The Gallatin Range is a

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 aris ...

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 great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

, located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

s of

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. It includes more than 10 mountains over . The highest peak in the range is Electric Peak at . The Gallatin Range was named after

Albert Gallatin Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin (January 29, 1761 – August 12, 1849) was a Genevan-American politician, diplomat, ethnologist, and linguist. Often described as "America's Swiss Founding Father", he was a leading figure in the early years ...

, the longest-serving US Secretary of the Treasury. The range extends north to south and averages in width.

Geography

The southernmost peaks of the range are in the northwestern section of

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

. However, the majority of the range is in Gallatin National Forest. The

Yellowstone River The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the Western United States. Considered the principal tributary of the upper Missouri, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountain ...

flows north on the eastern flank of the range. The Madison Range parallels the Gallatins to the west. The northern end of the range is near

Livingston, Montana Livingston is a city and the county seat of Park County, Montana, United States. It is in southwestern Montana, on the Yellowstone River, north of Yellowstone National Park. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,040. Hist ...

and Bozeman Pass separates the Gallatins from the Bridger Mountains to the north. The range is an integral part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and has grizzly bears,

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

and other

threatened A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...

and

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

also found in Yellowstone National Park.

Gallatin Petrified Forest

Within the Gallatin Range, the Gallatin Petrified Forest is one of the largest petrified forests of the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

Epoch. The petrified wood that comprise it consist of the mineralized fossils of a mixture of transported logs and in place (''

in situ is a Latin phrase meaning 'in place' or 'on site', derived from ' ('in') and ' ( ablative of ''situs'', ). The term typically refers to the examination or occurrence of a process within its original context, without relocation. The term is use ...

'') wooden tree trunks rooted. The in place tree trunks are rooted in moderately developed fossil soils, (

paleosol In Earth science, geoscience, paleosol (''palaeosol'' in Great Britain and Australia) is an ancient soil that formed in the past. The definition of the term in geology and paleontology is slightly different from its use in soil science. In geo ...

s). The petrified logs, stumps, and trunks found in the Gallatin Range were buried by

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

lahar A lahar (, from ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of Pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a valley, river valley. Lahars are o ...

s. The lahar deposits sometimes have been reworked and redeposited by small streams. These sediments accumulated approximately 50 million year ago.Amidon, L (1997)
Paleoclimate Study of Eocene Fossil Woods and Associated Paleosols from the Gallatin Petrified Forest
Gallatin National Forest, SW Montana''. unpublished Master's thesis, University of Montana. The

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

has a 2-mile (3.2 km) long interpretive trail which details the petrified trees.Soderberg, K, and V Soderberg (2005) ''The Best in Tent Camping: Montana: A Guide for Car Campers Who Hate RVs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos.'' Menasha Ridge Press, Birmingham, Alabama. In regard to these fossil forests and other fossils, collecting of fossils in Yellowstone National Park is illegal. In addition, visitors should stay on marked and maintained trails. BlacktailPlateauPanoramaGallatinRangeAnnotated

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References

{{Authority control Ranges of the Rocky Mountains Mountain ranges of Montana Mountain ranges of Wyoming Gallatin National Forest Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Landforms of Park County, Montana Landforms of Gallatin County, Montana Landforms of Park County, Wyoming

Geography

Gallatin Petrified Forest

See also

References