Henry Mountains

The Henry Mountains rise abruptly from the flat desert northeast of Bullfrog, reaching over 3,400 metres at Mount Ellen, the highest point. They are one of the most isolated mountain ranges in the lower 48 states — no road crosses them, the nearest services are at Hanksville, and trails are generally unmarked. The herd of American bison that roams the mountains is descended from a transplanted group brought here in 1941 and has been free-ranging ever since.

For visitors at Bullfrog, the Henrys are visible to the north and make a striking backdrop. More adventurous travellers with a 4WD vehicle and desert experience can drive into the foothills from Hanksville and reach trailheads for the higher peaks. The views from the upper slopes — across the Waterpocket Fold, Lake Powell, and into the canyon country of southern Utah — are extraordinary. Be fully self-sufficient: there is no water, no shelter, and no rescue infrastructure.

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A story
The Henry Mountains were the last mountain range in the contiguous United States to be formally mapped. John Wesley Powell's survey team reached them in 1872, and geologist Grove Karl Gilbert studied them in 1877 in a report that essentially founded the science of modern structural geology. Gilbert's description of the mountains' laccolithic formation — where magma intruded between layers of sedimentary rock without erupting — became a foundational text of American earth science.

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