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20-578: The Bitterroot Range is a mountain range and a subrange of the Rocky Mountains that runs along the border of Montana and Idaho in the northwestern United States . The range spans an area of 24,223 square miles (62,740 km) and is named after the bitterroot ( Lewisia rediviva ), a small pink flower that is the state flower of Montana. 1805, the Corps of Discovery , led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and aided by Sacajawea of

40-613: A small mountain range northwest of Lima in Beaverhead County in the U.S. state of Montana . The mountains are a subrange of the Beaverhead Mountains , part of the Bitterroot Range . The highest point in the range is Dixon Mountain at 9,674 feet (2,949 m). The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and US Forest Service manage the range, and most of these remote mountains are roadless, with

60-758: Is at about 8,800 feet (2,680 m) in elevation in the Centennials. The site is now commemorated by a rock cairn at the source of Hellroaring Creek, which flows into Red Rock River and then into Clark canyon reservoir , where it joins the Beaverhead River and then the Big Hole River , before ultimately joining with the Jefferson River . Mountain range Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys . Individual mountains within

80-474: Is at work while the mountains are being uplifted until the mountains are reduced to low hills and plains. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example. As the uplift was occurring some 10,000 feet (3,000 m) of mostly Mesozoic sedimentary strata were removed by erosion over the core of the mountain range and spread as sand and clays across the Great Plains to

100-637: The 7,352 foot (2,241 m) Cherry Peak and the 6,837 foot (2,084 m) Patricks Knob . The Saint Joe Mountains , the smallest named portion of the Bitterroot Range, encompass an area of 698 square miles (1,808 km) . They lie between the St. Joe River on the south, the Coeur d'Alene River on the north, the Slate Creek saddle on the east and the plateau of

120-865: The Alpide belt . The Pacific Ring of Fire includes the Andes of South America, extends through the North American Cordillera , the Aleutian Range , on through Kamchatka Peninsula , Japan , Taiwan , the Philippines , Papua New Guinea , to New Zealand . The Andes is 7,000 kilometres (4,350 mi) long and is often considered the world's longest mountain system. The Alpide belt stretches 15,000 km across southern Eurasia , from Java in Maritime Southeast Asia to

140-551: The Annamite Range . If the definition of a mountain range is stretched to include underwater mountains, then the Ocean Ridge forms the longest continuous mountain system on Earth, with a length of 65,000 kilometres (40,400 mi). The position of mountain ranges influences climate, such as rain or snow. When air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools, producing orographic precipitation (rain or snow). As

160-804: The Iberian Peninsula in Western Europe , including the ranges of the Himalayas , Karakoram , Hindu Kush , Alborz , Caucasus , and the Alps . The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest , which is 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) high. Mountain ranges outside these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera , Appalachians , Great Dividing Range , East Siberians , Altais , Scandinavians , Qinling , Western Ghats , Vindhyas , Byrrangas , and

180-580: The Mithrim Montes and Doom Mons on Titan, and Tenzing Montes and Hillary Montes on Pluto. Some terrestrial planets other than Earth also exhibit rocky mountain ranges, such as Maxwell Montes on Venus taller than any on Earth and Tartarus Montes on Mars . Jupiter's moon Io has mountain ranges formed from tectonic processes including the Boösaule , Dorian, Hi'iaka and Euboea Montes . Tendoy Mountains The Tendoy Mountains are

200-742: The Moscow, Idaho / Pullman, Washington area on the Idaho/ Washington border. The Bitterroot Mountains , comprising the Northern and Central Bitterroot Ranges , are the largest portion of the Bitterroot Range and encompass an area of 4,862 square miles (12,593 km) . The mountains are bordered on the north by Lolo Creek, on the south by the Salmon River , on the east by the Bitterroot River and Valley , and on

220-543: The Shoshone tribe, crossed the Bitterroot Range several times. Lewis first crossed the mountains at Lemhi Pass on August 12, then returned across the pass to meet Clark. The entire expedition then crossed the pass to the Salmon River valley, and the next month entered the Bitterroot Valley from the south via either Lost Trail Pass or Chief Joseph Pass . It then crossed Lolo Pass to the west. In June 1806

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240-879: The West Big Hole Mountains , the Big Hole Divide , the Tendoy Mountains , the Italian Peaks , and the Garfield Peaks . The Centennial Mountains encompass an area of 2,064 square miles (5,346 km) . The Centennials are home to Brower's Spring , discovered in 1888 by Jacob V. Brower , which is believed to be the furthest point on the Missouri River . Brower published his finding in 1896 in "The Missouri: Its Utmost Source." The site of Brower's Spring

260-588: The Bitterroot Range runs from Pend Oreille Lake (near Sandpoint, Idaho ) to Monida Pass ,. It is sometimes considered to extend east of the Monida Pass to include the Centennial Mountains . The range comprises the following subranges (from north to south): The Coeur d'Alène Mountains are the northwesternmost portion of the Bitterroot Range and encompass an area of 2,590 square miles (6,700 km). The mountain range's two highest peaks are

280-575: The Corps of Discovery was then lead by 5 members of the Nez Percé back across the Bitterroot Range, from west to east. The Bitterroots also presented a massive problem for the expedition, ending their hope of finding an all water Northwest Passage. The mountains were crossed by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (the "Milwaukee Road"). According to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names ,

300-627: The air descends on the leeward side, it warms again (following the adiabatic lapse rate ) and is drier, having been stripped of much of its moisture. Often, a rain shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. As a consequence, large mountain ranges, such as the Andes, compartmentalize continents into distinct climate regions . Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to erosional forces which work to tear them down. The basins adjacent to an eroding mountain range are then filled with sediments that are buried and turned into sedimentary rock . Erosion

320-485: The east. This mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift. The removal of such a mass from the core of the range most likely caused further uplift as the region adjusted isostatically in response to the removed weight. Rivers are traditionally believed to be the principal cause of mountain range erosion, by cutting into bedrock and transporting sediment. Computer simulation has shown that as mountain belts change from tectonically active to inactive,

340-530: The largest contiguous area about 68,000 acres in size. The northern part of the range features rugged Bell and Limekiln Canyons, which contain 700' high cliff faces, ledges, talus, caves and rock walls. A free-standing rock wall, Wedding Ring Rock, is of special geological interest. Indian pictographs are found in some caves. Excellent mule deer habitat is provided by the range's typical habitats of grassland, sagebrush , and ridges forested with lodgepole pine and Douglas-fir . The arid southern portion of

360-627: The rate of erosion drops because there are fewer abrasive particles in the water and fewer landslides. Mountains on other planets and natural satellites of the Solar System, including the Moon , are often isolated and formed mainly by processes such as impacts, though there are examples of mountain ranges (or "Montes") somewhat similar to those on Earth. Saturn 's moon Titan and Pluto , in particular, exhibit large mountain ranges in chains composed mainly of ices rather than rock. Examples include

380-531: The same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology . They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes , for example thrust sheets , uplifted blocks , fold mountains, and volcanic landforms resulting in a variety of rock types . Most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earth's land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or

400-778: The west by the Selway and Lochsa Rivers. Its highest summit is Trapper Peak , at 10,157 feet (3,096 m) . The Beaverhead Mountains encompass an area of 4,532 square miles (11,738 km) . They lie to the east of the Bitterroot Mountains and lie to the west of the Big Hole Basin and the Pioneer Mountains . Passes in the mountains include Lemhi Pass , Bannock Pass , Big Hole Pass , Big Hole Pass II, Junction Pass and Monida Pass . The Beaverheads are further subdivided into

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