Bucking and kicking up hard against the sky between the Missouri
River and the Smith River in West-Central Montana, you will find the Big Belt
Mountains.
The Big Mountains are something of a spur connected to the main
chain of the Rockies. If Wikipedia can be trusted, the mountain
range gained its name because the mountains form belt-like arc as they stretch
out in a generally north-south orientation.
These mountains hold upright some of the oldest sedimentary stone
in the region. These oldest rock
formations were deposited a billion or more years ago. Then, between 670 and 200 million years ago the
region lay below a vast inland sea. The detritus
sifting down through the water to the seabed during this time period created
the younger limestone found within the range.
In the time since, tectonic forces have thrust and buckled these limestone
deposits into the spectacular outcrops and upright cliffs we see today.
In these you might find the fossils of ancient sea creatures.
My house today rests at the feet of these mountains. I reside on the Missouri River side, not far from
7,813-foot Hogback Mountain.
Yesterday, I took a drive across the Missouri River drainage and up
through the twisting limestone canyons to reach the backside of Hogback. I had planned to hike, but ended up simply
touring though the mountains due to rain.
No harm in that.
Along the way, I captured the photographs posted here today.
Looking Down the Canyon
A Patch of Lupine
Inside the Canyon
Paintbrush in
Sunlight
—Mitchell Hegman
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