Angel Wing is a elevation mountain summit located in the

Lewis Range The Lewis Range is a mountain range located in the Rocky Mountains of northern Montana, United States and extreme southern Alberta, Canada. It was formed as a result of the Lewis Overthrust, a geologic thrust fault resulted in the overlying of y ...

, of Glacier National Park in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. It is situated one mile east of the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

, in Glacier County. It can be seen from the

Many Glacier Many Glacier is an area within Glacier National Park which is located in the U.S. state of Montana. The Many Glacier region is located north of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, on the east side of the park. Lake Sherburne is the large lake in the area ...

area, and up close from the

Grinnell Glacier Grinnell Glacier is in the heart of Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. The glacier is named for George Bird Grinnell, an early American conservationist and explorer, who was also a strong advocate of ensuring the creation of Glac ...

Trail.

Topographic relief Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin word ...

is significant as the north aspect rises nearly above

Grinnell Lake Grinnell Lake is located in Glacier National Park, in the U. S. state of Montana. Named after George Bird Grinnell, the lake has an opaque turquoise appearance from the rock flour (silt) which is transported to the lake from Grinnell Glacier. Gri ...

in one-half mile.

Climate

Based on the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, Angel Wing is located in an alpine

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

zone with long, cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers. Temperatures can drop below −10 °F with wind chill factors below −30 °F. Precipitation

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

from the peak drains into Grinnell and Cataract Creeks, which are part of the St. Mary River drainage basin.

Geology

Like other mountains in Glacier National Park, Angel Wing is composed of

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

laid down during the

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

periods. Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was initially uplifted beginning 170 million years ago when the

Lewis Overthrust The Lewis Overthrust is a geologic thrust fault structure of the Rocky Mountains found within the bordering national parks of Glacier in Montana, United States and Waterton Lakes in Alberta, Canada. The structure was created due to the collision of ...

fault pushed an enormous slab of

precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

rocks thick, wide and long over younger rock of the

cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

period. The summit is composed of

Empire Formation The Empire Formation is a geologic formation in Oregon. It preserves fossils dating back to the Neogene period. See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Oregon * Paleontology in Oregon The location of the state of Oregon Pale ...

of the

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

period, and it overlays the Grinnell Formation which is a layer of sandstone and argillite.Rockwell, David B, ''Exploring Glacier National Park'', 2002, Falcon, , pages 10, 19.

Gallery

File:Angel Wing and Mt. Gould reflection.jpg, Angel Wing (centered) reflected in Lake Josephine with Mt. Gould (behind, left) File:Angel Wing and Allen Mountain.jpg, Angel Wing (centered) with Allen Mountain beyond File:Angel Wing mountain.jpg, West aspect File:Upper Grinnell Lake, Angel Wing.jpg, Angel Wing centered, with Upper Grinnell Lake File:Angel Wing north aspect.jpg, North aspect, with Grinnell Lake File:Grinnell Lake, Angel Wing, Mt. Gould.jpg, North aspect with Mt. Gould behind File:Angel Wing from Grinnell Lake.jpg, Angel Wing from Grinnell Lake File:Grinnell Lake, Angel Wing.jpg, Grinnell Lake and Angel Wing File:Angel Wing, Grinnell Falls, Mt. Gould.jpg, Angel Wing (centered), Grinnell Falls, Mt. Gould File:Gould, Angel Wing, Grinnell.jpg, Mt. Gould, Angel Wing, Mt. Grinnell File:Angel Wing and Mt Gould (Glacier National Park).jpg File:Montana - Glacier National Park - NARA - 23942001.jpg, Aerial view, circa 1925

References

External links

* Weather forecast
Angel Wing
* Summit view
YouTube
{{Geographic Location , Center = Angel Wing , North =

, Northeast = Lake Josephine , East = Allen Mountain , Southeast =

Mount Siyeh Mount Siyeh, with a height of , is the fifth tallest and one of six peaks over in Glacier National Park, Montana, United States. Mount Siyeh was named after a Blackfeet Indian, Sai-yeh, whose name means "Crazy Dog" or "Mad Wolf." Mount Siyeh s ...

, South = Mount Gould , Southwest =

, West =

Garden Wall The Garden Wall is a steep alpine area within Glacier National Park well known during the summer months to be heavily covered in dozens of species of flowering plants and shrubs. Located along the west side of the Continental divide and extending ...

, Northwest =

Mount Grinnell Mount Grinnell is a peak located in the heart of Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Lying just east of the Continental Divide in the Many Glacier region of the park, the peak is flanked to the northwest by Swiftcurrent Glacier ...

Lewis Range Mountains of Glacier County, Montana Mountains of Glacier National Park (U.S.) Mountains of Montana North American 2000 m summits