The Castle Mountains, highest point Elk Peak, el. , are an

island range An island range is a mountain range that exists in total or almost total isolation from a larger chain of ranges and sub-ranges. From a distance on the plains, these ranges appear as "islands" of higher ground. They are often described as islands of ...

east of White Sulphur Springs in

Meagher County, Montana Meagher County (pronounced Marr) is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,927. Its county seat is White Sulphur Springs. According to the United States Census Bureau, the 2010 center of pop ...

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 ...

. About 30,000 acres of the Castles were roadless as of 1995. The western portion of the Castles are moist, while the eastside is dry, porous limestone hills. The range gets its name from "castle turrets", 50-foot high igneous

rock spire A pinnacle, tower, spire, needle or natural tower (german: Felsnadel, ''Felsturm'' or ''Felszinne'') in geology is an individual column of rock, isolated from other rocks or groups of rocks, in the shape of a vertical shaft or spire. Examples are ...

s on the western slopes. The range was the focus of

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

activity in the previous century; crumbling remains of old miners' cabins and

digging Digging, also referred to as excavation, is the process of using some implement such as claws, hands, manual tools or heavy equipment, to remove material from a solid surface, usually soil, sand or rock on the surface of Earth. Digging is actu ...

s are present throughout the area. The landscape is characterized by a central cluster of peaks over 8,000 feet and extensive grassy parks surrounded by

lodgepole pine ''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpine, ...

and

limber pine ''Pinus flexilis'', the limber pine, is a species of pine tree-the family Pinaceae that occurs in the mountains of the Western United States, Mexico, and Canada. It is also called Rocky Mountain white pine. A limber pine in Eagle Cap Wildernes ...

. The Castles are lightly used by

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...

ists except for hunters in the fall. On the peak of Castle Mountain itself is a login book for the few who reach the top. There is no trail that leads to the peak. File:CastleMountainsSouthernFace2010.jpg, Southern face of Castle Mountains from Ringling, Montana File:CastleMountainsSoutheasternCorner2010.jpg, Southeastern corner of Castle Mountain on Castle Town road

Notes

{{Authority control Mountain ranges of Montana Landforms of Meagher County, Montana Lewis and Clark National Forest

See also

Notes