Whitefish Range

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title: "Whitefish Range" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mountain-ranges-of-montana", "mountain-ranges-of-british-columbia", "landforms-of-flathead-county,-montana", "border-ranges-(rocky-mountains)"] description: "Mountain range in Canada and the United States" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitefish_Range" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Mountain range in Canada and the United States ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]

Field	Value
name	Whitefish Range
other_name	Whitefish-MacDonald Range
photo	Glacier mountain range.jpg
photo_size	300
photo_caption	Whitefish Range from Whitefish, Montana
country
subdivision1_type	States
subdivision1
settlement_type	Settlements
settlement
borders_on
area_mi2	1726
length_mi	76
length_orientation	North-south
width_mi	58
width_orientation	East-west
highest	Mount Doupe
highest_location	British Columbia, Canada
elevation_ft	8740
coordinates
map	USA Montana
range	Border Ranges
::

| name = Whitefish Range | native_name = | other_name = Whitefish-MacDonald Range | photo = Glacier mountain range.jpg | photo_size = 300 | photo_caption = Whitefish Range from Whitefish, Montana | etymology = | country = | subdivision1_type = States | subdivision1 = | settlement_type = Settlements | settlement = | borders_on = | geology = | orogeny = | area_mi2 = 1726 | length_mi = 76 | length_orientation= North-south | width_mi = 58 | width_orientation = East-west | highest = Mount Doupe | highest_location = British Columbia, Canada | elevation_ft = 8740 | coordinates =
| map = USA Montana | map_caption = | range = Border Ranges The Whitefish Range is a mountain range stretching north-south from British Columbia, Canada to Montana, United States. It is about 76 mi long and 58 mi wide. Water flowing from its east side drains down the North Fork Flathead River and its west side drains into the Whitefish River, both part of the Columbia River drainage basin.{{cite web |url=http://www.peakbagger.com/range.aspx?rid=14202 |title=Whitefish-MacDonald Range |publisher=Peakbagger.com |accessdate=2009-09-15}}

The mountain range is located north of Columbia Falls and Whitefish in the Flathead Valley, and east of Eureka. The Flathead River separates it from the Swan Range, which would otherwise continue the mountain range southwards.

The Whitefish Range, however, is not particularly high. The highest peaks in the U.S. are Nasukoin Mountain, 8086 ft, and Lake Mountain, 7814 ft. In Canada, the highest peak is Mount Doupe, 8740 ft.{{cite web |url=http://www.summitpost.org/area/range/519551/Whitefish-Range-MT-BC-.html |title=Whitefish Range |publisher=SummitPost |date=June 8, 2009 |accessdate=2009-09-15}}

The Whitefish Range is located west of Glacier National Park and consists mostly of wilderness. It supports a variety of conifers including western red cedar, Douglas fir, lodgepole pine and western larch, but much of the region has been devastated by forest fires. The area also supports large mammals including black bears, grizzly bears, mountain lions, and other species of fish, small mammals, and amphibians.

In the U.S., a large portion of the range has been removed from multiple use designation, including the 34,000-acre Ten Lakes Wilderness Study Area on the Kootenai National Forest. Ten Lakes WSA contains more than 89 miles of trails, many mountain lakes, alpine peaks, and views into Canada and Glacier National Park.

In Canada, the Whitefish Range is referred to as the Galton and MacDonald ranges.

Climate

Poorman Mountain (Montana) is a mountain peak in Montana within the Whitefish Range. Poorman Mountain has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc).

There is no weather station, but this climate table contains interpolated data. |location = Poorman Mountain 48.9599 N, 114.9349 W, Elevation: 7382 ft (1991–2020 normals) |single line = y

|Jan high F = 22.6 |Feb high F = 24.1 |Mar high F = 30.0 |Apr high F = 37.2 |May high F = 46.3 |Jun high F = 52.5 |Jul high F = 62.8 |Aug high F = 63.2 |Sep high F = 53.2 |Oct high F = 38.8 |Nov high F = 27.3 |Dec high F = 21.2

|Jan mean F = 17.1 |Feb mean F = 17.4 |Mar mean F = 21.8 |Apr mean F = 28.0 |May mean F = 36.3 |Jun mean F = 42.3 |Jul mean F = 51.3 |Aug mean F = 51.5 |Sep mean F = 43.1 |Oct mean F = 31.6 |Nov mean F = 22.0 |Dec mean F = 16.1

|Jan low F = 11.7 |Feb low F = 10.6 |Mar low F = 13.7 |Apr low F = 18.9 |May low F = 26.3 |Jun low F = 32.2 |Jul low F = 39.7 |Aug low F = 39.8 |Sep low F = 33.0 |Oct low F = 24.4 |Nov low F = 16.6 |Dec low F = 11.0

|precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation inch = 8.18 |Feb precipitation inch = 6.58 |Mar precipitation inch = 7.45 |Apr precipitation inch = 6.66 |May precipitation inch = 6.29 |Jun precipitation inch = 8.06 |Jul precipitation inch = 2.57 |Aug precipitation inch = 2.00 |Sep precipitation inch = 3.31 |Oct precipitation inch = 5.38 |Nov precipitation inch = 7.95 |Dec precipitation inch = 7.59

|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 16, 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.}} There is a SNOTEL weather station below Stahl Peak (Montana). Stahl Peak also has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc) but has an overall warmer climate, due to its lower elevation. |location = Stahl Peak, Montana, 1991–2020 normals: 6030ft (1838m) |single line = Yes

|Jan high F = 25.1 |Feb high F = 27.8 |Mar high F = 34.8 |Apr high F = 43.0 |May high F = 51.7 |Jun high F = 56.5 |Jul high F = 66.5 |Aug high F = 66.1 |Sep high F = 55.9 |Oct high F = 41.6 |Nov high F = 29.9 |Dec high F = 23.5 |year high F =

|Jan mean F = 20.2 |Feb mean F = 21.4 |Mar mean F = 26.9 |Apr mean F = 33.8 |May mean F = 41.9 |Jun mean F = 46.8 |Jul mean F = 55.0 |Aug mean F = 54.8 |Sep mean F = 46.6 |Oct mean F = 35.2 |Nov mean F = 25.1 |Dec mean F = 18.9 |year mean F =

|Jan low F = 15.3 |Feb low F = 15.1 |Mar low F = 19.1 |Apr low F = 24.5 |May low F = 32.0 |Jun low F = 37.0 |Jul low F = 43.6 |Aug low F = 43.5 |Sep low F = 37.2 |Oct low F = 28.7 |Nov low F = 20.3 |Dec low F = 14.2 |year low F =

|precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation inch = 7.11 |Feb precipitation inch = 5.49 |Mar precipitation inch = 6.45 |Apr precipitation inch = 5.44 |May precipitation inch = 5.72 |Jun precipitation inch = 6.47 |Jul precipitation inch = 2.27 |Aug precipitation inch = 1.97 |Sep precipitation inch = 3.25 |Oct precipitation inch = 5.38 |Nov precipitation inch = 6.98 |Dec precipitation inch = 6.39 |year precipitation inch =

|source 1 = XMACIS2 |url = https://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/ |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |title = xmACIS2 |access-date = October 12, 2023 |source 2 = NOAA (Precipitation) |url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USS0014A12S&format=pdf |title= Stahl Peak, Montana 1991-2020 Monthly Normals |access-date = October 16, 2023

Notes

References

1. Holland, Stuart S.. (1976). "Landforms of British Columbia: A Physiographic Outline". [[Government of British Columbia]].
2. "Ten Lakes Scenic Area".

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