In addition to being on the Forest Highway system, the route carries a special designation as a National Park Approach Road in accordance with 16 USC Articles 8a and 17-j2. To avoid confusion, the route is herein referred to as the Beartooth Highway. The Beartooth Highway is considered one of the most scenic routes in the United States, and is a scenic wonder, a geological showplace and an engineering marvel. From the highway travelers can see spectacular views of the Absaroka and Beartooth Mountain Range, with scenic panoramas of the highest peaks in this region of the country. The Beartooth Mountains are a section of the greater Absaroka range, extending from Livingston in south-central Montana southeastward to the canyon of the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone in northwestern Wyoming.
Most people admire the Beartooths for their wild, spectacular beauty.
But many geologists marvel at this range for other reasons. A band of igneous rock rich in rare minerals lies along the northern edge of these mountains. The uplifted granite block that comprises most of the range dates back more than three billion years and contains some of the oldest rocks found on the surface of the earth. The Beartooth Mountains form a northwest-trending uplift, roughly 75 miles long and 40 miles wide. The Precambrian granitic massif rises abruptly 5,000 feet in elevation above the Bighorn basin to the east.