Fossil Mountain
Fossil Mountain rises to 3,327 m in Wyoming. Grand Teton stands 4,199 m to the northeast, 8.4 miles off. The nearest named place is Spearhead Peak, a peak 1.2 miles away. Teton Scenic Byway passes 9.6 miles off.
The story
Fossil Mountain (10,921 feet (3,329 m)) is located in the Teton Range, within the Jedediah Smith Wilderness of Caribou-Targhee National Forest, U.S. state of Wyoming. As mapped by J. D. Love and others, the peak of Fossil Mountain consists of relatively flat-lying beds of the Mississippian Madison Limestone and underlying Devonian Darby Formation. Underlying the Darby Formation and exposed in shear cliffs and floors of glacially modified valleys are the Ordovician Bighorn Dolomite, Cambrian Gallatin Formation, Gros Ventre Formation and Flathead Sandstone. In all, there is about 2,700 feet (820 m) of lower and middle Paleozoic sedimentary strata exposed within the area of Fossil Mountain. The study of the sedimentary strata within the Teton Range, shows that these strata consist mostly of limestones and dolomites. The Madison Limestone consists of a basal, dark-colored, fine-grained dolomitic limestones overlain by hundreds of feet of gray limestone that is classified as fossiliferous oosparite and fossiliferous pelsparite. Abundant fossils of shells and corals, which are protected by federal laws, have been found in the Madison Limestone at Fossil Mountain. Underlying the Madison Limestone, the Darby Formation consists mostly of dolomites and limestones that commonly contain discontinuous layers of calcareous shale or sandstone.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q5473493, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 3,327 m
How to reach it
- 9.6 mi off the Teton Scenic Byway
- 10.1 mi off the Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway
Overlooks nearby
- Blacktail Ponds Overlook · 11 mi
- Glacier Overlook · 13 mi
- Mormon Row Viewpoint · 13 mi
- Teton Point Overlook · 14 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Spearhead Peak: 1.2 mi
- Mount Bannon: 1.4 mi
- Two Elk Peak: 2.4 mi
- Murphy Peak: 2.4 mi
- Mount Jedediah Smith: 2.4 mi
- Village Commons: 6.4 mi
- Alta Community Park: 9.2 mi
- Shoshoni Plains South: 10.0 mi
- Sherman Park: 10.1 mi
- Shoshoni Plains: 10.2 mi
- Darby Ice Cave: 1.6 mi
- rendevous mtn trail: 4.6 mi
- Petzoldt's Caves: 8.1 mi
- Windy Point Turnout: 9.9 mi
- Menors Ferry Historic District: 10.3 mi
- Sheep Steps: 3.7 mi
- The Wall: 5.6 mi
- Black Dike: 8.0 mi
- Rock Face: 11.1 mi
- Upper Blacktail Butte: 11.2 mi
- Shoshoko Falls: 6.9 mi
- Cleft Falls: 8.6 mi
- Bannock Falls: 8.9 mi
- Hidden Falls: 11.4 mi
- Ribbon Cascade: 11.9 mi
- Callisto the Huntress - Grizzly Bear: 9.8 mi
- Buffalo Hide: 9.8 mi
- Arrival Over The Snake: 9.8 mi
- Trading for Moccasins: 9.8 mi
- Welcome to Jackson Hole: 9.8 mi
- Green Knoll Fire Memorial: 10.9 mi
- Old Chimney Kiln: 11.9 mi
- Jackson Hole Veteran Monument: 14.3 mi
- Phelps Beach: 5.9 mi
- Palisades Bench: 24.1 mi
- Wilson School Garden: 11.0 mi
- May Park Community Gardens: 15.1 mi
- National Museum of Wildlife Art of the United States: 12.6 mi
- Jackson Hole Historical Society Museum: 14.2 mi
- Paradise Spring: 13.8 mi
- Millers Springs: 14.0 mi
- Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve: 7.5 mi
- Kelly Warm Springs: 15.2 mi
- Sargent's Bay Picnic Area: 24.3 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 9.0 miles of Fossil Mountain. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Teton | NE 44° | 4,199 m | 8.4 mi |
| The Enclosure | NE 43° | 4,060 m | 8.3 mi |
| Mount Owen | NE 43° | 3,924 m | 8.9 mi |
| Middle Teton | NE 45° | 3,903 m | 7.5 mi |
| South Teton | NE 48° | 3,814 m | 6.7 mi |
| Dike Pinnacle | NE 47° | 3,792 m | 7.6 mi |
| Bonney Pinnacle | NE 45° | 3,774 m | 7.6 mi |
| Ice Cream Cone | NE 48° | 3,767 m | 6.8 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:28 | 18:58 | 19:36 |
| June solstice | 05:43 | 20:26 | 21:10 |
| September equinox | 07:12 | 18:45 | 19:23 |
| December solstice | 07:55 | 16:03 | 16:50 |
Local time (America/Boise).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Jun–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 20 | 23 | 30 | 38 | 48 | 56 | 64 | 63 | 54 | 42 | 29 | 20 |
| Precip in | 2.5 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.1 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Alta 1 NNW, 10 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/356506143
Day trips start here
- Driggs · 11 mi
- Jackson · 14 mi
- Grand Teton National Park · 17 mi
Take the scenic way to Fossil Mountain.
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