Lost Lake Ranch -- The Geography
Lost Lake Ranch is located in Northcentral Montana, south of historical Fort Benton and west of Geraldine. Driving on highway 80 from Fort Benton towards Stanford, one turns south just before mile marker # 19 and then follows the signs for approximately 10 miles to the ranch headquarters.
Lost Lake Ranch is located In the heart of the Big Sky Country, what modern authors call" The Last Best Place."
"Lost Lake
Ranch" derives its name from a lake in the middle of it that can be seen from a
distance, but from only one direction. Shear rock cliffs plunge from the surrounding
prairie and hide this "lost lake" from view. The lake was once a segment of the
Missouri River that was permanently diverted by the ice age, 50,000 to 70,000 years ago.
Now referred to as the "Dry Falls of the Missouri", it was used as a buffalo
jump by the original stewards of the land. Lost Lake Ranch lies adjacent to this
lake and extends from the plains through the old Missouri
River breaks and into the
foothills of the
Highwood Mountains.
The lake is one mile long and one-quarter mile wide with an average depth of 25 feet. The headwall formations are a potassium-rich volcanic rock, typically found on the continental margins. At the lower end of the lake, the rock is a sandstone and shale composite.
Harrer's Lost Lake
Ranch E-MAIL 
Winter Wheat With Summer Pasture in Background