The Beartooth Mountains contain some of the oldest exposed rocks on Earth and provide a unique window into the history of our planet. About 55 million years ago, this massive block of metamorphic basement rock pushed its way upward along steep faults that extend deep into the Earth. The exposed rock consists of coarse-grained gray and pink granites, gneisses, and schists that formed about 3.3 billion years ago when older sedimentary and volcanic rocks were heated and recrystallized deep in the Earth at extremely high temperatures. The plateau contains the oldest exposed rocks in Montana and are among the oldest on Earth.
According to tradition, a band of Crow Indians left the main tribe and moved west into the foothills of the Beartooths many years ago. They painted their council tepees with red clay and this old-time artistry resulted in the name Red Lodge. Not only does this region display some of the most spectacular scenery in the lower forty-eight states, but it is rich in natural resources and abundant in wildlife. It is also a bonanza for scientists. Nature has opened a book on the Beartooths, covering over three billion years of geological history. It makes pretty snappy reading for parties interested in some of the ologies, paleontology for example.
Dr. J. C. F. Siegfriedt, Carbon County and Red Lodge’s greatest promoter, opined that prehistoric men existed here several million years earlier than heretofore believed. A fossilized tooth he ballyhooed as evidence for that fact, proved to be from an antediluvian herbivore that once grazed these parts. Too bad, because if there were people prowling around that long ago, of course, they would pick Montana as the first best place to live.
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.