The Swan Range is a mountain range in western

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 ...

in the United States. Its peaks typically rise to around . The range is bounded by the

South Fork Flathead River The South Fork Flathead River is a major river in Northwestern Montana in the northwest United States. It is one of the three main forks of the Flathead River, a tributary of the Clark Fork River (the Pend Oreille River). The north-northwest trend ...

to the east, the

Flathead River The Flathead River ( fla, label= Salish, člq̓etkʷ ntx̣ʷetkʷ, , kut, kananmituk), in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Montana, originates in the Canadian Rockies to the north of Glacier National Park and flows southwest into Fla ...

to the north and northwest, the Swan River to the west, and lie to the southwest of Glacier National Park, just south of the Canada–US border. It runs about from north-northwest to south-southeast. Major cities near the Swan Range include Kalispell and Bigfork to the northeast, and Seeley Lake on the south.

Etymology

The range shares its name with

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

and the long, north flowing Swan River on its west side. The name may have originated from

trumpeter swan The trumpeter swan (''Cygnus buccinator'') is a species of swan found in North America. The heaviest living bird native to North America, it is also the largest extant species of waterfowl, with a wingspan of 185 to 250 cm (6 ft 2 in to 8 ft 2 ...

s that once populated Swan Lake, but none are found there today. The river, range and lake may have also been named after Emmett Swan, a long-time resident of the Swan Valley.

Geography

The Swan Range, part of the Kootenay Mountains, is bordered by the

Mission Range The Mission Mountains or Mission Range are a range of the Rocky Mountains located in northwestern Montana in the United States. They lie chiefly in Lake County, Montana, Lake County and Missoula County, Montana, Missoula County and are south and ...

, a smaller mountain range, to the west, and by the similar-sized Flathead Range to the east and northeast. It is about north to south and wide. The highest peak is Holland Peak, situated in the southern quarter of the range in

Missoula County Missoula County is located in the State of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 117,922, making it Montana's third-most populous county. Its county seat and largest city is Missoula. The county was founded in 1860. Missoula Coun ...

. Streams running off the east side of the range drain into the

. The long Hungry Horse Reservoir, formed by

damming A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

the South Fork, lies to the northeast. Badrock Canyon, through which flows the Flathead River, separates the Swan Range from the

Whitefish Range The Whitefish Range is a mountain range stretching north-south from British Columbia, Canada to Montana, United States. It is about long and wide. Water flowing from its east side drains down the North Fork Flathead River and its west side drains ...

in the north. The range is part of the

Pend Oreille River The Pend Oreille River ( ) is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northern Idaho and northeastern Washington in the United States, as well as southeastern British Columbia in Canada. In its passage through British Columbia ...

drainage basin, which eventually drains to the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

. The Swan River forms much of the western boundary of the range, flowing through a broad valley between the Swan and Mission ranges.

Flathead Lake Flathead Lake ( fla, člq̓etkʷ, label=Salish, kut, yawuʔnik̓ ʔa·kuq̓nuk) is a large natural lake in northwest Montana. The lake is a remnant of the ancient, massive glacial dammed lake, Lake Missoula of the era of the last interglacial. ...

, the second largest freshwater lake in the western US, is situated west of the Swan Range and separated from it by the Mission Range. The Swan Range's boundary with the Flathead Range slowly diminishes as it progresses south - it is in the middle and north parts that this boundary is clearly distinguished. Many of the valleys dissecting the Swan Range drain into the South Fork of the Flathead - the water divide of the range lies more to the west. The range is most commonly stated to top out at , but the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...

and some early sources place Swan Peak - the second highest mountain in the range - at , and state that it is the highest mountain. ''"The range to the east of he Swan River valleyis the Swan Range. It is the highest and least broken ridge in the region, the higher peaks rising to ten and eleven thousand feet."''NGS, p.365 Listed from north to south, the cities and towns bordering the Swan Range are Columbia Falls, La Salle, Creston, Bigfork, Seeley Lake and

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

. While the southern part lies in the

Bob Marshall Wilderness The Bob Marshall Wilderness Area is a congressionally-designated wilderness area located in Western Montana region of the United States. It is named after Bob Marshall (1901–1939), an early forester in the federal government, conservationist, a ...

and the east part is largely undeveloped, the west side is used for some ranching and parallels

Montana Highway 83 Montana Highway 83 (MT 83) is a north–south state highway in Flathead, Lake, and Missoula counties in Montana, United States, that connects Montana Highway 200 (MT 200) in Clearwater (east of Missoula) with Montana Highwa ...

Highest peaks

Notes

Works cited

*Federal Writers' Project (1939). ''Montana: A State Guide Book.'' U.S. History Publishers. . *National Geographic Society (1902). ''National Geographic Magazine (Volume 13)''. Harvard University.

External links