1.
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
2.
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
3.
Summit
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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
4.
Geographic coordinate system
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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
5.
County (United States)
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In the United States, an administrative or political sub-division of a state is a county, which is a region having specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term county is used in 48 U. S. states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes, most counties have subdivisions which may include municipalities and unincorporated areas. Others have no divisions, or may serve as a singular consolidated city-county. Some municipalities are in multiple counties, New York City is uniquely partitioned into multiple counties/boroughs, the U. S. federal government uses the term county equivalent to describe non-county administrative or statistical areas that are comparable to counties. Alaskas Unorganized Borough is divided into 11 census areas that are equivalent to counties. As of 2013, the United States has 3,007 counties and 137 county equivalents for a total of 3,144 counties, the number of counties per state ranges from the 3 counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas. Counties have significant governmental functions in all states except Rhode Island and Connecticut, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has removed most government functions from eight of its 14 counties. The county with the largest population, Los Angeles County, counties were among the earliest units of local government established in the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States. Virginia created the first counties in order to ease the workload in Jamestown. Americas oldest intact county court records can be found at Eastville, Virginia, in Northampton County, maryland established its first county, St. Marys, in 1637, and Massachusetts followed in 1643. When independence came, the framers of the Constitution did not provide for local governments, rather, they left the matter to the states. Subsequently, early state constitutions generally conceptualized county government as an arm of the state, in some states, these powers are partly or mostly devolved to the counties smaller divisions usually called townships, though in New York, New England and Wisconsin they are called towns. The county may or may not be able to override its townships on certain matters, the newest county in the United States is the city and county of Broomfield, Colorado, established in 2001 as a consolidated city-county. The newest county-equivalents are the Alaskan boroughs of Skagway established in 2007, Wrangell established in 2008, there are 40 consolidated city-counties in the U. S. Similarly, some of Alaskas boroughs have merged with their principal cities creating unified city-boroughs. Some such consolidations and mergers have created cities that rank among the geographically largest cities in the world, see also, #County names, regarding Louisiana. Independent cities, These are cities that legally belong to no county, Washington, D. C. outside the jurisdiction of any state, has a special status. The city of Washington comprises the entirety of the District of Columbia, when founded in 1801, the District consisted of two counties and three cities. In 1846, Alexandria County – including the then–City of Alexandria – was given back to Virginia, in 1871, the three remaining entities – the City of Washington, Georgetown City, and Washington County – were merged into a consolidated government by an act of Congress
6.
Pitkin County, Colorado
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Pitkin County is one of the 64 counties in the U. S. state of Colorado. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,148, the county is named in honor of the late Colorado Governor Frederick Walker Pitkin. Pitkin County has the seventh-highest per capita income of any county in the United States, Pitkin County is included in the Glenwood Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Edwards-Glenwood Springs, CO Combined Statistical Area. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 973 square miles. The high point of the county is Castle Peak, a fourteener with a height of 14,265 feet and it is located 20 miles south of Aspen on the Gunnison County border. The population density was 15 people per square mile, there were 10,096 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 94. 33% White,0. 53% Black or African American,0. 27% Native American,1. 12% Asian,0. 04% Pacific Islander,2. 37% from other races, and 1. 34% from two or more races. Of the population,6. 54% were Hispanic or Latino of any race, of all households,35. 80% were made up of individuals and 3. 50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the family size was 2.77. In the county, the population was out with 16. 70% under the age of 18,7. 70% from 18 to 24,38. 30% from 25 to 44,30. 50% from 45 to 64. The median age was 38 years, for every 100 females there were 115.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.40 males, the median income for a household in the county was $59,375, and the median income for a family was $75,048. Males had an income of $40,672 versus $33,896 for females. The per capita income for the county was $40,811, about 3. 00% of families and 6. 20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4. 40% of those under age 18 and 5. 60% of those age 65 or over
7.
Gunnison County, Colorado
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Gunnison County is the fifth-most extensive of the 64 counties in the U. S. state of Colorado. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,324, the county was named for John W. Gunnison, a United States Army officer and captain in the Army Topographical Engineers, who surveyed for the transcontinental railroad in 1853. Thornton, the Republican governor of Colorado from 1951 to 1955, the city of Thornton, Colorado, north of Denver, is named in his honor. Archeological studies have dated the Ute peoples appearance in the Uncompahgre region of Colorado as early as 1150 A. D, possibilities exist that they are descendants of an earlier people living in the area as far back as 1500 B. C. They were a race of dark skin moving about the Western Slope of Colorado in the various parts of the year. The first recorded expedition of Western Colorado wilderness was led by Don Juan Rivera in 1765, in 1776, two Spanish priests, Fathers Escalante and Dominguez, led a party into the area around Montrose and Paonia. The 1830s brought the mountainmen into the area to trap beaver, John W. Gunnison surveyed the area for the transcontinental railroad route. In 1858 gold was discovered near Denver bringing the man across the divide into the western slope in search of the precious metal. In 1859 a party settled on Texas Gulch in Union Park, placer gold was found at Washington Gulch in 1861 as part of the Colorado Gold Rush. In 1861 the Territory of Colorado was organized, the territorial governor was made ex officio Superintentant of Indian Affairs. A conference on October 1,1863 established a line for a reservation. This treaty averted a possible dangerous situation by giving the Utes some cattle and sheep, the government failed to fulfill any these obligations straining the relations further. The treaty of 1868 recognized Chief Ouray as the spokesman for seven tribes of the Ute People. He held this power over his people through diplomacy and understanding, the Los Pinos Agency was developed through the Treaties of 1868 and 1873. The first agent was 2nd Lieutenant Calvin T. Speer, in 1871 a cow camp was started near the present site of Gunnison with James P. Kelley in charge. In this year, Jabez Nelson Trask, a Harvard grad, in 1872 Trask was replaced by Charles Adams. In 1875 orders from Washington to move the agency to the Uncomphgre Valley were completed in November, in 1876 Colorado entered the Union and Gunnison County was formed. 1879 was a year of expansion due to the miners, speculators and adventurers seeking wealth, the cattle industry was established by 1880
8.
Eagle County, Colorado
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Eagle County is one of the 64 counties of the U. S. state of Colorado. As of the 2010 census, the population was 52,197, the county seat is the Town of Eagle. The county is named for the Eagle River, Eagle County comprises the Edwards, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. Eagle County was created by the Colorado legislature on February 11,1883 and it was named after the Eagle River, which runs through the county. The county seat was set in Red Cliff, Colorado. The Ground Hog Mine, near Red Cliff, produced gold, one vein, or chimney, contained gold in crystalline form, cemented by iron, while the other contained wire gold in the form of rams horns. One of these horns is now on display in the Harvard Mineralogical Museum. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1,692 square miles. Much of the county is taken up by White River National Forest, interstate 70 crosses the county from east to west. The Eagle River rises in the part of the county. It receives Gore Creek at Dowds Junction, and joins the Colorado River in the west, fryingpan River and the Roaring Fork River intersect the southwest corner of the county. The population density was 25 people per square mile, there were 22,111 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile. 23. 24% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,20. 90% of all households were made up of individuals and 1. 90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the family size was 3.17. In the county, the population was out with 23. 50% under the age of 18,11. 40% from 18 to 24,42. 10% from 25 to 44,20. 00% from 45 to 64. The median age was 31 years, for every 100 females there were 121.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 125.80 males, the median income for a household in the county was $62,682, and the median income for a family was $68,226. Males had an income of $37,603 versus $30,579 for females
9.
Mountain range
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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
10.
Rocky Mountains
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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
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