Sweet Grass Hills

The Sweet Grass Hills (Blackfoot: kátoyissiksi, Cheyenne: vé'ho'ôhtsévóse, Salish: ččaɫalqn , "three peaks" ) are a small group of low mountains rising more than 3,000 feet above the surrounding plains southwest of Whitlash, Montana in Liberty and Toole County, Montana. The tallest point in the hills is West Butte at 6,983 feet (2,128 m). Quite prominent in the local area, they are clearly visible from US Highway 2 to the south and can sometimes be seen as far north as the Crowsnest Highway (Highway 3) near Medicine Hat in Alberta. Other named peaks in the small group are Gold Butte (6,512 feet), East Butte (with two peaks, the taller of which at 6,958 ft), and Mount Lebanon (5807 ft). The Sweet Grass Hills are an example of the island ranges that dot the central third portion of the state of Montana. These island ranges, completely surrounded by the 'sea' of plains and not geographically (or often geologically) part of the Rocky Mountains to the west, are "biological hotspots", containing more species than the prairie below.