Applegate Peak is an

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

on the south rim of Crater Lake in Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. It ranks as the fourth-highest peak in the park. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 1,950 feet above the lake in 0.37 mile.

Rim Drive Rim Drive is a scenic highway in Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon, United States. It is a loop that follows the caldera rim around Crater Lake. Due to its unique engineering and the surrounding park landscape, the drive was listed ...

traverses the eastern base of the peak. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's north slope drains into Crater Lake whereas the south slope drains to

Wood River Wood River may refer to: Rivers In Canada * Wood River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Columbia River via Kinbasket Lake * Wood River (Saskatchewan), a river in south-west Saskatchewan In Ireland * Wood River (County Clare), Kilru ...

via Sun and Annie creeks.

History

Applegate Peak was named in the 1800s for Captain

Oliver Cromwell Applegate Captain Oliver Cromwell Applegate (June 11, 1845 – October 11, 1938) was an American politician, newspaper editor, and Indian agent in the U.S. state of Oregon. A member of the Applegate family that helped open the Applegate Trail, he was raised ...

(1845–1938), an early pioneer of Klamath Falls. In August 1872, Oliver Applegate, Lord William Maxwell, John Meacham, Chester Sawtelle, and A. Bentley succeeded in placing a boat in Crater Lake and taking the first extended excursion around the lake at which time they named prominent landforms after themselves. The peak's toponym was officially adopted February 4, 1931, by the

United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...

. On August 6, 1948, George M. Roest (age 18) a park concessioner’s employee, fell to his death while climbing alone on Applegate Peak.

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Applegate Peak has a

subalpine climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

. Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Cascades where they are forced upward by the range ( Orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall. As a result, the Cascades experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall. Winter temperatures can drop below with wind chill factors below . In the Crater Lake area, winter lasts eight months with an average snowfall of 41 feet (12.5 m) per year.Crater Lake Climate, National Park Service, Retrieved 2023-01-23.
/ref> Rim Drive is only open during the summer due to the heavy snowfall as the road is covered by more than of snow with drifts as deep as in some areas.
National Park Service, United States Department of Interior, Crater Lake, Oregon, November 2001. During winter months, weather is usually cloudy, but due to

high pressure systems A high-pressure area, high, or anticyclone, is an area near the surface of a planet where the atmospheric pressure is greater than the pressure in the surrounding regions. Highs are middle-scale meteorological features that result from interpl ...

over the Pacific Ocean that intensify during summer months, there is often little or no cloud cover during the summer.

Geology

Applegate Peak was created when Mount Mazama, a large

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

erupted violently approximately 7,700 years ago and formed on the

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

rim. The peak is composed of lava flows containing andesite, dacite, and breccias.

Gallery

File:Applegate Peak, north.jpg, North aspect of Applegate reflected in Crater Lake. File:Applegate Peak, ne.jpg, Northeast aspect of Applegate seen with Phantom Ship File:Applegate Peak, USGS.jpg, Northeast aspect File:Crater Lake vista.jpg, L→Rː Dutton Cliff, Appegate Peak, Garfield Peak, Wizard Island File:Applegate peak.jpg, East aspect from Sun Notch

References

External links