Pollux Peak is an mountain summit located in

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 ...

, in Park County,

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 ...

, United States.

Description

The peak is situated in the northeast quadrant of

and is the fourth-highest peak within the park. It is part of the

Absaroka Range The Absaroka Range 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 Valley, ...

, which is a subset 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 ...

. Neighbors include Castor Peak to the southwest, and Saddle Mountain to the northwest on the opposite side of the Lamar River Valley.

Topographic relief Terrain (), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientati ...

is significant as the northwest aspect rises over above Lamar River in approximately 1.5 mile. Pollux Peak is named for Pollux, the twin half-brother of Castor according to

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, and these two gods were considered protectors of travelers, of which there are many in Yellowstone Park. The mountain's name, which was officially adopted in 1930 by the

United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a Federal government of the United States, federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geogr ...

, was in use before 1899 when

Henry Gannett Henry Gannett (August 24, 1846 – November 5, 1914) was an American geographer who is described as the "father of mapmaking in America."Evans, Richard Tranter; Frye, Helen M. (2009).History of the Topographic Branch (Division) (PDF). ''U.S. Geo ...

published it in ''A Dictionary of Altitudes in the United States''.Henry Gannett, ''A Dictionary of Altitudes in the United States'', 1899, US Government Printing Office, page 773.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Pollux Peak is located in a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

zone with long, cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers. Winter temperatures can drop below −10 °F with wind chill factors below −30 °F. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into tributaries of the

Lamar River The Lamar River is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, approximately long, in northwestern Wyoming in the United States. The river is located entirely within Yellowstone National Park. History Prior to the 1884–85 Geological Survey of th ...

References

External links

* Weather forecast
Pollux Peak
{{Portal bar, Geography, Geology, Mountains Mountains of Park County, Wyoming Mountains of Wyoming Three-thousanders of the United States Mountains of Yellowstone National Park Castor and Pollux

Description

Climate

See also

References

External links