Red desert, ice caves and wild horses — symbols of a most unique piece of Montana's mountain country — the island-like Pryor Mountains of south central Montana.

From the Yellowstone River Valley and the big-little town of Billings, these Pryors appear as hills when compared to the towering Beartooth peaks 30 miles to the west. But their looks are deceiving. The view from an airplane flying just beyond their flanks, especially along the east face, reveals a steep, rugged and high landscape.

Named after Nathaniel Pryor of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Pryors rise from the heart of traditional Crow Country. Still used for vision quests today, this treasured land contains sacred sights and ancestral burial grounds. In order to safeguard these cultural and religious places, the segment of the Pryors located on the Crow Indian Reservation is closed to non-tribal members.

The Pryors are made up of two high ridges, each about 20 miles across. The northern stretch is within the boundaries of the Crow Reservation; here the highest points, a little over 7,300 feet, descend gradually into lower timbered buttes.

Ice caves and the 31,000-acre Pryor Mountain National Wild Horse Range highlight the southern part where the summits top out over 8,700 feet. A dramatic plunge of 5,000 feet to a desert environment exists at the southern most tip. This area is on public ground.

-from page 390, "Lower Yellowstone River"