The Bitterroot Range is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

and a subrange of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

that runs along the border of

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 ...

and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

in the northwestern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The range spans an area of and is named after the

bitterroot Bitterroot (''Lewisia rediviva'') is a small perennial herb in the family Montiaceae. Its specific epithet ("revived, reborn") refers to its ability to regenerate from dry and seemingly dead roots. The genus ''Lewisia'' was moved in 2009 fro ...

(''Lewisia rediviva''), a small pink flower that is the state flower of Montana.

History

In 1805, the

Corps of Discovery The Corps of Discovery was a specially established unit of the United States Army which formed the nucleus of the Lewis and Clark Expedition that took place between May 1804 and September 1806. The Corps was led jointly by Captain Meriwether Lewis ...

, led by

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...

and

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...

and aided by Sacajawea of the

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easter ...

Native American tribe, crossed the Bitterroot Range several times. Lewis first crossed the mountains at

Lemhi Pass Lemhi Pass is a high mountain pass in the Beaverhead Mountains, part of the Bitterroot Range in the Rocky Mountains and within Salmon-Challis National Forest. The pass lies on the Montana-Idaho border on the continental divide, at an elevation ...

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 The Bitterroot Valley is located in southwestern Montana, along the Bitterroot River between the Bitterroot Range and Sapphire Mountains, in the Northwestern United States. Geography The valley extends approximately from Lost Trail Pass in Id ...

from the south via either

Lost Trail Pass Lost Trail Pass is a mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of the northwestern United States, on the border of Idaho and Montana in the Bitterroot Mountains. The pass is at an elevation of above sea level and is traversed by U.S. Highway 93. The ...

Chief Joseph Pass Chief Joseph Pass ( elev. ) is a mountain pass on the continental divide of the Rocky Mountains in the northwestern United States joining Lemhi County, Idaho, and Beaverhead County, Montana. The pass is in the Bitterroot Mountains and is trav ...

. It then crossed Lolo Pass to the west. The mountains were crossed by the

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experience ...

(the "Milwaukee Road").

Ranges

According to the

U.S. Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal govern ...

, the Bitterroot Range runs from Pend Oreille Lake (near

Sandpoint, Idaho Sandpoint (Kutenai language: kamanqukuⱡ) is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Bonner County, Idaho, Bonner County, Idaho. Its population was 8,639 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Sandpoint's major economic contributor ...

) to

Monida Pass Monida Pass is a high mountain pass in the northern Rocky Mountains of the western United States, at an elevation of above sea level on Interstate 15, and on the Union Pacific Railroad. On the Continental Divide in the Bitterroot Range, it ...

,. It is sometimes considered to extend east of the Monida Pass to include the

Centennial Mountains The Centennial Mountains are the southernmost sub-range of the Bitterroot Range in the U.S. states of Idaho and Montana. The Centennial Mountains include the Western and Eastern Centennial Mountains. The range extends east from Monida Pass along ...

. The range comprises the following subranges (from north to south):

Coeur d'Alène Mountains

The Coeur d'Alène Mountains are the northwesternmost portion of the Bitterroot Range and encompass an area of . The mountain range's two highest peaks are the 7,352 foot (2,241 m)

Cherry Peak A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

and the 6,837 foot (2,084 m) Patricks Knob.

Saint Joe Mountains

The Saint Joe Mountains, the smallest named portion of the Bitterroot Range, encompass an area of 698 square miles (1,808 km²). They lie between the St. Joe River on the south, the

Coeur d'Alene River The Coeur d'Alene River flows from the Silver Valley into Lake Coeur d'Alene in the U.S. state of Idaho. The stream continues out of Lake Coeur d'Alene as the Spokane River. Before the Bunker Hill Smelter in the Kellogg area, which mined lead a ...

on the north, the Slate Creek saddle on the east and the plateau of the

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city in North Central Idaho, United States. Located along the state border with Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 census. The county seat and largest city of Latah County, Moscow is the home of the Universit ...

Pullman, Washington Pullman () is the largest city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 29,799 at the 2010 census, and estimated to be 34,506 in 2019. Originally founded as Thr ...

area on the Idaho/

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

border.

Bitterroot Mountains

The Bitterroot Mountains, comprising the Northern and

Central Bitterroot Range The Northern and Central Bitterroot Range, collectively the Bitterroot Mountains ( Salish: čkʷlkʷqin), is the largest portion of the Bitterroot Range, part of the Rocky Mountains and Idaho Batholith, located in the panhandle of Idaho and we ...

s, are the largest portion of the Bitterroot Range and encompass an area of 4,862 square miles (12,593 km²). 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 the west by the Selway and Lochsa Rivers. Its highest summit is Trapper Peak, at 10,157 feet (3,096 m).

Beaverhead Mountains

The Beaverhead Mountains encompass an area of 4,532 square miles (11,738 km²). They lie to the east of the Bitterroot Mountains and lie to the west of the

Big Hole Basin Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * '' Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...

and the Pioneer Mountains. Passes in the mountains include

Bannock Pass Bannock Pass is a high mountain pass in the Beaverhead Mountains, part of the Bitterroot Range in the Rocky Mountains. The pass lies on the Montana-Idaho border on the Continental Divide, at an elevation of above sea level. The pass is crosse ...

Big Hole Pass Big Hole Pass (elevation: ) is a high mountain pass in the northern Rocky Mountains of the Western United States, western United States. It is on the Montana–Idaho border, approximately due south of List of state highways in Montana, Monta ...

, Big Hole Pass II, Junction Pass and

. The Beaverheads are further subdivided into the West Big Hole Mountains, the

Big Hole Divide Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * Big (film), ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television sh ...

, the

Tendoy Mountains The Tendoy Mountains are 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 M ...

, the

Italian Peaks Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, and the Garfield Peaks.

Centennial Mountains

The Centennial Mountains encompass an area of 2,064 square miles (5,346 km²). The Centennials are home to

Brower's Spring Brower's Spring is a spring in the Centennial Mountains of Beaverhead County, Montana that was marked by a surveyor in 1888 as the ultimate headwaters of the Missouri River and thus the fourth longest river in the world, the Mississippi-Missour ...

, 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 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 The Beaverhead River is an approximately tributary of the Jefferson River in southwest Montana (east of the Continental Divide). It drains an area of roughly . The river's original headwaters, formed by the confluence of the Red Rock River and ...

and then the

Big Hole River The Big Hole River is a tributary of the Jefferson River, approximately long, in Beaverhead County, in southwestern Montana, United States. It is the last habitat in the contiguous United States for native fluvial Arctic grayling and is a h ...

, before ultimately joining with the

Jefferson River The Jefferson River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of Montana. The Jefferson River and the Madison River form the official beginning of the Missouri at Missouri Headwaters State Park near Three F ...

Early history

The Bitterroot Mountains presented an unexpected, formidable obstacle to

Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

during their expedition westward, and ended their expectation of finding a "Northwest Passage" giving an easy connection from the Atlantic watershed to that of the Pacific.

In popular culture

* The Bitterroot Range is featured in the 2004

alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...

novel, ''

Dies the Fire ''Dies the Fire'' is a 2004 alternate history and post-apocalyptic novel written by S. M. Stirling. It is the first installment of the ''Emberverse'' series and is a spin-off from S. M. Stirling's ''Nantucket'' series in which the Massachusetts ...

'', by S.M. Stirling.

References

External links

Perspective aerial image of the Bitterroot Range and the Bitterroot Valley
{{Authority control Ranges of the Rocky Mountains Mountain ranges of Idaho Mountain ranges of Montana Landforms of Mineral County, Montana