Albion Mountains

The Albion Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. states of Idaho (~99%) and Utah (~1%), spanning Cassia County, Idaho and barely reaching into Box Elder County, Utah.[1] The highest point in the range is Cache Peak at 10,339 feet (3,151 m), and the range is a part of the Great Basin Divide and the Basin and Range Province.[2][3][4] Most of the mountains are part of the Albion Division of the Minidoka Ranger District of Sawtooth National Forest.[5]

Albion Mountains
Albion Mountains from Heyburn
Highest point
PeakCache Peak
Elevation10,339 ft (3,151 m)
Coordinates42°11′08″N 113°39′40″W
Dimensions
Length49 mi (79 km) N/S
Width36 mi (58 km) E/W
Area1,082 sq mi (2,800 km2)
Geography
CountryUnited States
StateIdaho

The Raft River Mountains are southeast of the range, while the Black Pine Mountains are to the east and the Snake River Plain to the north. The streams in the mountains are in the Snake River watershed, which is a tributary of the Columbia River. The towns of Almo, Elba, and Malta are east of the range, Albion, Burley, and Heyburn are to the north, and Oakley is to the west. There are six alpine lakes in the Albion Mountains. Lake Cleveland is north of Mount Harrison, a small unnamed lake is southeast of Mount Harrison, and the four Independence Lakes are north of Cache Peak.[5]

Several road and trails are located in the mountains, which provide for a variety of activities including hiking, off-road vehicle riding, fishing, and hunting.[6] A paved road ascends to the summit of Mount Harrison. Most of the peaks can be accessed relatively easily via class one or two routes. City of Rocks National Reserve and Castle Rocks State Park are located in the southern portion of the range and is a popular destination for rock climbing.[7] The Pomerelle ski area is located in the range and has two chairlifts.[8]

Idaho's rarest plant, Christ's Indian Paintbrush is a plant endemic to the upper slopes of Mount Harrison, being found nowhere else in the world.[9] Davis' springparsley is a plant that is also endemic to the Albion Mountains.[10][11] The South Hills crossbill is a bird believed to be a separate species than the Common crossbill, and it is endemic to the Albion Mountains and the South Hills due to ecological speciation.[12]

In February 1945 nine people died on Mount Harrison when a B-24 Liberator Army Bomber crashed during a training mission in dense fog.[13][14]

Peaks

The peaks of the Albion Mountains[5][6][15][16]
Mountain Peak Elevation Prominence Isolation Location
Cache Peak 10,338 ft
3151 m
4,459 ft
1359 m
81.8 mi
131.6 km
42.185606°N 113.661156°W / 42.185606; -113.661156 (Cache Peak)
Mount Independence 9,951 ft
3033 m
351 ft
107 m
1.07 mi
1.73 km
42.197413°N 113.675010°W / 42.197413; -113.675010 (Mount Independence)
Mount Harrison 9,265 ft
2824 m
2,297 ft
700 m
7.75 mi
12.47 km
42.314634°N 113.658899°W / 42.314634; -113.658899 (Mount Harrison)
Graham Peak 8,868 ft
2703 m
669 ft
204 m
5.13 mi
8.26 km
42.123525°N 113.716677°W / 42.123525; -113.716677 (Graham Peak)
Peak 8,858 8,858 ft
2700 m
318 ft
97 m
2.3 mi
3.7 km
42.1771°N 113.7101°W / 42.1771; -113.7101 (Peak 8,858)
Peak 8,770 8,770 ft
2673 m
469 ft
143 m
1.74 mi
2.8 km
42.1523°N 113.7069°W / 42.1523; -113.7069 (Peak 8,770)
Peak 8,752 8,760 ft
2670 m
581 ft
177 m
1.39 mi
2.24 km
42.3058°N 113.6151°W / 42.3058; -113.6151 (Peak 8,762)
Peak 8,740 8,737 ft
2663 m
518 ft
158 m
1.49 mi
2.4 km
42.2154°N 113.6917°W / 42.2154; -113.6917 (Peak 8,740)
Connor Ridge 8,327 ft
2538 m
466 ft
142 m
1.49 mi
2.4 km
42.3162°N 113.5891°W / 42.3162; -113.5891 (Connor Ridge)
Peak 7,715 7,713 ft
2351 m
896 ft
273 m
3.29 mi
5.3 km
42.0790°N 113.7397°W / 42.0790; -113.7397 (Peak 7,715)
Peak 7,689 7,687 ft
2343 m
709 ft
216 m
1.93 mi
3.1 km
42.1006°N 113.6943°W / 42.1006; -113.6943 (Peak 7,689)
Smoky Mountain 7,579 ft
2310 m
1,401 ft
427 m
2.98 mi
4.8 km
42.0590°N 113.6799°W / 42.0590; -113.6799 (Smoky Mountain)
Thunder Mountain 7,454 ft
2272 m
676 ft
206 m
2.61 mi
4.2 km
42.1714°N 113.6136°W / 42.1714; -113.6136 (Thunder Mountain)
Peak 7,410 7,411 ft
2259 m
351 ft
107 m
4.85 mi
7.8 km
42.3789°N 113.6661°W / 42.3789; -113.6661 (Peak 7,410)
Peak 7,362 7,359 ft
2243 m
302 ft
92 m
3.54 mi
5.7 km
42.2745°N 113.7094°W / 42.2745; -113.7094 (Peak 7,362)
Peak 7,096 7,096 ft
2163 m
837 ft
255 m
1.68 mi
2.7 km
42.0361°N 113.6919°W / 42.0361; -113.6919 (Peak 7,096)
Peak 7,063 7,060 ft
2152 m
364 ft
111 m
1.49 mi
2.4 km
42.0584°N 113.7317°W / 42.0584; -113.7317 (Peak 7,063)
Peak 7,038 7,037 ft
2145 m
499 ft
152 m
1.49 mi
2.4 km
42.0387°N 113.7425°W / 42.0387; -113.7425 (Peak 7,038)
Peak 6,856 6,857 ft
2090 m
466 ft
142 m
1.12 mi
1.8 km
42.3891°N 113.6491°W / 42.3891; -113.6491 (Peak 6,856)
Twin Sisters 6,837 ft
2084 m
377 ft
115 m
1.18 mi
1.9 km
42.0435°N 113.7208°W / 42.0435; -113.7208 (Twin Sisters)
Peak 6,821 6,821 ft
2079 m
322 ft
98 m
1.37 mi
2.2 km
42.0919°N 113.6701°W / 42.0919; -113.6701 (Peak 6,821)
Peak 6,388 6,388 ft
1947 m
407 ft
124 m
4.35 mi
7 km
42.2393°N 113.6112°W / 42.2393; -113.6112 (Peak 6,388)
Peak 6,342 6,342 ft
1933 m
443 ft
135 m
1.3 mi
2.1 km
42.2226°N 113.5983°W / 42.2226; -113.5983 (Peak 6,342)
Pine Knob 5,879 ft
1792 m
348 ft
106 m
1.55 mi
2.5 km
42.4111°N 113.6441°W / 42.4111; -113.6441 (Pine Knob)

References

  1. "Albion Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  2. "Cache Peak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  3. "Albion Range". PeakBagger. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
  4. "Cache Peak, Idaho". PeakBagger. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
  5. Sawtooth National Forest (Map) (1998 ed.). Sawtooth National Forest, U.S. Forest Service.
  6. "Albion Range". Summitpost. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
  7. "City of Rocks National Preserve". NPS.gov. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
  8. "Pomerelle Mountain Resort". Pomerelle Mountain Resort. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
  9. Castilleja christii. Archived 2011-10-26 at the Wayback Machine Center for Plant Conservation. Retrieved 10-23-2011.
  10. Hartman, Ronald L. (January–March 1985). "A new species of Cymopterus (Umbelliferae) from southern Idaho". Brittonia. New York Botanical Garden. 37 (1): 102–105. doi:10.2307/2806254. ISSN 0007-196X. JSTOR 2806254.
  11. Moseley, Robert K. (October 1993), The status and distribution of Christ's Indian paintbrush (Castilleja christii) and Davis' wavewing (Cymopterus davisii) in the Albion Mountains, Sawtooth National Forest and City of Rocks National Reserve (PDF), Idaho Department of Fish and Game, archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2013, retrieved 22 May 2012
  12. Smith J.W.; Benkman C.W. (2007). "A coevolutionary arms race causes ecological speciation in crossbills". American Naturalist. 169 (4): 455–65. doi:10.1086/511961. PMID 17273981.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. "The Plane Crash of 1945". Untraveled Road. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
  14. "Mount Harrison, ID Bomber Crashes, Feb 1945". GenDisasters. Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
  15. "ID Peaks List Cassia County". List of John. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  16. "Geographic Names Information System". USGS. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
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