Mount Brown is a mountain

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

located in Liberty County, Montana, United States.

Description

Mount Brown is the highest point in the county, highest point of the East Butte complex, and second-highest peak in the

Sweet Grass Hills The Sweet Grass Hills (Blackfoot: ''kátoyissiksi'', Cheyenne: ''vé'ho'ôhtsévóse'', Salish: ''ččaɫalqn '', "three peaks") are a small group of low mountains rising more than 3,000 feet above the surrounding plains southwest of Whitlash, Mon ...

. It is situated north of

Chester, Montana Chester is a town in and the county seat of Liberty County, Montana, United States. The population was 847 at the time of both the 2010 and 2020 U.S. Census. History The name “Chester” was chosen by the first telegraph operator here and name ...

, and south of the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains north to the Milk River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises above the surrounding plains in which makes it a prominent landmark visible for many miles. The slopes provide habitat for elk, mule deer, and white-tailed deer.

Geology

Mount Brown is an exposed laccolith composed of syenitic and monzonitic

trachytes Trachyte () is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava enriched with silica and alk ...

created by an igneous intrusion through older Jurassic and Cretaceous sedimentary rocks during the Eocene, about 50 million years ago.Sweet Grass Hills, blm.gov
Retrieved 2023-07-25. These sedimentary rocks are primarily shale and siltstone. Over time, erosion of the sedimentary rock has exposed the solidified laccolith which is more resistant to weathering.

History

The Sweet Grass Hills, which are centered in buffalo hunting territory, are sacred to the

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...

and other tribes.Rich Aarstad, ''Montana Place Names from Alzada to Zortman'', Montana Historical Society, 2009, , p. 259. The Blackfoot called East Butte "''pinapitsékatúyis''" which means "east side sweet pine." In 1806,

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...

sighted the mountains from the Missouri River, which is distant, and George Mercer Dawson reported seeing them from away at Blackfoot Crossing in Alberta.William A Lovis, Robert Whallon (2016), ''Marking the Land'', Routledge, , p. 48, 50. The landform's toponym has been officially adopted 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, Mount Brown is located in a semi-arid climate zone with long, cold, dry winters and hot summers with cool nights.''Sweet Grass Hills Resource(s) Management Plan (RMP) Amendment and West HiLine Resource(s) Management Plan (RMP), Toole County, Liberty County: Environmental Impact Statement''
1996, p. 13, 19. Winter temperatures can drop below −10 °F with wind chill factors below −30 °F. The wettest period of the year is generally May through August, with up to 20 inches of precipitation falling annually on the peak.

Gallery

File:Mount Brown, se.jpg, Southeast aspect. File:Mount Brown, East Butte complex.jpg, East Butte complex with Mount Brown centered at top, in back. File:East Butte complex.jpg, East Butte complex from southeast. Mount Brown centered on skyline, with Mount Lebanon to the right.

References

External links

* Weather forecast
East Butte
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Mount Mountains of Montana Landforms of Liberty County, Montana North American 2000 m summits Laccoliths