Diorite Peak is a mountain
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 common boundary shared by
La Plata County and
Montezuma County
Montezuma County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,849. The county seat is Cortez.
Mesa Verde National Park, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Yucca House National Monu ...
in
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 ...
.
Description
Diorite Peak is located northwest of the community of
Durango
Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...
on land managed by
San Juan National Forest. It ranks as the seventh-highest summit of the
La Plata Mountains
The La Plata Mountains are a small subrange of the San Juan Mountains in the southwestern part of Colorado, United States. They are located on the border between Montezuma and La Plata counties, about northwest of Durango. Their name is Spani ...
which are a subrange 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 ...
.
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 mountain drains southeast to the
La Plata River and north into the headwaters of Bear Creek which is a tributary of the
Dolores River.
Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises above the La Plata River in one mile (1.6 km). Neighbors include
Centennial Peak, to the west-northwest and
Mount Moss
Mount Moss is a mountain summit on the common boundary shared by La Plata County and Montezuma County in Colorado.
Description
Mount Moss is located northwest of the community of Durango on land managed by San Juan National Forest. It ran ...
, to the west.
An ascent of Diorite Peak's summit involves hiking with of elevation gain.
[John Peel, Paul Pixler (2020), ''Hiking Trails of Southwestern Colorado'', Fifth Edition, West Margin Press, , p. 71.]
Etymology
The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted 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 ...
,
[ and was recorded in publications as early as 1906. The peak is named for ]diorite
Diorite ( ) is an intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is intermediate in composition between low-silic ...
which is an intrusive igneous rock
Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main The three types of rocks, rock types, the others being Sedimentary rock, sedimentary and metamorphic rock, metamorphic. Igneous rock ...
formed by the slow cooling underground of magma
Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...
.stock
In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...
of this peak, and a smaller mass makes up nearby Lewis Mountain.Whitman Cross (1935), ''A Brief Review of the Geology of the San Juan Region of Southwestern Colorado''
US Government Printing Office, p. 105.
Climate
According to 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 ...
system, Diorite Peak has an
alpine climate
Alpine climate is the typical weather (climate) for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate.
Definition
There are multiple definitions of ...
with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.
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.
See also
*
References
External links
* Weather forecast
Diorite Peak
{{Mountains of Colorado
Mountains of Colorado
San Juan Mountains (Colorado)
Mountains of Montezuma County, Colorado
Mountains of La Plata County, Colorado
North American 3000 m summits
San Juan National Forest