Raft River Mountains

Raft River Mountains
A photo of the Raft River Mountains viewed from the southeast Raft River Mountains from the southeast
Highest point
Peak	Bull Mountain
Elevation
Coordinates
Dimensions
Length	E/W
Width	N/S
Area
Geography
Country	United States
State	Utah

The Raft River Mountains are a mountain range in northern Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The mountains are located in Raft River Division of the Minidoka Ranger District of Sawtooth National Forest. The highest point is Bull Mountain near the Dunn Benchmark at 9,925 ft (3,025 m), and the ghost town of Yost is on the north central slopes. Tributaries of the Raft River drain the northern slopes of the range to the Snake River then Columbia River and Pacific Ocean, while the southern slopes drain to the Great Salt Lake.

Geography

Located in the Sawtooth National Forest, the range's montane forest ecoregion is "surrounded by montane steppes and desert". The range is oriented in an east-west orientation, and is a portion of the Great Basin Divide and the Basin and Range Province between the Bonneville Basin of the Great Basin (south).

The Raft River Mountains are the southeast edge of the Columbia Basin (green) in the small northwest Utah portion of the Great Basin Divide. The Great Basin side (tan) of the range is in the Northern Great Salt Lake Desert Watershed (formerly of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville).

Geology

The central mass of the range consists of Precambrian metamorphic rocks. The Elba Quartzite with interlayered schist outcrops along the southern slopes of the range and in the Grouse Creek Mountains to the southwest. Cambrian quartzite outcrops in the west part of the range and in the Grouse Creek range and the Goose Creek Mountains to the west. The thinly bedded quartzites have been quarried for building stone in the area.

Flora and fauna

The range's plants and animals include pines and rodents of the Northern Basin & Range ecoregion of the Columbia Plateau.

Camping and activities

The range's Bull Flat trail leads to Bull Flat, Bull Lake, and Bull Mountain, and passes former mines (the trailhead is near a campground).

Peaks

The peaks of the Raft River Mountains

Mountain Peak	Elevation	Prominence	Isolation	Location
Bull Mountain	7003302514000000000♠9,925 ft 3025 m	7003113538000000000♠3,725 ft 1135 m	7004391600000000000♠24.3 mi 39.2 km
George Peak	7003292638000000000♠9,601 ft 2926 m	7002177090000000000♠581 ft 177 m	7003999000000000000♠6.21 mi 9.99 km
Peak 9,335	7003284531000000000♠9,335 ft 2845 m	7002156970000000000♠515 ft 157 m	7003505000000000000♠3.14 mi 5.05 km
Peak 8,402	7003256093000099999♠8,402 ft 2561 m	7002177399999900000♠582 ft 177 m	7003327000000000000♠2.03 mi 3.27 km
Mahagony Peaks	7003254203000000000♠8,340 ft 2542 m	7002146300000000000♠480 ft 146 m	7003793000000000000♠4.93 mi 7.93 km
Peak 8,220 East	7003250546000000000♠8,220 ft 2505 m	7001975400000000000♠320 ft 98 m	7003451000000000000♠2.80 mi 4.51 km
Peak 8,220 West	7003250546000000000♠8,220 ft 2505 m	7001975400000000000♠320 ft 98 m	7003298000000000000♠1.85 mi 2.98 km
Peak 8,140	7003248107000000000♠8,140 ft 2481 m	7002224940000000000♠738 ft 225 m	7003394000000000000♠2.45 mi 3.94 km
Bally Mountains High Point	7003245669000000000♠8,060 ft 2457 m	7002204520000000000♠671 ft 205 m	7003578000000000000♠3.59 mi 5.78 km
Peak 7,980	7003243230000000000♠7,980 ft 2432 m	7002134110000000000♠440 ft 134 m	7004101700000000000♠6.32 mi 10.17 km
Peak 7,875	7003240030000000000♠7,875 ft 2400 m	7002102410000000000♠336 ft 102 m	7003473000000000000♠2.94 mi 4.73 km
Crystal Peak	7003237134000000000♠7,780 ft 2371 m	7002107900000000000♠354 ft 108 m	7003272000000000000♠1.69 mi 2.72 km
Bald Knoll	7003228112000000000♠7,484 ft 2281 m	7002144470000000000♠474 ft 144 m	7003457000000000000♠2.84 mi 4.57 km
Black Hills High Point	7003216408000000000♠7,100 ft 2164 m	7002121920000000000♠400 ft 122 m	7003333000000000000♠2.07 mi 3.33 km

Gallery

• Sawtooth Raft River Cabin.JPG

  An old Forest Service Cabin in the Raft River Mountains

• 

  Road along a snowbank in the Raft River Mountains