Heart Lake
Yellowstone National Park
This lake is located southcentral part of Yellowstone National Park.
| Yellowstone National Park Lakes ~ NPS Image |
 |
| 1 - Yellowstone Lake. 2 - Shoshone Lake. 3 - Lewis Lake. 4 - Heart Lake. |
Heart Lake ~ Yellowstone National Park
| Heart Lake ~ Yellowstone National Park |
| Lake |
Location |
Elevation in Feet |
Fishable |
| Heart Lake |
44°15'54.55" N / 110°29'18.05" W |
7459 |
Yes |
Heart Lake
Lying in the Snake River watershed west of Lewis Lake and south of Yellowstone Lake, Heart Lake was named sometime before 1871 for Hart Hunney, an early hunter. The name does not refer to the heart-like shape of the lake. During the 1890s, historian Hiram Chittenden learned from Richard "Beaver Dick" Leigh, one of Hunney's cronies, about the naming of the lake. Evidently, Capt. John W. Barlow (see Barlow Peak), who explored Yellowstone in 1871, made the incorrect connection between the lake's name and its shape. Chittenden wrote to Barlow, who could recall nothing about the naming, but Leigh "was so positive and gave so much detail" that Chittenden concluded that he was right. Chittenden petitioned Arnold Hague of the USGS to change the spelling back to "Hart Lake," but Hague refused, convinced the shape of the lake determined the name.
