Crown Butte is a 10,225-foot (3,117-metre) summit in Park County, Montana, United States.

Crown Butte
North aspect, 2009 avalanche search
Highest point
Elevation10,225 ft (3,117 m)[1]
Prominence492 ft (150 m)[1]
Parent peakMiller Mountain[2]
Isolation0.77 mi (1.24 km)[2]
Coordinates45°03′11″N 109°57′39″W / 45.0530700°N 109.9609591°W / 45.0530700; -109.9609591[3]
Geography
Crown Butte is located in Montana
Crown Butte
Crown Butte
Location in Montana
Crown Butte is located in the United States
Crown Butte
Crown Butte
Crown Butte (the United States)
CountryUnited States
StateMontana
CountyPark
Parent rangeBeartooth Mountains
Rocky Mountains
Topo mapUSGS Cooke City
Geology
Age of rockEocene[4]
Type of rockAndesite[4]

Description

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Crown Butte is located 2.7 miles (4.3 km) north-northwest of Cooke City, Montana, in the Beartooth Mountains which are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains.[1] It is set within the New World Mining District and the Custer-Gallatin National Forest.[2] Precipitation runoff from the mountain's west slope drains into headwaters of the Stillwater River, whereas the east slope drains into Miller Creek → Soda Butte CreekLamar River. Topographic relief is modest as the summit rises 1,225 feet (373 meters) above Miller Creek in one mile (1.6 km). The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names.[3] The area around Crown Butte from Cooke City to Scotch Bonnet Mountain offers some of the finest backcountry snowmobiling in the country.[5] On January 17, 2009, a snowmobiler riding on Crown Butte triggered an avalanche resulting in one fatality.[6] On December 31, 2022, one snowmobiler was killed in a very large avalanche on Crown Butte.[7]

 
Crown Butte in summer

Climate

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Based on the Köppen climate classification, Crown Butte is located in a subarctic climate zone characterized by long, usually very cold winters, and mild summers.[8] Winter temperatures can drop below 0 °F with wind chill factors below −10 °F.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Crown Butte, Montana". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  2. ^ a b c "Crown Butte - 10,220' MT". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  3. ^ a b "Crown Butte". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  4. ^ a b The Life Cycle of Gold Deposits Near the Northeast Corner of Yellowstone National Park—Geology, Mining History, and Fate, Bradley S. Van Gosen, 2007, U.S. Geological Survey, p. 433.
  5. ^ Cooke City Winter Trail Map, 2013, US Forest Service, fs.usda.gov
  6. ^ 2008–2009 Annual Report, Doug Chabot, Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, p. 14, Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  7. ^ Snowmobiler avalanche fatality on Crown Butte, Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  8. ^ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11 (5): 1633–1644. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007. ISSN 1027-5606. S2CID 9654551.
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