Place Names of Glacier National Park by Jack Holterman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This reference book, in dictionary form, presents an exhaustive list of Glacier National Park’s place names. Included in the commentary for each name are references to where the name came from, alternative (or older) names for lakes and mountains, the Indian names, details about the personages involved, and a lot of other forgotten lore you won’t find on topographical or hiking maps.
If you love the park, this book by the late Jack Holterman, a scholar of the Blackfeet Language and a long-time historian of the area, will take you deeper into the mysteries of the place. The names and commentary are, in many ways, a miniature history of the people who discovered and safe-guarded this popular, yet threatened national park.
I was honored to be one of the editors of the original version of this book published in 1985 by the Glacier Natural History Association (now called the Glacier Association). The book went out of print for a while, so it was especially nice to see it return several years ago. It’s an excellent resource and a very interesting look at the park.
