The Absaroka Range is a sub-mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The range stretches roughly north-south around across the Montana–Wyoming border, and at its widest east-west extent, forming both the eastern boundary of the Paradise Valley and Yellowstone National Park, and the western edge of the Bighorn Basin. The range borders the Beartooth Mountains to the east and north and the Wind River Range to the south and southwest. The northern edge of the range rests along I-90 and Livingston, Montana. The highest peak in the range is Francs Peak, located in Wyoming at . There are 46 other peaks over .
Geography
The range is drained by the Yellowstone River and various tributaries, including the
Bighorn River.
Most of the range lies within protected lands including Yellowstone Park, the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, North Absaroka Wilderness, Teton Wilderness, and Washakie Wilderness, spanning the Bridger-Teton National Forest, Custer National Forest, Gallatin National Forest, and Shoshone National Forest.
U.S. Highway 212 from Billings, Montana to Yellowstone climbs over Beartooth Pass in the neighboring Beartooth Mountains before winding through the Absarokas to the northeast gate of Yellowstone National Park. It is only open during the summer. U.S Route 14/16/20 follows the Shoshone River from Cody through the range to the eastern gate of the park.
Climate
History
The range is named after the
Crow Nation Native People.
[ The name is derived from the Hidatsa language name for the Crow people; it means "children of the large-beaked bird."][
]
John Colter, who may have been the first white person to visit the area,
The proposed state of Absaroka shared the same age with the mountain range.
Geology
Geologically, the section of the range in Wyoming consists of volcanic breccia, whereas there is a transition to granite and Gneiss further north of the state line.
Absaroka Volcanic Province
of the Absaroka Volcanic Province cover an area of approximately in southwestern Montana and northwestern Wyoming, including roughly one third of Yellowstone National Park. These extrusive rocks were erupted during the Eocene Epoch of the Paleogene Period. Radiometric dating has shown that eruptive activity lasted from about . The eroded remnants of many large are found in the area. The dissection of these long by erosion allows to see volcanic structures that are impossible to see in . Many terms now widely used in volcanology originated in nineteenth century field studies of these ancient volcanoes.
Gallery
File:Pilot and Index Peaks.jpg|Pilot and Index peaks in the Absaroka Mountains
File:WestslopeAbsarokaRangeMontana.jpg|Western face of Absarokas from Paradise Valley (Montana)
File:Livingston MT 03.jpg|Northern Absaroka range as seen from Livingston, Montana
File:NorthernAbsarokasNearLivingstonMontana2010.jpg|Northwest expanse of Absarokas as viewed from over Livingston, Montana
File:Smoke over the Absarokas.jpg|The mountains on August 19, 1988, smoky due to the Yellowstone fires of 1988
See also
-
List of mountains and mountain ranges of Yellowstone National Park
-
List of mountain ranges in Montana
-
List of mountain ranges in Wyoming
External links
