Gardner River

Gardner River
River
Gardner River near its confluence with the Yellowstone River
Country United States
States Wyoming, Montana
Tributaries
 - left Lava Creek, Obsidian Creek
 - right Glen Creek, Indian Creek (Wyoming)
Source
 - location Joseph Peak, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
 - coordinates 44°57′15″N 110°52′03″W / 44.95417°N 110.86750°W [1]
Mouth Yellowstone River
 - location Gardiner, Montana
 - coordinates 45°01′47″N 110°42′01″W / 45.02972°N 110.70028°WCoordinates: 45°01′47″N 110°42′01″W / 45.02972°N 110.70028°W [1]
Length 25 mi (40 km)
Basin 202 sq mi (523 km2) [2]

The Gardner River (also known as the Gardiner River) is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, approximately 25 miles (40 km) long,[1] in northwestern Wyoming and south central Montana in the United States. The entire river is located within Yellowstone National Park. It rises on the slope of Joseph Peak, Gallatin Range in the northwestern part of the park, and winds southeast through Gardner's Hole, a broad subalpine basin which is a popular trout fishing location. Angling on the Gardner is governed by Yellowstone National Park fishing regulations.[3] After merging with Panther Creek, Indian Creek and Obsidian Creek, it then turns north and flows through a steep canyon where it cuts through a basaltic flow from approximately 500,000 years ago known as Sheepeater Cliffs. Below Sheepeater, Glen Creek out of Golden Gate Canyon and Lava Creek out of Lava Creek Canyon join the Gardner near Mammoth Hot Springs. The river crosses the 45th parallel in Gardner Canyon and is also home to a popular hot spring known as The Boiling River.[4] The river continues north through Gardner Canyon and empties into the Yellowstone near Gardiner, Montana.

History

The river and the town of Gardiner were named for Johnson Gardner who was a free trapper in the early 18th century. In the 1830s, he worked northwestern Yellowstone and sold his furs to the American Fur Company.[5] On September 13, 1869 the Cook–Folsom–Peterson Expedition entered the park region and crossed the river at its mouth on their way up the Yellowstone. On August 26, 1870 the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition entered what was to become the northern boundary of Yellowstone National Park at Gardiner and camped near the confluence before they crossed the river and proceeded south up the Yellowstone river.[6] Both these expeditions did not explore the Gardner and thus did not encounter the geothermal features of Mammoth Hot Springs. The 1871 Geological Survey of the park region by F. V. Hayden did explore the Gardner and describe Mammoth Hot Springs, but the Mammoth area itself was named by an illegal concessionaire Harry R. Hohr who tried to claim land in early 1871 in the newly explored park region.[7]

The lower few miles of the river is paralleled by the North Entrance Road Historic District.

Images of the Gardner River
Gardner River Crossing, 1901 
Lower Gardner River road, 1912 
Eagle Nest Rock, an Osprey nesting site in Gardner River Canyon, 1921 
Lower Gardner River, 1923 
Confluence of Yellowstone and Gardner rivers 
Boiling River section of the Gardner 
Grand Loop bridge over Gardner River 
Winter 2009 
Winter 2009 near Boiling River 

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Gardner River, USGS GNIS
  2. ↑ "USGS 06191000 Gardner River near Mammoth YNP". Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  3. ↑ 2009 Yellowstone National Park Fishing Regulations
  4. ↑ "Mammoth Hot Springs Highlights". National Park Service. Retrieved 2012-06-21.
  5. ↑ "Historic Yellowstone". wyomingtalesandtrails.com.
  6. ↑ Chittenden, Hiram Martin (1918). The Yellowstone Park-Historical and Descriptive. Cincinnati, OH: Stewart and Kidd Company Publishers. p. 64.
  7. ↑ Haines, Aubrey L. (1996). Yellowstone Place Names-Mirrors of History. Niwot, Colorado: University of Colorado Press. ISBN 0-87081-383-8.