Crown Butte is a summit in Park County, Montana, United States.
Description Crown Butte is located north-northwest of Cooke City, Montana, in the Beartooth Mountains which are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. It is set within the New World Mining District and the Custer-Gallatin National Forest. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's west slope drains into headwaters of the Stillwater River, whereas the east slope drains into Miller Creek → Soda Butte Creek → Lamar River. Topographic relief is modest as the summit rises above Miller Creek in . The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names. The area around Crown Butte from Cooke City to Scotch Bonnet Mountain offers some of the finest backcountry snowmobiling in the country.Cooke City Winter Trail Map, 2013, US Forest Service, fs.usda.gov On January 17, 2009, a snowmobiler riding on Crown Butte triggered an avalanche resulting in one fatality.2008–2009 Annual Report, Doug Chabot, Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, p. 14, Retrieved 2024-08-05. On December 31, 2022, one snowmobiler was killed in a very large avalanche on Crown Butte.Snowmobiler avalanche fatality on Crown Butte, Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, Retrieved 2024-08-05.
Climate Based on the Köppen climate classification, Crown Butte is located in a subarctic climate zone characterized by long, usually very cold winters, and mild summers. Winter temperatures can drop below 0 °F with wind chill factors below −10 °F.
See also Geology of the Rocky Mountains
References
External links Weather: Crown Butte Crown Butte (photo): Flickr Crown Butte (photo): Mtavalanche.com Crown Butte (photo): Mtavalanche.com