The Yellowstone National Park: Historical and DescriptiveChittenden, Hiram Martin
History
The Yellowstone National Park: Historical and Descriptive
Chittenden, Hiram Martin
Yellowstone National Park
[The numbers in parentheses denote elevations. These are taken from
the latest map by the United States Geological Survey, and are the
same as that of the one hundred foot contour nearest the summit.
The true elevation of the ultimate peak is in each case slightly
greater, lying somewhere between the figure given and an altitude
one hundred feet higher.]
_Abiathar Peak_ (10,800)--C: 14--1885--U. S. G. S.--For Charles
_Abiathar_ White, Paleontologist, U. S. Geological Survey.
_Absaroka Range_, A-X: 12-16--1885--U. S. G. S.--This range of
mountains has had an unfortunate christening history. It was first
known as the Yellowstone Range, from its close relation to the
Yellowstone River, of which it is the source. The original name dates
from as far back as 1863, and was adopted by the first explorers of
the Park country. It was officially recognized in 1871, by both the
Corps of Engineers and the United States Geological Survey. When the
Park was created this range became its real eastern boundary, and many
of its peaks were named for those who had borne prominent parts in its
history. The name had thus an added claim to perpetuity. It passed
into general use, and appears in all the writings of the United States
Geological Survey down to 1883.
In 1873, Captain W. A. Jones, of the Corps of Engineers, led an
expedition through these mountains--the first that ever crossed them.
He gave them a new name, "Sierra Shoshone." Except for the fact that
he was violating the rule of priority, his action in giving this
name, as well as his judgment in its selection, were of unquestionable
propriety. It was a tribe of the Shoshonean family who alone dwelt in
the Park, or among these mountains, and it was entirely fitting to
commemorate this fact in a distinct and permanent manner. The name
passed rapidly into public use, and by 1880 had practically supplanted
the original name.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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