Grizzly Peak (Dolores/San Juan Counties, Colorado)

Coordinates: 37°45′21″N 107°51′43″W / 37.7558974°N 107.8618074°W / 37.7558974; -107.8618074
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grizzly Peak
Southeast aspect
Highest point
Elevation13,738 ft (4,187 m)[1][2]
Prominence816 ft (249 m)[3]
Parent peakSan Miguel Peak (13,756 ft)[3]
Isolation1.60 mi (2.57 km)[3]
Coordinates37°45′21″N 107°51′43″W / 37.7558974°N 107.8618074°W / 37.7558974; -107.8618074[4]
Naming
EtymologyGrizzly
Geography
Grizzly Peak is located in Colorado
Grizzly Peak
Grizzly Peak
Location in Colorado
Grizzly Peak is located in the United States
Grizzly Peak
Grizzly Peak
Grizzly Peak (the United States)
CountryUnited States
StateColorado
CountyDolores / San Juan
Protected areaSan Juan National Forest
Parent rangeRocky Mountains
San Juan Mountains[5]
Topo mapUSGS Ophir
Climbing
Easiest routeclass 2 hiking[3]

Grizzly Peak is a 13,738-foot-elevation (4,187-meter) mountain summit on the boundary shared by Dolores County and San Juan County, in Colorado, United States.

Description[edit]

Grizzly Peak is set 17 miles (27 km) west of the Continental Divide in the San Juan Mountains which are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains.[5] The peak is located 33 miles (53 km) north of Durango and 4.35 miles (7.00 km) northwest of Engineer Mountain, on land managed by San Juan National Forest.[5] Grizzly ranks as the fourth-highest peak in Dolores County and 126th-highest in Colorado.[3] Precipitation runoff from the mountain's west slope drains to the Dolores River via Twin Creek, and the east slope drains into Cascade Creek which is a tributary of the Animas River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises nearly 2,600 feet (792 m) above Cascade Creek in 0.65 mile (1.05 km). The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names,[4] and has been printed in publications since 1899.[6] There are four other summits in Colorado which are also named Grizzly Peak, as well as 18 others among several western states.

Grizzly Peak from the southeast

Climate[edit]

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Grizzly Peak is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.[7] Due to its altitude, it receives precipitation all year, as snow in winter and as thunderstorms in summer, with a dry period in late spring. Climbers can expect afternoon rain, hail, and lightning from the seasonal monsoon in late July and August.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ The Columbia Gazetteer of the World: A to G (2008), Columbia University Press, p. 1443.
  2. ^ Robert F. Rosebrough, The San Juan Mountains: A Climbing & Hiking Guide, Cordillera Press, 1986, page 104.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Grizzly Peak - 13,753' CO". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Grizzly Peak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "Grizzly Peak, Colorado". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  6. ^ Henry Gannett, United States Geological Survey (1899), A Dictionary of Altitudes in the United States (third edition), US Government Printing Office, p. 88.
  7. ^ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11 (5): 1633. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007. ISSN 1027-5606. S2CID 9654551.