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Factory Hill

Factory Hill, seen from above at true elevation

Factory Hill rises to 2,902 m in Wyoming. Table Mountain stands 3,365 m to the east, 24 miles off. The nearest named place is Mount Sheridan, a peak 2.0 miles away. Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway passes 29 miles off. 54 named summits stand within 25 miles.

The story

Factory Hill el. 9,527 feet (2,904 m) is a mountain peak in the Red Mountains of Yellowstone National Park. It is directly north of Mount Sheridan and west of the Heart Lake Geyser Basin. Early in the history of Yellowstone, this peak was called Red Mountain by the Hayden surveys, a name later transferred to the range in which it resides. In 1885, the Hague Geological Survey gave the peak its present name based on the following passage by Nathaniel P. Langford in his 1871 Scribner's account of the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition. Langford's party was camped near the south arm of Yellowstone Lake at the time. Factory Hill was so named because the noise and steam proceeding from them resembled in this respect an active factory town.

Through the hazy atmosphere we beheld, on the shore of the inlet opposite our camp, the steam ascending in jets from more than fifty craters [Heart Lake Geyser Basin] giving it much the appearance of a New England factory village.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Wikidata Q5428774, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.

What the record says

Elevation
2902 m

How to reach it

Coordinates44.29494, -110.53354

Named places within 25 miles

Hot springs
  • Bluebell Spring: 8.6 mi
  • Bluebell Spring: 8.6 mi
  • Seismograph Pool: 8.6 mi
  • Seismograph Pool: 8.6 mi
  • Lakeside Spring: 8.6 mi
Peaks: 54
Picnic sites: 26
  • Lewis Lake Picnic Area: 4.7 mi
  • West Thumb Picnic Area: 8.5 mi
  • East Divide Picnic Area: 10.7 mi
  • Pumice Point Picnic Area: 11.4 mi
  • Fisherman's Access Picnic Area: 11.6 mi
Waterfalls: 26
Springs: 21
Attractions: 20
Cliffs: 16
Parks: 7
  • Basin Creek: 5.5 mi
  • Basin Creek: 6.1 mi
  • Basin Creek: 6.3 mi
  • Frank Island Bay South: 12.1 mi
  • Frank Island Bay North: 12.5 mi
Nature reserves: 1
Historic sites: 1

Other summits around it

The highest named summits within 25 miles of Factory Hill. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.

SummitBearingElevationDistance
Table MountainE 90°3,365 m23.6 mi
Mount HumphreysE 83°3,358.5 m23.4 mi
Mount SchurzE 82°3,356 m23.1 mi
Atkins PeakENE 76°3,331 m23.7 mi
Plenty Coups PeakENE 74°3,330 m23.9 mi
Turret MountainE 94°3,304 m23.5 mi
Colter PeakE 89°3,243 m21.0 mi
Mount LangfordENE 70°3,238 m22.4 mi

When to go

Light through the year

DateSunriseGolden hourSunset
March equinox07:2618:5619:35
June solstice05:3920:2621:10
September equinox07:1018:4319:21
December solstice07:5615:5916:47

Local time (America/Denver).

Climate normals

Months averaging 50–80 °F: Jun–Aug.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg °F131625334250575647362314
Precip in3.93.13.02.82.82.41.41.61.92.33.54.2

1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Snake RVR, 13 mi away.

Inside the official boundary of Yellowstone National Park. Quietest months by visitation: Nov and Mar; busiest: Jul.

NPS visitation statistics, monthly averages 2021–2025 (2020 excluded).

Where this comes from

Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.

OpenStreetMapWikidata

OpenStreetMap element node/356511282

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