Big Snowy Mountains

Big Snowy Mountains
Highest point
PeakGreathouse Peak
Elevation8,681 ft (2,646 m)
Coordinates46°42′30″N 109°13′28″W / 46.70833°N 109.22444°W / 46.70833; -109.22444
Geography
Big Snowy Mountains is located in Montana
Big Snowy Mountains
Big Snowy Mountains
CountryUnited States
StateMontana

The Big Snowy Mountains (Gros Ventre: níichʔibííkʔa, lit. 'it is never summer'[1]) are a small mountain range south of Lewistown in Fergus County, Montana. Considerably east of and isolated from the main crest of the Northern Rockies, they are one of the few points of significant elevation in the immediate area and are considered one of Montana's island ranges.[2][3] The range's highest elevation is 8,681 feet (2,646 m).[4] The smaller Little Snowy Mountains are a contiguous range immediately to the east.

About 112,000 acres of the Big Snowies are roadless, the bulk of this on the Lewis and Clark National Forest, as well as 6,870 acres in the Twin Coulees Wilderness Study Area on adjacent BLM land;[5] 98,000 acres of the National Forest land are also a Wilderness Study Area.[5] The Big Snowies feature a long, relatively level east-west summit ridge, rising above timberline, that culminates in Greathouse Peak, the highest point in the range.[6] On a clear day the view from the top of Greathouse Peak extends from Canada to Yellowstone.[6] A number of caves, some unexplored, exist on the west end of the range, including the frozen-walled Ice Cave, which is often up to 40 degrees cooler than outside summer temperatures.[6]

The dominant tree species include ponderosa pine, douglas-fir, and subalpine fir on the heavily forested north slope, while the south slope is drier.[5] Wildlife includes rattlesnakes and pronghorn on the grass-covered lower elevations and deer and black bear higher up.[5]

  1. ^ Cowell, A.; Taylor, A.; Brockie, T. "Gros Ventre ethnogeography and place names: A diachronic perspective". Anthropological Linguistics. 58 (2): 132–170. doi:10.1353/anl.2016.0025.
  2. ^ "Big Snowy Mountains". Peakbagger. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
  3. ^ "Greathouse Peak". Peakbagger. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
  4. ^ "Big Snowy Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  5. ^ a b c d Wolke, Howie (1992). The Big Outside. New York, NY: Harmony Books. pp. 133. ISBN 0-517-58737-8.
  6. ^ a b c Cunningham, Bill (1995). Wild Montana. Helena, MT: Falcon Publishing, Inc. pp. 268–269. ISBN 1-56044-393-6.