Colter Peak el. 10640 feet (3,243.1 m) is a mountain peak in the Absaroka Range

Absaroka Range

The Absaroka Range is a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The range stretches about 150 mi across the Montana-Wyoming border, forming the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park and the western side of the Bighorn Basin. The range borders the Beartooth Mountains...

 in the southeastern section of Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...

. The peak is named for mountain man John Colter

John Colter

John Colter was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition . Though party to one of the more famous expeditions in history, Colter is best remembered for explorations he made during the winter of 1807–1808, when Colter became the first known person of European descent to enter the region now known...

, reputedly the first white man to visit the Yellowstone region. Colter Peak was first ascended in 1870 by Lt. Gustavus Cheyney Doane

Gustavus Cheyney Doane

Gustavus Cheyney Doane was a U.S. Army Cavalry Captain, explorer, inventor and Civil War soldier who played a prominent role in the exploration of Yellowstone as a member of the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition.-Early life:...

 and Nathaniel P. Langford

Nathaniel P. Langford

Nathaniel Pitt Langford was an explorer, businessman, bureaucrat, vigilante and historian from St. Paul, Minnesota who played an important role in the early years of the Montana gold fields, territorial government and the creation of Yellowstone National Park.-Montana Gold Fields:On June 16, 1862...

 during the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition. Henry D. Washburn

Henry D. Washburn

Henry Dana Washburn was a U.S. Representative from Indiana and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...

, the expedition leader named the peak for Langford and Doane. For unknown reasons, geologist Ferdinand V. Hayden moved those names to peaks farther north in 1871 during the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871

Hayden Geological Survey of 1871

The Hayden Geological Survey of 1871 explored the region of northwestern Wyoming that later became Yellowstone National Park in 1872. It was led by geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden...

. In 1888, Philetus Norris

Philetus Norris

Philetus W. Norris was the second superintendent of Yellowstone National Park and was the first person to be paid for that position.- Early life :...

 the second park superintendent, named the peak Mount Forum for unknown reasons. In 1885, geologist Arnold Hague

Arnold Hague

Arnold Hague was a United States geologist who did many geological surveys in the U.S., of which the best known was that for Yellowstone National Park. He also had assignments in China and Guatemala. He became a member of the U. S...

 gave the peak its official name: Colter Peak.

The first detailed map of Yellowstone Lake

Yellowstone Lake

Yellowstone Lake is the largest body of water in Yellowstone National Park, The lake is 7,732 feet above sea level and covers with 110 miles of shoreline. While the average depth of the lake is 139 feet its deepest spot is at least 390 feet...

was sketched by Langford from this peak on September 7, 1870.

Doane's account of his and Langford's ascent into the Absaroka Range (The peak ascended is today's Colter Peak):