The Albion Range extends 25 miles north from the Idaho/Utah border to a point just south east of Burley. The range varies in width from 10 to 25 miles and includes a parallel southwestern ridgeline named Middle Mountain, and an eastern ridgeline known both as the Malta Range and the Cotterell Mountains. On the main Albion crest, Cache Peak reaches an elevation of 10,339 feet, making it not only the highest Albion peak but also the highest point in Idaho south of the Snake River.

 Cotterell Mountain Hike   A trip report from Rick Baugher.

    For the peak bagger southern Idaho's Cotterel Mountain el 7120+ is a
gimme, and if you collect range highpoints and prominences greater than
1000', you are in luck.   

From Idaho 77 at Connor Creek Summit el 5750' a 4 mile road of the 2WD/4WD variety is passable much of the year to the telecommunications facilities on top. But why drive when you can walk? This is BLM land. Enjoy the sagebrush-juniper biome under a big blue sky. In Spring the sweet music of desert songbirds fills the air. A short half mile south of the com towers is Cotterel
Knob el 7085'. This seemingly pristine basalt column is a much more
interesting objective. From its volcanic perch you might wonder how the
nearby Albion Mountains grew so tall. In fact, why is it that so many
of the big mountain ranges in the Rocky-Great Basin complex have signs
of volcanism lurking around their perimeters? Could these big mountains
have resulted from molten plumes of magma pushed upward by the long
gone subducted Farallon Plate? Perhaps we are now standing on the
smoking gun that gave the Albion Mountains their lift. But enough
geologizing. 

On the northern horizon is an unbroken wall of white stretching from Smoky Dome on the west to King Mountain in the east. For now, this is our "Sierra Nevada of Idaho". With binoculars you can spot a distinct highpoint. It can be understood
from here how the early mapmakers thought Hyndman Peak was the highest
mountain in Idaho.   

Rick Baugher,  March 2007

Columnar basalt. Lots of problems await solution in the Cotterel
Mountains,3/15/07

Looking south to Cotterel Knob.On the left horizon is historic Kelton
Pass, to the right are the Raft River Mountains of Utah, 3/15/07