Big Horn Mountains
Range
Cloud Peak (left) and Bomber Mountain (right) as seen from Lake Helen
Country	United States
States	Montana, Wyoming
Part of	Rocky Mountains
Borders on	Absaroka Range
Highest point	Cloud Peak
- elevation	13,167 ft (4,013 m)
- coordinates	44°23′N 107°10′W / 44.383, -107.167
The Bighorn Mountains are shown highlighted in red in the western United States

The Big Horn Mountains are a mountain range in northern Wyoming and southern Montana in the United States, forming a northwest-trending spur from the Rocky Mountains extending approximately 200 miles (320 km) northward on the Great Plains. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Montana ( is a state in the Western United States. One-third of the state in the western part contains numerous mountain ranges (approximately 77 named of the northern The State of Wyoming ( is a sparsely populated state in the western region of the United States. Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a Mountain range in western North America. The Absaroka Range is a Mountain range, which is a sub-range on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains stretching for about 150 mi (240 km across the Montana Cloud Peak is the highest peak within the Big Horn Mountains in the U A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A mountain range is a chain of Mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys The State of Wyoming ( is a sparsely populated state in the western region of the United States. Montana ( is a state in the Western United States. One-third of the state in the western part contains numerous mountain ranges (approximately 77 named of the northern The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a Mountain range in western North America. The Great Plains are the broad expanse of Prairie and Steppe which lie east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada They are separated from the Absaroka Range, which lie on the main branch of the Rockies in western Wyoming, by the Bighorn Basin. The Absaroka Range is a Mountain range, which is a sub-range on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains stretching for about 150 mi (240 km across the Montana The Bighorn Basin is a Plateau region and Intermontane basin approximately 100 miles (160 km wide in north-central Wyoming in the United States

The Bighorn Mountains were uplifted during the Laramide orogeny beginning approximately 70 million years ago. The Laramide orogeny was a period of Mountain building in western North America, which started in the Late Cretaceous, 70 to 80 million years ago and ended The Bighorn Mountains consist of over 9,000 feet of sedimentary rock strata laid down before mountain-building began: the predominantly marine and near-shore sedimentary layers range from the Cambrian through the Lower Cretaceous, and are often rich in fossils. The Cambrian is a geologic period and system that began about Ma (million years ago at the end of the Proterozoic eon and ended about Ma with The Early Cretaceous ( timestratigraphic name or the Lower Cretaceous ( logstratigraphic name is the earlier of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. There is an unconformity where Silurian strata were exposed to erosion and are missing. An unconformity is a buried Erosion surface separating two rock masses or strata of different ages indicating that Sediment deposition was not The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician period about 443 Erosion is the carrying away or displacement of solids ( Sediment, Soil, rock and other particles usually by the agents of currents such as wind Following the uplift, large volumes of sediments, rich in early Tertiary paleontological resources, were deposited in the adjoining basins. The chuprichondira geological time interval covers roughly the time span between the demise of the non- avian Dinosaurs and beginning of the most recent Ice Age, approximately Though many cirques, U-shaped valleys and glacial lakes can be found in the mountain range, the only remaining active glacier is the Cloud Peak Glacier, which is on the east slope of Cloud Peak. A cirque ( French for " Circus " is an Amphitheatre -like Valley, or valley head formed at the head of a Glacier by In Geology, a valley (also called a vale, dale, glen or strath and near or in Appalachia, a draw) is A glacial lake is a Lake with origins in a melted Glacier. Glacial lakes can be green as a result of pulverized minerals ( Rock flour) that support "Glacial" and "Glaciation" redirect here For the geological periods see Glacial period. Cloud Peak Glacier is located in the Bighorn Mountains in the northcentral section of the U Cloud Peak is the highest peak within the Big Horn Mountains in the U

The highest peaks within the Big Horns are located in Wyoming in the 1. 1 million acre (4,500 km²) Bighorn National Forest. Bighorn National Forest is located in northern Wyoming, United States and consists of over 1 Two peaks rise to over 13,000 feet (3,960 m) Cloud Peak (13,167 ft, 4013 m) and Black Tooth Mountain (13,005 ft, 3964 m). Black Tooth Mountain (13005 ft / 3964 m is located in the Bighorn Mountains in the U There are a dozen more that rise to over 12,000 feet (3,650 m). From the east the mountains present a vertical relief of over 8,000 feet (2,450 m), rising abrutly from the plains. Overall, the Big Horns are more rounded than their sister mountain ranges to the west.

The range is the location of the headwaters of the Little Bighorn, Tongue, and Powder rivers. The Little Bighorn River is a tributary of the Bighorn River in the United States in the states of Wyoming and Montana. The Tongue River is a Tributary of the Yellowstone, approximately 265 mi (426 km long in the U The Powder River is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, approximately long in the southeastern Montana and northeastern Wyoming in the United

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area consists of approximately 120,000 acres within the Bighorn Mountains. Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, following the construction of the Yellowtail Dam by the It includes Bighorn Lake, a reservoir damming the Bighorn River. Bighorn Lake is a Reservoir in the United States located in Southern Montana and Northern Wyoming in the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation The Bighorn River is a Tributary of the Yellowstone, approximately 461 mi (742 km long in the western United States in the states of Wyoming

The Big Horn Mountains are home to one of the elite ultramarathons in the nation. An ultramarathon (also called ultra distance) is any sporting event involving Running longer than the traditional Marathon length of 42 The Big Horn Trail Run is held every June. The Big Horn Trail run is a race held each June in the US state of Wyoming 's Big Horn Mountains.

The Big Horns are a popular destination for hiking, backpacking, fly fishing and horse back riding. Trails wind through most of the national forest. The Cloud Peak Wilderness has a network of hiking trails to remote areas and alpine lakes. The Cloud Peak Wilderness is located in north central Wyoming in the United States. Higher trails are often covered with snow except from July through August. After Labor Day, there is a good chance of high country snow storms at any time.

The three highways traversing the Big Horn Mountains are so scenic and unique that they are designated Scenic Byways by the US Forest Service and the State of Wyoming. ^[1] These include U.S. Route 14, 14A, and 16. US Route 14 ( US 14) an east-west route is one of the original United States highways of 1926

Scenic Byways through the Bighorns.

External links

• Paleontological resources at Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area

References