McHugh Peak is a 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 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 ...

, in the U.S. state of

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., ...

. McHugh Peak is situated in Chugach State Park, southeast of downtown

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 southwest of

O'Malley Peak O'Malley Peak is a mountain summit located in the Chugach Mountains, in Anchorage Municipality in the U.S. state of Alaska. O'Malley Peak is situated in Chugach State Park, southeast of downtown Anchorage, west of Mount Williwaw, and northw ...

. Reaching the top involves hiking on a ridge trail and scrambling the final summit

tor Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to: Places * Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain * Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city * Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano * Tor Bay, Devon, England * Tor River, Western New Guinea, Indonesia Sc ...

. The hike to McHugh Peak is detailed in several popular guidebooks. This geographic feature's local name was reported in 1942 by the

Army Map Service The Army Map Service (AMS) was the military cartographic agency of the United States Department of Defense from 1941 to 1968, subordinated to the United States Army Corps of Engineers. On September 1, 1968, the AMS was redesignated the U.S. Army T ...

, and was officially adopted in 1969 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 mountain's name is derived from McHugh Creek which drains the south slope of this peak, and the creek's name was first published in 1912 by the

U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is a United States federal agency that defines and manages a national coordinate system, providing the foundation for transportation and communication; mapping and charting; and a large number of applications ...

. This mountain is called Q'isqa Dghelaya in the Denaʼina language, meaning ''Banjo Snowshoe Mountain''. "Q'isqa" are temporary snowshoes made of lashed brush.Kari, James and James Fall. ''Shem Pete’s Alaska : The Territory of the Upper Cook Inlet Dena’ina.'' 2nd. Ed. 2003. University of Alaska Press. page 341.

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 ...

, McHugh 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. Temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. 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 McHugh, Potter, and Rabbit Creeks, which empty into Turnagain Arm three miles from the summit.

References

{{reflist

Gallery

File:McHugh Peak, west aspect.jpg, West aspect, summit to left File:I think this is the backside of McHugh Peak from Rabbit Lake (3850621009).jpg

Climate

See also

References

Gallery

External links