Benign Peak is a elevation mountain summit located in the western

Chugach Mountains The Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska are the northernmost of the several mountain ranges that make up the Pacific Coast Ranges of the western edge of North America. The range is about long and wide, and extends from the Knik and Turnagain ...

, in Anchorage Municipality in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. The mountain is situated in

Chugach State Park Chugach State Park covers 495,204 acres (2,004 square kilometers) immediately east of the Anchorage Bowl in south-central Alaska. Though primarily in the Municipality of Anchorage, a small portion of the park north of the Eklutna Lake area in th ...

, east of

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

, and south of

Eklutna Lake Eklutna Lake ( Dena'ina: ''Idlu Bena'') is a lake in the Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska, near the village of Eklutna.Mount Rumble Mount Rumble is a mountain summit located in the Chugach Mountains, in Anchorage Municipality in the U.S. state of Alaska. On a clear day the peak can be seen from the George Parks Highway. The peak is situated in Chugach State Park at the head ...

, to the southwest, and The Mitre is set east-southeast, on the opposite side of the Eklutna Glacier. Although modest in elevation,

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

is significant since the eastern aspect of the mountain rises over 5,000 feet above this glacier in approximately one mile. This peak belongs to a group of peaks in the

Eklutna River The Eklutna River () is approximately long and is located in the Southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska. A portion of the river flows through a canyon up to deep, emptying into the Knik Arm of Cook Inlet approximately northeast of Anc ...

drainage which start with the letter "B", such as

Bold Peak Bold Peak is a mountain in the U.S. state of Alaska, located in Chugach State Park in Anchorage Municipality. Location Bold Peak sits on the eastern side of the head of Eklutna Lake, about two and a half miles northwest of Bashful Peak, the hig ...

Bashful Peak Bashful Peak is a mountain in the U.S. state of Alaska, located in Chugach State Park. At , Bashful is the highest peak in Chugach State Park, and the highest peak in the Municipality of Anchorage. The peak carries snow year-round and several sm ...

, Baleful Peak, and Mt. Beelzebub. Benign Peak was so named in 1965 by the Mountaineering Club of Alaska because "nearby

Bellicose Peak Bellicose Peak is a mountain summit in Alaska, United States. Description Bellicose Peak is located east of Anchorage in the western Chugach Mountains. It ranks as the third-highest peak within Chugach State Park. Precipitation runoff from the ...

was a much harder climb, while this one's nature was quite benign since the rock was not too rotten and the weather wasn't too bad." Benign Peak's name was officially adopted in 1966 by the

U.S. 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 ...

. The

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

of this mountain was made in August 1965 by Art Davidson and John Vincent Hoeman by ascending the East Face, and descending the South Gully.The Western Chugach Range, Alaska, American Alpine Club
/ref>

Climate

Based on the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, Benign Peak is located in a

subarctic 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 ...

zone with long, cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. Weather systems coming off the

Gulf of Alaska The Gulf of Alaska (Tlingit: ''Yéil T'ooch’'') is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, ...

are forced upwards by the Chugach Mountains (

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

), causing heavy precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall. Winter temperatures can drop below −10 °F with wind chill factors below −20 °F. Precipitation

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

from the peak drains into

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet ( tfn, Tikahtnu; Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage. On its sou ...

via the Eklutna River and Peters Creek.

References

{{reflist

External links

* Benign Peak
Weather forecast
Mountains of Alaska Mountains of Anchorage, Alaska North American 2000 m summits

Climate

See also

References

External links