Amethyst Mountain

Amethyst Mountain
Map
Highest point
Elevation9,609 ft (2,929 m)[1]
Coordinates44°49′43″N 110°15′15″W / 44.82861°N 110.25417°W / 44.82861; -110.25417 (Amethyst Mountain)[1]
Geography
LocationYellowstone National Park, Park County, Wyoming, U.S.
Parent rangeWashburn Range
Topo mapAmethyst Mountain

Amethyst Mountain, el. 9,609 feet (2,929 m)[1] is the highest peak and central part of a northwest – southeast trending ridge that lies between the Lamar River to the northeast and Deep Creek to the southwest within Park County, Wyoming. From northwest to southeast, this ridge consists of Specimen Ridge, Amethyst Mountain, and the Mirror Plateau in Yellowstone National Park. The nearest town is Silver Gate, Montana, which is 19.2 miles away.[2][3]

In 1872, it was named Amethyst Mountain by the United States Geological Survey for amethysts found on its summit.[4] This mountain is known for its abundance of amethyst, opal and exposures of well known and visited petrified forests.[5][6][7][8] The summit of Amethyst Mountain is traversed by Specimen Ridge Trail, which also traverses the south side of Specimen Ridge between Tower Junction and Soda Butte Creek and through the Yellowstone Petrified Forest.[9]

  1. ^ a b c "Amethyst Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
  2. ^ US Geological Survey (1986) Amethyst Mountain Quadrangle Wyoming-Park Co. 7.5-minute series topographic. scale 1:24,000, US Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado.
  3. ^ US Geological Survey (1989) Opal Creek Quadrangle Wyoming-Park Co. 7.5-minute series topographic. scale 1:24,000, US Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado.
  4. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905) The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Bulletin no. 258, United States Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.
  5. ^ Holmes, WH (1878) Report on the geology of the Yellowstone National Park. US Geological Survey Territories of Wyoming and Idaho (1883 edition). Twelfth annual report. Part 2, 57 pp.
  6. ^ Knowlton, FH (1914) The Fossil Forests of Yellowstone National Park. Archived May 16, 2013, at the Wayback Machine National Park Service, Department of the Interior, Office of the Secretary, Washington DC. 31 pp. Last accessed September 26, 2013.
  7. ^ Fritz, JW (1977) Paleoecology of Petrified Woods from the Amethyst Mountain "Fossil Forest", Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. unpublished MS thesis, Walla Walla College, 114 pp.
  8. ^ National Park Service (1980) Petrified forests of Yellowstone. Handbook no. 108. National Park Service, US Department of the Interior, Washington, DC.
  9. ^ Schneider, B (2003) Hiking Yellowstone National Park. Falcon Press, Guilford, Connecticut. 101 pp. ISBN 0-7627-2539-7