John Colter

The plaque's Tetons come off a map. William Clark drew Colter's route from what Colter told him, and the dashed line passes a lake Clark named for Nicholas Biddle, who edited the expedition's history, before reaching one named for William Eustis, the Secretary of War. Historians read Biddle as Jackson Lake, this bay's water, and Eustis as Yellowstone Lake. Clark's manuscript drew the two lakes at roughly their true sizes; the engraving published in 1814 made them nearly equal, and maps repeated the error for half a century.

What the plaque says

This bay is named for John Colter discoverer of the Teton Mountains and scenic wonders of the upper Yellowstone. Experienced as a hunter for the 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition, he explored this region in winter of 1807-1808 in the employ of fur trader Manuel Lisa. Dedicated on the 150th anniversary of Colter's historic passage. 1957 Wyoming Historical Society participating

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Cunningham Cabin — 9.5 mi
  An 1888 dog-trot homestead cabin where a posse shot two men in 1893, and the valley decided not to talk about it.
• Mormon Row Historic District — 17 mi
  A Latter-day Saint farm village on Antelope Flats, its ditches still running and the Moulton barns still standing against the Tetons.
• Murie Ranch — 18 mi
  The porch where the Wilderness Act was argued into being; Olaus Murie died a year before it passed, and Mardy kept going for forty more.
• Gros Ventre Slide — 20 mi
  The north face of Sheep Mountain fell into the river in 1925; the dam it made held two years, then emptied onto the town of Kelly.

More markers nearby

• Trappers Monument — 1.9 mi
• Cattleman's Bridge — 5.5 mi
• Dick Turpin — 19 mi