Precipice Peak is a mountain summit located in
Hinsdale County, of
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, United States.
It is situated 10.5 miles northeast of the community of
Ouray, in the
Uncompahgre Wilderness
The Uncompahgre Wilderness (formerly called the Big Blue Wilderness) is a U.S. Wilderness Area in southwest Colorado comprising . Elevation in the Wilderness ranges from to , at the summit of Uncompahgre Peak.
Managed by the Uncompahgre Natio ...
, on land managed by
Uncompahgre National Forest
Uncompahgre National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering 955,229 acres (1,492.55 sq mi, or 3,865.68 km2) in (in descending order of land area) parts of Montrose, Mesa, San Miguel, Ouray, Gunnison, Hinsdale, San Juan, and Delta ...
. It is part of the
San Juan Mountains which is a subset of the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
, and is situated 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 ...
.
Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises above the West Fork Cimarron River valley in approximately one mile. Neighbors include
Dunsinane Mountain three-quarters of a mile north,
Courthouse Mountain 2.4 miles northwest, and
Redcliff 2.2 miles south. The mountain's name was 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 ...
in 1966.
It is so named because of a very prominent
precipice on the mountain's east face.
[United States Board on Geographic Names, ''Decisions on Geographic Names in the United States'', Decision List No. 6602, 1966, page 9.]
Climate
According to 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 ...
system, Precipice Peak 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 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 into tributaries of the
Cimarron River.
Gallery
File:Precipice and Dunsinane.jpg, East aspect
File:Precipice Peak in Sept. 2014.jpg, Precipice Peak centered, with Courthouse Mountain on left. Camera pointed east.
File:Chimney, Courthouse, Precipice.jpg, Chimney Rock (left), Courthouse Mountain (center), Precipice Peak (right)
File:Dunsinane Mountain - Precipice Peak.jpg, Dunsinane Mountain on the left, with Precipice Peak on the right. West aspect.
File:Cimarron Range in Sep 2014.jpg, Courthouse and Precipice centered, Redcliff to far right
See also
*
References
External links
* Weather forecast
Precipice Peak
{{Mountains of Colorado
Mountains of Hinsdale County, Colorado
San Juan Mountains (Colorado)
Mountains of Colorado
North American 4000 m summits
Uncompahgre National Forest