Hoodoo Peak is a mountain summit located in Park County,

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

, United States.

Description

This remote peak is situated along the common border shared by

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

and

North Absaroka Wilderness The North Absaroka Wilderness is located in Shoshone National Forest in the U.S. state of Wyoming. It lies adjacent to the eastern border of Yellowstone National Park. U.S. Wilderness Areas do not allow motorized or mechanized vehicles, includin ...

, and it ranks as the 24th-highest peak in the park. It is part of the

Absaroka Range The Absaroka Range ( or ) is a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The range stretches about across the Montana–Wyoming border, and at its widest, forming the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park along Paradise Va ...

which is a subset of

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

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 south aspect rises over above Hoodoo Basin in 1.5 mile, and the east aspect rises above Hoodoo Creek in one mile. From the summit one can see 30 miles north to Granite Peak which is the highest point in Montana, and as far south as the

Tetons The Teton Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. It extends for approximately in a north–south direction through the U.S. state of Wyoming, east of the Idaho state line. It is south of Yellowstone National Park and ...

, 80 miles distant.

History

Prospectors named Hoodoo Basin, below the southern slopes of the peak, which refers to geologic formations called

hoodoos A hoodoo (also called a tent rock, fairy chimney, or earth pyramid) is a tall, thin spire of rock formed by erosion. Hoodoos typically consist of relatively soft rock topped by harder, less easily eroded stone that protects each column from the ...

found there. When

Philetus Norris Philetus W. Norris (August 17, 1821 – January 14, 1885) was the second superintendent of Yellowstone National Park and was the first person to be paid for that position. Early life Philetus Walter Norris was born in Palmyra, New York on Aug ...

, the second superintendent of Yellowstone Park, climbed the peak in 1880, he took note of the hoodoos. In his report he used an

aneroid barometer A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...

to measure the summit elevation to be 10,700 feet and wrote: "Here, extending from 500 to 1,500 below the summit, the frosts and storms of untold ages in an Alpine climate have worn about a dozen labyrinths of countless deep, narrow, tortuous channels amid the long, slender, tottering pillars, shafts, and spires of the conglomerate breccia and other remaining volcanic rocks. Here the sharp-cornered fragments of rocks of nearly every size, form, formation, and shade of coloring, by a peculiar volcanic cement attached sidewise, endwise, and upon the tops, sides, and, apparently, unsupported, upon each other, represent every form, garb, and posture of gigantic human beings, as well as of birds, beasts, and reptiles. In fact, nearly every form, animate or inanimate, real or chimerical, ever actually seen or conjured by the imagination, may here be observed."P. W. Norris, Annual Report of the Superintendent of the Yellowstone National Park, 1880, page 8. The mountain has also been known as Goblin Peak, but the mountain's hoodoo name was officially adopted in 1895 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

According to 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 ...

system, Hoodoo Peak 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 mild summers. Winter 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 mountain drains west into headwaters of the

Lamar River The Lamar River is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, approximately long, in northwestern Wyoming in the United States. The river is located entirely within Yellowstone National Park. History Prior to the 1884–85 Geological Survey of the ...

, and east into tributaries of the

Clarks Fork Yellowstone River The Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River (sometimes called the Clark's Fork River) is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, 150 mi (241 km) long in the U.S. states of Montana and Wyoming. It rises in southern Montana, in the Gallatin N ...

Gallery

File:Hoodoo Peak framed by features in Hoodoo Basin.jpg, Hoodoo Peak framed by features in Hoodoo Basin File:Clouds blowing into Hoodoo Basin.jpg, Hoodoos in Hoodoo Basin File:Hoodoo Basin feature.jpg, Hoodoo in Hoodoo Basin File:Hoodoo Basin in foggy conditions.jpg, Hoodoo Basin File:Hoodoo Basin views.jpg, Hoodoo Basin File:Hoodoo Peak 1966.jpg, Hoodoo Peak in 1966 File:A hoodoo in Hoodoo Basin.jpg, Hoodoo in Hoodoo Basin

References

External links