Mount Ridgway

Mount Ridgway is a 13,468-foot-elevation (4,105-meter) mountain summit located in Ouray County of southwest Colorado, United States.[3] It is situated five miles west of the community of Ouray, on land managed by Uncompahgre National Forest. It is part of the Sneffels Range which is a subset of the San Juan Mountains, which in turn is part of the Rocky Mountains. It is west of the Continental Divide, 2.2 miles east-northeast of Mount Sneffels, and 0.95 miles southwest of Whitehouse Mountain, which is the nearest higher neighbor.[1] Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises 3,000 feet (910 meters) above Blaine Basin in one mile.

Mount Ridgway
North aspect
Highest point
Elevation13,468 ft (4,105 m)[1]
Prominence428 ft (130 m)[1]
Parent peakWhitehouse Mountain (13,492 ft)[2]
Isolation0.94 mi (1.51 km)[2]
Coordinates38°00′49″N 107°45′11″W[3]
Naming
EtymologyRobert M. Ridgway
Geography
Mount Ridgway is located in Colorado
Mount Ridgway
Mount Ridgway
Location in Colorado
Mount Ridgway is located in the United States
Mount Ridgway
Mount Ridgway
Mount Ridgway (the United States)
LocationOuray County
Colorado, US
Parent rangeRocky Mountains
San Juan Mountains
Sneffels Range[1]
Topo mapUSGS Mount Sneffels
Geology
Type of rockExtrusive rock
Climbing
Easiest routeclass 2 hiking[2]

Etymology

This mountain, the nearby town of Ridgway, the Ridgway Dam, and Ridgway State Park trace their names to Denver & Rio Grande Railroad superintendent Robert Matthew Ridgway (1834–1908), who established the town in 1891.[4][5] The mountain's name has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names.[3]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Mount Ridgway is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with 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. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into tributaries of the Uncompahgre River.

  • Whitehouse Mountain centered with Mt. Ridgway to immediate right, seen from Highway 550 near the town of Ridgway
    Whitehouse Mountain centered with Mt. Ridgway to immediate right, seen from Highway 550 near the town of Ridgway
  • Mount Ridgway (left) and Reconnoiter Peak (right)
    Mount Ridgway (left) and Reconnoiter Peak (right)
  • Sneffels Range with Mt. Ridgway to the left
    Sneffels Range with Mt. Ridgway to the left

See also
  • Mountains of Ouray County, Colorado

References
  1. "Mount Ridgway, Colorado". Peakbagger.com.
  2. "Ridgway, Mount - 13,468' CO". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  3. "Mount Ridgway". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  4. Dawson, John Frank. Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin. Denver, CO: The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co. p. 43.
  5. Liobrary of Congress
  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.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.