Electric Peak Engineering Mission

Electric Peak is the highest summit in Yellowstone's Gallatin Range. Its name is rooted in an extraordinary event back in 1872, before Montana was a state.

During the Hayden Geological Survey, a team led by Henry Gannett attempted to climb the peak. As they neared the summit, a thunderstorm rolled in. Gannett, who was ahead of the group, started experiencing a tingling and heard a crackling noise. As he reached the top, his hair stood completely on end, and the electrical noise became deafening. Gannett felt like a lightning rod.

When the other members of the party approached, they could feel the energy in the air. One member, Alexander E. Brown, received a jolt that knocked him over. The electrical activity was so intense that they had to retreat several hundred feet before it subsided.

Gannett aptly named the mountain "Electric Peak." There was a proposal in 1908 to rename it "Edison Peak" after Thomas Edison, but Gannett strongly opposed the change.