III Streams
Agate Creek—E: 10—1878—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Alum Creek—H: 9—Name known prior to 1870—Characteristic.
Amethyst Greek—E: 12—1878—U. S. G. S.—Flows from Amethyst Mountain.
Amphitheater Creek—D: 13—1885—U. S. G. S.—From form of valley near its mouth.
Antelope Creek—E: 10—1870—Washburn Party—Characteristic.—This name is often applied locally to a tributary of the Yellowstone just above Trout Creek.
Arnica Creek—L: 8—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Aster Creek—P: 7—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Astrigent Creek—J: 12—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Atlantic Creek—S: 13—1873—Jones—Flows from Two-Ocean-Pass down the Atlantic slope.
Badger Creek—P: 13—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Basin Creek—Q: 9—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Bear Creek—B: 7—1863—Party of prospectors under one Austin. On the way they found fair prospects in a creek on the east side of the Yellowstone, and finding also a hairless cub, called the gulch “Bear.”—Topping.
Bear Creek—K: 11—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Beaver Creek—O: 9—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Beaver Dam Creek—O: 12—1871—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Bechler River—R: 1—1872—U. S. G. S.—For Gustavus R. Bechler, topographer on the Snake River Division of the Hayden Expedition of 1872.
Berry Creek—U: 6—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Black-tail Deer Creek—B: 8—Named prior to 1870—Characteristic.
Bluff Creek—H: 10—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Bog Creek—H: 10—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Boone Creek—T: 1—Named prior to 1870—For Robert Withrow, an eccentric pioneer of Irish descent, who used to call himself “Daniel Boone the Second.”
Bridge Creek—K: 9—1871—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
“At one point, soon after leaving camp, we found a most singular natural bridge of the trachyte, which gives passage to a small stream, which we called Bridge Creek.”—Hayden.
“Natural Bridge” is really over a branch of Bridge Creek.
Broad Creek—F: 10—1871—Barlow—Characteristic.
Buffalo Creek—D: 11—Prior to 1870—Naming party unknown—Characteristic.
Burnt Creek—E: 10—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Cache Creek—F: 13—1863—Prospecting party under one Austin were in camp on this stream when they were surprised by Indians, and all their stock stolen except one or two mules. Being unable to carry all their baggage from this point, they cached what they could not place on the mules, or could not themselves carry. From this circumstance arose the name.
Calfee Creek—F: 13—1880—Norris—For H. B. Calfee, a photographer of note.
“Some seven miles above Cache Creek we passed the mouth of another stream in a deep, narrow, timbered valley, which we named Calfee Creek, after the famous photographer of the Park. Five miles further on, we reached the creek which Miller recognized as the one he descended in retreating from the Indians in 1870, and which, on this account, we called Miller’s Creek.”—Norris.CK
CK Page 7, Annual Report Superintendent of the Park for 1880.
Cañon Creek—1: 5—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Carnelian Creek—E: 9—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Cascade Creek—G: 8—1870—Washburn Party—Characteristic.
Chalcedony Creek—E: 12—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Chipmunk Creek—O: 11—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Clear Creek—L: 11—1878—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Cliff Creek—Q: 13—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Clover Creek—G: 13—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Cold Creek—H: 14—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Columbine Creek—M: 11—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Conant Creek—T: 1—Prior to 1870—By Richard Leigh for one All Conant, who went to the mountains in 1865, and who came near losing his life on this stream.
Cotton Grass Creek—H: 9—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Cougar Creek—G: 2—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Coulter Creek—R: 8—1885—U. S. G. S.—For John M. Coulter, botanist in the Hayden Expedition of 1872.
Crawfish Creek—R: 6—1885—U. S. G. S—Characteristic.
Crevice Creek—C: 7—1867—Prospecting party under one Lou Anderson.
“They found gold in a crevice at the mouth of the first Stream above Bear, and named it, in consequence, Crevice Gulch. Hubbel went ahead the next day for a hunt, and upon his return he was asked what kind of a stream the next creek was. ‘It’s a hell roarer,’ was his reply, and Hell Roaring is its name to this day. The second day after this, he was again ahead, and, the same question being asked him, he said: “’Twas but a slough.” When the party came to it, they found a rushing torrent, and, in crossing, a pack horse and his load were swept away, but the name of Slough Creek remains.”—Topping.
Crooked Creek—R: 10—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Crow Creek—K: 15—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Crystal Creek—D: 11—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Cub Creek—L: 11—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Deep Creek—E: 10—1873—Jones—Characteristic.
De Lacy Creek—M: 6—1880—Norris—For Walter W. De Lacy, first white man known to have passed along the valley. (See “Shoshone Lake.”) First named Madison Creek by the Hayden party in 1871.
Duck Creek—G: 3—1895—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Elk Creek—D: 9—Named prior to 1870—Characteristic.
Elk Tongue Creek—C: 12—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Escarpment Creek—Q: 13—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Fairy Creek—J: 4—1871—Barlow—From “Fairy Falls,” which see.
Falcon Creek—R: 13—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Falls River—S: 1—1872—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Fan Creek—C: 2—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Fawn Creek—C: 5—1878—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Firehole River—I: 4—This name and “Burnt Hole” have been used to designate the geyser basins and the stream flowing through them since at least as far back as 1830. Captain Bonneville says it was well known to his men. The term “Hole” is a relic of the early days when the open valleys or parks among the mountains were called “holes.” The descriptive “fire, naturally arose from the peculiar character of that region.”
Firehole, Little—L: 4—1878—U. S. G. S.—From main stream.
Flint Creek—F: 13—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Forest Creek—Q: 7—1885—U. S. G. S—Characteristic.
Fox Creek—R: 11—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Gallatin River—A: 1—1805—Lewis and Clark—For Albert Gallatin, Secretary of War under President Jefferson.
Gardiner River (5360)—B: 6—This name, which, after “Yellowstone,” is the most familiar and important name in the Park, is the most difficult to account for. The first authentic use of the name occurs in 1870, in the writings of the Washburn party. In Mr. Langford’s journal, kept during the expedition, is the following entry for August 25, 1870: “At nineteen miles from our morning camp we came to Gardiner River, at the mouth of which we camped.” As the party did not originate the name, and as they make no special reference to it in any of their writings, it seems clear that it must already have been known to them at the time of their arrival at the stream. None of the surviving members has the least recollection concerning it. The stream had been known to prospectors during the preceding few years as Warm Spring Creek, and the many “old timers” consulted on the subject erroneously think that the present name was given by the Washburn Party or by the Hayden Party of 1871. What is its real origin is therefore a good deal of a mystery.
The only clue, and that not a satisfactory one, which has come under our observation, is to be found in the book “River of the West,” already quoted. Reference is there made to a trapper by the name of Gardiner, who lived in the Upper Yellowstone country as far back as 1830, and was at one time a companion of Joseph Meek, the hero of the book. In another place it is stated that in 1838, Meek started alone from Missouri Lake (probably Red Rock Lake) “for the Gallatin Fork of the Missouri, trapping in a mountain basin called Gardiner’s Hole…. On his return, in another basin called Burnt Hole, he found a buffalo skull, etc.” As is well known, the sources of the Gallatin and Gardiner are interlaced with each other, and this reference strongly points to the present Gardiner Valley as “Gardiner’s Hole.” The route across the Gallatin Range to Mammoth Hot Springs, and thence back by way of the Firehole Basin, was doubtless a natural one then as it is now. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that this name came from an old hunter in the early years of the century, and that the Washburn Party received it from some surviving descendant of those times.
Geode Creek—C: 8—1878—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Geyser Creek—H: 6—1878—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Gibbon River—I: 4—1872—U. S. G. S.—For Gen. John Gibbon, U. S. A., who first explored it.
“We have named this stream in honor of Gen. John Gibbon, United States Army, who has been in military command of Montana for some years, and has, on many occasions, rendered the survey most important services.”—Hayden.CL
CL Page 55, Sixth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden.
Glade Creek—S: 6—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Glen Creek—C: 6—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Gneiss Creek—G: 1—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Gravel Creek—U: 10—1895—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Grayling Creek—F: 1—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Grouse Creek—O: 10—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Harebell Creek—R: 8—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Hart River—Q: 9—1872—U. S. G. S.—From Hart Lake, of which it is the outlet. (See “Hart Lake.”)
Hell Roaring Creek—C: 9—1867—See “Crevice Creek.”
Indian Creek—E: 6—1878—U. S. G. S.—See “Bannock Peak.”
Iron Creek—L: 4—1871—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Jasper Creek—D: 11—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Jay Creek—S: 13—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Jones Creek—K: 15—1880—Norris—For Captain (now Lieutenant-Colonel) W. A. Jones, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., who first explored it. Captain Jones was leader of an important expedition through the Park in 1873, and has since been largely identified with the development of the Park road system.
Jumper Creek—J: 6—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Lamar River (5,970)—D: 10—1885—U. S. G. S.—For the Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar, Secretary of the Interior during the first administration of President Cleveland. The stream is locally known only by its original designation, the “East Fork of the Yellowstone.”
Lava Creek—D: 7—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Lewis River—R: 7—1872—U. S. G. S.—From “Lewis Lake,” which see.
Lizard Creek—U: 6—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Lost Creek—D: 9—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Lupine Creek—D: 7—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Lynx Creek—Q: 13—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Madison River—G: 1—1805—Lewis and Clark—For James Madison, Secretary of State to Thomas Jefferson.
Magpie Creek—J: 6—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Maple Creek—G: 2—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Mason Creek—L: 16—1881—Norris—For Major Julius W. Mason, U. S. A., commander of escort to Gov. Hoyt, of Wyoming, on the latter’s reconnaissance for a wagon road to the Park in 1881.
Meadow Creek—M: 11—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Middle Creek—L: 15—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Miller Creek—G: 13—1880—Norris—For a mountaineer named Miller. See “Calfee Creek.”
Mink Creek—T: 11—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Mist Creek—I: 14—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Moose Creek—N: 6—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Moss Creek—G: 10—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Mountain Creek—P: 13—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Mountain Ash Creek—R: 3—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Nez Percé Creek (7,237)—J: 4—1878—U. S. G. S.—The Nez Percé Indians passed up this stream on their raid through the Park in 1877. It had previously been called “East Fork of the Firehole.” Prof. Bradley, of the U. S. Geological Survey, christened it Hayden’s Fork in 1872. (See Chapter XIII, Part I.)
Obsidian Creek—E: 6—1879—Norris—Characteristic.
Opal Creek—E: 12—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Otter Creek—H: 8—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Outlet Creek—P: 9—1895—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Owl Creek—T: 5—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Pacific Creek—W: 11—1873—Jones—Flows from Two-Ocean Pass down the Pacific slope.
Panther Creek—D: 5—1878—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Pebble Creek—D: 13—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Pelican Creek—K: 10—Probably named by the Washburn Party in 1870. Hayden and Barlow, in 1871, use the name as though it were already a fixture. Mr. Hedges says of this stream:
“About the mouth of the little stream that we had just crossed were numerous shallows and bars, which were covered by the acre with ducks, geese, huge white-breasted cranes, and long-beaked pelicans, while the solitary albatross, or sea-gull, circled above our heads with a saucy look that drew many a random shot, and cost one, at least, its life.”
Phlox Creek—Q: 13—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Plateau Creek—C: 12—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Polecat Creek—S: 6—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Quartz Creek—E: 10—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Rabbit Creek—K: 4—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Raven Creek—J: 12—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Red Creek—Q: 8—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Rescue Creek—C: 7—1878—U. S. G. S.—Where Everts was not found. (See “Mt. Everts.”)
Rocky Creek—O: 12—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Rose Creek—D: 12—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Sedge Creek—K: 11—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Senecio Creek—S: 13—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Sentinel Creek—J: 4—1872—U. S. G. S.—“The two central ones [geyser mounds] are the highest, and appear so much as if they were guarding the Upper Valley, that this stream was called Sentinel Branch.” Bradley.
Shallow Creek—F: 11—1895—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Sickle Creek—Q: 10—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Slough Creek—D: 10—1867—See “Crevice Creek.”
Snake River (6,808)—W: 8—1805—Lewis and Clark—From the Snake or Shoshone Indians, who dwelt in its valley.
Soda Butte Creek—E: 12—Probably named by miners prior to 1870. From an extinct geyser or hot spring cone near the mouth of the stream.
Solfatara Creek—G: 6—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Solution Creek—M: 8—1885—U. S. G. S.—The outlet of Riddle Lake.
Sour Creek—H: 9—1871—Barlow—Characteristic.
Spirea Creek—R: 6—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Spring Creek—M: 5—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Spruce Creek—J: 6—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Squirrel Creek—N: 5—1878—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Stellaria Creek—C: 3—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Stinkingwater River—L: 16—1807—John Colter—From an offensive hot spring near the junction of the principal forks of the stream. A most interesting fact, to which attention was first publicly called by Prof. Arnold Hague, is the occurrence on the map, which Lewis and Clark sent to President Jefferson in the spring of 1805, of the name “Stinking Cabin Creek,” very nearly in the locality of the river Stinkingwater. Prof. Hague, who published an interesting paper concerning this map in Science for November 4, 1877, thinks that possibly some trapper had penetrated this region even before 1804. But with Lewis and Clark’s repeated statements that no white man had reached the Yellowstone prior to 1805, it seems more likely that the name was derived from the Indians.
Straight Creek—E: 5—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Sulphur Creek—G: 9—1878—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.—Locally this name is applied to a stream which flows from the hot springs at the base of Sulphur Mountain.
Surface Creek—G: 9—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Surprise Creek—P: 9—1885—U. S. G. S.—Its course, as made known by recent explorations, was surprisingly different from that which earlier explorations had indicated.
Tangled Creek—J: 4—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.—A hot water stream which flows in numberless interlaced channels.
Thistle Creek—J: 10—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Thoroughfare Creek—R: 13—1885—U. S. G. S.—Its valley forms part of a very practicable route across the Yellowstone Range.
Timothy Creek—G: 13—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Tower Creek—D: 10—1870—Washburn Party—From “Tower Falls,” which see.
Trail Creek—O: 12—1873—Jones—From an elk trail along it.
Trappers’ Creek—P: 13—1885—U. S. G. S.—A great beaver resort.
Trout Greek—I: 9—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Violet Creek—I: 8—1872—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.—“We named the small stream Violet Creek, from the profusion of violets growing upon its banks.” Peale.
Weasel Creek—K: 9—1895—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Willow Creek—H: 14—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Winter Creek—E: 6—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Witch Creek—O: 8—1878—U. S. G. S.—Probably from the prevalence of hot springs phenomena along its entire course.
Wolverine Creek—R: 8—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Yellowstone River (8,100 and 5,360)—U: 16 (enters map); A: 5 (leaves map).—See Part I, Chapter I.