AN INTRODUCTION
The Beartooth Highway is an expansive 68 miles, stretching across the Montana-Wyoming border. Opened to automobile traffic in 1937, this scenic highway has provided countless travelers with an accessible way to experience astonishing sections of the Gallatin, Custer, and Shoshone National Forests (beartoothhighway.com 2004). This guide will provide you with insight and perspective on three of the amazing features you will encounter as you traverse route 212. |
Driving along the Beartooth Highway and experiencing all it has to offer is comparable to winning the geology jackpot. You get the best of the Beartooth Mountain Range and the Absaroka Mountain Range, both of which have completely different geologic histories. Much of the grandeur of the Beartooth Mountains is due to more recent geologic events such as tectonic uplift, and even more recently, episodes of glaciation. The rocks that make up these mountains, however, tell a much older and more expansive story. The Absaroka Mountain Range tells a different story entirely--it's an explosive one, with chapters including volcanism and violent eruptions. These histories are revealed and explained to greater detail at each one of the featured sites below, which are all highly recommended destinations.
Stop One
Explore the geology of Montana's highest point and learn the main constituents of the Beartooth Mountains at Granite Peak.
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Stop TwoLearn about the oldest supracrustal rocks this country has to offer at our second stop, Quad Creek
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Stop ThreeA textbook horn, find out what makes Pilot Peak stand out amongst the array of beautiful, jagged peaks along the highway.
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