1.
Fremont County, Wyoming
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Fremont County is a county located in the U. S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2010 census, the population was 40,123, the county was founded in 1884 and is named for John C. Frémont, a general, explorer, and politician and it is roughly the size of the state of Vermont. Fremont County comprises the Riverton, WY Micropolitan Statistical Area, Fremont County was created on March 5,1884 by the legislature of the Wyoming Territory The county was created with land ceded by Sweetwater County. In 1890, Big Horn County was carved out of Fremont, Johnson, hot Springs County was created in 1911 from parts of Fremont County, along with a portion of Big Horn County and Park County. In 1921, Sublette County was created from part of Fremont County, the boundaries of Fremont County have remained unchanged since 1921. Fremont County was named for John Charles Frémont, an explorer of the American West, Senator from California, Fremont County is the historical home of the Wind River Indian Reservation, home of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes of Native Americans. Since 1998, Fremont County has been represented in the Wyoming State Senate by the economist/businessman Cale Case, a Republican. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 9,266 square miles. It is the second-largest county by area in Wyoming, as well as in the six Rocky Mountain States. The southern end of the county is traversed by the Oregon Trail and in the northwest corner lies Dubois, although the county seat is Lander, the largest community is Riverton, home of Central Wyoming College and the economic hub of the region. As of the census of 2000, there were 35,804 people,13,545 households, the population density was 4 people per square mile. There were 15,541 housing units at a density of 2 per square mile. 4. 37% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,22. 1% were of German,9. 9% English,8. 2% Irish and 6. 3% American ancestry. 25. 50% of all households were made up of individuals and 10. 00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.10. In the county, the population was out with 27. 40% under the age of 18,8. 30% from 18 to 24,25. 90% from 25 to 44,25. 00% from 45 to 64. The median age was 38 years, for every 100 females there were 98.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.40 males, the median income for a household in the county was $32,503, and the median income for a family was $37,983
2.
Sublette County, Wyoming
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Sublette County is a county located in the U. S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,247 and it is a sparsely populated rural county in western Wyoming, along the Green River. Sublette County was created February 15,1921, with land detached from Fremont County and Lincoln County, historically, the area was important to the fur trade, and the county itself takes its name from one of Wyomings early fur traders, William Lewis Sublette. Today the county celebrates its fur trade heritage with the Museum of the Mountain Man in Pinedale. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 4,936 square miles. As of the census of 2000, there were 5,920 people,2,371 households, since 2000, however, an oil boom has increased the population by at least 1,000. The population density was 1 person per square mile, there were 3,552 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 97. 48% White,0. 20% Black or African American,0. 49% Native American,0. 24% Asian,0. 08% Pacific Islander,0. 52% from other races, and 0. 98% from two or more races. 1. 89% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,21. 7% were of German,17. 5% English,11. 0% American and 10. 1% Irish ancestry. 23. 60% of all households were made up of individuals and 6. 50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.91. In the county, the population was out with 25. 80% under the age of 18,6. 00% from 18 to 24,27. 50% from 25 to 44,28. 70% from 45 to 64. The median age was 40 years, for every 100 females there were 104.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.50 males, the median income for a household in the county was $39,044, and the median income for a family was $45,000. Males had an income of $35,000 versus $21,109 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,056, about 7. 40% of families and 9. 70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10. 40% of those under age 18 and 8. 70% of those age 65 or over. As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 10,247 people,3,906 households, the population density was 2.1 inhabitants per square mile. There were 5,770 housing units at a density of 1.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 93. 2% white,0. 8% American Indian,0. 5% Asian,0. 3% black or African American,3. 7% from other races, and 1. 4% from two or more races
3.
Summit
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A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a maximum in elevation. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak, and zenith are synonymous, the UIAA definition is that a summit is independent if it has a prominence of 30 metres or more, it is a mountain if it has a prominence of at least 300 metres. This can be summarised as follows, A pyramidal peak is an exaggerated form produced by ice erosion of a mountain top, Summit may also refer to the highest point along a line, trail, or route. In many parts of the western United States, the term refers to the highest point along a road, highway. For example, the highest point along Interstate 80 in California is referred to as Donner Summit while the highest point on Interstate 5 is Siskiyou Mountain Summit, geoid Hill List of highest mountains Maxima and minima Nadir Summit accordance Peak finder
4.
Topographic prominence
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It is a measure of the independence of a summit. A peaks key col is a point on this contour line. By convention, the prominence of Mount Everest, the Earths highest mountain, is taken to equal the elevation of its summit above sea level, if the peaks prominence is P metres, to get from the summit to any higher terrain one must descend at least P metres. Together with the convention for Mount Everest, this implies that the prominence of any island or continental highpoint is equal to its elevation above sea level, for every ridge connecting the peak to higher terrain, find the lowest point on the ridge. The key col is defined as the highest of these cols, the prominence is the difference between the elevation of the peak and the elevation of the key col. The following mental exercise may illustrate the meaning of topographic prominence, imagine you are standing at the top of a peak and imagine that an imaginary sea level rises to your feet. Now slowly lower the sea level and an imaginary island appears beneath your feet. Your island will grow and will merge with other islands that emerge, the parent peak may be either close or far from the subject peak. The summit of Mount Everest is the parent peak of Aconcagua at a distance of 17,755 km, the key col may also be close or far from the subject peak. The key col for Aconcagua is the Bering Strait at a distance of 13,655 km, the key col for the South Summit of Mount Everest is about 100 m distant. Prominence is interesting to many mountaineers because it is a measurement that is strongly correlated with the subjective significance of a summit. Peaks with low prominences are either subsidiary tops of some higher summit or relatively insignificant independent summits, peaks with high prominences tend to be the highest points around and are likely to have extraordinary views. Only summits with a sufficient degree of prominence are regarded as independent mountains, for example, the worlds second-highest mountain is K2. While Mount Everests South Summit is taller than K2, it is not considered an independent mountain because it is a subsummit of the main summit, many lists of mountains take topographic prominence as a criterion for inclusion, or cutoff. John and Anne Nuttalls The Mountains of England and Wales uses a cutoff of 15 m, in the contiguous United States, the famous list of fourteeners uses a cutoff of 300 ft /91 m. Also in the U. S.2000 feet of prominence has become a threshold that signifies that a peak has major stature. This generates lists of peaks ranked by prominence, which are different from lists ranked by elevation. Such lists tend to emphasize isolated high peaks, such as range or island high points, one advantage of a prominence-ranked list is that it needs no cutoff, since a peak with high prominence is automatically an independent peak
5.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
6.
Mountain range
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A mountain range is a geographic area containing numerous geologically related mountains. A mountain system or system of ranges, sometimes is used to combine several geological features that are geographically related. Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys, individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology. They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes, for example thrust sheets, uplifted blocks, fold mountains, most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earths land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or the Alpide Belt. The Andes is 7,000 kilometres long and is considered the worlds longest mountain system. The Alpide belt includes Indonesia and southeast Asia, through the Himalaya, the belt also includes other European and Asian mountain ranges. The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest, mountain ranges outside of these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera, the Urals, the Appalachians, the Scandinavian Mountains, the Altai Mountains and the Hijaz Mountains. If the definition of a range is stretched to include underwater mountains. The mountain systems of the earth are characterized by a tree structure, the sub-range relationship is often expressed as a parent-child relationship. For example, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Blue Ridge Mountains are sub-ranges of the Appalachian Mountains, equivalently, the Appalachians are the parent of the White Mountains and Blue Ridge Mountains, and the White Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains are children of the Appalachians. The position of mountains influences climate, such as rain or snow, when air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools producing orographic precipitation. As the air descends on the side, it warms again and is drier. Often, a shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to forces which work to tear them down. Erosion is at work while the mountains are being uplifted and long after until the mountains are reduced to low hills, rivers are traditionally believed to be the principle erosive factor on mountain ranges, with their ability of bedrock incision and sediment transport. The rugged topography of a range is the product of erosion. The basins adjacent to a mountain range are filled with sediments which are buried and turned into sedimentary rock. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example and this mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift
7.
Wind River Range
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The Wind River Range, is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in western Wyoming in the United States. The range runs roughly NW-SE for approximately 100 miles, the Continental Divide follows the crest of the range and includes Gannett Peak, which at 13,804 feet, is the highest peak in Wyoming. There are more than 40 other named peaks in excess of 13,000 feet, with the exception of the Grand Teton in the Teton Range, the next 19 highest peaks in Wyoming after Gannett are also in the Winds. Two large National Forests including three wilderness areas encompass most of the mountain range, Shoshone National Forest is on the eastern side of the continental divide while Bridger-Teton National Forest is on the west. Both National Forests and the mountain range are an integral part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Portions of the range are also inside the Wind River Indian Reservation, indigenous peoples of the Great Basin, such as the Shoshones and Absarokas Native Americans, lived in the range beginning 7000 and 9000 years ago. Villages as high as 10,000 feet in elevation, dating from 700 to 2000 BC, have recently studied by archaeologists. These villages were established by the Sheepeater band of Shoshone during pine nut harvesting season, one, dubbed High Rise, has 60 lodges over a space of 26 acres and was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places. Climbing was pursued in the mid to late 1800s by men such as John C, fremont, typically for the purpose of surveying the region. Early climbers to come purely for recreation began arriving in the 1920s, Gannett Peak, the range and Wyomings tallest, was first climbed by Arthur Tate and Floyd Stahlnaker in 1922. Most of the climbing in the region focused around the Titcomb Basin. Today, the Titcomb Basin remains one of the areas busiest recreation attractions along with the Cirque of the Towers to the south, the Winds are composed primarily of a granitic batholith which is granite rock formed deep under the surface of the Earth, over one billion years ago. Over hundreds of millions of years, rocks that were once covering this batholith eroded away, as the land continued to rise during the Laramide orogeny, further erosion occurred until all that remained were the granitic rocks. The ice ages beginning 500,000 years ago began carving the rocks into their present shapes, several of these are the largest glaciers in the U. S. Several major rivers have headwaters on either side of the range, the Green and Big Sandy rivers drain southward from the west side of the range, while the Wind River drains eastward through the Shoshone Basin. These lakes range in size from less than 3 acres to over 200 acres, historically, the lakes and streams of the Bridger Wilderness were devoid of fish, as were most alpine lakes throughout the Rocky Mountains. The first known transplant of fish into the area took place in 1907 when Colorado River cutthroat trout were introduced into North Fork Lake. Considerable fish stocking by individuals, the U. S. Forest Service, the Winds are known to have a small grizzly bear population, primarily in the northernmost areas
8.
Topographic map
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Traditional definitions require a topographic map to show both natural and man-made features. A topographic map is published as a map series, made up of two or more map sheets that combine to form the whole map. A contour line is a line connecting places of equal elevation, however, in the vernacular and day to day world, the representation of relief is popularly held to define the genre, such that even small-scale maps showing relief are commonly called topographic. The study or discipline of topography is a broader field of study. Topographic maps are based on topographical surveys, performed at large scales, these surveys are called topographical in the old sense of topography, showing a variety of elevations and landforms. This is in contrast to older cadastral surveys, which primarily show property, the first multi-sheet topographic map series of an entire country, the Carte géométrique de la France, was completed in 1789. Topographic surveys were prepared by the military to assist in planning for battle, as such, elevation information was of vital importance. As they evolved, topographic map series became a resource in modern nations in planning infrastructure. Excluding borders, each sheet was 44 cm high and up to 66 cm wide, although the project eventually foundered, it left an indexing system that remains in use. TIGER was developed in the 1980s and used in the 1990, digital elevation models were also compiled, initially from topographic maps and stereographic interpretation of aerial photographs and then from satellite photography and radar data. Since all these were government projects funded with taxes and not classified for security reasons. Initial applications were mostly professionalized forms such as innovative surveying instruments, by the mid-1990s, increasingly user-friendly resources such as online mapping in two and three dimensions, integration of GPS with mobile phones and automotive navigation systems appeared. As of 2011, the future of standardized, centrally printed topographical maps is left somewhat in doubt, the various features shown on the map are represented by conventional signs or symbols. For example, colors can be used to indicate a classification of roads and these signs are usually explained in the margin of the map, or on a separately published characteristic sheet. Topographic maps are commonly called contour maps or topo maps. In the United States, where the national series is organized by a strict 7. 5-minute grid. Topographic maps conventionally show topography, or land contours, by means of contour lines, contour lines are curves that connect contiguous points of the same altitude. In other words, every point on the line of 100 m elevation is 100 m above mean sea level
9.
United States Geological Survey
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The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its resources. The organization has four science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology. The USGS is a research organization with no regulatory responsibility. The USGS is a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior, the USGS employs approximately 8,670 people and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. The USGS also has major offices near Lakewood, Colorado, at the Denver Federal Center, the current motto of the USGS, in use since August 1997, is science for a changing world. The agencys previous slogan, adopted on the occasion of its anniversary, was Earth Science in the Public Service. Prompted by a report from the National Academy of Sciences, the USGS was created, by a last-minute amendment and it was charged with the classification of the public lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain. This task was driven by the need to inventory the vast lands added to the United States by the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the legislation also provided that the Hayden, Powell, and Wheeler surveys be discontinued as of June 30,1879. Clarence King, the first director of USGS, assembled the new organization from disparate regional survey agencies, after a short tenure, King was succeeded in the directors chair by John Wesley Powell. Administratively, it is divided into a Headquarters unit and six Regional Units, Other specific programs include, Earthquake Hazards Program monitors earthquake activity worldwide. The National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines detects the location, the USGS also runs or supports several regional monitoring networks in the United States under the umbrella of the Advanced National Seismic System. The USGS informs authorities, emergency responders, the media, and it also maintains long-term archives of earthquake data for scientific and engineering research. It also conducts and supports research on long-term seismic hazards, USGS has released the UCERF California earthquake forecast. The USGS National Geomagnetism Program monitors the magnetic field at magnetic observatories and distributes magnetometer data in real time, the USGS operates the streamgaging network for the United States, with over 7400 streamgages. Real-time streamflow data are available online, since 1962, the Astrogeology Research Program has been involved in global, lunar, and planetary exploration and mapping. USGS operates a number of related programs, notably the National Streamflow Information Program. USGS Water data is available from their National Water Information System database
10.
U.S. state
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A U. S. state is a constituent political entity of the United States of America. There are 50 states, which are together in a union with each other. Each state holds administrative jurisdiction over a geographic territory. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the government, Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons covered by certain types of court orders. States range in population from just under 600,000 to over 39 million, four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names. States are divided into counties or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local authority but are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by state, State governments are allocated power by the people through their individual constitutions. All are grounded in principles, and each provides for a government. States possess a number of powers and rights under the United States Constitution, Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization and incorporation, with the government playing a much larger role than it once did. There is a debate over states rights, which concerns the extent and nature of the states powers and sovereignty in relation to the federal government. States and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a legislature consisting of the Senate. Each state is represented in the Senate by two senators, and is guaranteed at least one Representative in the House, members of the House are elected from single-member districts. Representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census, the Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776, the number of states has expanded from the original 13 to 50, alaska and Hawaii are the most recent states admitted, both in 1959. The Constitution is silent on the question of states have the power to secede from the Union. Shortly after the Civil War, the U. S. Supreme Court, in Texas v. White, as a result, while the governments of the various states share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and substance
11.
Wyoming
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Wyoming /waɪˈoʊmɪŋ/ is a state in the mountain region of the western United States. The state is the tenth largest by area, the least populous, Wyoming is bordered on the north by Montana, on the east by South Dakota and Nebraska, on the south by Colorado, on the southwest by Utah, and on the west by Idaho. Cheyenne is the capital and the most populous city in Wyoming, the state population was estimated at 586,107 in 2015, which is less than the population of 31 of the largest U. S. cities. The Crow, Arapaho, Lakota, and Shoshone were some of the inhabitants of the region. Southwestern Wyoming was included in the Spanish Empire and then Mexican territory until it was ceded to the United States in 1848 at the end of the Mexican–American War. The region acquired the name Wyoming when a bill was introduced to Congress in 1865 to provide a government for the territory of Wyoming. The territory was named after the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania, with the name ultimately being derived from the Munsee word xwé, wamənk, the mineral extraction industry—especially coal, oil, natural gas, and trona—along with the travel and tourism sector are the main drivers behind Wyomings economy. Agriculture has historically been an important component of the economy with the main commodities being livestock, hay, sugar beets, grain. The climate is generally semi-arid and continental, being drier and windier in comparison to the rest of the United States, except for the 1964 election, Wyoming has been a politically conservative state since the 1950s, with the Republican party winning every presidential election. Wyoming is one of three states to have borders along only straight latitudinal and longitudinal lines, rather than being defined by natural landmarks. Wyoming is bordered on the north by Montana, on the east by South Dakota and Nebraska, on the south by Colorado, on the southwest by Utah, and on the west by Idaho. It is the tenth largest state in the United States in total area, from the north border to the south border it is 276 miles, and from the east to the west border is 365 miles at its south end and 342 miles at the north end. The Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming, the state is a great plateau broken by many mountain ranges. Surface elevations range from the summit of Gannett Peak in the Wind River Mountain Range, at 13,804 feet, to the Belle Fourche River valley in the states northeast corner, at 3,125 feet. In the northwest are the Absaroka, Owl Creek, Gros Ventre, Wind River, in the north central are the Big Horn Mountains, in the northeast, the Black Hills, and in the southern region the Laramie, Snowy and Sierra Madre ranges. The Snowy Range in the central part of the state is an extension of the Colorado Rockies in both geology and appearance. The Wind River Range in the west central part of the state is remote and includes more than 40 mountain peaks in excess of 13,000 ft tall in addition to Gannett Peak, the highest peak in the state. The Big Horn Mountains in the central portion are somewhat isolated from the bulk of the Rocky Mountains
12.
Cirque of the Towers
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Located in the southern section of the Wind River Range, the cirque is a very popular destination for technical rock climbers. Climber Orrin Bonney gave the area its current name in 1941 after his survey of the cirque, prior to this, few if any visitors had ventured into the cirque due to the remote location. The cirque is an almost circular hole or valley carved by a glacier that retreated over 8,000 years ago, as is true with the rest of the Winds, the mountains are composed almost entirely of granite. The Continental Divide spans the crest of the main peaks, the towers average 1,000 feet lower in altitude than the highest mountains in the northern Winds, with Lizard Head Peak being the tallest. Other individual mountains in the cirque include Sharks Nose, Warbonnet, Warrior Peak, Wolfs Head and Pingora Peak. There are hundreds of routes to choose from in difficulties ranging from 5.1 to 5. 11a and since the mountains are composed primarily of granite rock, there is good anchoring. These climbs include two featured in Steck and Ropers Fifty Classic Climbs of North America the Northeast Face of Pingora and the East Ridge of the Wolfs Head. For both the climber and backpacker, access to the cirque from the west from Pinedale, Wyoming requires a 55 mi drive, partly paved and partly gravel, there is a small National Forest campground at the trailhead. An 8.7 mi hike beginning at 9,000 ft above sea level is relatively level the first 7 mi and becomes very steep the last mile and ascends to Jackass Pass at 10,800 ft, crossing the continental divide. From there one must descend a steep half mile to Lonesome Lake, expect the trail to be busy in July and August as the cirque is the most popular hiking and climbing destination in the Wind River Range. Lonesome Lake was the first lake in the Wind River Range whose water was deemed unfit for consumption due to waste and consequently. The granitic rocks allow poor filtration of water and the ability of many alpine lakes to cleanse themselves is often poorer than one might find at lower altitudes. Lonesome Lake, USGS Lizard Head Peak, visit Pinedale - Attractions, Cirque of the Towers
13.
Continental Divide of the Americas
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The Continental Divide of the Americas is the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas. The Continental Divide of the Americas begins at Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, the Divide crosses into the United States in northwestern Montana, at the boundary between Waterton Lakes National Park and Glacier National Park. In Canada, it forms the boundary of Waterton Lakes National Park. The Divide crosses into Wyoming within Yellowstone National Park and continues southeast into Colorado where it reaches its highest point in North America at the summit of Grays Peak at 4,352 m. It crosses US Hwy 160 in southern Colorado at Wolf Creek Pass, the Divide then proceeds south into western New Mexico, passing along the western boundary of the endorheic Plains of San Agustin. Although the Divide represents the height of land between watersheds, it not always follow the highest ranges/peaks within each state or province. In Mexico, it passes through Chihuahua, Durango, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Querétaro, México, the Federal District, Morelos, Puebla, Oaxaca, and Chiapas. In Central America, it continues through southern Guatemala, southwestern Honduras, western Nicaragua, western/southwestern Costa Rica, the divide reaches its lowest point in Central America at the Isthmus of Rivas at 47 m in Nicaragua. In North America, another, mainly non-mountainous divide, the Laurentian Divide, secondary divides separate the watersheds that flow into the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River from watersheds that flow to the Atlantic via the Missouri-Mississippi complex. Another secondary divide follows the Appalachian chain, which separates those streams, Triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park, Montana, is the point where two of the principal continental divides in North America converge, the Great Divide and the Northern or Laurentian Divide. From this point, waters flow to the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean via the Gulf of Mexico, most geographers, geologists, meteorologists, and oceanographers consider this point the hydrological apex of North America. This is not the place on earth where two oceanic divides meet, i. e. where waters from a single point area feed into three different oceans. This status of Triple Divide Peak is the reason behind the designation of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park as the Crown of the Continent of North America. Sources differ, however, on whether Hudson Bay is part of the Atlantic or Arctic Ocean, Hudson Bays waters flow predominantly to the Atlantic and do not directly contribute to the Arctic Ocean. Another triple divide or triple point occurs in Canada at an unimportant-looking hump on the border between Alberta and British Columbia, on the slope of Snow Dome. At 3,456 metres, the point is higher than Triple Divide Peak, the exact location of the triple point is somewhat indeterminate because the Columbia Icefield and the snow on top of it shift from year to year. The snow that falls on it doesnt really flow downhill as water, ice flowing away from that point down the Athabasca Glacier goes to the Arctic Ocean, via the Athabasca and Mackenzie Rivers. Ice flowing west goes to the Pacific Ocean via Bryce Creek, ice flowing down the Saskatchewan Glacier goes via the North Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, and Nelson Rivers into Hudson Bay
14.
Geographic Names Information System
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It is a type of gazetteer. GNIS was developed by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation with the United States Board on Geographic Names to promote the standardization of feature names, the database is part of a system that includes topographic map names and bibliographic references. The names of books and historic maps that confirm the feature or place name are cited, variant names, alternatives to official federal names for a feature, are also recorded. Each feature receives a permanent, unique feature record identifier, sometimes called the GNIS identifier, the database never removes an entry, except in cases of obvious duplication. The GNIS accepts proposals for new or changed names for U. S. geographical features, the general public can make proposals at the GNIS web site and can review the justifications and supporters of the proposals. The Bureau of the Census defines Census Designated Places as a subset of locations in the National Geographic Names Database, U. S. Postal Service Publication 28 gives standards for addressing mail. In this publication, the postal service defines two-letter state abbreviations, street identifiers such as boulevard and street, department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Division, Digital Gazeteer, Users Manual. Least Heat Moon, William, Blue Highways, A Journey Into America, standard was withdrawn in September 2008, See Federal Register Notice, Vol.73, No. 170, page 51276 Report, Principles, Policies, and Procedures, Domestic Geographic Names, U. S. Postal Service Publication 28, November 2000. Board on Geographic Names website Geographic Names Information System Proposals from the general public Meeting minutes
15.
Absaroka Range
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The Absaroka Range (/əbˈsɔərkə/ or local /əbˈsɔərki/ is a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The range borders the Beartooth Mountains to the north and the Wind River Range to the south, the northern edge of the range rests along I-90 and Livingston, Montana. The highest peak in the range is Francs Peak, located in Wyoming at 13,153 ft, there are 46 other peaks over 12,000 ft. The range is drained by the Yellowstone River and various tributaries and it is only open during the summer. U. S Route 14/16/20 follows the Shoshone River from Cody through the range to the gate of the park. The range is named after the Absaroka Indians, the name is derived from the Hidatsa name for the Crow people, it means children of the large-beaked bird. John Colter, who may have been the first white person to visit the area, early explorers also included Gustavus Cheyney Doane and Nathaniel P. Langford, who climbed the summit of Colter Peak in 1870. USS Absaroka was named after this mountain range, geologically, the section of the range in Wyoming consists of volcanic breccia, whereas there is a transition to granite and gneiss bedrock further north of the state line. Igneous rocks of the Absaroka Volcanic Province cover an area of approximately 23,000 km2 in southwestern Montana and these extrusive rocks were erupted during the Eocene Epoch of the Paleogene Period. Radiometric dating has shown that eruptive activity lasted from about 53 to 43.7 million years ago, the eroded remnants of many large stratovolcanoes are found in the area. The dissection of these long extinct volcanoes by erosion allows geologists to see structures that are impossible to see in active volcanoes. Many terms now used in volcanology originated in nineteenth century field studies of these ancient volcanoes. Mountains and mountain ranges of Yellowstone National Park List of mountain ranges in Montana List of mountain ranges in Wyoming
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Barronette Peak
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Barronette Peak el.10,354 feet is a mountain peak in the northeast section of Yellowstone National Park in the Absaroka Range. The peak is named for Collins Jack Baronette and it was named by the Hayden Geological Survey of 1878. When named, the name was misspelled Barronette and it retains the official misspelled name today, Jack Baronette was an early Yellowstone guide and entrepreneur. He built and operated the first bridge across the Yellowstone River near the confluence of the Lamar River in 1871 to service miners traveling to Cooke City, in 1870, as a resident of Helena, Montana he participated in the search for and rescue of Truman C. Everts, lost during the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition of 1870, in 1884, he was considered for the superintendency of Yellowstone. Mountains and mountain ranges of Yellowstone National Park
17.
Colter Peak
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Colter Peak el.10,640 feet is a mountain peak in the Absaroka Range in the southeastern section of Yellowstone National Park. The peak is named for mountain man John Colter, reputedly the first white man to visit the Yellowstone region, Colter Peak was first ascended in 1870 by Lt. Gustavus Cheyney Doane and Nathaniel P. Langford during the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition. Henry D. Washburn, the expedition named the peak for Langford. For unknown reasons, geologist Ferdinand V. Hayden moved those names to peaks farther north in 1871 during the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871, in 1888, Philetus Norris the second park superintendent, named the peak Mount Forum for unknown reasons. In 1885, geologist Arnold Hague gave the peak its official name, the first detailed map of Yellowstone Lake was sketched by Langford from this peak on September 7,1870. Doanes account of his and Langfords ascent into the Absaroka Range, Mountains and mountain ranges of Yellowstone National Park
18.
Druid Peak
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Druid Peak is a moderate domed peak on the southern flank of the Absaroka Range in Yellowstone National Park. The peak lies just north of the Lamar River and Soda Butte Creek confluence at the head of the Lamar Valley. Prior to 1885, this summit was named Soda Hill by members of the Hayden Geological Survey of 1878, Druid Peak is notable for its role in the reintroduction of Wolves into Yellowstone. Rose Creek which flows west from the slope of Druid Peak was the site of one of the release pens for the January 1995 release of wolves. In January 1996 a second release was made from pens on the slopes of Druid Peak and this pack became known as the Druid Pack. Mountains and mountain ranges of Yellowstone National Park
19.
Eagle Peak (Wyoming)
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Eagle Peak is a mountain in the Absaroka Range in the U. S. state of Wyoming and at 11,372 feet is the highest point in Yellowstone National Park. It is located about 6 miles east of the southeast arm of Yellowstone Lake, according to Lee Whittlesey, Eagle Peak was named in 1885 by geologist Arnold Hague for its resemblance to a spread eagle. Another source states that it was named in 1878 by Jack Newell, up until the 1930s, most park officials and geologists believed that Electric Peak near Gardiner, Montana was the parks highest peak, not Eagle Peak. It is ranked as the 218th highest peak in Wyoming and the 2252nd highest peak in the United States, during the historic Yellowstone fires of 1988, the south slopes of Eagle Peak were affected by the Mink Fire. Eagle Peak is part of the Absaroka Range and is formed of Eocene age volcaniclastic rocks, in the last ice age, the area was covered by an ice cap over 1,600 feet thick. Glacial deposits remain in some locations on the mountain, located in the Absaroka Range, on the park boundary with Shoshone National Forest in northwestern Wyoming, the mountain rises about 6 mi east of the southeast arm of Yellowstone Lake. The mountain is one of the highest points in the Washakie Wilderness area of Shoshone National Forest. Several creeks flow through the mountain and the area and they become a vehicle for cold melt water. The Gardner River flows to the east of the summit, some of the runoff is fed by the melting of the two major snowfields found in the shadows of the north face of the mountain. The range to the east drains into the Yellowstone River via the Bighorn River, Eagle Peak is one of the most prominent features of the Eagle Peak Quadrangle, a USGS division used for surveying purposes. Other nearby peaks are Mount Humphreys, Table Mountain, Mount Schurz, Pinnacle Mountain, Turret Mountain, the mountain is fairly inaccessible, being a 15-mile hike from any of the park roads. From outside the park, the peak can be ascended by hiking up the Fish Hawk Creek valley, which is around 25 kilometres one-way. It is also climbed from inside the park, by sailing to the southeasternmost tip of Yellowstone Lake, hiking down the Yellowstone River valley, flora includes sedges and rushes, and tufted hairgrass in alpine meadows. Mountains and mountain ranges of Yellowstone National Park Kelsey, Michael R. Climbers and Hikers Guide to the Worlds Mountains, meagher, Margaret Mary, Houston, Douglas B. Yellowstone and the Biology of Time, Photographs Across a Century, surficial geologic history of the Canyon Village quadrangle, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, for use with map I-652. U. S. Dept. of the Interior, Geological Survey, the Atlantic Gold District and the North Laramie Mountains, Fremont, Converse, and Albany Counties, Wyoming. Helena, MT, Montana Historical Society Press
20.
Mount Doane
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Mount Doane el.10,551 feet is a mountain peak in the Absaroka Range in Yellowstone National Park. The peak is named for Lieutenant Gustavus Cheyney Doane, a U. S. Army cavalry officer who escorted the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition into Yellowstone in 1870, during that expedition, Doane and Nathaniel P. Langford ascended several peaks east of Yellowstone Lake. Henry D. Washburn, the leader of the expedition named a peak for Doane, Doane also participated in the 1st Hayden expedition in 1871. Doanes account of his and Langfords ascent into the Absaroka Range, Mountains and mountain ranges of Yellowstone National Park
21.
Mount Langford
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Mount Langford el.10,623 feet is a mountain peak in the Absaroka Range in Yellowstone National Park. The peak is named for Nathaniel P. Langford, the first superintendent of Yellowstone, the expedition and Langfords subsequent promotion in Scribners helped in the creation of the park in 1872. On September 7,1870 the Washburn expedition was camped along the shore of Yellowstone Lake. That day Langford and Lt. Gustavus Cheyney Doane chose to ascend a nearby peak, from that peak, Langford sketched the first reasonably accurate map of Yellowstone Lake. Upon their return to camp, Henry D. Washburn named the peak they ascended and they are annotated on the map Langford sketched. Langford described the summit with these words, During the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871, Hayden, for reasons, moved the names of Mount Langford. The original Mount Langford remained unnamed until 1885 when Arnold Hague named it Colter Peak, mountains and mountain ranges of Yellowstone National Park
22.
Mount Schurz
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Mount Schurz el.11,007 feet is a mountain peak in the Absaroka Range in Yellowstone National Park. Mount Schurz is the second highest peak in Yellowstone, the mountain was originally named Mount Doane by Henry D. Washburn during the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition in 1871. Later the name Mount Doane was given to another peak in the Absaroka Range by geologist Arnold Hague, in 1885, Hague named the mountain for the 13th U. S. Secretary of the Interior, Carl Schurz. Schurz was the first Secretary of the Interior to visit Yellowstone, mountains and mountain ranges of Yellowstone National Park
23.
The Thunderer (Wyoming)
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The Thunderer el.10,495 feet is a mountain peak in the northeast section of Yellowstone National Park in the Absaroka Range. The Thunderer, named by members of the Arnold Hague Geological Survey of 1885 for it propensity to attract thunderstorms is a high ridge just north of Mount Norris. Prior to 1885, the peak was considered just a high ridge extending north from Mount Norris, the Thunderer is easily visible from the northeast entrance road as it passes up the Soda Butte Creek canyon. The north end of the ridge can be reached via the 7.4 miles Thunderer Cutoff Trail, the trailhead is located just opposite the Pebble Creek Campground on the northeast entrance road. This trail passes through Chaw Pass to connect with the Cache Creek trail which parallels the southeast face of The Thunderer ridge, mountains and mountain ranges of Yellowstone National Park
24.
Bighorn Mountains
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They are separated from the Absaroka Range, which lie on the main branch of the Rockies in western Wyoming, by the Bighorn Basin. The Bighorns were uplifted during the Laramide orogeny beginning approximately 70 million years ago, there is an unconformity where Silurian strata were exposed to erosion and are missing. Following the uplift, large volumes of sediments, rich in early Tertiary fossils, were deposited in the adjoining basins. Though many cirques, U-shaped valleys and glacial lakes can be found in the range, the only remaining active glacier is the Cloud Peak Glacier. The highest peaks within the Bighorns are located in Wyoming in the 1.12 million acre Bighorn National Forest, two peaks rise to over 13,000 feet Cloud Peak and Black Tooth Mountain. There are a dozen more that rise to over 12,000 feet, from the east the mountains present a vertical relief of over 8,000 feet, rising abruptly from the plains. Overall, the Bighorns are more rounded than their mountain ranges to the west. The Cloud Peak Wilderness is the centerpiece of a block of land around 189,000 acres in size. The Wilderness is surrounded by unprotected acreage of U. S National Forest as well as Bureau of Land Management, state, most of the Cloud Peak Wilderness is above the tree line, the unprotected lands surrounding it are lower in elevation and covered in coniferous forests. Mule deer, elk, moose, black bear, and mountain lion are found throughout the area, two more large roadless areas remained in the Bighorns as of 1992. It is unknown whether these areas have since been reduced in size by road-building, both areas straddle the Montana-Wyoming state line, in the northern part of the range. One area, north of U. S. Route 14A and this little-known region features subalpine terrain cut by steep canyons. Pronghorn inhabit the area, as it includes a portion of the Great Plains, what little human use it receives is from hunters and fishermen. The second roadless area is located mainly on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, in this part of the range, semidesert prairie is cut by steep canyons leading to Yellowtail Reservoir, and high, Douglas-fir cloaked ridges top out at over 9,000. Rocky Mountain juniper and limber pine are scattered on lower elevations, and wildlife includes pronghorn, rattlesnake, golden eagle, ferruginous hawk, the Crow Indians manage a wild bison herd on this portion of the Bighorns. The Crow lands are an area, and thus are off-limits to non-tribal members. The three highways traversing the Bighorns are designated Scenic Byways by the US Forest Service and the State of Wyoming, the range is the location of the headwaters of the Little Bighorn, Tongue, and Powder rivers. Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area consists of approximately 120,000 acres within the Bighorn Mountains and it includes Bighorn Lake, a reservoir damming the Bighorn River
25.
Black Tooth Mountain
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Black Tooth Mountain is located in the Bighorn Mountains in the U. S. state of Wyoming. The peak is the second highest in the range after Cloud Peak, which is only 1.5 miles to the south, the sharp dark profile of the mountain resembles a dark tooth or fang, hence the name. Because of the terrain, Black Tooth Mountain is one of the hardest mountains to climb in the Bighorns. Many of the trails up the mountain are unmarked which adds to the difficulty of reaching the summit, mount Woolsey is an adjacent summit only.20 mi to the southeast. Another high peak of the Bighorns known as Hallelujah Peak is situated along a ridge known as an arête.64 mi to the northeast. Several tiny remnant glaciers can be found on the slopes of Black Tooth Mountain
26.
Bomber Mountain
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Bomber Mountain is the crest of a ridge line within the Big Horn Mountains of the U. S. State of Wyoming. It borders the side of Cloud Peak, the tallest peak in the range. It is about 23 miles west of Buffalo, a military aviation accident that occurred upon the mountain in 1943 led to it being named Bomber Mountain in 1946. On 28 June 1943, a B-17F-55-DL Flying Fortress, serial number 42-3399, nicknamed Scharazad, departed Pendleton Army Air Base in Pendleton, Oregon destined for Grand Island, Nebraska. From there, the bomber would join the members of the 383d Bomb Group. Around midnight, the captain radioed that their position was near Powder River and they were not heard from again. After they failed to arrive in Grand Island, the plane was declared missing, a second search was conducted the following year, concentrating on the Wind River Mountains, Absaroka Mountains and Big Horn Mountains, but still no wreckage was spotted. On 12 August 1945, two cowboys spotted something shiny on a line in the Cloud Peak area of the Big Horn Mountains. They discovered the wreckage and the crew, and contacted authorities. It was believed that during earlier search efforts, the paint color of the aircraft blended in closely with the mountain side, after a few years, the paint wore off, and the shiny aluminum underneath made the plane more visible. After a petition by veterans groups in Wyoming, the unnamed ridge was christened Bomber Mountain on 22 August 1946 by the U. S. Forest Service. In honor of the members, a commemorative plaque was placed on the shores of Florence Lake,1.5 miles from the crash site
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Cloud Peak
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Cloud Peak is the highest peak within the Big Horn Mountains in the U. S. state of Wyoming. It rises to an elevation of 13,167 feet and provides onlookers with dramatic views, the mountain can be climbed most easily from the western side, accessed by either the Battle Park or West Tensleep trail-heads and is roughly 24 miles round-trip from both. The peak is located in the 189,000 acre Cloud Peak Wilderness within Bighorn National Forest, the northeast slope of Cloud Peak is a deep cirque which harbors Cloud Peak Glacier, the last active glacier in the Bighorn Mountains. Cloud Peak is on the border between Johnson County and Big Horn County in Wyoming and is the point of both counties. As the high point of a range, Cloud Peak has a particularly high topographic prominence of 7,067 feet. In fact, the mountain has the second greatest topographic prominence in Wyoming, only beaten by Gannett Peak
28.
Mount Woolsey
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Mount Woolsey is located in the Bighorn Mountains in the U. S. state of Wyoming. The peak is the third highest in the range after Cloud Peak, which is only 1.3 miles to the south, Black Tooth Mountain, the second highest mountain in the Bighorns, is an adjacent summit only.20 mi to the northwest. Mount Woolsey is on a ridge known as an arête and is connected to both Black Tooth Mountain and Cloud Peak by this ridge. Along the arête is another mountain peak known as The Innominate, a small glacier lies below the arête to the southeast of Mount Woolsey
