The Madison Range is a mountain range

Mountain range

A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...

 located in the Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...

 of Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

 and Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

, U.S. The range was named in honor of future President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

, then U.S. Secretary of State James Madison

James Madison

James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...

 by Meriwether Lewis

Meriwether Lewis

Meriwether Lewis was an American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition also known as the Corps of Discovery, with William Clark...

 as the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Lewis and Clark Expedition

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...

 travelled through Montana in 1805. The range extends 80 miles (128.7 km) from West Yellowstone, Montana

West Yellowstone, Montana

West Yellowstone is a town in Gallatin County, Montana, adjacent to Yellowstone National Park. The population was 1,177 at the 2000 census. The town is served by Yellowstone Airport...

 to Bozeman, Montana

Bozeman, Montana

Bozeman is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The 2010 census put Bozeman's population at 37,280 making it the fourth largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the Bozeman micropolitan area, which consists...

 and is flanked by the Madison River

Madison River

The Madison River is a headwater tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 183 miles long, in Wyoming and Montana. Its confluence with the Jefferson and Gallatin rivers near Three Forks, Montana form the Missouri River....

 on the west and the Gallatin River

Gallatin River

The Gallatin River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 120 mi , in the U.S. states of Wyoming and Montana...

 to the east. The highest point in the range is Hilgard Peak

Hilgard Peak

Hilgard Peak is the tallest mountain in the Madison Range in the U.S. state of Montana. The summit is located in a remote section of the Lee Metcalf Wilderness within the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. The peak was first climbed in 1948. The peak was named for E. W. Hilgard, a geology...

 at 11316 ft (3,449.1 m), a remote peak that wasn't climbed until 1948.

The Madison Range is the westernmost section of what is collectively referred to as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is one of the last remaining large, nearly intact ecosystems in the northern temperate zone of the Earth and is partly located in Yellowstone National Park. Conflict over management has been controversial, and the area is a flagship site among conservation groups...

. Most of the range lies within Beaverhead-Deerlodge

Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest

The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest is the largest of the National Forests in Montana, United States. Covering , the forest is broken into nine separate sections and stretches across eight counties in the southwestern area of the state. President Theodore Roosevelt named the two forests in...

 and Gallatin National Forest

Gallatin National Forest

Founded in 1899, Gallatin National Forest is located in south central Montana, United States. The forest comprises 2.1 million acres and has portions of both the Absaroka-Beartooth and Lee Metcalf Wilderness areas within its boundaries...

s. A small portion of the range has been further protected with the creation of the Lee Metcalf Wilderness

Lee Metcalf Wilderness

The Lee Metcalf Wilderness is located in the U.S. state of Montana. Created by an act of Congress in 1983, the wilderness is in four separated parcels: Bear Trap Canyon unit, Spanish Peaks unit, Taylor-Hilgard unit, and Monument Mountains unit. The Bear Trap Canyon unit is managed by the U.S....

. The region has grizzly

Brown Bear

The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...

 and black bear

American black bear

The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...

s and at least one pack of wolves

Gray Wolf

The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...

. Most other larger mammal species native to the region continue to exist in the range.

Not far to the south of Hilgard Peak, lies Quake Lake

Quake Lake

Quake Lake is a lake in southwestern Montana, United States. It was created after a massive earthquake struck on August 17, 1959, which killed 27 people. Today, Quake Lake is 190 feet deep and six miles long...

, which was created after the 1959 Yellowstone earthquake

1959 Yellowstone earthquake

The 1959 Yellowstone earthquake also known as the Hebgen Lake earthquake was a powerful earthquake that occurred on August 17, 1959 at 11:37 pm in southwestern Montana. The earthquake was registered at magnitude 7.3 – 7.5 on the Richter scale...

, a 7.5 magnitude

Richter magnitude scale

The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....

earthquake, caused a huge landslide which dammed the Madison River.