The Lost River Range is a high

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have ari ...

of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

, located in Central Idaho, in the

Northwestern United States The Northwestern United States, also known as the American Northwest or simply the Northwest, is an informal geographic region of the United States. The region consistently includes the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. ...

. It runs southeast for approximately from the Salmon River near the community of Challis to the Snake River Valley near

Arco ARCO ( ) is a brand of gasoline stations currently owned by Marathon Petroleum after BP sold its rights. BP commercializes the brand in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, while Marathon has rights for the rest of the United States an ...

. To the west are the valleys of the Salmon and the

Big Lost River The Big Lost River is a major river in the U.S. state of Idaho, about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 4, 2011 Description The river starts in the Rocky Mountai ...

s, while to the east are the

Little Lost River The Little Lost River is a river in the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is approximately longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 4, 2011 and drains an arid f ...

and Pashimeroi Valleys. The range starts at the east bank of the Salmon River, at an elevation of about . It quickly rises to Grouse Creek Mountain (11,085 ft, 3,378 m) and Dickey Peak (11,141 ft, 3,395 m), and then descends to Double Springs Pass, location of one of just two roads to cross the range. Nearby is an interpretive site explaining the effects of the magnitude 6.9 Borah Peak earthquake that hit the range on October 28, 1983. The Big Lost River Valley fell and the Lost River Range rose, leaving a fault scarp of up to along the base of the mountains. BorahPeakID

The range then rises into its high central section, which includes many of the state's highest peaks. Borah Peak, the highest, climbs to . Further south are Mount Idaho (12,065 ft, 3,677 m), Leatherman Peak (12,228 ft, 3,727 m), Mount Church (over 12,200 ft, 3,720 m), Mount Breitenbach (12,140 ft, 3,700 m), and Lost River Mountain (12,078 ft, 3,681 m). To the east of this section of the range lie the remote canyons of the Upper Pashimeroi Valley, including scenic Merriam Lake. The range then descends to Pass Creek Summit, the second road to cross its crest. It continues to King Mountain (10,612 ft, 3,235 m), a favorite site for hang gliders. Finally it descends sharply to the Snake River Valley near the community of Arco, at an elevation of . MerriamLakeID

Peaks

References

External links

SummitPost.org: Lost River Range
* {{Authority control Ranges of the Rocky Mountains Mountain ranges of Idaho Landforms of Custer County, Idaho Landforms of Butte County, Idaho Salmon-Challis National Forest