Mount Sacagawea () is the eighth-highest peak 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 ...

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 ...

and the seventh-highest in the

Wind River Range The Wind River Range (or "Winds" for short) is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in western Wyoming in the United States. The range runs roughly NW–SE for approximately . The Continental Divide follows the crest of the range and incl ...

. It was named after

Sacagawea Sacagawea ( or ; also spelled Sakakawea or Sacajawea; May – December 20, 1812)Sacagawea
." Lemhi Shoshone The Lemhi Shoshone are a tribe of Northern Shoshone, also called the Akaitikka, Agaidika, or "Eaters of Salmon".Murphy and Murphy, 306 The name "Lemhi" comes from Fort Lemhi, a Mormon mission to this group. They traditionally lived in the Lemh ...

woman who accompanied the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

as an interpreter and guide. The

Upper Fremont Glacier Upper Fremont Glacier is in the Fitzpatrick Wilderness of Shoshone National Forest in the U.S. state of Wyoming. This Wind River Range alpine glacier is associated with the largest grouping of glaciers in the U.S. Rocky Mountains and lies on ...

is located southeast and the Sacagawea Glacier is northeast of the mountain. Straddling the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

, Mount Sacagawea is one mile (1.6 km) northwest of

Fremont Peak Fremont Peak can refer to one of several peaks. In the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. s ...

Hazards

Encountering

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

s is a concern in the Wind River Range. There are other concerns as well, including bugs,

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

s, adverse snow conditions and nighttime cold temperatures. Importantly, there have been notable incidents, including

accidental death An accidental death is an unnatural death that is caused by an accident, such as a slip and fall, traffic collision, or accidental poisoning. Accidental deaths are distinguished from death by natural causes, disease, and from intentional homici ...

s, due to falls from steep cliffs (a misstep could be fatal in this class 4/5 terrain) and due to

falling rocks Falling or fallin' may refer to: *Falling (physics), movement due to gravity *Falling (accident) *Falling (execution) *Falling (sensation) People *Christine Falling (born 1963), American serial killer who murdered six children Books * ''Falli ...

, over the years, including 1993, 2007 (involving an experienced NOLS leader), 2015 and 2018. Other incidents include a seriously injured backpacker being airlifted near SquareTop Mountain in 2005, and a fatal hiker incident (from an apparent accidental fall) in 2006 that involved state

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

. 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 ...

does not offer updated aggregated records on the official number of fatalities in the Wind River Range.

Gallery

File:Mount Sacagawea, Wyoming.jpg, Southwest aspect File:Mount Sacagawea, Fremont Peak.jpg, Mount Sacagawea (left) and Fremont Peak (right of center) File:Mount Sacagawea WY.jpg, Southwest aspect at sunset

References

External links

General Information on the Wind River Range

Climbing the Wind River Rangemore

Shoshone National Forest Federal website

Continental Divide Trail information
Bridger–Teton National Forest Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Mountains of Fremont County, Wyoming Mountains of Sublette County, Wyoming Mountains of Wyoming Shoshone National Forest Sacagawea {{Wyoming-geo-stub