Graystone Peak

Graystone Peak is a 13,489-foot-elevation (4,111-meter) mountain summit located in San Juan County, Colorado, United States.

Graystone Peak
Northwest aspect, from Molas Lake
Highest point
Elevation13,489 ft (4,111 m)[1][2]
Prominence502 ft (153 m)[3]
Parent peakArrow Peak (13,809 ft)[3]
Isolation0.56 mi (0.90 km)[3]
Coordinates37°41′21″N 107°37′09″W[4]
Geography
Graystone Peak is located in Colorado
Graystone Peak
Graystone Peak
Location in Colorado
Graystone Peak is located in the United States
Graystone Peak
Graystone Peak
Graystone Peak (the United States)
CountryUnited States
StateColorado
CountySan Juan County
Protected areaWeminuche Wilderness
Parent rangeRocky Mountains
San Juan Mountains
Needle Mountains[2]
Topo mapUSGS Storm King Peak
Geology
Age of rockStatherian
Type of rockQuartzite
Climbing
Easiest routeclass 2 hiking[3]

Description

Graystone Peak is situated 8.5 miles (13.7 km) south-southeast of the community of Silverton in the Weminuche Wilderness, on land managed by San Juan National Forest. It is part of the Needle Mountains which are a subrange of the San Juan Mountains.[2] Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into tributaries of the Animas River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 4,800 feet (1,500 meters) above the river in two miles (3.2 km) and 2,890 feet (880 meters) above Tenmile Creek in 0.85 mile (1.37 km). It is set six miles west of the Continental Divide, 0.7 mile south of Electric Peak, and one mile east-southeast of Mount Garfield. These three peaks can be seen from U.S. Route 550 at Molas Lake. The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names,[4] and was recorded in publications as early as 1906.[5]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Graystone Peak is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with very long, cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.[6] 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.

Geology

Graystone Peak is part of the Uncompahgre Formation,[7] which is a sequence of quartzite and black phyllite some 8,200 feet (2,500 meters) in thickness.[8] The formation dates to the Statherian period and is interpreted as metamorphosed marine and fluvial sandstone, mudstone, and shale. The formation overlies plutons with an age of 1,707 million years.

See also

References

  1. Robert F. Rosebrough, The San Juan Mountains: A Climbing & Hiking Guide, Cordillera Press, 1986, page 170.
  2. "Graystone Peak, Colorado". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  3. "Graystone Peak - 13,503' CO". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  4. "Graystone Peak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  5. Henry Gannett, United States Geological Survey (1906), A Gazetteer of Colorado, US Government Printing Office, p. 80.
  6. 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.
  7. Colorado Needle Mountains Quadrangle, Charles D. Walcott, U.S. Geological Survey, 1906.
  8. Rob Blair, Tom Ann Casey, William H. Romme, The Western San Juan Mountains: Their Geology, Ecology, and Human History, 1996, University Press of Colorado, ISBN 9780870813788, page 350.
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