Ajax Peak

Ajax Peak is a 12,785-foot-elevation (3,897-meter) mountain summit located in San Miguel County of southwest Colorado, United States.[3] It is situated on land managed by Uncompahgre National Forest, and is the iconic landmark visible three miles east of the community of Telluride. Ajax is set immediately south of Savage Basin and the ghost town of Tomboy, one mile southwest of Chicago Peak, and one mile west of Telluride Peak. It is also immediately northeast of Bridal Veil Falls, Colorado's highest waterfall at 365-feet high.[6] It is part of the San Juan Mountains which are a subset of the Rocky Mountains. Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises 3,800 feet (1,200 meters) above the box canyon in approximately one mile. The old mill town of Pandora at the base of Ajax Peak was hit by snow slides each winter, and one particularly bad event in 1884 came over the Ajax Mine and wrecked the mills.[7]

Ajax Peak
West aspect, from Telluride
Highest point
Elevation12,785 ft (3,897 m)[1]
Prominence105 ft (32 m)[1]
Parent peakChicago Peak (13,385 ft)[2]
Isolation1.16 mi (1.87 km)[2]
Coordinates37°55′43″N 107°45′20″W[3]
Naming
EtymologyAjax the Great[4]
Geography
Ajax Peak is located in Colorado
Ajax Peak
Ajax Peak
Location in Colorado
Ajax Peak is located in the United States
Ajax Peak
Ajax Peak
Ajax Peak (the United States)
LocationSan Miguel County
Colorado, US
Parent rangeRocky Mountains
San Juan Mountains
Topo mapUSGS Telluride
Climbing
Easiest routeHiking trail[5]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Ajax Peak has an alpine subarctic climate with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.[8] 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 from the mountain drains into tributaries and headwaters of the San Miguel River.

  • Ajax Peak's west aspect (centered) in late winter
    Ajax Peak's west aspect (centered) in late winter
  • Ajax Peak from Telluride's Colorado Avenue
    Ajax Peak from Telluride's Colorado Avenue
  • Detail of lower southwest cliffs of Ajax Peak
    Detail of lower southwest cliffs of Ajax Peak
  • Ajax with San Miguel River
    Ajax with San Miguel River
  • Ajax left of center, with San Miguel River
    Ajax left of center, with San Miguel River

See also
  • Mountains of San Miguel County, Colorado

References
  1. "Ajax Peak, Colorado". Peakbagger.com.
  2. "Ajax Peak - 12,785' CO". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  3. "Ajax Peak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  4. William Bright, Colorado Place Names, 2004, Johnson Books, ISBN 9781555663339, page 3.
  5. Don Scarmuzzi, 2005, Telluride Trails, Pruett Publishing Company, ISBN 9780871089380, page 60.
  6. Hugh McNaughtan, Lonely Planet Western USA, 2018
  7. Caroline Bancroft, Unique Ghost Towns and Mountain Spots, 1961, Johnson Publishing Company, ISBN 9780933472242, page 92.
  8. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN 1027-5606.
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