Heart Lake el. is a large backcountry lake, nestled at the base of
Mount Sheridan
Mount Sheridan el. is a prominent mountain peak overlooking Heart Lake in the Red Mountains of Yellowstone National Park. The peak is named in honor of General Philip H. Sheridan, U.S. Army, one of the early protectors of the park.
History
...
in
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 Yellowst ...
. Heart Lake is in the
Snake River drainage and is drained by the
Heart River.
History
Heart Lake was apparently named sometime prior to 1871 for a local 1840s hunter, Hart Hunney, a fact that was later verified by
Hiram Chittenden. In 1871, Captain
John W. Barlow thought the name was ''Heart Lake'' because of it shape and the name became its official name. During the
Arnold Hague
Arnold Hague (December 3, 1840 in Boston, Massachusetts – May 14, 1917 in Washington, D.C.) was a United States geologist who did many geological surveys in the U.S., of which the best known was that for Yellowstone National Park. He also had as ...
Geologic Surveys, Chittenden petitioned Hague to change the name back to ''Hart'', but Hague thought that ''Heart Lake'' was named because of the lake's shape and refused to change it.
In 1870 a member of the
Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition, the solitary explorer
Truman C. Everts, who had become separated from the rest of his party, probably camped on the shores of Heart Lake and named it Bessie Lake after his daughter.
Heart Lake Geyser Basin
The
Heart Lake Geyser Basin begins a couple miles from the lake and descends along Witch Creek to the lakeshore. Five groups of hydrothermal features comprise the basin, and all of them contain geysers, although some are dormant.
[''Yellowstone Resources and Issues: 2006'', page 199]
Angling Heart Lake
Heart Lake holds
Yellowstone cutthroat trout,
lake trout, and
mountain whitefish. Lake Trout were introduced in the 1890s. Angling is restricted to
fly fishing or artificial lures. All cutthroat trout and whitefish must be released. There is no limit on the number of lake trout harvested. The park record lake trout, was caught in Heart Lake.
Heart Lake is from the south entrance road at
Lewis Lake via the Heart Lake trail. Heart Lake can also be reached via the Trail Creek trail that traverses the southern shoreline of
Yellowstone Lake or via the
Heart River trail/Snake River trail from the park's southern border.
Heart Lake is within the Heart Lake Bear Management Area and access to the area is closed between April 1 and June 1 annually.
Mount Sheridan
Mount Sheridan el. is a prominent mountain peak overlooking Heart Lake in the Red Mountains of Yellowstone National Park. The peak is named in honor of General Philip H. Sheridan, U.S. Army, one of the early protectors of the park.
History
...
, ca1890
File:HeartLakeFromMountSheridanYNP1965.jpg, Heart Lake from Mount Sheridan, 1965
File:MountSheridanFromHeartLake.jpg, Mount Sheridan from Heart Lake, 1968
File:DelugeGeyser-Jackson1872.jpg, Deluge Geyser, Heart Lake Geyser Basin, 1872 William Henry Jackson
File:Heart Lake Yellowstone.jpg
See also
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Angling in Yellowstone National Park
Angling in Yellowstone National Park is a major reason many visitors come to the park each year and since it was created in 1872, the park has drawn anglers from around the world to fish its waters. In 2006, over 50,000 park fishing permits were ...
*
Fishes of Yellowstone National Park
Notes
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Lakes of Yellowstone National Park
Lakes of Wyoming
Lakes of Teton County, Wyoming