Breccia Peak is a mountain in the southern

Absaroka Range The Absaroka Range ( or ) is a sub- range of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The range stretches about across the Montana–Wyoming border, and at its widest, forming the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park along Paradise V ...

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 ...

. It is located in Teton County in the U.S. state of

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

, close to the southwest border of the

Teton Wilderness Teton Wilderness is located in Wyoming, United States. Created in 1964, the Teton Wilderness is located within Bridger-Teton National Forest and consists of 585,238 acres (2,370 km2). The wilderness is bordered on the north by Yellowstone Nat ...

within the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

Geography

Breccia Peak is located about north of

Togwotee Pass Togwotee Pass (pronounced TOH-guh-tee) is a high mountain pass in the western United States, at an elevation of above sea level. On the Continental Divide in the Absaroka Mountains of northwestern Wyoming in Teton County, it is betwee ...

, part of the Great Continental Divide which connects

Jackson Hole Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson's Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre and Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County, one of the richest counties in the Unit ...

from the west to the Wind River valley in the east. The plateau-like summit contains the steep and rocky Breccia Cliffs on its west and north faces, while a mainly grassy face exists to the east and south. Breccia Peak is the most prominent mountain in the immediate area, topping Buffalo Fork Peak to its north by about 200 feet (61 m). Higher peaks can be found along the

Teton Range The Teton Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. It extends for approximately in a north–south direction through the U.S. state of Wyoming, east of the Idaho state line. It is south of Yellowstone National Park and ...

, located more than 30 miles (48 km) to the west. About southwest of Breccia Peak lies Lost Lake, located at an elevation of about . This is a small but very scenic lake where the Breccia Cliffs reflect off the water during certain times of day.

Geology

Breccia Peak is made of volcanic Absaroka

breccia Breccia () is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or rocks cemented together by a fine-grained matrix. The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means "rubble". A breccia may have a variety of ...

, a form of rock composed of broken fragments of minerals cemented together, and from which the mountain takes its name. The rocks in the section of the summit belonging to the Wiggins Formation originated in the

Upper Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "da ...

epoch. The saddle between Breccia Peak and Angle Mountain contains an elongate irregular intrusive body of glassy flow-banded

rhyodacite Rhyodacite is a volcanic rock intermediate in composition between dacite and rhyolite. It is the extrusive equivalent of those plutonic rocks that are intermediate in composition between monzogranite and granodiorite. Rhyodacites form from rap ...

porphyry showing minor wall-rock alteration.

Climbing

Breccia Peak is a popular and accessible summit for hikers and climbers in the Yellowstone Region, as it is typically reachable within two hours from the trailhead near U.S. Highway 26/ U.S. Highway 287, approximately north of

. Visitors will encounter a challenging but minimally dangerous path ( YDS Class 2, Swiss Alpine Club hiking grade T3). A well-established but unofficial trail leads from the trailhead to the treeline, and early on there is a fork that leads to Breccia Peak (left) or Sublette Peak (right). At an elevation of , climbers will find a vast meadow southeast of Breccia Peak where they can see the southeast face of the mountain entirely. To climb, the easiest route involves traversing the southeast face to reach the east ridge, avoiding a steep rocky cliff in the middle. From there, climbers can follow the east ridge to the summit. An alternative is to traverse the southwest face to the south ridge of Breccia Peak, and then follow this ridge to the summit. The southeast face of the mountain above the treeline is particularly suitable for

backcountry skiing Backcountry skiing ( US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine skiing, which i ...

. The runs are short but quite varied. File:BrecciaPeakWY07.jpg, Breccia Peak from the pullout 0.6 miles north of Togwotee Pass, in the front the start of the track. File:BrecciaPeakWY01.jpg, Breccia Peak from southeast while ascending on normal route. The steep cliff in the middle can be passed on the left or on the right. File:BrecciaPeakWY02.jpg, Northern cliffs of Breccia Peak. File:BrecciaPeakWY03.jpg, First col between Breccia Peak (left) and Buffalo Fork Peak,

Mount Moran Mount Moran () is a mountain in Grand Teton National Park of western Wyoming, USA. The mountain is named for Thomas Moran, an American western frontier landscape artist. Mount Moran dominates the northern section of the Teton Range rising above ...

in background. File:BrecciaPeakWY04.jpg, View from Breccia Peak to west, to

, ''Lost Lake'' in the foreground. File:BrecciaPeakWY06.jpg, Survey marker at the summit of Breccia Peak.

References

External links

{{Mountains of Wyoming Mountains of Teton County, Wyoming Mountains of Wyoming Bridger–Teton National Forest