Colter Peak el. is a mountain peak in the

Absaroka Range The Absaroka Range ( or ) is a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The range stretches about across the Montana– Wyoming border, and at its widest, forming the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park along Paradise ...

in the southeastern section of

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowst ...

. The peak is named for mountain man John Colter, reputedly the first white man to visit the Yellowstone region. Colter Peak was first ascended in 1870 by Lt.

Gustavus Cheyney Doane Gustavus Cheyney Doane (May 29, 1840 – May 5, 1892) was a U.S. Army Cavalry Captain, explorer, inventor and Civil War soldier who played a prominent role in the exploration of Yellowstone as a member of the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expediti ...

and

Nathaniel P. Langford Nathaniel Pitt Langford (August 9, 1832 – October 18, 1911) was an American explorer, businessman, bureaucrat, vigilante and historian from Saint Paul, Minnesota who played an important role in the early years of the Montana gold fields, terri ...

during the

Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition The Washburn Expedition of 1870 explored the region of northwestern Wyoming that two years later became Yellowstone National Park. Led by Henry D. Washburn and Nathaniel P. Langford, and with a U.S. Army escort headed by Lt. Gustavus C. Doane ...

Henry D. Washburn Henry Dana Washburn (March 28, 1832 – January 26, 1871) was a U.S. Representative from Indiana and a colonel and was breveted twice as brigadier general and major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Biography Born in Woo ...

, the expedition leader named the peak for Langford and Doane. For unknown reasons, geologist Ferdinand V. Hayden moved those names to peaks farther north in 1871 during the

Hayden Geological Survey of 1871 The Hayden Geological Survey of 1871 explored the region of northwestern Wyoming that later became Yellowstone National Park in 1872. It was led by geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden. The 1871 survey was not Hayden's first, but it was the firs ...

. In 1888, Philetus Norris the second park superintendent, named the peak ''Mount Forum'' for unknown reasons. In 1885, geologist

Arnold Hague Arnold Hague (December 3, 1840 in Boston, Massachusetts – May 14, 1917 in Washington, D.C.) was a United States geologist who did many geological surveys in the U.S., of which the best known was that for Yellowstone National Park. He also had as ...

gave the peak its official name: Colter Peak. The first detailed map of

Yellowstone Lake Yellowstone Lake is the largest body of water in Yellowstone National Park. The lake is above sea level and covers with of shoreline. While the average depth of the lake is , its greatest depth is at least . Yellowstone Lake is the largest fre ...

was sketched by Langford from this peak on September 7, 1870. Doane's account of his and Langford's ascent into the Absaroka Range (The peak ascended is today's Colter Peak): Image:LangfordYellowstoneLakeMap.JPG, Original Map of Yellowstone Lake sketched from Colter Peak File:ColterPeakTurretMountainYNP.jpg, As viewed from Thorofare, 2002

Notes

{{Wyoming Mountains of Wyoming Mountains of Yellowstone National Park Mountains of Park County, Wyoming

See also

Notes