1.
Summit
–
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a maximum in elevation. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak, and zenith are synonymous, the UIAA definition is that a summit is independent if it has a prominence of 30 metres or more, it is a mountain if it has a prominence of at least 300 metres. This can be summarised as follows, A pyramidal peak is an exaggerated form produced by ice erosion of a mountain top, Summit may also refer to the highest point along a line, trail, or route. In many parts of the western United States, the term refers to the highest point along a road, highway. For example, the highest point along Interstate 80 in California is referred to as Donner Summit while the highest point on Interstate 5 is Siskiyou Mountain Summit, geoid Hill List of highest mountains Maxima and minima Nadir Summit accordance Peak finder
Summit
–
The highest elevation summit, Mount Everest, shown with a climber at the summit wearing an oxygen mask. The summit is 8850 m (29,035 ft) elevation. (While the cruising altitude of jetliners is roughly 10,000 m (32,808 feet), they are pressurized.)
Summit
–
View from the summit of Switzerland's highest,
Monte Rosa
Summit
–
The summit of
Mount Damavand,
Iran, in winter
Summit
–
Jeff Davis Peak, one of the highest peaks entirely within
Nevada
2.
Topographic prominence
–
It is a measure of the independence of a summit. A peaks key col is a point on this contour line. By convention, the prominence of Mount Everest, the Earths highest mountain, is taken to equal the elevation of its summit above sea level, if the peaks prominence is P metres, to get from the summit to any higher terrain one must descend at least P metres. Together with the convention for Mount Everest, this implies that the prominence of any island or continental highpoint is equal to its elevation above sea level, for every ridge connecting the peak to higher terrain, find the lowest point on the ridge. The key col is defined as the highest of these cols, the prominence is the difference between the elevation of the peak and the elevation of the key col. The following mental exercise may illustrate the meaning of topographic prominence, imagine you are standing at the top of a peak and imagine that an imaginary sea level rises to your feet. Now slowly lower the sea level and an imaginary island appears beneath your feet. Your island will grow and will merge with other islands that emerge, the parent peak may be either close or far from the subject peak. The summit of Mount Everest is the parent peak of Aconcagua at a distance of 17,755 km, the key col may also be close or far from the subject peak. The key col for Aconcagua is the Bering Strait at a distance of 13,655 km, the key col for the South Summit of Mount Everest is about 100 m distant. Prominence is interesting to many mountaineers because it is a measurement that is strongly correlated with the subjective significance of a summit. Peaks with low prominences are either subsidiary tops of some higher summit or relatively insignificant independent summits, peaks with high prominences tend to be the highest points around and are likely to have extraordinary views. Only summits with a sufficient degree of prominence are regarded as independent mountains, for example, the worlds second-highest mountain is K2. While Mount Everests South Summit is taller than K2, it is not considered an independent mountain because it is a subsummit of the main summit, many lists of mountains take topographic prominence as a criterion for inclusion, or cutoff. John and Anne Nuttalls The Mountains of England and Wales uses a cutoff of 15 m, in the contiguous United States, the famous list of fourteeners uses a cutoff of 300 ft /91 m. Also in the U. S.2000 feet of prominence has become a threshold that signifies that a peak has major stature. This generates lists of peaks ranked by prominence, which are different from lists ranked by elevation. Such lists tend to emphasize isolated high peaks, such as range or island high points, one advantage of a prominence-ranked list is that it needs no cutoff, since a peak with high prominence is automatically an independent peak
Topographic prominence
–
Figure 3. Diagram of a mountain range showing peaks and cols, from which mountain parentage and prominences can be determined.
Topographic prominence
–
Topographic prominence of three peaks near Great Pond Mountain, Maine, USA. Red triangles mark the peaks, the lowest contour line encircling each peak are shown in black and the green dots mark the key cols. The prominences are Atkins Hill: 430 – 310 = 120 ft, Cave Hill: 570 - 530 = 40 ft, Mead Mountain: 671 - 530 = 141 ft. The parent peak of each peak is Great Pond Mountain.
3.
Topographic isolation
–
The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum great-circle distance to a point of equal elevation, representing a radius of dominance in which the peak is the highest point. It can be calculated for small hills and islands as well as for major mountain peaks, the following sortable table lists the Earths 40 most topographically isolated summits. The nearest peak to Germanys highest mountain, the 2, 962-metre-high Zugspitze, the distance between the Zugspitze and this contour is 25.8 km, the Zugspitze is thus the highest peak for a radius of 25.8 km around. Its isolation is thus 25.8 km, because there are no higher mountains than Mount Everest, it has no definitive isolation. Many sources list its isolation as the circumference of the earth over the poles or – questionably, after Mount Everest the Aconcagua, highest mountain of the American continents, has the greatest isolation of all mountains. There is no land for 16,534 kilometres when its height is first exceeded by Tirich Mir in the Hindu Kush. Mont Blanc is the highest mountain of the Alps, the geographically nearest higher mountains are all in the Caucasus. The Kukurtlu, which rises near the Elbrus, is the peak for Mont Blanc. com Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia peakbagger. com peaklist. org peakware. com World Mountain Encyclopedia summitpost. org
Topographic isolation
–
Topographic isolation and prominence
Topographic isolation
–
1.
Mount Everest is the highest mountain peak on Earth.
Topographic isolation
–
2.
Aconcagua is the highest peak in the
Western Hemisphere.
Topographic isolation
–
3.
Mount McKinley, or
Denali, is the highest peak of
North America.
4.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
–
Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
5.
Colorado
–
Colorado is a state in the United States encompassing most of the Southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is part of the Western United States, the Southwestern United States, Colorado is the 8th most extensive and the 21st most populous of the 50 United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Colorado was 5,540,545 on July 1,2016, the state was named for the Colorado River, which Spanish travelers named the Río Colorado for the ruddy silt the river carried from the mountains. The Territory of Colorado was organized on February 28,1861, Colorado is nicknamed the Centennial State because it became a state in the same year as the centennial of the United States Declaration of Independence. Colorado is noted for its landscape of mountains, forests, high plains, mesas, canyons, plateaus, rivers. Denver is the capital and the most populous city of Colorado, residents of the state are properly known as Coloradans, although the term Coloradoan has been used archaically and lives on in the title of Fort Collins newspaper, the Coloradoan. Colorado, Wyoming and Utah are the states which have boundaries defined solely by lines of latitude and longitude. The summit of Mount Elbert at 14,440 feet elevation in Lake County is the highest point in Colorado, Colorado is the only U. S. state that lies entirely above 1,000 meters elevation. The point where the Arikaree River flows out of Yuma County, Colorado and this point, which holds the distinction of being the highest low elevation point of any state, is higher than the high elevation points of 18 states and the District of Columbia. A little less than one half of the area of Colorado is flat, East of the Rocky Mountains are the Colorado Eastern Plains of the High Plains, the section of the Great Plains within Nebraska at elevations ranging from roughly 3,350 to 7,500 feet. The Colorado plains were mostly prairies, but they have many patches of forests, buttes. Eastern Colorado is presently covered in farmland and rangeland, along with small farming villages. Precipitation is fair, averaging from 15 to 25 inches annually, corn, wheat, hay, soybeans, and oats are all typical crops, and most of the villages and towns in this region boast both a water tower and a grain elevator. Irrigation water is available from the South Platte, the Arkansas River, and a few other streams, however, heavy use of ground water from wells for irrigation has caused underground water reserves to decline. As well as agriculture, eastern Colorado hosts considerable livestock, such as cattle ranches. Roughly 70% of Colorados population resides along the edge of the Rocky Mountains in the Front Range Urban Corridor between Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Pueblo, Colorado. This region is protected from prevailing storms that blow in from the Pacific Ocean region by the high Rockies in the middle of Colorado. The Front Range includes Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Loveland, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Greeley and other townships, on the other side of the Rockies, the significant population centers in Western Colorado are the cities of Grand Junction, Durango, and Montrose
Colorado
–
The
Elk Mountains near
Aspen, Colorado
Colorado
–
Flag
Colorado
–
Mountains and lakes near
Breckenridge, Colorado
Colorado
–
A view of the arid high plains in Southeastern Colorado
6.
Lake County, Colorado
–
Lake County is one of the 64 counties in the U. S. state of Colorado. As of the 2010 census, the population was 7,310, the county seat and the only municipality in the county is Leadville. The highest natural point in Colorado and the entire Rocky Mountains is the summit of Mount Elbert in Lake County at 14,440 feet elevation, Lake County was one of the original 17 counties created by the Colorado legislature on November 1,1861. As originally defined, Lake County included a portion of western Colorado to the south. The county was named for Twin Lakes, placer gold was found at Colorado Gulch in 1863 as part of the Colorado Gold Rush. With its many reductions in size, Lake Countys designated county seat also changed multiple times within just a few years, residing successively in Oro City, Lourette, Dayton, by 1878, Lake County had been reduced to an area including only present-day Lake and Chaffee counties. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 384 square miles. It is the fourth-smallest county in Colorado by area, outlast is set in a fictional asylum in Lake County. The population density was 21 people per square mile, there were 3,913 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile. 36. 14% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,26. 30% of all households were made up of individuals and 5. 60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the family size was 3.15. In the county, the population was out with 26. 90% under the age of 18,12. 80% from 18 to 24,33. 10% from 25 to 44,20. 60% from 45 to 64. The median age was 30 years, for every 100 females there were 115.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 116.70 males, the median income for a household in the county was $37,691, and the median income for a family was $41,652. Males had an income of $30,977 versus $24,415 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,524, about 9. 50% of families and 12. 90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15. 60% of those under age 18 and 6. 30% of those age 65 or over
Lake County, Colorado
–
Twin Lakes - Department of the Interior. General Land Office. U.S. Geological and Geographic Survey of the Territories. (1874 - 06/30/1879)
Lake County, Colorado
–
Location in the state of
Colorado
Lake County, Colorado
–
The historic Hilltop Mine on
Mount Sherman is a popular attraction for hikers and photographers.
Lake County, Colorado
–
1890s(?) building in Stumptown, in the
Leadville mining district.
7.
Park County, Colorado
–
Park County is one of the 64 counties in the U. S. state of Colorado. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,206, the county was named after the large geographic region known as South Park, which was named by early fur traders and trappers in the area. Park County is included in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, a majority of the county lies within the boundaries of the South Park National Heritage Area. The geographic center of the State of Colorado is located in Park County, Park County has been and is the location of several important mines, including the defunct Orphan Boy, which was discovered near Alma in 1861 and produced gold, silver, lead, and zinc. The historic Sweet Home Mine, also near Alma, is a silver mine now known for its rhodochrosite mineral specimens. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 2,211 square miles. The headwaters of the South Platte River are in Park County, the population density was 7 people per square mile. There were 10,697 housing units at a density of 5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 95. 07% White,0. 50% Black or African American,0. 92% Native American,0. 41% Asian,0. 03% Pacific Islander,1. 23% from other races, and 1. 84% from two or more races. 4. 32% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,21. 10% of all households were made up of individuals and 3. 20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the family size was 2.86. In the county, the population was out with 23. 50% under the age of 18,5. 10% from 18 to 24,33. 40% from 25 to 44,30. 60% from 45 to 64. The median age was 40 years, for every 100 females there were 107.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.60 males, the median income for a household in the county was $51,899, and the median income for a family was $57,025. Males had an income of $41,480 versus $27,807 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,019, about 3. 40% of families and 5. 60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5. 60% of those under age 18 and 5. 70% of those age 65 or over. Alma Fairplay Guffey Antero Junction Buckskin Joe Garo Howbert Tarryall Trump In the animated television series South Park, the police in South Park were a one-man South Park Police force at first, but it has since been phased out in favor of the Park County police. In 1955, part of the film The Looters, co-starring Rory Calhoun, subsequently of the CBS western television series, The Texan, the Looters is the story of a plane crash in the Rocky Mountains
Park County, Colorado
–
Park County Courthouse and Jail
8.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
United States
–
Native Americans meeting with Europeans, 1764
United States
–
Flag
United States
–
The signing of the
Mayflower Compact, 1620.
United States
–
The
Declaration of Independence: the
Committee of Five presenting their draft to the
Second Continental Congress in 1776
9.
Mountain range
–
A mountain range is a geographic area containing numerous geologically related mountains. A mountain system or system of ranges, sometimes is used to combine several geological features that are geographically related. Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys, individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology. They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes, for example thrust sheets, uplifted blocks, fold mountains, most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earths land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or the Alpide Belt. The Andes is 7,000 kilometres long and is considered the worlds longest mountain system. The Alpide belt includes Indonesia and southeast Asia, through the Himalaya, the belt also includes other European and Asian mountain ranges. The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest, mountain ranges outside of these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera, the Urals, the Appalachians, the Scandinavian Mountains, the Altai Mountains and the Hijaz Mountains. If the definition of a range is stretched to include underwater mountains. The mountain systems of the earth are characterized by a tree structure, the sub-range relationship is often expressed as a parent-child relationship. For example, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Blue Ridge Mountains are sub-ranges of the Appalachian Mountains, equivalently, the Appalachians are the parent of the White Mountains and Blue Ridge Mountains, and the White Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains are children of the Appalachians. The position of mountains influences climate, such as rain or snow, when air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools producing orographic precipitation. As the air descends on the side, it warms again and is drier. Often, a shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to forces which work to tear them down. Erosion is at work while the mountains are being uplifted and long after until the mountains are reduced to low hills, rivers are traditionally believed to be the principle erosive factor on mountain ranges, with their ability of bedrock incision and sediment transport. The rugged topography of a range is the product of erosion. The basins adjacent to a mountain range are filled with sediments which are buried and turned into sedimentary rock. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example and this mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift
Mountain range
–
The
Himalayas, the highest mountain range on Earth, seen from space
Mountain range
–
Mountain range of
High Tatras in
Slovakia in 1865
Mountain range
–
The
Andes, the world's longest mountain range on the surface of a continent, seen from the air
Mountain range
–
Hillary and Norgay Montes on Pluto (14 July 2015)
10.
Mosquito Range
–
The Mosquito Range is a high mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States. The peaks of the form a ridge running north-south for approximately 40 miles from southern Summit County on the north end. The ranges forms a barrier separating the headwaters of the Arkansas River near Leadville from South Park. The highest peak in the range is Mount Lincoln at an elevation of 14,286 ft, other fourteeners in the range are Mount Bross, Mount Democrat, and Mount Sherman. The mountains are faulted anticlines formed as part of the Sawatch Uplift during the Laramide orogeny approximately 65 MYA, the range is primarily of granite. The eastern flank of the range along the rim of South Park overlain by Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks, the northern end of the range was glaciated during Pleistocene time, forming u-shaped valleys in the canyons. The high ridge of the forms a relatively difficult barrier between South Park and the Arkansas headwaters. Several of the peaks of the range are prominently visible from the southern side of Fremont Pass along State Highway 91 between Climax and Leadville. The range is not traversed by any major highway, but only in two places by backroads over high passes, Mosquito Pass and Weston Pass, much of the range is located within the Pike National Forest. Southern Rocky Mountains Tenmile Range Mountain ranges of Colorado Mosquito Range @ Peakbagger
Mosquito Range
–
Mount Lincoln
Mosquito Range
–
Tenmile and Mosquito Ranges: (left to right) Loveland Mountain (13,692 ft),
Mount Democrat,
Mount Bross &
Quandary Peak. View from
U.S. 285, about eight miles south of
Fairplay.
Mosquito Range
–
Weston Pass and the southern Mosquito Range, September 2009
11.
Topographic map
–
Traditional definitions require a topographic map to show both natural and man-made features. A topographic map is published as a map series, made up of two or more map sheets that combine to form the whole map. A contour line is a line connecting places of equal elevation, however, in the vernacular and day to day world, the representation of relief is popularly held to define the genre, such that even small-scale maps showing relief are commonly called topographic. The study or discipline of topography is a broader field of study. Topographic maps are based on topographical surveys, performed at large scales, these surveys are called topographical in the old sense of topography, showing a variety of elevations and landforms. This is in contrast to older cadastral surveys, which primarily show property, the first multi-sheet topographic map series of an entire country, the Carte géométrique de la France, was completed in 1789. Topographic surveys were prepared by the military to assist in planning for battle, as such, elevation information was of vital importance. As they evolved, topographic map series became a resource in modern nations in planning infrastructure. Excluding borders, each sheet was 44 cm high and up to 66 cm wide, although the project eventually foundered, it left an indexing system that remains in use. TIGER was developed in the 1980s and used in the 1990, digital elevation models were also compiled, initially from topographic maps and stereographic interpretation of aerial photographs and then from satellite photography and radar data. Since all these were government projects funded with taxes and not classified for security reasons. Initial applications were mostly professionalized forms such as innovative surveying instruments, by the mid-1990s, increasingly user-friendly resources such as online mapping in two and three dimensions, integration of GPS with mobile phones and automotive navigation systems appeared. As of 2011, the future of standardized, centrally printed topographical maps is left somewhat in doubt, the various features shown on the map are represented by conventional signs or symbols. For example, colors can be used to indicate a classification of roads and these signs are usually explained in the margin of the map, or on a separately published characteristic sheet. Topographic maps are commonly called contour maps or topo maps. In the United States, where the national series is organized by a strict 7. 5-minute grid. Topographic maps conventionally show topography, or land contours, by means of contour lines, contour lines are curves that connect contiguous points of the same altitude. In other words, every point on the line of 100 m elevation is 100 m above mean sea level
Topographic map
–
Part of the same map in a perspective
shaded relief view illustrating how the contour lines follow the terrain
Topographic map
–
A topographic map with contour lines
Topographic map
–
Section of topographical map of
Nablus area (
West Bank) with contour lines at 100-meter intervals. Heights are colour-coded
Topographic map
–
Curvimeter used to measure the length of a curve
12.
United States Geological Survey
–
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its resources. The organization has four science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology. The USGS is a research organization with no regulatory responsibility. The USGS is a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior, the USGS employs approximately 8,670 people and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. The USGS also has major offices near Lakewood, Colorado, at the Denver Federal Center, the current motto of the USGS, in use since August 1997, is science for a changing world. The agencys previous slogan, adopted on the occasion of its anniversary, was Earth Science in the Public Service. Prompted by a report from the National Academy of Sciences, the USGS was created, by a last-minute amendment and it was charged with the classification of the public lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain. This task was driven by the need to inventory the vast lands added to the United States by the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the legislation also provided that the Hayden, Powell, and Wheeler surveys be discontinued as of June 30,1879. Clarence King, the first director of USGS, assembled the new organization from disparate regional survey agencies, after a short tenure, King was succeeded in the directors chair by John Wesley Powell. Administratively, it is divided into a Headquarters unit and six Regional Units, Other specific programs include, Earthquake Hazards Program monitors earthquake activity worldwide. The National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines detects the location, the USGS also runs or supports several regional monitoring networks in the United States under the umbrella of the Advanced National Seismic System. The USGS informs authorities, emergency responders, the media, and it also maintains long-term archives of earthquake data for scientific and engineering research. It also conducts and supports research on long-term seismic hazards, USGS has released the UCERF California earthquake forecast. The USGS National Geomagnetism Program monitors the magnetic field at magnetic observatories and distributes magnetometer data in real time, the USGS operates the streamgaging network for the United States, with over 7400 streamgages. Real-time streamflow data are available online, since 1962, the Astrogeology Research Program has been involved in global, lunar, and planetary exploration and mapping. USGS operates a number of related programs, notably the National Streamflow Information Program. USGS Water data is available from their National Water Information System database
United States Geological Survey
–
Clarence King, founder of the USGS
United States Geological Survey
–
Seal of the United States Geological Survey
United States Geological Survey
–
The USGS headquarters in
Reston, Virginia
United States Geological Survey
–
USGS gauging station 03221000 on the
Scioto River below
O'Shaughnessy Dam near
Dublin, Ohio
13.
Elevation
–
GIS or geographic information system is a computer system that allows for visualizing, manipulating, capturing, and storage of data with associated attributes. GIS offers better understanding of patterns and relationships of the landscape at different scales, tools inside the GIS allow for manipulation of data for spatial analysis or cartography. A topographical map is the type of map used to depict elevation. In a Geographic Information System, digital models are commonly used to represent the surface of a place. Digital terrain models are another way to represent terrain in GIS, USGS is developing a 3D Elevation Program to keep up with growing needs for high quality topographic data. 3DEP is a collection of enhanced elevation data in the form of high quality LiDAR data over the conterminous United States, Hawaii, there are three bare earth DEM layers in 3DEP which are nationally seamless at the resolution of 1/3,1, and 2 arcseconds. This map is derived from GTOPO30 data that describes the elevation of Earths terrain at intervals of 30 arcseconds and it uses color and shading instead of contour lines to indicate elevation. Hypsography is the study of the distribution of elevations on the surface of the Earth, the term originates from the Greek word ὕψος hypsos meaning height. Most often it is used only in reference to elevation of land, related to the term hypsometry, the measurement of these elevations of a planets solid surface are taken relative to mean datum, except for Earth which is taken relative to the sea level. In the troposphere, temperatures decrease with altitude and this lapse rate is approximately 6.5 °C/km. S
Elevation
–
A sign at 8000 feet (2438 meters) in the
San Bernardino Mountains.
Elevation
–
Elevation
histogram of the surface of the Earth – approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered with water.
Elevation
Elevation
–
Part of a
topographic map of
Haleakala (
Hawaii), showing elevation.
14.
Mountain
–
A mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area, usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is steeper than a hill. Mountains are formed through tectonic forces or volcanism and these forces can locally raise the surface of the earth. Mountains erode slowly through the action of rivers, weather conditions, a few mountains are isolated summits, but most occur in huge mountain ranges. High elevations on mountains produce colder climates than at sea level and these colder climates strongly affect the ecosystems of mountains, different elevations have different plants and animals. Because of the less hospitable terrain and climate, mountains tend to be used less for agriculture and more for resource extraction and recreation, the highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest in the Himalayas of Asia, whose summit is 8,850 m above mean sea level. The highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System is Olympus Mons on Mars at 21,171 m, there is no universally accepted definition of a mountain. Elevation, volume, relief, steepness, spacing and continuity have been used as criteria for defining a mountain, whether a landform is called a mountain may depend on local usage. The highest point in San Francisco, California, is called Mount Davidson, notwithstanding its height of 300 m, similarly, Mount Scott outside Lawton, Oklahoma is only 251 m from its base to its highest point. Whittows Dictionary of Physical Geography states Some authorities regard eminences above 600 metres as mountains, in addition, some definitions also include a topographical prominence requirement, typically 100 or 500 feet. For a while, the US defined a mountain as being 1,000 feet or taller, any similar landform lower than this height was considered a hill. However, today, the United States Geological Survey concludes that these terms do not have technical definitions in the US, using these definitions, mountains cover 33% of Eurasia, 19% of South America, 24% of North America, and 14% of Africa. As a whole, 24% of the Earths land mass is mountainous, there are three main types of mountains, volcanic, fold, and block. All three types are formed from plate tectonics, when portions of the Earths crust move, crumple, compressional forces, isostatic uplift and intrusion of igneous matter forces surface rock upward, creating a landform higher than the surrounding features. The height of the feature makes it either a hill or, if higher and steeper, major mountains tend to occur in long linear arcs, indicating tectonic plate boundaries and activity. Volcanoes are formed when a plate is pushed below another plate, at a depth of around 100 km, melting occurs in rock above the slab, and forms magma that reaches the surface. When the magma reaches the surface, it builds a volcanic mountain. Examples of volcanoes include Mount Fuji in Japan and Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, the magma does not have to reach the surface in order to create a mountain, magma that solidifies below ground can still form dome mountains, such as Navajo Mountain in the US
Mountain
–
Mount Everest, the highest peak on Earth
Mountain
–
Chimborazo,
Ecuador. The point on Earth's surface farthest from its center.
Mountain
–
Aiguille du Dru in the
French Alps
Mountain
–
The
Matterhorn,
Swiss Alps
15.
Rocky Mountains
–
The Rocky Mountains, commonly known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 3,000 miles from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States. Within the North American Cordillera, the Rockies are somewhat distinct from the Pacific Coast Ranges, the Rocky Mountains were initially formed from 80 million to 55 million years ago during the Laramide orogeny, in which a number of plates began to slide underneath the North American plate. The angle of subduction was shallow, resulting in a belt of mountains running down western North America. Since then, further tectonic activity and erosion by glaciers have sculpted the Rockies into dramatic peaks, at the end of the last ice age, humans started to inhabit the mountain range. The first mention of their present name by a European was in the journal of Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre in 1752, the Rocky Mountains are commonly defined as stretching from the Liard River in British Columbia south to the Rio Grande in New Mexico. The United States definition of the Rockies includes the Cabinet and Salish Mountains of Idaho and their counterparts north of the Kootenai River, the Columbia Mountains, are considered a separate system in Canada, lying to the west of the huge Rocky Mountain Trench. This runs the length of British Columbia from its beginnings in the middle Flathead River valley in western Montana to the bank of the Liard River. The Rockies vary in width from 70 to 300 miles, also west of the Rocky Mountain Trench, farther north and facing the Muskwa Range across the trench, are the Stikine Ranges and Omineca Mountains of the Interior Mountains system of British Columbia. A small area east of Prince George, British Columbia on the side of the Trench. In Canada geographers define three main groups of ranges, the Continental Ranges, Hart Ranges and Muskwa Ranges, the Muskwa and Hart Ranges together comprise what is known as the Northern Rockies. The western edge of the Rockies includes ranges such as the Wasatch near Salt Lake City, the Great Basin and Columbia River Plateau separate these sub-ranges from distinct ranges further to the west, most prominent among which are the Sierra Nevada, Cascade Range and Coast Mountains. The Rocky Mountain System within the United States is a United States physiographic region, the Rocky Mountains are notable for containing the highest peaks in central North America. The ranges highest peak is Mount Elbert located in Colorado at 14,440 feet above sea level, Mount Robson in British Columbia, at 12,972 feet, is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. The Continental Divide of the Americas is located in the Rocky Mountains, triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park is so named because water that falls on the mountain reaches not only the Atlantic and Pacific, but Hudson Bay as well. Farther north in Alberta, the Athabasca and other rivers feed the basin of the Mackenzie River, see Rivers of the Rocky Mountains for a list of rivers. Human population is not very dense in the Rocky Mountains, with an average of four people per square kilometer, however, the human population grew rapidly in the Rocky Mountain states between 1950 and 1990. The 40-year statewide increases in range from 35% in Montana to about 150% in Utah
Rocky Mountains
–
Moraine Lake, and the
Valley of the Ten Peaks,
Banff National Park,
Alberta,
Canada
Rocky Mountains
–
The Front Range of the Rocky Mountains near
Denver, Colorado
Rocky Mountains
–
The
Tetons are a rugged subrange in Wyoming
Rocky Mountains
–
Mount Robson in
British Columbia.
16.
North America
–
North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16. 5% of the land area. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7. 5% of the worlds population, North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge. The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago, the Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era ended with the migrations and the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kind of interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants, European influences are strongest in the northern parts of the continent while indigenous and African influences are relatively stronger in the south. Because of the history of colonialism, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, the Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass previously unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a map, in which he placed the word America on the continent of South America. He explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio, for Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespuccis name, but in its feminine form America, following the examples of Europa, Asia and Africa. Later, other mapmakers extended the name America to the continent, In 1538. Some argue that the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty, a minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of Amairick. Another is that the name is rooted in a Native American language, the term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with location and context. In Canadian English, North America may be used to refer to the United States, alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands
North America
–
Map of North America, from 1621.
North America
–
North America
North America
–
The
El Castillo pyramid, at
Chichén Itzá, Mexico.
North America
–
Benjamin West 's
The Death of General Wolfe (1771) depicting the
Battle of the Plains of Abraham.
17.
Thirteener
–
In mountaineering in the United States, a thirteener is a mountain that exceeds 13,000 feet above mean sea level, similar to the more familiar fourteeners, which exceed 14,000 feet. In most instances, thirteeners refers only to those peaks between 13,000 and 13,999 feet in elevation, the importance of thirteeners is greatest in Colorado, which has the majority of such peaks in North America with over 600 of them. Despite the large number of peaks, over 20 peak baggers have reported climbing all of Colorados thirteeners, thirteeners are also significant in states whose highpoints fall between 13,000 and 13,999 feet. Not all summits over 13,000 feet qualify as thirteeners, objective standards for independence include topographic prominence and isolation, or a combination. However thirteener lists do not always consistently use such objective rules, a rule commonly used by mountaineers in the contiguous United States is that a peak must have at least 300 feet of prominence to qualify. According to the Mountaineering Club of Alaska, it is standard in Alaska to use a 500 ft prominence rule rather than a 300-foot rule and these are the standards applied for the lists below. Thirteeners are found in nine U. S. states, different sources list varying numbers of 13, 000+ ft peaks in the state, mainly because many of the peaks are unnamed and have no spot elevations given on the USGS topographical maps. The following list may miss a few peaks that should be included, Wyoming has 34 thirteeners with at least 300 ft of prominence,30 of the 34 are located in the rugged and remote Wind River Range. The highest of them are, Other notable Wyoming thirteeners include, Utah has 17 thirteeners with at least 300 ft of prominence, all of them are located in the remote Uinta Mountains near the Wyoming border. The highest of the thirteeners are, New Mexico has 3 thirteeners, Hawaii has two thirteeners, the great shield volcanoes which comprise the bulk of the Big Island of Hawaii. Nevada has only a single thirteener that meets the threshold for inclusion, however, the highest point in the state is Boundary Peak, which is a sub-peak of Californias Montgomery Peak with only 240 feet of prominence
Thirteener
–
The Crestone Group including
Columbia Point,
Colorado
Thirteener
–
Mount Silverheels,
Colorado
Thirteener
–
Lizard Head,
Colorado
Thirteener
–
Mount Humphreys,
California
18.
Leadville, Colorado
–
Leadville is the statutory city that is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 2,602 at the 2010 United States Census, situated at an elevation of 10,152 feet, Leadville is the highest incorporated city and the second highest incorporated municipality in the United States. In the late 19th century, Leadville was the second most populous city in Colorado, the Leadville area was first settled in 1859 when placer gold was discovered in California Gulch during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. By 1860, a town, Oro City had sprung up, but the boom was brief because the placer-mined gold soon ran out and Oro City never became a major settlement. Prospectors traced the cerussite to its source, present day Leadville, Horace Tabor, who became known as the Leadville Silver King and his wife Augusta were among the first prospectors to arrive in Oro City. Tabor tried his luck at prospecting while his wife worked as a cook, laundress, banker. Leadville was founded in 1877 by mine owners Horace Tabor and August Meyer at the start of the Colorado Silver Boom, the town was built on desolate flat land below the tree line. The first miners lived in a tented camp near the silver deposits in California Gulch. Initially the settlement was called Slabtown but when the residents petitioned for a post office the name Leadville was chosen. By 1880 Tabor and Meyers new town had gas lighting, water mains and 28 miles of streets, five churches, many business buildings were constructed with bricks hauled in by wagons. The first post office was in Tabors store at Oro, Augusta Tabor was the postmistress, carriers went down to Denver one week and tried to come back the next. Postage was fifty cents a letter, in early 1878, Meyer, Harrison, Tabor established a post office in Leadville, with Henderson as postmaster. The post office and the telegraph office both prospered, the towns first newspaper was The Reveille, a Republican weekly in 1878. Three months later, a competing Democratic weekly, The Eclipse emerged, the Chronicle was the towns first daily and first newspaper in America to employ a full-time female reporter. Like the Rocky Mountain News, The Chronicle took the lead in outing criminals and thieves, despite violent threats, the Chronicle survived without major incident. William Nye opened the first saloon early 1877 and it was followed by many others, the same year The Coliseum Novelty was the first theater to open. It offered sleeping rooms upstairs for a rate and provided a variety of entertainments, dancing girls, dogfights, cockfighting, wrestling and boxing matches. In June 1881, it burned to the ground, ben Wood who arrived in Leadville in 1878, opened the first legitimate theatre, Woods Opera House with a thousand seats
Leadville, Colorado
–
Downtown Leadville
Leadville, Colorado
–
Crystalline
gold specimen from the Little Johnny Mine, Breece Hill,
Leadville mining district
Leadville, Colorado
–
Interior of the Tabor Opera House
Leadville, Colorado
–
Leadville in the 1950s
19.
Drainage divide
–
A drainage divide, water divide, divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting, is the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins. In hilly country, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a range of hills or mountains. In flat country—especially where the ground is marshy—the divide may be harder to discern, a valley floor divide is a low drainage divide that runs across a valley, sometimes created by deposition or stream capture. Settlements are often built on valley-floor divides in the Alps, examples are Eben im Pongau, Kirchberg in Tirol and Waidring. Extremely low divides with heights of less than two metres are found on the North German Plain within the Urstromtäler, for example, between Havel and Finow in the Eberswalde Urstromtal. In marsh deltas such as the Okavango, the largest drainage area on earth, or in large areas, such as the Finnish Lakeland. Another case is bifurcation, where the watershed is effectively in the river bed, in pre-industrial times, water divides were crossed at portages. Later, canals connected adjoining drainage basins, a key problem in such canals is ensuring a sufficient water supply, category, Drainage basins List of watershed topics European watershed Scottish watershed River source
Drainage divide
–
European drainage divides (red lines) separating drainage basins (grey regions)
20.
San Isabel National Forest
–
San Isabel National Forest is located in central Colorado. The forest contains 19 of the states 53 fourteeners, peaks over 14,000 feet high, including Mount Elbert and it is one of eleven national forests in the state of Colorado and contains the Sawatch Range, the Collegiate Peaks, and Sangre de Cristo Range. It has an area of 1,120,233 acres spread out over parts of eleven counties in central Colorado. In descending order of area it is located in Chaffee, Custer, Lake, Huerfano, Fremont, Pueblo, Saguache, Las Animas, Park, Costilla. San Isabel National Forest is co-managed by the Forest Service together with Pike National Forest, Cimarron National Grassland, there are local ranger district offices located in Cañon City, Leadville, and Salida. There are seven designated wilderness areas lying within San Isabel National Forest that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Four of them extend into neighboring National Forests, and of these, another one extends onto land of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
San Isabel National Forest
–
San Isabel National Forest
21.
Pike National Forest
–
The Pike National Forest is located in the Front Range of Colorado, United States, west of Colorado Springs and including Pikes Peak. The forest encompasses 1,106,604 acres within Clear Creek, Teller, Park, Jefferson, Douglas, the major rivers draining the forest are the South Platte and Fountain Creek. Rampart Reservoir, an artificial body of water, is located within the forest. The forest is named after American explorer Zebulon Pike, much of the bedrock within Pike National Forest is made up of the coarse, pink to orange Pikes Peak granite. There are local district offices located in Colorado Springs, Fairplay. The dry climate of Pike National Forest makes it prime wildfire territory, the first recorded fires occurred in the 19th century, and the forest was recently the location of the Hayman Fire of 2002 and the Waldo Canyon Fire of 2012. The former burned 138, 114-acre and 133 homes while the latter burned 18, the Pike and San Isabel National Forest was recently awarded a major reclamation project to fix the damage from the Hayman wildfire. The project was sponsored by The National Arbor Day Foundation, in conjunction with several university bookstores, Pike and San Isabel was voted the winner from a group of three separate forests. The vote took place at www. buildaforest. com, there are three officially designated wilderness areas lying within Pike National Forest that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Two of them extend into neighboring National Forests, even in the summer, nights are cool due to the forests high elevation. Temperatures and precipitation vary widely throughout the forest, depending on elevation, most of the forest receives more than 100 inches of snow a year. United States Army Pike’s Peak Research Laboratory Devils Head Lookout Culturally modified trees Pike and San Isabel National Forests and Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands
Pike National Forest
–
Near
Devil's Head Lookout
Pike National Forest
–
Pike National Forest map
Pike National Forest
–
Pike National Forest in the fall.
22.
List of mountain ranges of Colorado
–
The following table lists the major mountain ranges of the U. S. State of Colorado. All of these ranges are all subranges of the Rocky Mountains, topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earths sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface. The topographic prominence of a summit is the difference between that summit and the highest or key col to a higher summit. The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum distance to a point of equal elevation. All elevations in this include an elevation adjustment from the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988. For further information, please see this United States National Geodetic Survey note, if an elevation or prominence is calculated as a range of values, the arithmetic mean is shown. com Peakbagger. com Peaklist. org Peakware. com Summitpost. org
List of mountain ranges of Colorado
–
An enlargeable satellite photograph of the
Rocky Mountains in the
State of Colorado.
List of mountain ranges of Colorado
–
Mount Elbert is the
highest peak of the
Sawatch Range and the entire
Rocky Mountains.
List of mountain ranges of Colorado
–
Mount Harvard is the
highest of the
Collegiate Peaks and the third highest peak of the
Rocky Mountains.
List of mountain ranges of Colorado
–
Blanca Peak is the
highest peak of the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the fifth highest peak of the
Rocky Mountains.
23.
List of Colorado fourteeners
–
In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a fourteener is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least 14,000 feet. This is a complete list of the 53 fourteeners in the U. S. State of Colorado with at least 300 feet of topographic prominence. The summit of a mountain or hill may be measured in three ways, The topographic elevation of a summit measures the height of the summit above a geodetic sea level. The topographic prominence of a summit is a measure of how high the summit rises above its surroundings, the topographic isolation of a summit measures how far the summit lies from its nearest point of equal elevation
List of Colorado fourteeners
–
Mount Elbert in the
Sawatch Range is the
highest peak of the
Rocky Mountains and the highest point in the
U.S. State of Colorado.
List of Colorado fourteeners
–
View of
Mount Elbert with Turquoise Lake in the foreground.
List of Colorado fourteeners
–
View of
Blanca Peak from
Mount Lindsey.
List of Colorado fourteeners
–
The
Crestones as seen from
Mount Adams. From left to right:
Crestone Needle,
Crestone Peak,
Columbia Point,
Kit Carson Peak,
Challenger Point.
24.
List of mountain peaks of Colorado
–
This article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaks of the U. S. State of Colorado. The summit of a mountain or hill may be measured in three ways, The topographic elevation of a summit measures the height of the summit above a geodetic sea level. The first table ranks the 55 highest major summits of Colorado by elevation. The topographic prominence of a summit is a measure of how high the summit rises above its surroundings, the second table below ranks the 50 most prominent summits of Colorado. The topographic isolation of a summit measures how far the summit lies from its nearest point of equal elevation, the third table below ranks the 50 most isolated major summits of Colorado. Of the highest major summits of Colorado, the following 55 peaks exceed 4000 meters elevation and 117 peaks exceed 3000 meters elevation, of the most prominent summits of Colorado, only Mount Elbert exceeds 2000 meters of topographic prominence. Three peaks are ultra-prominent summits with more than 1500 meters of prominence and 14 peaks exceed 1000 meters of topographic prominence
List of mountain peaks of Colorado
–
Mount Elbert in the
Sawatch Range is the
highest peak of the
Rocky Mountains and the highest point in the
U.S. State of Colorado.
List of mountain peaks of Colorado
List of mountain peaks of Colorado
–
Mount Massive in the
Sawatch Range is the
second highest peak of the
Rocky Mountains.
List of mountain peaks of Colorado
–
Mount Harvard is the
highest of the
Collegiate Peaks and the third highest peak of the
Rocky Mountains.
25.
List of the most prominent summits of Colorado
–
The following sortable table comprises the 100 most topographically prominent mountain peaks of the U. S. State of Colorado. Topographic elevation is the distance above the reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earths sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface. The topographic prominence of a summit is the difference between that summit and the highest or key col to a higher summit. The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum distance to a point of equal elevation. This article defines a significant summit as a summit with at least 100 meters of prominence. An ultra-prominent summit is a summit with at least 1500 meters of topographic prominence, there are 126 ultra-prominent summits in the United States. All elevations include an adjustment from the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988, for further information, please see this United States National Geodetic Survey note. If an elevation or prominence is calculated as a range of values, the arithmetic mean is shown. com Peakbagger. com Peaklist. org Peakware. com Summitpost. org
List of the most prominent summits of Colorado
–
Mount Elbert in the
Sawatch Range is the
highest peak of the
Rocky Mountains and the highest point in the
U.S. State of Colorado.
List of the most prominent summits of Colorado
–
1.
Mount Elbert in the
Sawatch Range is the
highest peak of the
Rocky Mountains.
List of the most prominent summits of Colorado
–
2.
Pikes Peak is the second most
topographically prominent mountain peak of
Colorado.
List of the most prominent summits of Colorado
–
3.
Blanca Peak is the
highest peak of the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the second most
topographically isolated peak of
Colorado.
26.
Sea Level Datum of 1929
–
The Sea Level Datum of 1929 was the vertical control datum established for vertical control surveying in the United States of America by the General Adjustment of 1929. The datum was used to measure elevation above, and depression below, Mean sea level was measured at 26 tide gauges,21 in the United States and 5 in Canada. The datum was defined by the heights of mean sea level at the 26 tide gauges. The adjustment required a total of 66,315 miles of leveling with 246 closed circuits and 25 circuits at sea level. Since the Sea Level Datum of 1929 was a model, it was not a pure model of mean sea level. Therefore, it was renamed the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 in 1973, altitude Datum Geodesy Mean sea level North American Vertical Datum of 1988 Storm Surge Topographic elevation Topography Reference ellipsoid Geoid United States Geological Survey home page. U. S. National Geodetic Survey home page
Sea Level Datum of 1929
–
Geodesy
27.
North American Vertical Datum of 1988
–
NAVD88 was established in 1991 by the minimum-constraint adjustment of geodetic leveling observations in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. It held fixed the height of the tidal bench mark, referenced to the International Great Lakes Datum of 1985 local mean sea level height value, at Rimouski, Quebec. The definition of NAVD88 uses the Helmert orthometric height, which calculates the location of the geoid from modeled local gravity, the NAVD88 model is based on then-available measurements, and remains fixed despite later improved geoid models. NAVD88 replaced the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929, previously known as the Sea Level Datum of 1929, the elevation difference between points in a local area will show negligible change from one datum to the other, even though the elevation of both does change. NGVD29 used a model of gravity based on latitude to calculate the geoid and did not take into account other variations. Thus, the difference for points across the country does change between datums. Altitude Geodesy Sea Level Datum of 1929 Topographic elevation Topography Reference ellipsoid Geoid United States Geological Survey home page, U. S. National Geodetic Survey home page
North American Vertical Datum of 1988
–
Geodesy
28.
Geographic Names Information System
–
It is a type of gazetteer. GNIS was developed by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation with the United States Board on Geographic Names to promote the standardization of feature names, the database is part of a system that includes topographic map names and bibliographic references. The names of books and historic maps that confirm the feature or place name are cited, variant names, alternatives to official federal names for a feature, are also recorded. Each feature receives a permanent, unique feature record identifier, sometimes called the GNIS identifier, the database never removes an entry, except in cases of obvious duplication. The GNIS accepts proposals for new or changed names for U. S. geographical features, the general public can make proposals at the GNIS web site and can review the justifications and supporters of the proposals. The Bureau of the Census defines Census Designated Places as a subset of locations in the National Geographic Names Database, U. S. Postal Service Publication 28 gives standards for addressing mail. In this publication, the postal service defines two-letter state abbreviations, street identifiers such as boulevard and street, department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Division, Digital Gazeteer, Users Manual. Least Heat Moon, William, Blue Highways, A Journey Into America, standard was withdrawn in September 2008, See Federal Register Notice, Vol.73, No. 170, page 51276 Report, Principles, Policies, and Procedures, Domestic Geographic Names, U. S. Postal Service Publication 28, November 2000. Board on Geographic Names website Geographic Names Information System Proposals from the general public Meeting minutes
Geographic Names Information System
–
The seal of the
United States Board on Geographic Names
29.
Book Cliffs
–
The Book Cliffs are a series of desert mountains and cliffs in western Colorado and eastern Utah, in the western United States. They are so named because the cliffs of Cretaceous sandstone that cap many of the buttes appear similar to a shelf of books. Stretching nearly 200 miles from east to west, the Book Cliffs begin where the Colorado River descends south through De Beque Canyon into the Grand Valley to Price Canyon, the Book Cliffs appear mostly along the southern and western edge of the Tavaputs Plateau. The cliffs are composed of sedimentary materials. The Book Cliffs are within the Colorado Plateau geologic province, in the Colorado stretch of the Book Cliffs, abandoned coal mines are present, as significant coal resources were present in the region. These mines are now generally capped for safety, but several fatalities of recreational hikers have occurred at these mines since 1989. In some places, wild horses can be found in the Book Cliffs, for example, the Book Cliffs are one of the worlds best places to study sequence stratigraphy. In the 1980s, Exxon scientists used the Cretaceous strata of the Book Cliffs to develop the science of sequence stratigraphy. The Book Cliffs have preserved excellent strata of the basin of the ancient Western Interior Seaway that stretched north from the Gulf of Mexico to the Yukon in the Cretaceous time. Components of deltaic and shallow marine reservoirs are very well preserved in the Book Cliffs, large mammals found in the Book Cliffs include coyotes, mountain lions, bobcats, mule deer, pronghorn, American bison as an extension of the Henry Mountains bison herd and bighorn sheep. In January,2009, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officials transplanted 31 bison from the Henry Mountains bison herd to the Book Cliffs, the new group joined 14 animals previously released in August,2008 from a private herd on the nearby Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation. Since this herd is located approximately 100 miles north of the Henry Mountains, across mostly harsh, desert terrain, it should perhaps be considered as a separate herd, Cretaceous Paleogeography - Showing Western Interior Seaway The Soils of Western Colorado Mesa, Delta and Montrose Counties
Book Cliffs
–
The Spring Canyon sandstones in the Book Cliffs above the town of Helper, Utah. There are several sedimentary cycles visible in the cliffs (perhaps up to seven or eight)
Book Cliffs
–
Book Cliffs and Mt. Garfield (on right, approximate altitude 6,600') in Mesa County, Colorado
Book Cliffs
–
A
flute cast, one of many
sedimentary structures found in the Book Cliffs
30.
Elk Mountains (Colorado)
–
The Elk Mountains are a high, rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of west-central Colorado in the United States. The range sits west of the Sawatch Range and northeast of the West Elk Mountains, much of the range is located within the White River National Forest and the Gunnison National Forest, as well as the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness and Raggeds Wilderness. The Elk Mountains rise nearly 9,000 ft. above the Roaring Fork Valley to the north, the highest peaks in the range are its fourteeners, Castle Peak, Maroon Peak, Capitol Peak, Snowmass Mountain, Pyramid Peak, and North Maroon Peak. Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak are collectively known as the Maroon Bells, mount Sopris sits at the northwest end of the range and dominates the skyline of the lower Roaring Fork Valley and the town of Carbondale, Colorado, serving as an unofficial symbol of the area. State Highway 133 traverses McClure Pass, at the end of the range. The range has been the site of mining activity since the days of the Colorado Silver Boom, in the late 19th century, the western and southern flank of the range became the site of intense coal mining activity which continues to the present day. Treasure Mountain, overlooking the town of Marble, is home to the famous Yule Marble Quarry, quarried marble was used to create The Tomb of the Unknowns, the Lincoln Memorial, Denver Post Office and other buildings. The range receives a great deal of snowfall due to its position to the west of the continental divide and this is exploited by the ski areas in the vicinity of Aspen, which are located on the flanks of smaller mountains alongside the Roaring Fork Valley
Elk Mountains (Colorado)
–
The
Maroon Bells, Elk Mountains.
Elk Mountains (Colorado)
–
Sievers Mountain South
Elk Mountains (Colorado)
–
Maroon Lake, Elk Mountains.
31.
Aspen Mountain (Colorado)
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Aspen Mountain is a mountain summit in the Elk Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 10, 705-foot peak is located in White River National Forest,1.4 miles south-southeast of downtown Aspen in Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The north face of the mountain is the location of the Aspen Mountain ski area, the mountain flank was the site of intense mining activity in the late 1880s and early 1890s, with many remains of mining activity below and on the surface of the mountain. In the middle 20th century it became the site of recreational downhill skiing, in 1946, the newly formed Aspen Skiing Company, founded by Walter Paepcke, built the first chairlift to the top of the mountain and opened the ski area that bears the name of the mountain. Nowadays, people use a gondola, which holds six people. Aspen Mountain is alternatively called Ajax by the locals
Aspen Mountain (Colorado)
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Aspen Mountain, seen from the northwest showing the lower ski runs of the Aspen Mountain ski area
32.
Capitol Peak (Colorado)
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Capitol Peak is a high and prominent mountain summit in the Elk Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. Capitol Peak lies on the ridge connecting the heart of the Elk Mountains with Mount Sopris to the northwest. Capitol Peak is notable for its impressive vertical relief, rising nearly 9,000 feet above the Roaring Fork Valley, Capitol Peak is one of the most difficult of Colorados fourteeners to climb. The only non-technical route, the Northeast Ridge, requires crossing the famously exposed Knife Edge, fatalities have occurred on this route. Other routes require technical climbing, for example, the Northwest Buttress Route. These routes have significant rockfall danger due to a deal of loose rock, however. A Climbing Guide to Colorados Fourteeners, photo Journal of a trip up Snowmass Mountain and Capitol Peak Capitol Peak. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09
Capitol Peak (Colorado)
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Capitol Peak, from Capitol Lake
Capitol Peak (Colorado)
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Capitol Peak Knife Edge
33.
Castle Peak (Colorado)
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Castle Peak is the ninth highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U. S. state of Colorado. The prominent 14, 279-foot fourteener is the highest summit of the Elk Mountains, the summit of Castle Peak is the highest point of both counties. Castle Peak takes its name from its castellated summit, the best climbing months are June, July, August, September through the Montezuma Glacier, a permanent snowfield between Castle and Conundrum Peaks. There are two routes for ascent. The Northwest Ridge features a moderate snow climb followed by an easy ridge scramble and it should not be attempted late in the summer when the 200 feet of loose dirt and scree meet the climber near the top of the Castle-Conundrum saddle. The Northeast Ridge features an easy climb, but slightly harder scrambling and route-finding once on the ridge. Conundrum Peak is a subsummit of Castle Peak. It has two closely spaced summits, the northern is higher, with elevation of 14, 040+ feet and it is 0.4 miles north of Castle Peak, and has 200 feet of clean topographic prominence. This does not meet the usual 300-foot prominence criterion for a separate peak, however
Castle Peak (Colorado)
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View from NNE above Montezuma Basin
34.
Maroon Bells
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The Maroon Bells are two peaks in the Elk Mountains, Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak, separated by about a third of a mile. The mountains are on the border between Pitkin County and Gunnison County, Colorado, United States, about 12 miles southwest of Aspen, Maroon Peak, at 14,163 feet, is the 27th highest peak in Colorado. North Maroon Peak, at 14,019 feet, is the 50th highest, the view of the Maroon Bells to the southwest from the Maroon Creek valley is commonly photographed. The peaks are located in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of White River National Forest, a US Forest Service sign on the access trail refers to these mountains as The Deadly Bells and warns would-be climbers of downsloping, loose, rotten and unstable rock that kills without warning. Unlike other mountains in the Rockies that are composed of granite and limestone, mudstone is weak and fractures readily, giving rise to dangerously loose rock along almost any route. The mudstone is responsible for the Bells distinctive maroon color, the Bells got their deadly name in 1965 when eight people died in five separate accidents. Maroon Lake occupies a basin that was sculpted by Ice-Age glaciers and later dammed by landslide, the Maroon Bells are an increasingly popular destination for day and overnight visitors, over 300,000 people visit the Bells every season. Due to the volume of people, a bus service runs everyday from 8am-5pm from mid-June through the first weekend in October, during these times, and with just a few exceptions, personal vehicle access is limited to those with handicap placards or disability license plates. The bus runs from Aspen Highlands to Maroon Lake every 20 minutes, the Maroon Bells scenic area features several hiking trails ranging from short hikes near Maroon Lake to longer hikes into the Maroon-Snowmass Wilderness. Because the Maroon Bells area receives high levels of visitor use. Colorado portal Mountains portal List of Colorado fourteeners Guide to Maroon Bells Colorado Maroon Bells on 14ers. com Maroon Bells on Distantpeak. com Maroon Bells Scenic Area on USFS
Maroon Bells
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Maroon Bells With Aspen, September 2003
Maroon Bells
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Maroon Lake and Maroon Bells, pre-dawn photo, 19 September 2012.
35.
Mount Sopris
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Mount Sopris is a twin-summit mountain in the northwestern Elk Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. Mount Sopris is located in western Pitkin County, south of Carbondale and southwest of the confluence of the Crystal, Mount Sopris is notable for having two summits, East Sopris and West Sopris, that are one-half mile apart and have the same elevation of 12,965 feet. It is named for Richard Sopris, a mayor of Denver. In 2011 J. P. McDaniels petitioned to rename East Sopris Mount John Denver after the Colorado singer, a local poll in Aspen and Carbondale said 74 percent of the respondents were against the proposal. Mount Sopris is not a volcano, but it is possible that an ancient volcano sat above it, due to subsequent continued erosion, any evidence is now gone. In either case, the rock makes up Sopris never reached the surface, cooling and crystallizing in situ. Nearby prominent peaks Mount Gunnison and Crested Butte are believed to have formed similarly, Mount Sopris dominates the skyline of Carbondale and the lower Roaring Fork Valley, serving as an unofficial symbol of the area. It is prominently visible from State Highway 82 in the vicinity of Carbondale, in terms of local relief, it is one of the largest peaks in the state of Colorado. For example, West Sopris rises 6,400 ft above the valley to the west in only 2.7 mi, in fact a vertical rise of over 6,000 feet in less than 3 miles is rare and impressive anywhere in the contiguous United States. The Mount Sopris Trail ascends to East Sopris via its east ridge and it starts near Dinkle Lake, on the northeast side of the mountain, and passes between the two Thomas Lakes just before reaching timberline. The ascent involves about 4,300 ft of vertical gain and 12 mi of hiking, it is a trail hike. Mount Sopris on Summitpost, an excellent article with many further links Rock Glacier on Mount Sopris at NASA Earth Observatory
Mount Sopris
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Mount Sopris as viewed from
State Highway 82.
Mount Sopris
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Looking North West from Mt. Sopris
36.
Pyramid Peak (Colorado)
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Pyramid Peak is a fourteen thousand foot mountain in the U. S. state of Colorado. It is the 47th highest mountain peak in Colorado, and 78th highest peak in the United States and it is located in the Elk Mountains in southeastern Pitkin County, approximately 12 miles southwest of Aspen. The summit somewhat resembles a square pyramid and is visible from the Roaring Fork River valley north of Aspen along the canyon of Maroon Creek. Like many of the peaks in the Elks, Pyramid Peak is quite steep, especially compared to more gentle fourteeners such as Mount Elbert. For example, the summit rises 4,000 feet above Crater Lake to the northwest in only 1.2 miles. The standard climbing routes on Pyramid Peak are the northeast and northwest ridges and these routes involve difficult route finding, high exposure, and a great deal of loose rock. Hence they are two of the most difficult and dangerous of all of the routes on the Colorado fourteeners. List of mountain peaks of Colorado List of Colorado fourteeners Pyramid Peak
Pyramid Peak (Colorado)
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Pyramid Peak as seen from
Maroon Peak in 2009
37.
Snowmass Mountain
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Snowmass Mountain is a fourteen thousand foot mountain in the U. S. state of Colorado and the thirty-fourth highest mountain peak in the state. Snowmass Mountain is named for the large snowfield that lies on its eastern slopes, Hagerman Peak sits between Snowmass Mountain and Snowmass Peak and is also often mistaken for Snowmass Mountain. The route most commonly used to climb Snowmass Mountain is the Snowmass Creek approach, the route to the summit starts at Snowmass Lake, which is itself an 8. 1-mile hike up Snowmass Creek from the parking area. Most people hike to the lake, camp the night and then proceed to the top and this route is recommended in the spring and early summer when the snowfield still covers much of the route, however an ice axe is recommended for travel on the snowfield. Later in the summer there is more travel on talus and more danger from rockfall, an alternative in snow-free conditions is to hike up to the saddle between the peak and Hagerman Peak. From that point there are climbers trails which proceed on the side of the ridge to the summit. A different and much less used route climbs the west side of Snowmass Mountain from Geneva Lake, Snowmass Mountain Snowmass Peak List of mountain peaks of Colorado List of Colorado fourteeners Snowmass Mountain on 14ers. com Snowmass Mountain. Photo Journal from a trip up Snowmass Mountain and on to Capitol Peak Aspen Ski & Snow Report
Snowmass Mountain
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Snowmass Mountain, July 2007
Snowmass Mountain
38.
Snowmass Peak
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Snowmass Peak in the U. S. state of Colorado dominates the view from Snowmass Lake. It is often mistaken for Snowmass Mountain, the thirty-fourth highest mountain peak in the state, Snowmass Peak is not really a peak but the lower end of Hagerman Peaks east ridge. Natural forced perspective causes the illusion that Snowmass Peak is higher than Hagerman Peak though it is actually 221 ft shorter than Hagermans summit. This illusion combined with its striking rise behind Snowmass Lake justifies it being a point on USGS topographical maps. It is located in the Elk Mountains, within the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of the White River National Forest and it lies along the border between Pitkin and Gunnison counties, west of Aspen and southwest of the town of Snowmass Village. The route used to climb Snowmass Peak is the Trail Rider Pass trail to Hagerman Peak and this trail can be accessed by Snowmass Creek approach off Divide Road Snowmass Village or the Geneva Lake trail. It is possible to reach the summit by horse between Hagerman Peak and Snowmass Mountain, but is more difficult
Snowmass Peak
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Snowmass Peak rises up out of Snowmass Lake
39.
Treasure Mountain (Colorado)
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Treasure Mountain, elevation 13,535 ft, is a summit in the Elk Mountains of western Colorado. The mountain is in the Raggeds Wilderness southeast of Marble, the massif has been the site of marble mining and a legend of lost French gold. Treasure Mountain forms a massif with Treasury Mountain, elevation 13,462 feet. Another Treasure Mountain, el.11,834 feet is located in Mineral County, the Ruby Range extends southward from Treasury Mountain forming the east boundary of the Raggeds Wilderness. The Yule Lakes are a series of lakes situated on the slopes which drain into Yule Creek. The watershed is part of Crystal River basin which drains the slopes of Treasure Mountain and is the northeastern boundary of Raggeds Wilderness. Yule Pass, south of Treasury Mountain separates the Raggeds Wilderness of the Sopris Ranger District from the Gunnison Ranger District, Yule Pass is to the east of the headwaters of Yule Creek. The Colorado Yule marble comes from the Leadville Limestone of Mississippian age quarried near the mountain and it was formed by contact metamorphism in the Tertiary period following the intrusion and uplift of nearby granitic Treasure Mountain dome. Yule marble was used in the building of the Lincoln Memorial, the Yule marble quarry is at an elevation of 9,300 ft on the west side of Treasure Mountain along Yule Creek. The original name of the peak was Citadel Mountain, the current name came from an ill-fated French mining expedition described in folklore documented in the 1930s and 1940s. The folklore states that the expedition was organized in the late 1700s by Napoleon Bonaparte, the expedition was reported to have consisted of 300 men and 450 horses. They left New Orleans and traveled through Leavenworth, Kansas en route to the Rocky Mountains, the folklore claims that a large amount of gold was discovered and amassed by the expedition near Wolf Creek Pass. The local Native Americans were reportedly friendly, but relations deteriorated. In the folklore, the French buried gold and escaped the area, one survivor by the name of Le Blanc made it back to Kansas. He was the historian and was reported to have made two maps of the hidden treasure. A later expedition failed to find the treasure, william Yule, many years later, claimed to possess a copy of the original map and explored the area south and west of the mountain. The mountain was named after the legend of the missing treasure, List of mountain peaks of North America List of mountain peaks of the United States List of mountain peaks of Colorado
Treasure Mountain (Colorado)
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Treasure Mountain in the background
40.
Elkhead Mountains
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The Elkhead Mountains are a mountain range in Colorado. The mountain range is considered to be low altitude within Colorado as the mountains are under 11,000 feet, located within Routt and Moffat counties, the mountain range is far from metropolitan areas and has few lakes and streams, so it attracts few visitors. The mountain range is a range and all of the peaks were formed by volcanic action. Almost all of the peaks within the Elkhead Mountains are a part of Routt National Forest, significant peaks are, Bears Ears, Sugar Loaf, Saddle Mountain, Black Mountain, Pilot Knob, and Meaden Peak. Park Range Mountain ranges of Colorado
Elkhead Mountains
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The Elkhead Mountain Range
41.
Front Range
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It is the first mountain range encountered moving west along the 40th parallel north across the Great Plains of North America. The Front Range runs north-south between Casper, Wyoming and Pueblo, Colorado and rises nearly 10,000 feet above the Great Plains, Longs Peak, Mount Evans, and Pikes Peak are its most prominent peaks, visible from the Interstate 25 corridor. The area is a destination for mountain biking, hiking, climbing. Millions of years ago the present-day Front Range was home to ancient mountain ranges, deserts, beaches and this urban corridor benefits from the weather-moderating effect of the Front Range mountains, which help block prevailing storms. About 1 billion years ago, the earth was producing massive amounts of rock that would one day amalgamate, drift together and combine. In the Colorado region, this molten rock spewed and cooled, over the next 500 million years, little is known about changes in the sedimentation after the granite was produced. However, at about 500 –300 million years ago, the region began to sink, eroded granite produced sand particles that began to form strata, layers of sediment, in the sinking basin. Sedimentation would continue to place until about 300 million years ago. Around 300 million years ago, the sinking suddenly reversed, over the next 150 million years, during uplift the mountains would continue to erode and cover themselves in their own sediment. Wind, gravity, rainwater, snow, and ice-melt supplied rivers that ultimately carved through the granite mountains, the sediment from these mountains lies in the Fountain Formation today. Red Rocks Amphitheater outside of Denver, Colorado, is set into the Fountain Formation. At 280 million years ago, sea levels were low and present-day Colorado was part of the super-continent Pangaea, sand deserts covered most of the area spreading as dunes seen in the rock record, known today as the Lyons Sandstone. These dunes appear to be cross-bedded and show various fossil footprints,30 million years later, the sediment deposition was still taking place with the introduction of the Lykins Formation. This formation can be best attributed to its layers of muddy limestone. 250 million years ago, the Ancestral Rockies were burying themselves while the shoreline was present during the break-up of Pangaea and this formation began right after Earth’s largest extinction 251 million years ago at the Permian-Triassic Boundary. Ninety percent of the marine life was destroyed and a great deal on land as well. After 100 million years of deposition, a new environment brought rise to a new formation, the Morrison Formation contains some of the best fossils of the Late Jurassic. It is especially known for its tracks and sauropod bones among other dinosaur fossils
Front Range
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Front Range Peaks in the
Indian Peaks Wilderness.
Front Range
Front Range
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Pikes Peak and
Garden of the Gods.
Front Range
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Sandstone slabs along the eastern edge of the front range
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Mummy Range
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The Mummy Range is a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States. The range is a subrange of the Front Range located in southwestern Larimer County northwest of the town of Estes Park. It is located largely within Rocky Mountain National Park, extending north from Trail Ridge Road approximately 15 miles, prominent peaks in the range include Hagues Peak, Ypsilon Mountain, Mummy Mountain, and Mount Chiquita. Some offer reasonably challenging technical routes but all can be ascended by steep hiking, Colorado mountain ranges U. S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System, Mummy Range Hiking info and photos of Ypsilon Lake, which sits at the base of Ypsilon Mountain
Mummy Range
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Mummy Range seen from Lake Estes
Mummy Range
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