Mount Holmes
Morning light on Trilobite Point and Mt. Holmes
Highest point
Elevation10,336 ft (3,150 m) NAVD 88[1]
Coordinates44°49′08″N 110°51′21″W / 44.81889°N 110.85583°W / 44.81889; -110.85583 (Mount Holmes)[2]
Geography
LocationYellowstone National Park, Park County, Wyoming, U.S.
Parent rangeGallatin Range
Topo mapMount Holmes
Climbing
Easiest routeHike

Mount Holmes is a prominent mountain peak in Yellowstone National Park. It is the tallest mountain in the Wyoming portion of the Gallatin Range. Mount Holmes is located in the northwestern part of the park and marks the southern terminus of the Gallatin Range. It is the source of Indian Creek, a tributary of the Gardner River.

There was a historic fire watch tower near the top of Mount Holmes, before it was burned due to a lightning strike.[3] The Bannock Trail crosses the mountains close to Mount Holmes.

History

An 1860 map by Captain William F. Raynolds showed this peak as Mount Gallatin. Prior to 1878, the peak was routinely referred to as Mount Madison because of its proximity to the Madison River. In 1878 Henry Gannett and geologist William H. Holmes, members of the third Hayden Geologic Survey, ascended the peak. Gannett named the peak Mount Holmes.[4]

The summit of Mount Holmes can be reached via the 10.8 miles (17.4 km) Mount Holmes-Winter Creek trail. The trailhead is located near Apollonaris Spring on the Mammoth-Norris section of the Grand Loop Road.[5]

Images of Mount Holmes
  • Mount Holmes' namesake, William H. Holmes
    Mount Holmes' namesake, William H. Holmes
  • Mount Holmes as seen from Winter Creek, 1890
    Mount Holmes as seen from Winter Creek, 1890
  • Mount Holmes and other peaks, 1963
    Mount Holmes and other peaks, 1963
  • Looking east from summit of Mount Holmes, 1965
    Looking east from summit of Mount Holmes, 1965
  • 2009
    2009
  • Mount Holmes (center) from Madison River, October 2010
    Mount Holmes (center) from Madison River, October 2010

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Mount Holmes, Wyoming". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
  2. ^ "Mount Holmes". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  3. ^ "Historic Mount Holmes Fire Lookout in Yellowstone Park burns down after lightning strike". KTVQ.com. 2019-07-17. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  4. ^ Whittlesey, Lee (1988). Yellowstone Place Names. Helena, MT: Montana Historical Society Press. p. 105. ISBN 0-917298-15-2.
  5. ^ Schneider, Bill (2003). Hiking Yellowstone National Park. Guilford, CT: Falcon Press. pp. 129–131. ISBN 0-7627-2539-7.
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