The Flint Creek Range, el. , 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 ...

northeast of

Philipsburg, Montana Philipsburg is a town in and the county seat of Granite County, Montana, United States. The population was 841 at the 2020 census. The town was named after the famous mining engineer Philip Deidesheimer, who designed and supervised the constructio ...

Granite County, Montana Granite County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,309. Its county seat is Philipsburg. The county was founded in 1893, and was named for a mountain which contains the Granite Mountain ...

. The highest point in the range is Mount Powell, at 10,168 ft. in elevation. About 60,000 acres of the Flints are roadless. From

Deer Lodge, Montana Deer Lodge is a city in and the county seat of Powell County, Montana, Powell County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,938 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Description The city is perhaps best known as the home of t ...

, there appears to be a level, barren ridge connecting Mount Powell and Deer Lodge Mountain, el. 9765 ft. However, if one is traveling eastbound on

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

, in the stretch between Drummond and Garrison, Montana, looking up one can see that this ridge is actually a sheer cliff called "The Crater." The Crater is characterized as " ant granite ribs resembling the backbone of a dinosaur" by Cunningham. The Flints have the typical Rocky Mountain fauna, including a few

mountain goats The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a hoofed mammal endemic to mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs and ...

. The area is popular for hunting of deer,

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

, and

blue grouse The genus ''Dendragapus'' contains two closely related species of grouse that have often been treated as a single variable taxon (blue grouse). The two species are the dusky grouse (''Dendragapus obscurus'') and the sooty grouse (''Dendragapus f ...

, but otherwise appears to receive little recreational use. Dozens of alpine lakes in the range provide good fishing. The Discovery Ski Area is located in the southwestern part of the Flints, near Georgetown Lake.

Notes

{{Authority control Ranges of the Rocky Mountains Mountain ranges of Montana Landforms of Granite County, Montana

See also

Notes