West Elk Peak
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West Elk Peak
West Elk Peak, elevation , is the highest summit in the West Elk Mountains of Gunnison County, Colorado. The mountain is in the West Elk Wilderness, northwest of Gunnison. The terrain consists mostly of volcanic breccia, known in this area as West Elk Breccia, dated at 35 to 30 million years old. Geological History - The decipherable known geological history of this peak began in the late Paleozoic, where it formed into the eastern edge of the Uncompahgre highland. Around 10,000 to 15,000 feet of sediment covered the old highland surface in the Mesozoic and early Cenozoic. During the Oligocene, the Colorado mineral belt began to form with the intrusion of two batholiths. One of these batholiths rose sufficiently near the surface, enough to feed volcanoes in the West Elk and San Juan Mountains. The resulting volcanic pile has been subjected to intermittent, occasional uplift as well as being shaped by water and ice. Mineral deposits are somewhat scarce in the surrounding area of t ...
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Sea Level Datum Of 1929
The National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 is the official name since 1973 of the vertical datum established for vertical control surveying in the United States, United States of America by the General Adjustment of 1929. Originally known as Sea Level Datum of 1929, NGVD 29 was determined and published by the National Geodetic Survey and used to measure the elevation of a point above and depression (geology), depression below mean sea level (MSL). NGVD29 was superseded by the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88), based upon reference to a single benchmark (referenced to the new International Great Lakes Datum of 1985 local mean sea level height value), although many cities and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers "legacy" projects with established data continued to use the older datum. Methodology Mean sea level was measured at 26 tide gauges: 21 in the United States and 5 in Canada. The datum was defined by the observed heights of mean sea level at the 26 tide gauges and ...
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Gunnison, Colorado
Gunnison is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Gunnison County, Colorado. The city population was 6,560 at the 2020 United States Census. Gunnison was named in honor of John W. Gunnison, a United States Army officer who surveyed for a transcontinental railroad in 1853. History The City of Gunnison got its name from the first known European-American explorer of the area, John W. Gunnison. He was searching for a route for the transcontinental railroad in 1853 and only stayed for three days before traveling west to Utah. Gunnison saw its first population increase in the 1870s, due to the mining surge throughout the state. The railroad arrived soon after in 1880 to appreciative miners, ranchers, and farmers. In the early 1800s, the groups moving into the Gunnison area were mainly fur trappers and mountain men, trying to make a living for themselves in the rocky mountain terrain. But a drop in fur prices in the 1840s essentially ...
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Mountains Of Gunnison County, Colorado
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher than a hill, typically rising at least 300 metres (1,000 feet) above the surrounding land. A few mountains are isolated summits, but most occur in mountain ranges. Mountains are formed through tectonic forces, erosion, or volcanism, which act on time scales of up to tens of millions of years. Once mountain building ceases, mountains are slowly leveled through the action of weathering, through slumping and other forms of mass wasting, as well as through erosion by rivers and glaciers. High elevations on mountains produce colder climates than at sea level at similar latitude. These colder climates strongly affect the ecosystems of mountains: different elevations have different plants and animals. Because of the less hospitable terrain ...
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The Castles (Colorado)
The Castles are pillars in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. Description The Castles, elevation 12,296-feet (3,748 m), are situated in the West Elk Mountains which are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. The landform is located northwest of Gunnison in the West Elk Wilderness on land managed by Gunnison National Forest. These 500-ft high pillars are the signature landmark of the West Elk Wilderness, and are one of Colorado's most unique rock formations.Ralph Lee Hopkins, Lindy Birkel Hopkins (2000), ''Hiking Colorado's Geology'', The Mountaineers Books, , p. 150. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's slopes drains into Castle Creek → Ohio Creek → Gunnison River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises above South Castle Creek in . The landform's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names. Climate According to the Köppen climate classification system, The Castles is located in an alpine subarctic climate zon ...
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List Of Colorado County High Points
This is a list of all 64 counties of the U.S. State of Colorado by their points of highest elevation. Of the 50 highest county high points in the United States, 30 are located in Colorado. The highest point in Colorado is the summit of Mount Elbert in Lake County, the highest summit the entire Rocky Mountains at elevation. Of the 64 Colorado counties, 20 counties rise above elevation, 32 counties rise above , 42 counties rise above , and all 64 Colorado counties rise above . Use the "Map this section's coordinates" link to view the location of each of the Colorado county high points. __TOC__ Colorado county high points Gallery Mt._Elbert.jpg, 1. Mount Elbert in Lake County Mount_Harvard_(Colorado)_-_2006-07-16.jpg, 2. Mount Harvard in Chaffee County MtBlancaEast.jpg, 3. Mount Blanca straddling Alamosa and Costilla counties Uncompahgre_peak.jpg, 6. Uncompahgre Peak in Hinsdale County Crestone_peak_2.jpg, 7. Crestone Peak in Saguache County Mount_Lincoln_Colorad ...
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List Of The Most Prominent Summits Of Colorado
The following sortable table comprises the 100 Topographic prominence, most topographically prominent Summit, mountain peaks of the United States, U.S. Colorado, State of Colorado. Elevation, Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential Gravity, gravitational surface. The topographic prominence of a summit is the elevation difference between that summit and the highest or key col to a higher summit. The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum great-circle distance to a point of equal elevation. This article defines a significant summit as a summit with at least of topographic prominence, and a major summit as a summit with at least of topographic prominence. An Ultra-prominent peak, ultra-prominent summit is a summit with at least of topographic prominence. There are List of the ultra-prominent summits of the United States, 126 ultra-prominent summits in the United Sta ...
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List Of Mountain Peaks Of Colorado
This is a list of major mountain peaks in the U.S. State of Colorado. This article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaksThis article defines a significant summit as a summit with at least of topographic prominence, and a major summit as a summit with at least of topographic prominence. All summits in this article have at least 500 meters of topographic prominence. An ultra-prominent summit is a summit with at least of topographic prominence. in Colorado. The summit of a mountain or hill may be measured in three principal ways: #The topographic elevation of a summit measures the height of the summit above a geodetic sea level.All elevations in this article include an elevation adjustment from the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29) to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). For further information, please see this United States National Geodetic Surveybr>noteIf the elevation or prominence of a summit is calculated as ...
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List Of Colorado Fourteeners
This is a list of mountain peaks in the U.S. State of Colorado that exceed of elevation. In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a ''fourteener'' is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least 14,000 feet. This is a complete list of the 53 fourteeners in the U.S. State of Colorado with at least of topographic prominence. See the main fourteener article, which has a list of all of the fourteeners in the United States, for some information about how such lists are determined and caveats about elevation and ranking accuracy. The summit of a mountain or hill may be measured in three principal ways: #The topographic elevation of a summit measures the height of the summit above a geodetic sea level.All elevations in the 48 states of the contiguous United States include an elevation adjustment from the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29) to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). For further information, please see this Un ...
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List Of Mountains Of The United States
This list includes significant mountain peaks and high points located in the United States arranged alphabetically by state, district, or territory. The highest peak or point in each state, district or territory is noted in bold. Significant mountain peaks and high points Alabama *Brindley Mountain * Cheaha Mountain, highest summit in the State of Alabama *Monte Sano Mountain * Capshaw Mountain * Dirtseller Mountain * Frog Mountain *Hawk Pride Mountain * Gunters Mountain *Sand Mountain (Alabama) * Keel Mountain (Alabama) *Halama Mountain Alaska * Afognak Mountain, summit of Afognak Island * Amak Volcano, active stratovolcano * Amherst Peak * Amulet Peak * Andy Simons Mountain * Annex Peak * Anvil Peak , active stratovolcano that forms the summit of Semisopochnoi Island * Arthur Peak * Asses Ears (Alaska) * Atna Peaks * Atuk Mountain , summit of St. Lawrence Island * Augustine Volcano, active lava dome that forms the summit of Augustine Island * Auke Mo ...
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Bituminous Coal
Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the seams. It is typically hard but friable. Its quality is ranked higher than lignite and sub-bituminous coal, but lesser than anthracite. It is the most abundant rank of coal, with deposits found around the world, often in rocks of Carboniferous age. Bituminous coal is formed from sub-bituminous coal that is buried deeply enough to be heated to or higher. Bituminous coal is used primarily for electrical power generation and in the steel industry. Bituminous coal suitable for smelting iron (''coking coal'' or ''metallurgical coal'' ) must be low in sulfur and phosphorus. It commands a higher price than other grades of bituminous coal (thermal coal) used for heating and power generation. Within the coal mining industry, this type of coal is known ...
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West Elk Wilderness
The West Elk Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located northwest of Gunnison, Colorado in the West Elk Mountains. History The wilderness was established in 1964 and now protects within the Gunnison National Forest. Geography Elevations in the wilderness range from along Coal Creek to at the summit of West Elk Peak. The area supports large elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ... and deer populations and is busiest during the fall hunting season. References West Elk Mountains Protected areas of Gunnison County, Colorado Gunnison National Forest 1964 establishments in Colorado Wilderness areas of Colorado Protected areas established in 1964 {{Colorado-protected-area-stub ...
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North American Vertical Datum Of 1988
The North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) is the vertical datum for orthometric heights established for vertical control surveying in the United States of America based upon the General Adjustment of the North American Datum of 1988. It superseded the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29), previously known as the Sea Level Datum of 1929. NAVD 88, along with North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83), is set to be replaced with a new GPS- and gravimetric geoid model-based geometric reference frame and geopotential datum in 2022. Methodology NAVD 88 was established in 1991 by the minimum-constraint adjustment of geodetic leveling observations in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. It held fixed the height of the primary tide gauge benchmark (surveying), referenced to the ''International Great Lakes Datum of 1985'' local mean sea level (MSL) height value, at Rimouski, Quebec, Canada. Additional tidal bench mark elevations were not used due to the demonstr ...
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