The Yellowstone National Park: Historical and DescriptiveChittenden, Hiram Martin
History
The Yellowstone National Park: Historical and Descriptive
Chittenden, Hiram Martin
Yellowstone National Park
In the entire Park there are about thirty-six named lakes with a total
area of nearly 165 square miles. Of these lakes, twenty-one, with an
area of 143 square miles, are on the Yellowstone slope; eight, with an
area of perhaps two square miles, are on the Missouri slope; and
seven, with an area of about twenty square miles, are on the Snake
River slope. The four principal lakes--Yellowstone, Shoshone, Lewis,
and Hart--are clustered near the Continental Divide at its lowest
point, the first being on the Atlantic slope, and the others on the
Pacific.
There are upon the various streams of the Park no fewer than
twenty-five interesting water-falls, where the streams descend from
the Park plateau to the lower surrounding country.
MOUNTAIN SYSTEM
As the Yellowstone River is the most important stream in the Park, so
the Absaroka Range, in which it has its source, is the most important
mountain system. It extends north and south along the entire eastern
border. To the south it is prolonged under the name of the Sierra
Shoshone Mountains as far as the Wind River Valley, while north of
Soda Butte Creek it extends to the Great Bend of the Yellowstone under
the name Snowy Range. The various larger summits are remarkably
uniform in elevation. From Index Peak on the north to Yount Peak on
the south, there are more than thirty named mountains with an average
altitude of 10,400 feet. The variation from this mean is slight. The
range, throughout its length, is full of noble views, and, as seen
from across the Yellowstone Lake, is one of the finest exhibitions of
mountain scenery on the continent.
The next most important range is the Gallatin, situated in the
north-west corner of the Park, at the head of the Gallatin River. It
has about seventeen named peaks, with an average altitude of 9,800
feet. The highest peak, Electric, is the loftiest mountain in the
Park.
The Washburn Range, a detached mountain system, originally known as
the "Elephant's Back," is situated between the Grand Cañon of the
Yellowstone and the Gardiner River. It has seven christened summits,
with an average altitude of 9,800 feet. The most conspicuous peak of
the range, as well as the most noted mountain of the Park, is Mt.
Washburn.
The Red Mountain Range is a small, detached group of mountains between
Hart and Lewis Lakes. Its principal summit, Mt. Sheridan, affords
probably the finest view to be had in that entire region.
The Teton Range lies mainly outside the Park, its northern spurs
barely touching the southern boundary. It extends north and south
along the west shore of Jackson Lake, and is a very noted range of
mountains. Its highest summit, the Grand Teton, has no competitor for
altitude nearer than Fremont Peak, seventy-five miles distant.
The Big Game Ridge lies along the south boundary of the Park, and is
the source of the Snake River. It has six named peaks, with an average
altitude of 9,800 feet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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