Swan Range
Mountain range in Montana, United States
title: "Swan Range" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mountain-ranges-of-montana", "landforms-of-flathead-county,-montana"] description: "Mountain range in Montana, United States" topic_path: "general/mountain-ranges-of-montana" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_Range" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Mountain range in Montana, United States ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Swan Range |
| photo | Jewel Basin.jpg |
| photo_caption | The Jewel Basin part of the Swan Range |
| etymology | Named for Emmett Swan or named for trumpeter swans on Swan Lake |
| country | United States |
| subdivision1_type | States |
| subdivision1 | Montana |
| subdivision3_type | County |
| subdivision3 | Flathead |
| settlement_type | Settlements |
| settlement | |
| area_km2 | 1961 |
| length_mi | 91 |
| length_orientation | north-south |
| width_mi | 66 |
| width_orientation | east-west |
| highest | 9356 ft |
| highest_location | Holland Peak |
| range_coordinates | |
| :: |
| name = Swan Range | native_name = | other_name = | photo = Jewel Basin.jpg | photo_size = | photo_caption = The Jewel Basin part of the Swan Range | etymology = Named for Emmett Swan or named for trumpeter swans on Swan Lake | country = United States | subdivision1_type = States | subdivision1 = Montana | subdivision3_type = County | subdivision3 = Flathead | settlement_type = Settlements | settlement = | geology = | orogeny = | area_km2 = 1961 | length_mi = 91 | length_orientation= north-south | width_mi = 66 | width_orientation = east-west | highest = 9356 ft | highest_location = Holland Peak | elevation_ft = | range_coordinates = | coordinates = | map = | map_size = | map_caption = The Swan Range is a mountain range in western Montana in the United States. Its peaks typically rise to around 8000 to. The range is bounded by the South Fork Flathead River to the east, the Flathead River 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 99 mi from north-northwest to south-southeast. Major cities near the Swan Range include Kalispell and Bigfork to the northwest, and Seeley Lake on the south.
Etymology
The range shares its name with Swan Lake and the 93 mi long, north flowing Swan River on its west side. The name may have originated from trumpeter swans 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
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Flathead_lake.jpg" caption="Satellite view of the Flathead River Valley with the Swan Range in the upper quarter of the image"] ::
The Swan Range, part of the Kootenay Mountains, is bordered by the Mission Range, a smaller mountain range, to the west, and by the similar-sized Flathead Range to the east and northeast. It is about 99 mi north to south and 66 mi wide. The highest peak is 9356 ft Holland Peak, situated in the southern quarter of the range in Missoula County. Streams running off the east side of the range drain into the 98 mi South Fork Flathead River. The 50 mi long Hungry Horse Reservoir, formed by damming the South Fork, lies to the northeast. Badrock Canyon, through which flows the Flathead River, separates the Swan Range from the Whitefish Range in the north. The range is part of the Pend Oreille River drainage basin, which eventually drains to the Columbia River.
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, 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 9000 ft, but the National Geographic Society and some early sources place Swan Peak - the second highest mountain in the range - at 11000 ft, and state that it is the highest mountain. "The range to the east of [the Swan River valley] is the Swan Range. It is the highest and least broken ridge in the region, the higher peaks rising to ten and eleven thousand feet." ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/SwanRangecrest.jpg" caption="Looking west from the Swan Range crest, near Holland Lake"] ::
Listed from north to south, the cities and towns bordering the Swan Range are Columbia Falls, La Salle, Creston, Bigfork, Seeley Lake and Lincoln. While the southern part lies in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and the east part is largely undeveloped, the west side is used for some ranching and parallels Montana Highway 83.
Highest peaks
::data[format=table title="5 highest peaks of the Swan Range"]
| Name | Height | Prominence |
|---|---|---|
| Holland Peak | 9356 ft | 4036 ft |
| Swan Peak | 9289 ft | 2329 ft |
| Ptarmigan Benchmark | 9083 ft | 2483 ft |
| Goat Mountain | 8845 ft | 1765 ft |
| Cardinal Peak | 8582 ft | 1342 ft |
| :: |
Climate
|location = Holland Peak 47.5330 N, 113.5857 W, Elevation: 8632 ft (1991–2020 normals) |single line = y
|Jan high F = 23.6 |Feb high F = 23.8 |Mar high F = 28.6 |Apr high F = 34.2 |May high F = 43.4 |Jun high F = 50.8 |Jul high F = 61.9 |Aug high F = 62.1 |Sep high F = 53.0 |Oct high F = 39.2 |Nov high F = 27.7 |Dec high F = 22.3
|Jan mean F = 17.1 |Feb mean F = 16.0 |Mar mean F = 19.7 |Apr mean F = 24.8 |May mean F = 33.3 |Jun mean F = 40.2 |Jul mean F = 50.0 |Aug mean F = 50.1 |Sep mean F = 41.9 |Oct mean F = 30.6 |Nov mean F = 21.4 |Dec mean F = 16.2
|Jan low F = 10.7 |Feb low F = 8.3 |Mar low F = 10.7 |Apr low F = 15.3 |May low F = 23.1 |Jun low F = 29.7 |Jul low F = 38.0 |Aug low F = 38.6 |Sep low F = 30.8 |Oct low F = 21.9 |Nov low F = 15.0 |Dec low F = 10.1
|precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation inch = 8.55 |Feb precipitation inch = 7.52 |Mar precipitation inch = 6.64 |Apr precipitation inch = 6.30 |May precipitation inch = 4.90 |Jun precipitation inch = 4.87 |Jul precipitation inch = 1.76 |Aug precipitation inch = 1.91 |Sep precipitation inch = 3.48 |Oct precipitation inch = 5.31 |Nov precipitation inch = 8.63 |Dec precipitation inch = 7.34
|source=PRISM Climate Group{{cite web |url= http://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/ |title= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University |publisher= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University |access-date= October 4, 2023 |quote= To find the table data on the PRISM website, start by clicking Coordinates (under Location); copy Latitude and Longitude figures from top of table; click Zoom to location; click Precipitation, Minimum temp, Mean temp, Maximum temp; click 30-year normals, 1991-2020; click 800m; click Retrieve Time Series button.}}
|location = Swan Peak 47.7195 N, 113.6431 W, Elevation: 8504 ft (1991–2020 normals) |single line = y
|Jan high F = 22.9 |Feb high F = 23.6 |Mar high F = 29.1 |Apr high F = 34.5 |May high F = 43.7 |Jun high F = 50.9 |Jul high F = 62.0 |Aug high F = 62.1 |Sep high F = 52.7 |Oct high F = 38.8 |Nov high F = 27.2 |Dec high F = 21.5
|Jan mean F = 16.7 |Feb mean F = 16.2 |Mar mean F = 20.4 |Apr mean F = 25.4 |May mean F = 33.9 |Jun mean F = 40.7 |Jul mean F = 50.5 |Aug mean F = 50.5 |Sep mean F = 42.3 |Oct mean F = 30.7 |Nov mean F = 21.1 |Dec mean F = 15.7
|Jan low F = 10.6 |Feb low F = 8.7 |Mar low F = 11.6 |Apr low F = 16.3 |May low F = 24.1 |Jun low F = 30.6 |Jul low F = 38.9 |Aug low F = 38.9 |Sep low F = 31.8 |Oct low F = 22.6 |Nov low F = 15.0 |Dec low F = 9.9
|precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation inch = 9.92 |Feb precipitation inch = 7.92 |Mar precipitation inch = 8.41 |Apr precipitation inch = 8.28 |May precipitation inch = 6.66 |Jun precipitation inch = 7.13 |Jul precipitation inch = 2.07 |Aug precipitation inch = 2.21 |Sep precipitation inch = 3.82 |Oct precipitation inch = 6.57 |Nov precipitation inch = 9.11 |Dec precipitation inch = 8.92
|source=PRISM Climate Group{{cite web |url= http://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/ |title= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University |publisher= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University |access-date= October 4, 2023 |quote= To find the table data on the PRISM website, start by clicking Coordinates (under Location); copy Latitude and Longitude figures from top of table; click Zoom to location; click Precipitation, Minimum temp, Mean temp, Maximum temp; click 30-year normals, 1991-2020; click 800m; click Retrieve Time Series button.}}
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.
References
- {{cite gnis
- (19 October 2008). "Swan Range". SummitPost.
- Federal Writer's Project, p. 242
- (1 November 2004). "Swan Range". Peakbagger.com.
- NGS, p.365
- "Holland Peak". Peakbagger.com.
- "Swan Peak". Peakbagger.com.
- "Ptarmigan Benchmark". Peakbagger.com.
- "Goat Mountain". Peakbagger.com.
- "Cardinal Peak". Peakbagger.com.
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