The Dragons Tail is an elevation ridge 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 ...
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 ...
. It is situated on 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 ...
, on the border shared by
Flathead County and
Glacier County.
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 above
Hidden Lake in one-half mile, and the west aspect rises nearly above
Avalanche Lake in two miles. It can be seen from the Hidden Lake overlook along with its nearest higher neighbor,
Bearhat Mountain
Bearhat Mountain () is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Bearhat Mountain is immediately west of Hidden Lake. The mountain was named after a Kootenai Native American, and was officially adopted by th ...
, to the northwest.
[
]
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 ...
, Dragons Tail 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.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 west side of the ridge drains into creeks which empty into Lake McDonald
Lake McDonald is the largest lake in Glacier National Park. It is located at in Flathead County in the U.S. state of Montana. Lake McDonald is approximately 10 miles (16 km) long, and over a mile (1.6 km) wide and 472 feet (130 m) ...
, and the east side drains into the St. Mary River.
Geology
Like other mountains in Glacier National Park, Dragons Tail 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 ...
to 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.
Gallery
File:Dragons Tail, Glacier Park.jpg, Dragons Tail reflected in Hidden Lake
File:Reynolds Mountain and Dragons Tail.jpg, Reynolds Mountain (left) and Dragons Tail (right)
File:Dragons Tail, Hidden Lake, Bearhat.jpg, Dragons Tail, Hidden Lake, and Bearhat Mountain (right)
File:Hidden Lake- August Evening With The Goats.jpg, Reynolds Mountain (left) and Dragons Tail (right)
File:Glacier National Park Hidden Lake overview 20060703.jpg, Reynolds Mountain (left) and Dragons Tail (right)
File:Mountain Goat at Hidden Lake.jpg, with mountain goat
File:Dragons Tail.jpg, Climbers descend from the ridge of Dragons Tail
File:Fusillade, Dragons Tail, Reynolds, St Mary Lake.jpg, Dragons Tail seen from the east, with Fusillade Mountain far left edge, Reynolds Mountain upper right corner, and frozen Saint Mary Lake.
File:Peak 8492 Glacier National Park.jpg, Part of Dragons Tail seen from Bearhat Mountain
File:Mt. Oberlin vista.jpg, Reynolds Mountain (left), Mt. Jackson (centered), Dragons Tail (right) seen from Mt. Oberlin
See also
* Geology of the Rocky Mountains
The geology of the Rocky Mountains is that of a discontinuous series of mountain ranges with distinct geological origins. Collectively these make up the Rocky Mountains, a mountain system that stretches from Northern British Columbia through cen ...
*
References
External links
2020 fatality
{{Geographic Location 2
, Center = Dragons Tail
, North = Hidden Lake
, Northeast = Reynolds Mountain
Reynolds Mountain () is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Reynolds Mountain is situated along the Continental Divide and is easily seen from Logan Pass by looking due south from the pass. Hidden La ...
, ENE = Heavy Runner Mountain
, East = Dusty Star Mountain
, Southeast = Fusillade Mountain
Fusillade Mountain () is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Fusillade Mountain lies immediately north of Gunsight Lake at the western terminus of the St. Mary Valley and can be seen from the Going-to- ...
, South = Sperry Glacier
Sperry Glacier is a glacier on the north slopes of Gunsight Mountain west of the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Although many geologic features of Glacier National Park were formed during the much l ...
, Southwest = Little Matterhorn
, West = Avalanche Lake
, Northwest = Bearhat Mountain
Bearhat Mountain () is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Bearhat Mountain is immediately west of Hidden Lake. The mountain was named after a Kootenai Native American, and was officially adopted by th ...
Lewis Range
Mountains of Flathead County, Montana
Mountains of Glacier County, Montana
Mountains of Glacier National Park (U.S.)
Mountains of Montana
North American 2000 m summits