Mount Tom White is a prominent 11,191-foot (3,411 meter) glaciated mountain summit located in the

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 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., ...

. The remote peak is situated on land managed by

Chugach National Forest The Chugach National Forest is a United States National Forest in south central Alaska. Covering portions of Prince William Sound, the Kenai Peninsula and the Copper River Delta, it was formed in 1907 from part of a larger forest reserve. The Ch ...

, northeast of Cordova, and north of the Bering Glacier, North America's largest glacier. The mountain lies within the

Copper River Copper River may refer to several places: *Copper River (Alaska), in the United States * Copper River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Skeena River The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (afte ...

drainage basin, and is the eighth-highest major peak in the Chugach Mountains. Topographic relief is significant as it ranks 17th in prominence for all peaks in Alaska, and 52nd for all North America peaks. 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 the mountain was made in 1973 by Story Clark, Chris Hall, Tom Kizzia, William Resor, Sarah Robey, and Don White.

Tom White

The peak was named for Thomas George White, an early pioneer of the southeastern

Alaska Territory The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; the ...

who first went to Alaska as a camp hand with the first Geological Survey-National Geographic St. Elias Expedition, and returned with the second St. Elias expedition in 1891. Following the end of the second expedition, Tom stayed in Alaska "to try his fortune in gold mining". Known as the "Sourdough Driller," he is credited with discovering the Katalla oil seep in 1894, and drilling the first oil well in Alaska in 1902. The mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1950 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 ...

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 ...

, Mount Tom White 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 cool summers. Winds coming off the Gulf of Alaska are forced upwards by the Chugach Mountains ( orographic lift), causing heavy precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall. Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. This climate supports the

Miles Glacier Miles Glacier is a -long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It flows west to its terminus at Miles Lake, north of Katalla. It was named in 1885 after U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Nelson A. Miles Nelson Appleton Miles (August 8, 1839 – May 15, 1925 ...

to the west, Martin River Glacier to the south, Fan Glacier to the north, and

Bagley Icefield The Bagley Icefield (also called Bagley Ice Valley) in southeastern Alaska is the second largest nonpolar icefield in North America. It was named after James W. Bagley, a USGS topographic engineer who developed the Bagley T-3 camera and mapped Ala ...

to the east. The months May through June offer the most favorable weather for viewing and climbing.

References

External links

* Weather forecast
Mount Tom White
{{US prominent Tom White Tom White Tom White

Tom White

Climate

See also

References

External links