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Porcupine Ridge

ridge in Glacier County, Montana, United States

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 16, 2026
Entity authorityQ49695501 ↗
Source-derived summary

Porcupine Ridge is a prominent mountain ridge located in the Goat Haunt area of Glacier National Park, in Glacier County of the U.S. state of Montana. This mountain is part of the Livingston Range, and is situated 1.5 mile east of the Continental Divide. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises approximately 3,900 feet (1,200 meters) above Lake Frances in one mile, and nearly 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) above Waterton Lake in five miles. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains to the Waterton River via Olson and Valentine Creeks. This geographical feature's name was officially adopted in 1911 by the United States Board on Geographic Names.

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Porcupine Ridge is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone characterized by long, usually very cold winters, and short, cool to mild summers. Winter temperatures can drop below −10 °F with wind chill factors below −20 °F. This climate supports the remnant of an unnamed glacier on the northeast aspect below the summit.

Geology

Like the mountains in Glacier National Park, Porcupine Ridge is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods. Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was initially uplifted beginning 170 million years ago when the Lewis Overthrust fault pushed an enormous slab of precambrian rocks 3 mi (4.8 km) thick, 50 miles (80 km) wide and 160 miles (260 km) long over younger rock of the cretaceous period.

Editorial summary

“Porcupine Ridge” enters the record as ridge in Glacier County, Montana, United States. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Porcupine, Ridge and ridge can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1911—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Porcupine, Ridge and ridge.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Porcupine Ridge” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Porcupine, Ridge and ridge provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q49695501. Authority coordinates are 48.918, -113.962. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1911.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Porcupine Ridge”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Porcupine Ridge primary sources, Porcupine Ridge archive and Porcupine research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Porcupine Ridge”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Porcupine Ridge” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.