epping, in England, lies on the southern slope of one of the many rolling hills of the prairie. Left from Epping on a graveled county road, formerly US 2, to the EPPING-SPRINGBROOK DAM, =5 m.=, largest earthfill dam in the State. Constructed as an FERA and WPA project, it was completed in 1936. This bulwark on STONY CREEK has created a lake covering 180 acres, which, including a strip of land around the water, will be made into a State park devoted entirely to recreation. A six-inch pipe will make a flow of water available for a limited amount of irrigation below the dam. At =358 m.= the tableland of the Missouri Plateau comes to an abrupt end, and the highway descends into the valley of LITTLE MUDDY CREEK. From the top of the hill leading into this valley there is a panorama of level land dotted with farmhouses, and in the distance to the L. are the Missouri River and Williston. At =359 m.= is the junction with an unimproved private road. Right on this road to the OASIS GARDENS, =0.5 m.=, a private truck farm where irrigation has been successfully employed. At =361 m.= is the junction with US 85 (_see Tour 4_), a graveled highway. US 2 and 85 are one route to =375.5 m.= At =367.5 m.= is the junction with a graveled driveway. Left on this driveway to the twin artificial lakes known as LAKE MINNEKOSH (Sioux, _twin waters_), =0.3 m.= These lakes, built under a Federal project, are formed by dammed springs (_sand beaches_, _diving towers_, _bathing houses_). WILLISTON, =370.5 m.= (1,861 alt., 5,106 pop.), was named by James J. Hill, builder and first president of the G. N. Ry., for his friend S. Willis James of New York City, who was one of the stockholders in the company. The JAMES MEMORIAL LIBRARY, cor. 1st Ave. W. and 7th St., is a gift of the James family. A large residential district and an active business section form the city, which is Williams County seat and the trade center for a large agricultural area in northwestern North Dakota and northeastern Montana. It lies on a gravelly terrace between the lowlands of the Missouri River and the hills and prairies. The river, which at one time flowed at the foot of Main St. and now has cut its channel nearly a mile to the S., has played a prominent part in the history of the locality. Up it came Lewis and Clark in 1805 on their historic expedition to the Pacific coast. In 1832 the _Yellowstone_, first steamboat to navigate the upper Missouri, passed the site, and by 1860 several boats were plying the stream. For 20 years after the gold strike in Montana in 1863 and 1864 the river was the major channel of communication to the Northwest.