McGinnis Mountain, also known as Mount McGinnis, is a mountain summit located in the

Boundary Ranges The Boundary Ranges, also known in the singular and as the Alaska Boundary Range, are the largest and most northerly subrange of the Coast Mountains. They begin at the Nass River, near the southern end of the Alaska Panhandle in the Canadian p ...

, 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 peak is situated near the toe of the

Mendenhall Glacier Mendenhall Glacier (in Tlingit language “Sít”) is a glacier about long located in Mendenhall Valley, about from downtown Juneau in the southeast area of the U.S. state of Alaska. The glacier and surrounding landscape is protected as part ...

, within

Tongass National Forest The Tongass National Forest () in Southeast Alaska is the largest U.S. National Forest at . Most of its area is temperate rain forest and is remote enough to be home to many species of endangered and rare flora and fauna. The Tongass, which i ...

, north-northwest of

Juneau, Alaska The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the se ...

, and north of

Juneau International Airport Juneau International Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport and seaplane base located seven nautical miles (8 mi, 13 km) northwest of the central business district of Juneau, a city and borough in the U.S. state of Alaska th ...

. 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 mountain rises up from sea level at Auke Bay in less than five miles. McGinnis Mountain is often seen and photographed with Stroller White Mountain, a summit to the north because they are together in the background behind

Mendenhall Lake Mendenhall Lake is a proglacial lake in the Mendenhall Valley at the 1962 terminus of Mendenhall Glacier, north of the Juneau Airport in the Coast Mountains. It is the source of the short Mendenhall River. The lake is included in the Mendenha ...

, a popular tourist and recreation area.

History

The mountain's name was officially adopted in 1930 by the

United States Geological Survey 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, ...

McGinnis Mountain takes its name from McGinnis Creek, which drains its northern slopes. McGinnis Creek in turn was originally named ''McInnis River'' in 1891 by John McInnis and Edward Brennan who had staked claims in the area. In 1903, the name was reported as McGinnis Creek by 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 ...

.Dictionary of Alaska Place Names, Donald J. Orth author, United States Government Printing Office (1967), page 609

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 ...

, McGinnis Mountain 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 cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. Temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. This climate supports the Mendenhall Glacier and

Juneau Icefield The Juneau Icefield is an ice field located just north of Juneau, Alaska, continuing north through the border with British Columbia, extending through an area of in the Coast Range ranging north to south and east to west. The icefield is the so ...

to the mountain's east. May and June are the best months for climbing in terms of catching favorable weather.

References

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Gallery

File:McGinnis and Stroller White.jpg, McGinnis Mountain and Stroller White Mountain (right) in winter File:Mendenhall pan.jpg, McGinnis centered, seen with Stroller White, Mendenhall Glacier, and Nugget Falls from the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center File:Auke Lake Blue Cold 461.jpg, McGinnis (left), Mendenhall Towers, and Mt. Wrather reflected in Auke Lake File:Mendenhall Glacier calm.jpg, McGinnis and Stroller White reflected in Mendenhall Lake

External links

* Weather forecast
McGinnis Mountain
Mountains of Alaska Mountains of Juneau, Alaska Boundary Ranges North American 1000 m summits

History

Climate

See also

References

Gallery

External links