Paradise 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 ...

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., ...

, United States.

Description

Paradise Peak is located northeast of Seward in the

Kenai Mountains The Kenai Mountains ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghanen Dghili'') are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Alaska. They extend 192 km (120 mi) northeast from the southern end of the Kenai Peninsula to the Chugach Mountains, and have an average elev ...

, 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 ...

. Precipitation runoff and glacial meltwater from the mountain's slopes drains to

Kenai Lake Kenai Lake ( Dena'ina: ''Sqilan Bena'') is a large, "zig-zag" shaped lake on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. The lake forms the headwaters of the Kenai River, and is itself a destination for fishing and other outdoor activity. The Dena'ina call the ...

via the

Snow River The Snow River is a tributary of Kenai Lake in the U.S. state of Alaska. Beginning in the Kenai Mountains of the Kenai Peninsula, it flows southwest through Chugach National Forest where its main and south forks join to near Primrose at the sou ...

. Although modest in elevation,

topographic relief Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin word ...

is significant as the summit rises over 4,800 feet (1,463 m) above Paradise Valley in . The mountain is named in association with Paradise Valley which it borders, and the toponym was officially adopted in 1971 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 ...

. 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 summit was made on June 29, 1969, by Grace Hoeman via the West Ridge.''World Climbing: Based on Mountain Magazine'', Dark Peak, 1980, , p. 46.

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 ...

, Paradise Peak is located in a

tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. undra climate https://www.britannica.com/science/tundra-climateThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019 It is classified as ET according to Köppen ...

zone with long, cold, snowy winters, and mild summers. Weather systems coming off the

Gulf of Alaska The Gulf of Alaska (Tlingit: ''Yéil T'ooch’'') is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, ...

are forced upwards by the Kenai Mountains (

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

), causing heavy precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall. Winter temperatures can drop below 0 °F with wind chill factors below −10 °F. This climate supports several glaciers on the peak's slopes, two of which are unofficially named Fireside Glacier and Hearth Glacier.

Gallery

File:Scenic view from the Seward Highway in the Chugach National Forest, Alaska LCCN2010630959.tif, West aspect File:Anchorage to Seward (16005163088).jpg, Paradise Peak (left) and Hearth Mountain (right)

References

External links

* Paradise Peak
Weather forecast
{{Portal bar, Mountains, Geography, Alaska Mountains of Alaska North American 1000 m summits Mountains of Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area

Description

Climate

See also

Gallery

References

External links