Gallatin Range

The Gallatin Range is located in the U.S. states of Montana and Wyoming and includes more than 10 mountains over 10,000 feet (3,000 m). The highest peak in the range is Electric Peak at 10,969 feet (3,343 m). The Gallatin Range was named after Albert Gallatin, the longest-serving US Secretary of the Treasury and one of the negotiators of the Alaska Boundary Treaty. The range extends 75 miles (121 km) north to south and averages 20 miles (32 km) in width.

The southernmost peaks of the range are in the northwestern section of Yellowstone National Park, however the majority of the range is in Gallatin National Forest. The Yellowstone River flows north on the eastern flank of the range. The Madison Range parallels the Gallatins to the west. The northern end of the range is near Livingston, Montana and Bozeman Pass separates the Gallatins from the Bridger Mountains to the north. The range is an integral part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and has grizzly bears, wolves and other threatened and endangered species also found in Yellowstone National Park.

The Gallatin Range has one of the largest petrified forests of the Eocene Epoch. Petrified trees are mineralized fossils of what was once wooden tree trunks. The petrified trees found in the Gallatin Range were covered by lava, lahars and ash from volcanic activity approximately 50 million year ago. The U.S. Forest Service has a 2 mile (3.2 km) long interpretive trail which details the petrified trees.