Little Chief Mountain


Little Chief Mountain is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Little Chief Mountain is easily seen from the Going-to-the-Sun Road, rising to the south of Saint Mary Lake. Little Chief Mountain was named in 1887 by George Bird Grinnell for his friend, Captain Luther North, U.S. Army. "Little Chief" was his Pawnee name, given to him by his Pawnee scouts.

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Little Chief Mountain is located in a subarctic climate zone characterized by long, usually very cold winters, and short, cool to mild summers. Temperatures can drop below −10 °F with wind chill factors below −30 °F.

Geology

Like other mountains in Glacier National Park, Little Chief Mountain is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods. Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was initially uplifted beginning 170 million years ago when the Lewis Overthrust fault pushed an enormous slab of precambrian rocks thick, wide and long over younger rock of the cretaceous period.