Ruby Range (Montana)
{{Short description|Mountain range in Montana, US}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Ruby Range
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| country = United States
| state = Montana
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| highest= Ruby Peak Laurin Canyon Quadrangle, Montana-Madison County, 7.5 Minute Series, USGS, 1963
| elevation_ft = 9391
| coordinates = {{coord|45|18|46|N|112|13|41|W|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
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| map = USA Montana
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The Ruby Range is a mountain range in Madison and Beaverhead counties Montana. The range lies east of Dillon and southwest of Sheridan.{{cite gnis |id=775996 |name=Ruby Range }}Dillon, Montana, 30x60 Minute Quadrangle, USGS, 1983 The highest point, Ruby Peak with an elevation of {{convert|9391|ft|m}},{{cite web|title=Montana's Tallest Peaks by Mountain Range|url=http://nris.mt.gov/montanafacts/tallpeaks.asp|accessdate=15 November 2011}} lies in the northeast portion of the range. Gordon Peak with an elevation of {{convert|8478|ft|abbr=on}} lies in the southwest part of the range to the southeast of Dillon.Elk Gulch Quadrangle, Montana, 7.5 Minute Series, USGS, 1961 The range is oriented NE–SW with a length of about {{convert|42.7|km}}. The Beaverhead River lies to the northwest of the range. Ruby River runs along the southeast and east flanks of the range with Ruby Reservoir on the southeast flank. Blacktail Deer Creek drains the southwest portion of the range and the Blacktail Mountains lie to the southwest. The Tobacco Root Mountains and the Greenhorn Range lie to the northeast and east respectively.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) owns most of the range, and 26,611 acres of BLM land are protected as a Wilderness Study Area.{{cite web|title=National Landscape Conservation System - Wilderness Study Areas|url=http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/ut/natural_resources/nlcs/wilderness_study_areas.Par.88202.File.dat/WSAs%20throughout%20the%20Country.pdf|accessdate=14 December 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/6EbwKxmUe?url=http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/ut/natural_resources/nlcs/wilderness_study_areas.Par.88202.File.dat/WSAs%20throughout%20the%20Country.pdf|archivedate=22 February 2013}}
The Rubies are dry mountains, so springs are few.{{cite book|last=Cunningham|first=Bill|title=Montana Wildlands|year=1990|publisher=American Geographic Publishing|location=Helena, MT|isbn=0-938314-93-9|pages=60}} The terrain is steep, especially in the northern end, with more than half the land above 8,000'.
This causes trees to be stunted in the shallow soils. Despite this, forest cover is extensive, with Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, and spruce common, while the highest slopes are home to vast stands of pure limber pine intermixed with small parks, a habitat type found more commonly far to the south. Other features of the Rubies include free-standing rock walls, caves, cliffs, and talus. Wildlife includes a few elk, a large mule deer herd and excellent blue grouse habitat.