Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
wrote that “the summit, with the northern and western slopes, forms a curved surface,
roughly resembling a segment of a sphere.”
Unnamed nearby hills west of Swan Lake.
Electric Peak,
near the park's northern boundary, about 4 miles (6.5 km) away. At 10,969 feet
(3,343 m), it usually has snow—when it doesn't, a reddish area below its highest point is
revealed.
Sepulcher Mountain
(9,652 ft / 2,942 m) northwest of Mammoth, with a rounded top.
Terrace Mountain
to the north of Swan Lake Flat, lower than the others (8,011 ft / 2,442 m)
and topped by a travertine cliff.
Bunsen Peak
(8,564 ft / 2,610 m) at the far right rear as you face the lake (northeast).
Return from here or continue on the Howard Eaton Trail, following the path steeply down
another 2 miles (3 km) to reach Mammoth through burned Douglas fir forest. According to
ranger-interpreter Orville Bach Jr.'s hiking book
Exploring the Yellowstone Backcountry,
on this
trail you'll find the greatest diversity of plant life of any short trail in the park. Bach also men-
tions the likelihood of black bears feeding on buffaloberries here in late summer.
5.7/15.3
A short loop road (easy to spot by its lone tree) goes toward
Swan Lake
for a good
place to stop and view the mountains of the southern Gallatin Range. Swan Lake is extremely
shallow and has no fish. Over the years, it has sometimes been a nesting place for trumpeter
and whistling swans and for ducks.
Geoscientists tell us that ice was almost a half mile (0.8 km) thick here during the last gla-
ciation. At Swan Lake Flat, the ice would have piled up to over 9,500 feet (2,900 m) above sea
level, completely covering some of the mountains in this area, including Bunsen Peak. Some
rock surfaces, even near the mountaintops, have small parallel grooves or glacial striations
gouged out by small rocks trapped in the ice.
Swan Lake is located in a unique spot, a long narrow depression that geologists call a
trough. From here, you can see mountains for almost 360 degrees around you.
8.0/13.0
Side road to the northeast for Sheepeater Cliffs picnic area. To the
left of the picnic area as you face the columnar basalt rocks is a natural amphitheater.
Cliffs like those above the picnic tables here extend north downstream along the Gardner
River through Sheepeater Canyon. You can reach a trail into the canyon from the Osprey Falls
branch of the Bunsen Peak Trail, which begins at mile 4.8/16.2. Fishermen have made another
trail along the Gardner.
Superintendent Norris first applied the name
Sheepeater Cliffs
to the expanse of basalt
cliffs farther down this canyon in 1879. The small Sheepeater tribe, related to the Shoshonis,