Haystack Butte is a summit 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 ...

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 one mile west of 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 ...

, in

Flathead County Flathead County is in the U.S. state of Montana. At the 2020 census, its population was 104,357, making it the state's fourth most populous county. Its county seat is Kalispell. Its numerical designation (used in the issuance of license plates) ...

, above the

Weeping Wall Weeping Wall may refer to: * Weeping Wall (Alberta), a geologic formation in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada * Weeping Wall (Montana), a geologic formation in Glacier National Park, Montana, United States * "Weeping Wall" (instrumental), a 1 ...

on its south slope.

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 west aspect rises above McDonald Creek in less than 1.5 mile. It can be seen from

Logan Pass Logan Pass (elevation ) is located along the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park, in the U.S. state of Montana. It is the highest point on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The pass is named after Major William R. Logan, the first superintendent ...

, and from

Going-to-the-Sun Road Going-to-the-Sun Road is a scenic mountain road in the Rocky Mountains of the western United States, in Glacier National Park in Montana. The Sun Road, as it is sometimes abbreviated in National Park Service documents, is the only road that trave ...

which traverses the west and south slopes of the peak. The nearest higher neighbor is Mount Gould, to the northeast. Climbing access is via the Highline Trail. This geographical feature's descriptive name was on maps as early as 1904, and was officially adopted March 6, 1929, by the

United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...

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 ...

, Haystack Butte 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. Temperatures can drop below −10 °F with wind chill factors below −30 °F. Precipitation

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 peak drains into McDonald Creek, thence

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) ...

Geology

Like other mountains in Glacier National Park, Haystack Butte 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 ...

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. The bulk of the peak is composed of limestone of the

Siyeh Formation The Purcell Supergroup is composed primarily of argillites, carbonate rocks, quartzites, and mafic igneous rocks of late Precambrian (Mesoproterozoic) age. It is present in an area of about 15,000 km2 (5,800 sq. mi.) in southwestern Alberta a ...

, with a

diorite Diorite ( ) is an intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is intermediate in composition between low-silic ...

cap.James L. Dyson, ''The Geologic Story of Glacier National Park''
/ref>

Gallery

File:Haystack Butte.jpg, South aspect centered, from Logan Pass area File:Haystack Butte and Mt. Gould.jpg, West aspect of Haystack Butte, with Mt. Gould behind File:Haystack Butte, Going-to-the-Sun Road.jpg, Haystack Butte, Going-to-the-Sun Road, and Weeping Wall seen from Highline Trail File:Haystack Butte, Highline Trail.jpg, North aspect from Highline Trail File:Haystack Butte, north aspect.jpg, North aspect File:Haystack and Cannon, Highline Trail.jpg, Haystack Butte (left) and Mt. Cannon (right), seen from Highline Trail File:Avalanche Team skier on Haystack Butte.jpg, Avalanche Team skier on Haystack Butte summit, with Garden Wall, Bishops Cap, and Pollock Mountain in the background. File:Glacier Park panorama.jpg, Left to rightː Haystack Butte, Reynolds Mountain, Mt. Oberlin, Clements Mountain, Mt. Cannon File:Haystack Butte, Haystack Creek Falls.jpg, Haystack Butte and Haystack Creek Falls seen from northwest along the Going-to-the-Sun Road. File:4-9-13 Haystack Butte.jpg, Left to rightː Haystack Butte, Reynolds Mountain, Mt. Oberlin, Clements Mountain, Mt. Cannon File:Garden Wall Weather Station.jpg, Left to rightː Haystack Butte, Reynolds Mountain, Mt. Oberlin, Clements Mountain, and Mt. Cannon seen from Garden Wall Weather Station. File:Mt. Gould and Going-to-the-Sun Road.jpg, Haystack Butte, Mt. Gould, and Bishops Cap

References

{{Geographic Location 2 , Center = Haystack Butte , North = Highline Trail , Northeast = Mount Gould , East =

Garden Wall The Garden Wall is a steep alpine area within Glacier National Park well known during the summer months to be heavily covered in dozens of species of flowering plants and shrubs. Located along the west side of the Continental divide and extending ...

, ESE =

Bishops Cap Bishops Cap () is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Located above the Garden Wall and straddling the Continental Divide, when viewed from the south at Logan Pass, the peak appears to resemble a Bishop ...

, Southeast = Pollock Mountain , South =

Mount Oberlin Mount Oberlin () is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Mount Oberlin is just northwest of Logan Pass. Below the summit to the northwest, water and melting snow off Mount Oberlin lead to the Bird Woman ...

, Southwest = Mount Cannon , WSW =

Heavens Peak Heavens Peak () is located in the Livingston Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Heavens Peak is a little more than north of McPartland Mountain. The mountain's descriptive name first appeared on a map prepared by Lt. Geo ...

, West =

, Northwest = Lewis Range Mountains of Flathead County, Montana Mountains of Glacier National Park (U.S.) Mountains of Montana North American 2000 m summits

Climate

Geology

Gallery

See also

References