The Little Belt Mountains are a section of the

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 ...

in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

state of

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 ...

. Situated mainly in the

Lewis and Clark National Forest Lewis and Clark National Forest is located in west central Montana, United States. Spanning , the forest is managed as two separate zones. The eastern sections, under the Jefferson Division, is a mixture of grass and shrublands dotted with "islan ...

, the mountains are used for logging and recreation for the residents of

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of and is the principal city of the Great Falls, M ...

Showdown A showdown is a duel. The term may also refer to: Places * Showdown Ski Area, in Montana, United States Books * ''Showdown'' (Amado novel), a 1984 novel by Jorge Amado * ''Showdown'' (Dekker novel), a 2006 novel by Ted Dekker * ''Showdown'' (F ...

is a ski area located within the mountains located off

US Highway 89 U.S. Route 89 (US 89) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway with two sections, and one former section. The southern section runs for from Flagstaff, Arizona, to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The northern section ...

which splits the mountains in half connecting White Sulphur Springs and Belt, MT. The highest point in the Little Belt Range is Big Baldy Mountain at . The Little Belts have been mined for

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

since the 1880s, and for

sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sapphir ...

since 1896. The sapphires, called

Yogo sapphire Yogo sapphires are blue sapphires, a colored variety of corundum, found in Montana, primarily in Yogo Gulch (part of the Little Belt Mountains) in Judith Basin County, Montana. Yogo sapphires are typically cornflower blue, a result of trace amo ...

s as they are mined near Yogo Creek, occur in a formation long and across. The mountains are named for a butte in the range, Belt Butte, itself named for a band of white rock which encircles it. The

Showdown Ski Area Showdown is an alpine ski area located in the Little Belt Mountains in Central Montana, United States. Created in 1936 and originally called King's Hill Ski Area, Showdown is a small-scale ski area that is often closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, r ...

holds the state's record for snowfall, of snow in one winter. The mountain range of gently rolling peaks and expansive conifer forests contains two large roadless areas. The smaller area, about in size, is protected as the Middle Fork-Judith Wilderness Study Area. This area includes the Middle and Lost Forks of the

Judith River The Judith River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 124 mi (200 km) long, running through central Montana in the United States. It rises in the Little Belt Mountains and flows northeast past Utica and Hobson. It is ...

, which cut deep canyons through multicolored limestone cliffs. The Middle Fork-Judith WSA contains over 29 miles of streams containing Yellowstone cutthroat and

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

. Higher elevations are covered in

lodgepole pine ''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpine, ...

and

whitebark pine ''Pinus albicaulis'', known by the common names whitebark pine, white bark pine, white pine, pitch pine, scrub pine, and creeping pine, is a conifer tree native to the mountains of the western United States and Canada, specifically subalpine ...

, while lower elevations contain ponderosa pine and douglas fir intermixed with grassy parks and meadows. The larger area, encompassing the Tenderfoot Creek drainage, in the western portion of the range, is unprotected and about in size; it includes some private lands as well as about of roadless

lands. The Smith River Canyon, a popular float trip, is along the western edge of this area.

Ponderosa pine ''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 ...

and

douglas-fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

are the predominant tree species in the Little Belts, and wildlife includes

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

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 white-tailed and

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

Notes

External links

Geology of Little Belt Mountains
Mountain ranges of Montana Ranges of the Rocky Mountains Geology of Montana Landforms of Meagher County, Montana Lewis and Clark National Forest {{MeagherCountyMT-geo-stub

See also

Notes

External links