Mount Brown (Liberty County, Montana)

Last updated
Mount Brown
East Butte, Sweet Grass Hills.jpg
North aspect
Highest point
Elevation 6,958 ft (2,121 m) [1] [2]
Prominence 3,203 ft (976 m) [2]
Parent peak West Butte (6,983 ft) [2]
Isolation 18.29 mi (29.43 km) [2]
Coordinates 48°52′27″N111°08′22″W / 48.8741533°N 111.1393201°W / 48.8741533; -111.1393201 [3]
Geography
USA Montana relief location map.jpg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Mount Brown
Location in Montana
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Mount Brown
Location in the United States
CountryUnited States
State Montana
County Liberty
Parent range Sweet Grass Hills [1]
Topo map USGS Haystack Butte
Geology
Age of rock Eocene
Mountain type Laccolith
Type of rock Igneous rock
Climbing
Easiest route class 2

Mount Brown is a 6,958-foot-elevation (2,121-meter) mountain summit located in Liberty County, Montana, United States.

Contents

Description

Mount Brown is the highest point in the county, highest point of the East Butte complex, and second-highest peak in the Sweet Grass Hills. [1] [2] It is situated 26 miles (42 km) north of Chester, Montana, and eight miles (13 km) south of the Canada–United States border. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains north to the Milk River. [1] Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 3,000 feet (910 meters) above the surrounding plains in four miles (6.4 km) which makes it a prominent landmark visible for many miles. The slopes provide habitat for elk, mule deer, and white-tailed deer. [4]

Geology

Mount Brown is an exposed laccolith composed of syenitic and monzonitic trachytes created by an igneous intrusion through older Jurassic and Cretaceous sedimentary rocks during the Eocene, about 50 million years ago. [5] [4] These sedimentary rocks are primarily shale and siltstone. Over time, erosion of the sedimentary rock has exposed the solidified laccolith which is more resistant to weathering.

History

The Sweet Grass Hills, which are centered in buffalo hunting territory, are sacred to the Blackfoot and other tribes. [6] The Blackfoot called East Butte "pinapitsékatúyis" which means "east side sweet pine." [7] In 1806, Meriwether Lewis sighted the mountains from the Missouri River, which is 100 miles (160 km) distant, and George Mercer Dawson reported seeing them from 140 miles (230 km) away at Blackfoot Crossing in Alberta. [7] The landform's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names. [3]

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Brown is located in a semi-arid climate zone with long, cold, dry winters and hot summers with cool nights. [4] [8] Winter temperatures can drop below −10 °F with wind chill factors below −30 °F. The wettest period of the year is generally May through August, with up to 20 inches of precipitation falling annually on the peak. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sweet Grass County, Montana</span> County in Montana, United States

Sweet Grass County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,678. Its county seat is Big Timber. The county was founded in 1895.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clark Fork River</span> River in the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho

The Clark Fork, or the Clark Fork of the Columbia River, is a river in the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho, approximately 310 miles (500 km) long. The largest river by volume in Montana, it drains an extensive region of the Rocky Mountains in western Montana and northern Idaho in the watershed of the Columbia River. The river flows northwest through a long valley at the base of the Cabinet Mountains and empties into Lake Pend Oreille in the Idaho Panhandle. The Pend Oreille River in Idaho, Washington, and British Columbia, Canada which drains the lake to the Columbia in Washington, is sometimes included as part of the Clark Fork, giving it a total length of 479 miles (771 km), with a drainage area of 25,820 square miles (66,900 km2). In its upper 20 miles (32 km) in Montana near Butte, it is known as Silver Bow Creek. Interstate 90 follows much of the upper course of the river from Butte to Saint Regis. The highest point within the river's watershed is Mount Evans at 10,641 feet (3,243 m) in Deer Lodge County, Montana along the Continental Divide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Cleveland (Montana)</span> Mountain in Montana, United States

Mount Cleveland is the highest mountain in Glacier National Park, located in Montana, United States. It is also the highest point in the Lewis Range, which spans part of the northern portion of the park and extends into Canada. It is located approximately 3 mi (4.8 km) southeast of the southern end of Waterton Lake, and approximately 5 mi (8.0 km) south of the US–Canada border. The east side of the future national park was purchased by the federal government from the Blackfoot Confederacy in 1895 during the second term of President Grover Cleveland. According to the United States Board on Geographic Names, the mountain is named for the former president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Going-to-the-Sun Mountain</span> Mountain in Montana, United States

Going-to-the-Sun Mountain is a 9,647-foot (2,940 m) mountain peak located in Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. It rises dramatically above St. Mary Valley just north of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The mountain was named by James Willard Schultz in 1888.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of North Dakota</span>

The Geography of North Dakota consists of three major geographic regions: in the east is the Red River Valley, west of this, the Missouri Plateau. The southwestern part of North Dakota is covered by the Great Plains, accentuated by the Badlands. There is also much in the way of geology and hydrology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crested Butte</span> Mountain in the state of Colorado

Crested Butte is a prominent mountain summit in the Elk Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 12,168-foot (3,709 m) peak is in Gunnison National Forest, 2.1 miles (3.4 km) northeast by east of the Town of Crested Butte in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. Ski lifts and runs of the Crested Butte Mountain Resort occupy the north side of the mountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishops Cap</span>

Bishops Cap is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Located above the Garden Wall and straddling the Continental Divide, when viewed from the south at Logan Pass, the peak appears to resemble a Bishop's headwear. The name Bishops Cap is descriptive only, and there's no known origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sweet Grass Hills</span>

The Sweet Grass Hills are a small group of low mountains rising more than 3,000 feet (910 m) above the surrounding plains southwest of Whitlash, Montana, in Liberty and Toole County, Montana. The tallest point in the hills is West Butte at 6,983 feet (2,128 m). Quite prominent in the local area, they are clearly visible from US Highway 2 to the south, I-15, and can sometimes be seen as far North as the Crowsnest Highway (Highway 3) near Medicine Hat in Alberta as well as from the West, near Glacier National Park and Browning, Montana. Visibility may vary depending on local air temperatures or heat domes that may increase or decrease the apparent height of the features. Other named peaks in the small group are Gold Butte (6,512 ft [1,985 m]), East Butte, and Mount Lebanon (5,807 ft [1,770 m]). The Sweet Grass Hills are an example of the island ranges that dot the central third portion of the state of Montana. These island ranges, completely surrounded by the 'sea' of plains and not geographically part of the Rocky Mountains to the west, are "biological hotspots", containing more species than the prairie below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McClintock Peak</span> Mountain in United States of America

McClintock Peak is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. McClintock Peak is situated along the Continental Divide. The Lake of the Seven Winds sits below the east slopes of the peak and Mount Morgan is .56 mi (0.90 km) to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Morgan (Montana)</span> Mountain in the American state of Montana

Mount Morgan is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Mount Morgan is situated along the Continental Divide. Oldman Lake is immediately east of the peak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regional designations of Montana</span> Overview of the Regional designations of Montana

The Regional designations of Montana vary widely within the U.S state of Montana. The state is a large geographical area that is split by the Continental Divide, resulting in watersheds draining into the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Hudson's Bay. The state is approximately 545 miles (877 km) east to west along the Canada–United States border and 320 miles (510 km) north to south. The fourth largest state in land area, it has been divided up in official and unofficial ways into a variety of regions. Additionally, Montana is part of a number of larger federal government administrative regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Crow Mountain</span> Mountain in the state of Montana

Red Crow Mountain is a 7,891-foot-elevation (2,405-meter) mountain summit located in Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. The summit is set on the border shared by Flathead County and Glacier County. It is situated on the Continental Divide so precipitation runoff from the east side of the mountain drains into Railroad Creek which is part of the Two Medicine River watershed, and the west side drains to Ole Creek, which is a tributary of Middle Fork Flathead River. It is set in the Lewis Range, 6.5 miles southwest of East Glacier Park Village. Topographic relief is significant as the east aspect rises approximately 2,000 feet in one mile. The nearest higher neighbor is Calf Robe Mountain 1.2 mile to the southeast, with Firebrand Pass forming the saddle between these two peaks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haystack Butte</span> Mountain in the state of Montana

Haystack Butte is a 7,486-foot-elevation (2,282-meter) summit located in the Lewis Range, of Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. It is situated one mile west of the Continental Divide, in Flathead County, above the Weeping Wall on its south slope. Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises 3,900 feet above McDonald Creek in less than 1.5 mile. It can be seen from Logan Pass, and from Going-to-the-Sun Road which traverses the west and south slopes of the peak. The nearest higher neighbor is Mount Gould, 1.07 miles (1.72 km) to the northeast. Climbing access is via the Highline Trail. This geographical feature's descriptive name was on maps as early as 1904, and was officially adopted March 6, 1929, by the United States Board on Geographic Names

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clyde Peak</span> Mountain in the state of Montana

Clyde Peak is an 8,610-foot-elevation (2,620-meter) mountain summit located in Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. The mountain straddles the border shared by Flathead County and Glacier County. It is situated on the Continental Divide so precipitation runoff from the west side of the mountain drains into Thompson Creek which is part of the Middle Fork Flathead River watershed, and the east side drains into headwaters of Red Eagle Creek, which flows to Red Eagle Lake, thence Saint Mary Lake. It is set in the Lewis Range, and the nearest higher neighbor is Mount Logan 1.44 mile to the northwest. Topographic relief is significant as the southwest aspect rises approximately 4,000 feet in one mile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Baldy (Montana)</span> Double summit mountain in Montana

Old Baldy is a 9,156-foot (2,791-metre) double summit mountain located in Teton County of the U.S. state of Montana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Man of the Hills</span> Mountain in the state of Montana

Old Man of the Hills is an 8,229-foot (2,508-metre) mountain summit located in Teton County of the U.S. state of Montana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Frazier (Montana)</span> Mountain in the state of Montana

Mount Frazier is an 8,315-foot (2,534-metre) mountain summit located in Teton County of the U.S. state of Montana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold Butte (Montana)</span>

Gold Butte is a 6,512-foot (1,985-metre) mountain summit located in Toole County, Montana, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Lebanon (Montana)</span>

Mount Lebanon is a 5,807-foot (1,770-metre) mountain summit in Liberty County, Montana, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Butte (Montana)</span>

West Butte is a 6,983-foot-elevation (2,128-meter) mountain summit located in Toole County, Montana, United States.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Mount Brown, Montana". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Brown, Mount - 6,958' MT". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  3. 1 2 "Mount Brown". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Sweet Grass Hills Resource(s) Management Plan (RMP) Amendment and West HiLine Resource(s) Management Plan (RMP), Toole County, Liberty County: Environmental Impact Statement, 1996, p. 13, 19.
  5. Sweet Grass Hills, blm.gov, Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  6. Rich Aarstad, Montana Place Names from Alzada to Zortman, Montana Historical Society, 2009, ISBN   9780975919613, p. 259.
  7. 1 2 William A Lovis, Robert Whallon (2016), Marking the Land, Routledge, ISBN   9781317361169, p. 48, 50.
  8. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN   1027-5606.