Pilot Knob is a mountain summit located on the shared boundary of
San Juan County with
San Miguel County, in southwest
Colorado, United States.
It is situated nine miles west of the community of
Silverton, on land managed by
San Juan National Forest and
Uncompahgre National Forest. Pilot Knob is part of the
San Juan Mountains which are a subset of the
Rocky Mountains, and is west of the
Continental Divide
A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...
. It ranks as the 132nd-highest peak in Colorado,
and
topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises above
Trout Lake in three miles. Neighbors include
Ulysses S Grant Peak
Ulysses S Grant Peak is a mountain summit located on the shared boundary of San Juan County with San Miguel County, in southwest Colorado, United States. It is situated eight miles west of the community of Silverton, on land managed by San ...
1.5 mile to the northeast, and
Golden Horn one-half mile to the southeast. The mountain's name, which 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 ...
, was listed by
Henry Gannett when he published ''A Gazetteer of Colorado'' in 1906.
The peak is considered one of the most difficult to climb in Colorado because of its poor quality volcanic rock.
[Robert F. Rosebrough, ''The San Juan Mountains: A Climbing & Hiking Guide'', Cordillera Press, 1986, page 87.]
Climate
According to the
Köppen climate classification system, Pilot Knob is located in an alpine
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 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. 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 west into tributaries of the
San Miguel River, and east to the
Animas River
Animas River (''On-e-mas''; es, Río de las Ánimas) is a river in the western United States, a tributary of the San Juan River (Colorado River), San Juan River, part of the Colorado River, Colorado River System.
The Animas-La Plata Water Pro ...
via Mineral Creek.
Gallery
File:Ice Lake from Island Lake trail.jpg, Pilot Knob right of center, Golden Horn to left, above Ice Lake Basin.
File:Trout Lake, Colorado 1879 - Hamilton Hamilton.jpg, Pilot Knob upper left, from Trout Lake. Vermilion Peak
Vermilion Peak is a mountain in Colorado. It is one of 637 Colorado peaks above 13,000 feet (3962 m). It is located in the San Juan Range, and is the 74th highest mountain in Colorado. It is named Vermilion Peak because of the red-orange color i ...
centered.
An 1879 painting by Hamilton Hamilton
Hamilton Hamilton (1 April 1847 – 4 January 1928) was a painter and etcher, known mostly for his landscapes of the American West. Born in Oxford, England, he lived most of his life in the Eastern United States. He painted landscapes in New Yor ...
.
File:Pilot Knob from Ice Lake.jpg, Pilot Knob (centered) from Ice Lake
File:Lakescape.jpg, Pilot Knob (left), Golden Horn, and Vermilion Peak at Trout Lake
File:San Juan Skyway - Trout Lake in Autumn - NARA - 7721482.jpg, Plot Knob (left) from Trout Lake
File:Colorado San Juan Mountains.jpg, Pilot Knob (left), Golden Horn, and Vermilion Peak
See also
*
*
References
External links
* Weather forecast
National Weather Service
{{Mountains of Colorado
Mountains of San Miguel County, Colorado
Mountains of San Juan County, Colorado
San Juan Mountains (Colorado)
Mountains of Colorado
North American 4000 m summits
San Juan National Forest
Uncompahgre National Forest