Columbia Point is a
high
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...
mountain
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 (topography), summit area, and ...
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 ...
of the
Crestones
The Crestones are a group of four 14,000 foot (4,268 m) peaks (fourteeners) in the Sangre de Cristo Range above Crestone, central southern Colorado, comprising:
#Crestone Peak (14,294 ft, 4,357 m)
#Crestone Needle (14,197 ft, 4,327 m)
# ...
in the
Sangre de Cristo Range
, country= United States
, subdivision1= Colorado
, subdivision2_type= Counties
, subdivision2=
, parent= Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Rocky Mountains
, borders_on=
, geology=
, age=
, orogeny= Fault-block mountains
, area_mi2= 1 ...
of the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
of
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. The
thirteener
In mountaineering in the United States, a thirteener (abbreviated 13er) is a mountain that exceeds above mean sea level, similar to the more familiar "fourteeners," which exceed . In most instances, "thirteeners" refers only to those peaks betwe ...
is located east by south (
bearing 102°) of the
Town of Crestone in
Saguache County
Saguache County (suh-WATCH ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,368. The county seat is Saguache.
History
Saguache County was formed December 29, 1866 in the Territory of Colorado wh ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
[ The Crestones are a cluster of high summits in the Sangre de Cristo Range, comprising ]Crestone Peak
Crestone Peak is the seventh-highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The prominent fourteener is the highest summit of the Crestones and the second-highest summit in the Sangre de Cristo Range ...
, Crestone Needle
Crestone Needle is a high mountain summit of the Crestones in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The fourteener is located east-southeast ( bearing 108°) of the Town of Crestone in Saguache County, Colorado, ...
, Kit Carson Peak
Kit Carson Peak is a Elevation, high mountain summit of the Crestones in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. Officially designated Kit Carson Mountain, the fourteener is located east by south (Absolute bearin ...
, Challenger Point
Challenger Point is a high mountain summit of the Crestones in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The fourteener is located east by south ( bearing 102°) of the Town of Crestone in Saguache County, Colorado, Un ...
, Humboldt Peak, and Columbia Point.
Columbia Point is subpeak of Kit Carson Mountain
Kit Carson Peak is a high mountain summit of the Crestones in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. Officially designated Kit Carson Mountain, the fourteener is located east by south ( bearing 102°) of th ...
. It was known informally as Kat Carson, but was officially named Columbia Point in 2003 to honor the seven astronauts who died when the Space Shuttle Columbia
Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' (OV-102) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after the Columbia Rediviva, first American ship to circumnavigate the upper North American Pacific coast and the ...
disintegrated during re-entry on February 1, 2003. With a topographic prominence
In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...
over , it qualifies as a separate summit under the standard cutoff, but it is not a well-known peak.
The Memorial
The USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...
Board of 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 ...
approved the name of Columbia Point in June, 2003. On the weekend of August 7, 2003, a group consisting of family members, astronauts, friends and climbers installed a memorial plaque on the summit. The trip included a dedication service for the memorial, and an F16 flyby in missing man formation
The missing man formation is an aerial salute performed as part of a flypast of aircraft at a funeral or memorial event, typically in memory of a fallen pilot, a well-known military service member or veteran, or a well-known political figure. T ...
.
The plaque reads:
Historical names
*Columbia Point – 2003 [
*East Summit
*Kat Carson Mountain
]
See also
*Challenger Point
Challenger Point is a high mountain summit of the Crestones in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The fourteener is located east by south ( bearing 102°) of the Town of Crestone in Saguache County, Colorado, Un ...
*Crestones
The Crestones are a group of four 14,000 foot (4,268 m) peaks (fourteeners) in the Sangre de Cristo Range above Crestone, central southern Colorado, comprising:
#Crestone Peak (14,294 ft, 4,357 m)
#Crestone Needle (14,197 ft, 4,327 m)
# ...
* List of Colorado mountain ranges
* List of Colorado mountain summits
**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 c ...
** List of Colorado 4000 meter prominent summits
**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 abov ...
*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 ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Protected areas of Colorado
Mountains of Colorado
Mountains of Saguache County, Colorado
Mountains of Custer County, Colorado
North American 4000 m summits
Sangre de Cristo Mountains