The Elk Mountains are a small range of mountains in western South Dakota, forming the southwest portion of the Black Hills as part of its west-dipping

monocline A monocline (or, rarely, a monoform) is a step-like fold in rock strata consisting of a zone of steeper dip within an otherwise horizontal or gently-dipping sequence. Formation Monoclines may be formed in several different ways (see diagram) * ...

. They are geologically distinct from the Black Hills, on the other side of a "racetrack" region of red stone. The ridge of the Elk Mountains is formed of harder sandstones. The east face of the Elk Mountains is a high escarpment, but the west portion falls slowly and features many canyons. Most of the Elk Mountains were protected in the Harney National Forest until 1954, when this protected area joined the Black Hills National Forest. Today the large South Dakota portion of the mountain range is in the Hell Canyon District of the Black Hills National Forest, while the much smaller Wyoming portion lies in the Bearlodge District. The Elk Mountains are one of three mountain ranges that comprise the Black Hills region and national forest, including the Black Hills itself and Wyoming's

Bear Lodge Mountains The Bear Lodge Mountains ( lkt, Mato Tipila) are a small mountain range in Crook County, Wyoming. These mountains are protected in the Black Hills National Forest as part of its Bearlodge District. Devils Tower National Monument was the first U.S. ...

. Elk Mountain is the highest point of the range and has a lookout tower on its summit. Other peaks include

Pilger Mountain Pilger may refer to: People with the surname * Detlev Pilger, German politician * John Pilger, Australian journalist * Robert Knud Friedrich Pilger, German botanist *Zoe Pilger, British author and art critic Places * Pilger, Nebraska, United State ...

and

Sullivan Peak Sullivan may refer to: People Characters * Chloe Sullivan, from the television series ''Smallville'' * Colin Sullivan, a character in the film ''The Departed'', played by Matt Damon * Harry Sullivan (''Doctor Who''), from the British science ...

. Few people live in or near the Elk Mountains. The closest town is

Edgemont, South Dakota Edgemont is a city in Fall River County, South Dakota, Fall River County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 725 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city lies on the far southern edge of the Black Hills in southwestern ...

, to the south. Tiny unincorporated Dewey and ghost town

Burdock ''Arctium'' is a genus of biennial plants commonly known as burdock, family Asteraceae. Native to Europe and Asia, several species have been widely introduced worldwide. Burdock's clinging properties, in addition to providing an excellent mecha ...

lie to the west. Ten miles to the northwest is

Newcastle, Wyoming Newcastle is a city in and the county seat of Weston County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 3,374 at the 2020 census. Geography Newcastle is located at (43.853183, -104.209343). It is situated at the southwest edge of the Bl ...

Habitat

Pinus ponderosa ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

'' trees are predominant with nearly complete undergrowth of '' Carex heliophila''.

Gallery

File:Elk Mountains (South Dakota) 04.jpg, Elk Mountain from prairie File:Elk Mountain fire lookout tower 02.jpg, Elevation sign at lookout tower File:Elk Mountain fire lookout tower 01.jpg, Elk Mountain fire lookout tower

References

{{Mountains of South Dakota Black Hills Mountain ranges of South Dakota Mountain ranges of Wyoming Landforms of Custer County, South Dakota Landforms of Fall River County, South Dakota