Bighorn Mountains

Bighorn Mountains, range of the northern Rocky Mountains in southern Montana, U.S., extending southeastward in an anticlinal arch across north-central Wyoming for 120 miles (193 km). Varying in width between 30 and 50 miles (50 and 80 km), the mountains rise abruptly 4,000 to 5,000 feet (1,200 to 1,500 metres) above the surrounding Great Plains and Bighorn Basin. Their average height is 8,000 to 13,000 feet (2,400 to 4,000 metres), and the highest point is Cloud Peak (13,165 feet [4,013 metres]) in Wyoming. In addition to the unique geologic formations, the scenic beauty of the mountain slopes is enhanced by the pine, fir, and spruce of the Bighorn National Forest. Hunting, camping, and fishing are popular in the area. The Powder River rises in several headstreams in the southern foothills.

The Medicine Wheel—a prehistoric relic, national historic landmark, and sacred site—is found on the northwest shoulder of Medicine Mountain in Wyoming at an elevation of 9,642 feet (2,939 metres). Loose and embedded white limestone rocks create a wheel pattern, with a central hub 10–12 feet (3–3.7 metres) across and 28 irregularly spaced spokes that radiate laterally to an outer rim, forming a circle about 80 feet (24 metres) in diameter. It has five cairns along the rim and one cairn extended from the main wheel by a separate line of stones. The extended cairn aligns with the central hub and the summer solstice sunrise position on the distant horizon. Because the Medicine Wheel has a horizon view that goes below astronomical zero degrees azimuth, it was a perfect place for prehistoric sky watching and remains an excellent site from which to view the heavens today.