NORTHEASTERN SECTION - Yellowstone Treasures - page 254

From northeast to south (left to right):
Beartooth Mountains in the far distance—outside the park.
Cutoff Mountain (10,695 ft / 3,260 m), part of the Absaroka Range. It has an abrupt cliff at
its west end but was named because the summit was “cut off from the park outside the
boundary. Higher and snowier mountains of the Beartooths can be seen beyond it.
Specimen Ridge is the long, irregular, grassy ridge that extends from northwest to southeast
in the middle distance. Amethyst Mountain (9,614 ft / 2,930 m) is the ridge's highest point
and the center of this panorama.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, extending north-south, is visible in the middle distance.
Due east of here you can see where Deep Creek's canyon joins the Yellowstone's at an ob-
lique angle.
Mirror Plateau lies beyond the Yellowstone River. A vast area with no maintained trails, it
stretches to the headwaters of the Lamar River and to the high Absaroka Range in the
far distance. Several hot spring groups emit steam in the area, including Coffee Pot Hot
Springs.
Mt. Washburn (10,245 ft / 3,122 m) is nearby to the south. It is the high peak with the square
fire tower.
What's in a name? Beartooths, Beartooth Mountains, Beartooth Plateau, Beartooth
Range—all are names applied to a continuous block of mountains and plateaus composed
of ancient granite and gneiss north and northeast of the park. The Absaroka Range refers to
mountains composed of younger volcanic materials south of the Beartooths and extending
along the eastern part of the park. The map on page 159 shows the extent of these mountains.
If you look closely at the rocks in this area, you'll see that they contain innumerable angu-
lar rock pieces cemented together. This is volcanic breccia, evidence of the explosive volcan-
ism of Mount Washburn [GEO.4] some 45 million years ago.
8.4/9.9 Chittenden Road leads 1.3 miles (2 km) up the northern slope of Mount Washburn
to a view of the summit and access to the Mount Washburn Trail. (A part of this trail is de-
scribed from the opposite end at mile 13.3/5.0). Gen. Henry D. Washburn (picture, page 320 )
was the Civil War Union veteran and surveyor-general of Montana who led the 1870 expedi-
tion of the park area and was the first of his party to climb this mountain.
Restrooms are found both at the parking area and at the fire tower, where there's a
public telephone. This is one of the three fire lookouts still in use.
You can hike or bike to the top of Mount Washburn (about 3 mi / 5 km) from the
parking area, but take drinking water and be prepared for sudden drastic changes of weather,