The Endicott Mountains are a range of mountains, part of the

Brooks Range The Brooks Range (Gwich’in language, Gwich'in: ''Gwazhał'') is a mountain range in far northern North America stretching some from west to east across northern Alaska into Canada's Yukon Territory. Reaching a peak elevation of on Mount Isto, ...

in northern

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. They are located in the middle of the Brooks range and run some east–west. To the east are the Philip Smith Mountains and to the west are the Schwatka Mountains. The Endicott Mountains are separated from the Philip Smith Mountains by the Middle Fork of the

Koyukuk River The Koyukuk River (; ''Ooghekuhno' '' in Koyukon, ''Kuuyukaq'' or ''Tagraġvik'' in Iñupiaq) is a tributary of the Yukon River, in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the last major tributary entering the Yukon before the larger river empties int ...

, the

Dalton Highway The James W. Dalton Highway, usually referred to as the Dalton Highway (and signed as Alaska Route 11), is a road in Alaska. It begins at the Elliott Highway, north of Fairbanks, and ends at Deadhorse (an unincorporated community within t ...

, and

Atigun Pass Atigun Pass ( Atigun Pass, after an avalanche
), elevation , is a high

Walker Lake, the upper reaches of the West Fork of the

Kobuk River The Kobuk River (Inupiaq language, Iñupiaq: ''Kuuvak''; Koyukon language, Koyukon: ''Hʉlghaatno''), also known by the names Kooak, Kowak, Kubuk, Kuvuk, and Putnam, is a river located in the Arctic region of northwestern Alaska in the United St ...

(Kaluluktok Creek), Akabluak Pass, and the

Noatak River The Noatak River () (also Noatok, Noatuk, Nunatok, or Notoark) is a river in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Alaska. Description The Noatak River's headwaters are on the north flank of Mount Igikpak in the Schwatka Mountains of the ...

. The Endicott Mountains are separated from the mountains north of the Schwatka by Lucky Six Creek, Gull Pass, Gull Creek, a portion of the

Alatna River The Alatna River is a federally designated wild and scenic river partially contained within the boundaries of Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska. Geography The Alatna River stems from the central Brooks Range flowing through the Endicott ...

and the Killik River. From south to north the Endicott Mountains present long, broad glaciated valleys with rounded hills between rising in the center of the range to steep tors and aretes. The northern slopes of the Endicotts are steeper and more heavily incised, before they give way to the Arctic Coastal Plain.

Peaks

Peaks in the Endicott Mountains include the Arrigetch Peaks, and highest to lowest: as well as a number of unnamed peaks over 7000 ft.

Geology

Above the

crystalline A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macrosc ...

basement A basement is any Storey, floor of a building that is not above the grade plane. Especially in residential buildings, it often is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the Furnace (house heating), furnace, water heating, ...

PreCambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

and

Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...

sediments that have undergone partial

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...

. Above these are middle Cambrian sediments and the well documented Kanayuk Conglomerate.Nilsen, T. H.; Moore, T. E.; Dutro, J. T., Jr.; Brosgé, W. P. and Orchard, D. M. (1980) "Sedimentology and Stratigraphy of the Kanayuk Conglomerate and Associated Units, Central and Eastern Brooks Range, Alaska: Report of the 1978 Field Season" United States Geological Survey Open file Report OF 80–888Harris, Ann G. ''et al.'' (2004) ''Geology of National Parks'' (6th edition) Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque, Iowa
page 380
The Kanayuk Conglomerate is a

fluvial deposit In geography and geology, fluvial sediment processes or fluvial sediment transport are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by sediments. It can result in the formation of ripples and dunes, in fractal-shaped ...

, made by a river in its flood plain, and can be up to thick. The Kanayuk Conglomerate began to be deposited in the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...

and continued through into the Mississippian (early Carboniferous). It is believed to have formed a huge delta almost long and wide.

Notes

{{Reflist

External links

"Endicott Mountains"
from Peakbagger.com Brooks Range Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve Landforms of Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska Mountains of Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska Mountains of Unorganized Borough, Alaska

Peaks

Geology

Notes

Further reading

External links