Mount Washburn, elevation , is a prominent mountain peak in the Washburn Range 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 Yellowston ...

, Wyoming, United States. The peak was named in 1870 to honor

Henry D. Washburn Henry Dana Washburn (March 28, 1832 – January 26, 1871) was a U.S. Representative from Indiana and a colonel and was breveted twice as brigadier general and major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Biography Born in Wood ...

, leader of the

Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition The Washburn Expedition of 1870 explored the region of northwestern Wyoming that two years later became Yellowstone National Park. Led by Henry D. Washburn and Nathaniel P. Langford, and with a United States Army, U.S. Army escort headed by Lt. G ...

. The Washburn Range is one of two mountains ranges completely within the boundaries of Yellowstone.

History

On August 29, 1870, members of the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition ascended the peak they named Mount Washburn after their expedition leader,

. A portion of Lt.

Gustavus Cheyney Doane Gustavus Cheyney Doane (May 29, 1840 – May 5, 1892) was a U.S. Army Cavalry Captain, explorer, inventor and Civil War soldier who played a prominent role in the exploration of Yellowstone as a member of the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expeditio ...

's description is quoted below: Mount Washburn became a very popular tourist attraction early in the park's history. Many tourist accounts tell of a trip to the summit of Mount Washburn. In 1879, Mrs. Elizabeth D. Wickes of

Boulder, Montana Boulder is a town in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Montana, United States. It is on the north bank of the Boulder River between Butte and Helena, slightly east of the Continental Divide, at the intersection of Interstate 15 and Mont ...

, in a party of eight men and five ladies, spent six weeks touring the park. Her account of Mount Washburn follows: In 1914, two years before automobiles were allowed in Yellowstone, noted author

Elbert Hubbard Elbert Green Hubbard (June 19, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher. Raised in Hudson, Illinois, he had early success as a traveling salesman for the Larkin Soap Company. Hubbard is known best as the ...

and his wife Alice spent two weeks touring Yellowstone. In a short article written after the trip—''A Little Journey to the Yellowstone'' Hubbard described his visit to Mount Washburn.

Mount Washburn trails

Views from the summit include much of the northern section of Yellowstone National Park and on clear days, the

Teton Range 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 ...

is also visible. The mountain trails are some of the most frequented in the park, so summer hikes can be crowded. With an altitude gain of in , the hike from

Dunraven Pass Dunraven Pass (el. ) is a mountain pass on the Grand Loop Road between Tower and Canyon in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. History In 1874, just two years after the park's creation, The 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, an Anglo-Irish pe ...

to the summit is moderate. Another trail that climbs in only starts from the Chittenden parking area. One of three active

fire lookout tower A fire lookout tower, fire tower or lookout tower, provides housing and protection for a person known as a "fire lookout" whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness. It is a small building, usually on the summit of a mountain or ...

s in Yellowstone is located on the summit. There is a small visitor center and restrooms on the first floor, an observation deck on the second, and a ranger's residence on the top floor (closed to the public).

Geology

Mount Washburn is an ancient

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

. It collapsed in an eruption from either it or the nearby

Yellowstone Caldera The Yellowstone Caldera, sometimes referred to as the Yellowstone Supervolcano, is a volcanic caldera and supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park in the Western United States. The caldera and most of the park are located in the northwest corn ...

Closure

During 2021, all trails to the top of Mt. Washburn are closed due to construction projects in the Canyon Overlooks area.

References

External links

Mount Washburn Webcam
– A webcam from the fire lookout tower atop Mount Washburn. {{Authority control

Washburn Washburn (alternatively Wasseburne, Wasseborne, Wasshebourne, Wassheborne, Washbourne, Washburne, Washborne, Washborn, Wasborn, Washbon) is a toponymic surname, probably of Old English origin, with likely Anglo-Norman and Norman-French influen ...