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.
North American Vertical Datum of 1988
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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
3.
Topographic prominence
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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
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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.
4.
List of the highest major summits of North America
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The following sortable table comprises the 200 highest mountain peaks of greater North America with at least 500 meters 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. In greater North America, only Denali exceeds 6000 meters elevation, three major summits exceed 5500 meters,11 exceed 5000 meters,21 exceed 4500 meters,124 exceed 4000 meters,277 exceed 3500 meters, and 401 exceed 3000 meters elevation. Of these 200 highest major summits of North America,160 are located in the United States,30 in Canada,11 in México, six in Guatemala, and one in Costa Rica. Seven of these lie on the Canada-United States border and one lies on the México-Guatemala border. com Peakbagger. com Peaklist. org Peakware. com Summitpost. org
List of the highest major summits of North America
–
Denali in
Alaska is the
highest mountain peak of
North America. Denali is the third most
topographically prominent and third most
topographically isolated summit on Earth after
Mount Everest and
Aconcagua.
List of the highest major summits of North America
–
2.
Mount Logan in
Yukon is the highest summit of
Canada.
List of the highest major summits of North America
–
3.
Citlaltépetl is the highest summit of
Mexico.
List of the highest major summits of North America
–
4.
Mount Saint Elias is the second highest summit of both
Canada and the
United States.
5.
List of U.S. states by elevation
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The elevation of U. S. states may be described in several ways. These include, the elevation of their highest point, the elevation of their lowest point, the following list is a comparison of elevation absolutes in the United States. Data include interval measures of highest and lowest elevation for all fifty states and Washington, which state is highest and lowest is determined by the definition of high and low. For instance, Alaska could be regarded as the highest state because Denali, however, Colorado, with the highest mean elevation of any state as well as the highest low point, could also be considered a candidate for highest state. Determining which state is lowest is equally problematic, florida is also the flattest state, with the smallest difference between its highest and lowest points. As of 2006,155 people had reached all fifty state highpoints, roughly 200–300 people attend the Highpointers Club convention each year. All elevations in the table below have been adjusted to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988
List of U.S. states by elevation
–
Denali in
Alaska is the highest summit of the
United States and
North America.
List of U.S. states by elevation
List of U.S. states by elevation
–
Mount Whitney in
California is the highest summit of the
Sierra Nevada and the
contiguous United States.
List of U.S. states by elevation
–
Mount Elbert in
Colorado is the highest summit of the
Rocky Mountains.
6.
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
Geographic coordinate system
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Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
7.
Taos County, New Mexico
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Taos County is a county in the U. S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 32,937, the county was formed in 1852 as one of the original nine counties in New Mexico Territory. Taos County comprises the Taos, NM Micropolitan Statistical Area, according to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,204 square miles, of which 2,203 square miles is land and 1.3 square miles is water. The countys highest point is the summit of Wheeler Peak at 13,161 feet and this is also the highest natural point in New Mexico. The county has the highest mean elevation of any U. S. county outside of Colorado, Taos County contains 17 of New Mexicos highest 25 peaks. The population density was 14 people per square mile, there were 17,404 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 57. 94% of the population,32. 10% of all households were made up of individuals and 8. 90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the family size was 2.98. In the county, the population was out with 24. 50% under the age of 18,6. 90% from 18 to 24,27. 40% from 25 to 44,28. 80% from 45 to 64. The median age was 40 years, for every 100 females there were 96.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.70 males, the median income for a household in the county was $26,762, and the median income for a family was $33,995. Males had an income of $27,310 versus $21,121 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,103, about 16. 10% of families and 20. 90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24. 60% of those under age 18 and 20. 80% of those age 65 or over. As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 32,937 people,14,806 households, the population density was 15.0 inhabitants per square mile. There were 20,265 housing units at a density of 9.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 68. 7% white,6. 2% American Indian,0. 7% Asian,0. 4% black or African American,19. 1% from other races, and 4. 9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 55. 8% of the population, in terms of ancestry,10. 8% were English,10. 3% were German,9. 0% were Irish, and 1. 2% were American. The average household size was 2.19 and the family size was 2.85
Taos County, New Mexico
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Taos County Courthouse in Taos
Taos County, New Mexico
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Taos Mountain from Los Cordovas, 1941.
Taos County, New Mexico
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The plaza of Costilla, 1943
Taos County, New Mexico
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Las Trampas
8.
New Mexico
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New Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States of America. It was admitted to the Union as the 47th state on January 6,1912 and it is usually considered one of the Mountain States. New Mexico is fifth by area, the 36th-most populous, inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years before European exploration, New Mexico was colonized by the Spanish in 1598 Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain. Later, it was part of independent Mexico before becoming a U. S. territory and eventually a U. S. state as a result of the Mexican–American War. Among U. S. states, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics, the major Native American nations in the state are Navajo, Pueblo, and Apache peoples. The demography and culture of the state are shaped by these strong Hispanic and Native American influences and its scarlet and gold colors are taken from the royal standards of Spain, along with the ancient sun symbol of the Zia, a Pueblo-related tribe. New Mexico, or Nuevo México in Spanish, is incorrectly believed to have taken its name from the nation of Mexico. The name simply stuck, even though the area had no connection to Mexico or the Mexica Indian tribes, Mexico, formerly a part of New Spain, adopted its name centuries later in 1821, after winning independence from Spanish rule. New Mexico was a part of the independent Mexican Empire and Federal Republic of Mexico for 27 years,1821 through 1848, New Mexico and Mexico developed as neighboring Spanish-speaking communities under Spanish rule, with relatively independent histories. The states total area is 121,412 square miles, the eastern border of New Mexico lies along 103° W longitude with the state of Oklahoma, and 2.2 miles west of 103° W longitude with Texas. On the southern border, Texas makes up the eastern two-thirds, while the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora make up the western third, the western border with Arizona runs along the 109°03 W longitude. The southwestern corner of the state is known as the Bootheel, the 37° N latitude parallel forms the northern boundary with Colorado. The states New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah come together at the Four Corners in the corner of New Mexico. New Mexico, although a state, has very little water. Its surface water area is about 250 square miles, the New Mexican landscape ranges from wide, rose-colored deserts to broken mesas to high, snow-capped peaks. Despite New Mexicos arid image, heavily forested mountain wildernesses cover a significant portion of the state, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the southernmost part of the Rocky Mountains, run roughly north-south along the east side of the Rio Grande in the rugged, pastoral north. The most important of New Mexicos rivers are the Rio Grande, Pecos, Canadian, San Juan, the Rio Grande is tied for the fourth-longest river in the United States. Tourists visiting these sites bring significant money to the state, other areas of geographical and scenic interest include Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument and the Gila Wilderness in the southwest of the state
New Mexico
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Wheeler Peak in the
Sangre de Cristo Range
New Mexico
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Flag
New Mexico
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Chaco Canyon
New Mexico
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Carlsbad Caverns
9.
United States
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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
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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
10.
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
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)
11.
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
–
The Sangre de Cristo Mountains are the southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States, the mountains run from Poncha Pass in South-Central Colorado, trending southeast and south, ending at Glorieta Pass, southeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The mountains contain a number of fourteen thousand foot peaks in the Colorado portion, the name of the mountains may refer to the occasional reddish hues observed during sunrise and sunset, and when alpenglow occurs, especially when the mountains are covered with snow. Although the particular origin of the name is unclear, it has been in use since the early 19th century, before that time the terms La Sierra Nevada, La Sierra Madre, La Sierra, and The Snowies were used. According to tradition, sangre de Cristo were the last words of a Catholic priest who was killed by Indians, sometimes the archaic Spanish spelling Christo is used. Much of the mountains are within various National Forests, the Rio Grande and San Isabel in Colorado, and these publicly accessible areas are popular for hunting, camping, hiking, mountain biking, backpacking, climbing, and cross-country and downhill skiing. The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve lies on the southwest side of the mountains in Colorado, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains are divided into various subranges, described here from north to south. They form a ridge separating the San Luis Valley on the west from the watershed of the Arkansas River on the east. The Crestones are a group of four 14, 000+ foot peaks in the Sangre de Cristo Range above Crestone, Colorado. The Spanish Peaks are a pair of mountains, West Spanish Peak,13,626 feet/4,153 m. The Spanish Peaks were designated a National Natural Landmark in 1976 as one of the best known examples of igneous dikes. The mountains can be seen as far north as Colorado Springs, as far west as Alamosa, points south to Raton, New Mexico, and points east to La Junta, Colorado. The Culebra Range runs almost due north and south, with its limit at La Veta Pass in Colorado. Its highest point is Culebra Peak, which is notable for being the only fourteener in Colorado which is on private land, climbers wishing to ascend Culebra must pay a fee, and the number of climbers per year is limited. Standing to the east of the main crest are the two prominent Spanish Peaks, unlike the rest of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, these are volcanic, with conical shapes and prominent dikes radiating outward. These peaks were important landmarks on the branch of the Santa Fe Trail. The Taos Mountains span the western lobe of the range from Costilla Creek in the north and they include the highest point in New Mexico, Wheeler Peak 13,161 feet, which is part of the small Wheeler Peak Wilderness. Other notable peaks include Pueblo Peak 12,305 feet, which rises dramatically above Taos Pueblo, williams Lake is located below Wheeler Peak in the Wheeler Peak Wilderness
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
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Blanca Peak
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
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Sangre de Christo Mountains to the East of Santa Fe, taken during a winter sunset after a snowfall on 29 January 2013
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
12.
Topographic map
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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
13.
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
14.
Eagle Nest, New Mexico
–
Eagle Nest is a village in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 290 at the 2010 census, situated on the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway, Eagle Nest is a small summer-home and resort area. Originally named Therma, the village was renamed Eagle Nest in the 1930s, Eagle Nest is located in western Colfax County at 36°33′8″N 105°15′41″W, in the Moreno Valley, between the Cimarron Range to the east and the main mass of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the west. The village is at the end of Eagle Nest Lake. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has an area of 5.1 square miles, of which 4.2 square miles is land and 0.85 square miles. As of the census of 2000, there were 306 people,141 households, the population density was 71.0 people per square mile. There were 333 housing units at a density of 77.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 84. 97% White,0. 33% African American,3. 27% Native American,6. 21% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 12. 75% of the population. 31. 2% of all households were made up of individuals and 3. 5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.65. In the village, the population was out with 22. 5% under the age of 18,6. 5% from 18 to 24,23. 2% from 25 to 44,41. 2% from 45 to 64. The median age was 44 years, for every 100 females there were 101.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.6 males, the median income for a household in the village was $36,477, and the median income for a family was $38,750. Males had an income of $22,292 versus $18,333 for females. The per capita income for the village was $17,974. About 18. 4% of families and 22. 7% of the population were below the poverty line, Eagle Nest Lake State Park is New Mexicos newest state park, and a popular camping, fishing and sightseeing attraction. A new visitor center was scheduled opened in 2010, the main game fish caught in the 2, 400-acre lake are kokanee salmon and rainbow trout. On average,250 nights have minima below 32 °F and 40.3 nights fall below 0 °F, Eagle Nest holds numerous low temperature records for New Mexico, including the coldest temperatures ever recorded in the state during January, March, April, May and November. Village of Eagle Nest official website
Eagle Nest, New Mexico
–
Eagle Nest, New Mexico
Eagle Nest, New Mexico
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Eagle Nest Lake
Eagle Nest, New Mexico
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Boating on Eagle Nest Lake
15.
U.S. state
–
A U. S. state is a constituent political entity of the United States of America. There are 50 states, which are together in a union with each other. Each state holds administrative jurisdiction over a geographic territory. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the government, Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons covered by certain types of court orders. States range in population from just under 600,000 to over 39 million, four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names. States are divided into counties or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local authority but are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by state, State governments are allocated power by the people through their individual constitutions. All are grounded in principles, and each provides for a government. States possess a number of powers and rights under the United States Constitution, Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization and incorporation, with the government playing a much larger role than it once did. There is a debate over states rights, which concerns the extent and nature of the states powers and sovereignty in relation to the federal government. States and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a legislature consisting of the Senate. Each state is represented in the Senate by two senators, and is guaranteed at least one Representative in the House, members of the House are elected from single-member districts. Representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census, the Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776, the number of states has expanded from the original 13 to 50, alaska and Hawaii are the most recent states admitted, both in 1959. The Constitution is silent on the question of states have the power to secede from the Union. Shortly after the Civil War, the U. S. Supreme Court, in Texas v. White, as a result, while the governments of the various states share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and substance
U.S. state
–
U.S. states
16.
Taos, New Mexico
–
Taos /ˈtaʊs/ is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, incorporated in 1934. As of the 2010 census, its population was 5,716, Other nearby communities include Ranchos de Taos, Cañon, Taos Canyon, Ranchitos, El Prado, and Arroyo Seco. The town is close to Taos Pueblo, the Native American village, Taos is the county seat of Taos County. The English name Taos derives from the native Taos language meaning place of red willows, Taos is the principal city of the Taos, NM Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Taos County. The Taos Pueblo, which borders the town of Taos on its side, has been occupied for nearly a millennium. Located in a valley off the Rio Grande, it is the most northern of the New Mexico pueblos. The pueblo, at some five stories high, is a combination of many individual homes with common walls. There are over 1,900 Taos Indians living within the greater pueblo-area community, many of them have modern homes near their fields and live there in summer months, only staying at their homes within the main North or South pueblo buildings during cooler weather. About 150 people live within the main pueblo buildings year-round, the Taos Pueblo was added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. Taos was established c.1615 as Don Fernando de Taos, in 1680, Taos Pueblo joined the widespread Pueblo Revolt. After the Spanish Reconquest of 1692, Taos Pueblo continued armed resistance to the Spanish until 1696, during the 1770s, Taos was repeatedly raided by Comanches who lived on the plains of what is now eastern Colorado. Juan Bautista de Anza, governor of the Province of New Mexico, between 1780 and 1800, Don Fernando de Taos was established. Between 1796 and 1797 the Don Fernando de Taos Land Grant gave land to 63 Spanish families in the Taos valley and it was built as a fortified plaza with adobe buildings and is now a central plaza surrounded by residential areas. Mountain men who trapped for beaver nearby made Taos their home in the early 1800s, Mexico ceded the region to the U. S. in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 after the Mexican–American War. New Mexico was a territory of the United States beginning 1850, for historical reasons, the American flag is displayed continuously at Taos Plaza. This derives from the time of the American Civil War, when Confederate sympathizers in the area attempted to remove the flag, the Union officer Kit Carson sought to discourage this activity by having guards surround the area and fly the flag 24 hours a day. The Padre of Isleta, Anton Docher first served as a priest in Taos before leaving for Isleta in 1891, beginning in 1899, artists began to settle in Taos, six formed the Taos Society of Artists in 1915. In time, the Taos art colony developed, many paintings were made of local scenes, especially of Taos Pueblo and activities there, as the artists often modelled Native Americans from the pueblo in their paintings
Taos, New Mexico
–
Taos Plaza and the Hotel La Fonda, within the
Taos Downtown Historic District
Taos, New Mexico
–
Taos Pueblo
Taos, New Mexico
–
E.L. Blumenschein House Library, National Register of Historical Places
Taos, New Mexico
–
View north from Taos Plaza toward Taos Mountain
17.
Red River, New Mexico
–
Red River is a resort town in Taos County, New Mexico, United States located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The population was 477 at the 2010 census, the town of Red River began in earnest in the 1870s, when miners from nearby Elizabethtown in the Moreno Valley were drawn in by gold strikes in the area and trappers sought game. It was named after the stream, Red River, that flowed through the town. By 1895, Red River was a mining camp, with gold, silver and copper in some abundance. Mining hit its peak in 1897, and by 1905 the mining, the last serious mining efforts extended until 1931. By that time tourism had become the economic livelihood. Red River is located at 36°42′23″N 105°24′19″W, Red River is located in the southern Rocky Mountains, part of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and is surrounded by the Carson National Forest. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 1.0 square mile. As of the census of 2000, there were 484 people,234 households, the population density was 474.9 inhabitants per square mile. There were 880 housing units at a density of 863.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 92. 56% White,1. 03% Native American,3. 72% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 9. 30% of the population. 32. 9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6. 8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.60. In the town, the population was out with 16. 7% under the age of 18,7. 0% from 18 to 24,27. 1% from 25 to 44,35. 5% from 45 to 64. The median age was 45 years, for every 100 females there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.5 males, the median income for a household in the town was $31,667, and the median income for a family was $39,792. Males had an income of $31,667 versus $19,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,883, about 5. 4% of families and 9. 7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7. 4% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over. The main industry in Red River is tourism, Red River is located at the base of the Red River Ski Area, located 8,750 feet above sea level in the southern Rocky Mountains
Red River, New Mexico
–
The town of Red River, New Mexico
Red River, New Mexico
–
Red River Ski Area with the town of Red River in the background
Red River, New Mexico
–
Red River's main highway often swells with tourists in winter or summer
Red River, New Mexico
–
Town trolley in the annual Fourth of July parade
18.
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.
19.
George Wheeler (explorer)
–
George Montague Wheeler was an American pioneering explorer and cartographer, leader of the Wheeler Survey, one of the major surveys of the western United States in the late nineteenth century. He graduated from West Point in 1866, ranked sixth in his class and his first exploration was in 1869, when Wheeler was 27 years old, and on the staff of the Commanding General of the Department of California of the US Army. In 1872, the US Congress authorized an ambitious plan to map the portion of the United States west of the 100th meridian at a scale of 8 miles to the inch, Wheeler was promoted to Captain in 1879. In 1881 he represented the United States at the Third International Geographical Congress and Exhibition in Venice and he entered semi-retirement in 1883 but continued to write scientific reports until his full retirement from the Army in 1888 at the rank of Major. He died in New York City in 1905, Wheeler Peak in Nevada, Wheeler Peak in New Mexico, and the scenic Wheeler Geologic Area in southern Colorado are named for George Wheeler. Preliminary report concerning explorations and surveys, principally in Nevada and Arizona Address of Lieut, special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno
George Wheeler (explorer)
–
Portrait by
Alice Pike Barney
20.
Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico
–
Taos Ski Valley is a village and alpine ski resort in Taos County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 69 at the 2010 census, until March 19,2008, it was one of four ski resorts in America to prohibit snowboarding. The Kachina lift, constructed in 2014, serves the highest elevation of any triple chair in the North American Continent, the village was originally settled by a group of miners in the 1800s, but in 1955 Ernie and Rhoda Blake founded the area as a ski mountain. The village was incorporated in 1996, in 2013, Taos Ski Valley, Inc. was sold by the founding family to billionaire conservationist Louis Bacon. It has 110 trails with 24% beginner, 25% intermediate and 51% advanced/expert, the Ernie Blake Snowsports School is one of the highest rated ski schools in North America. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has an area of 2.4 square miles. Taos Ski Valley is the highest municipality in the US, sited at an elevation of 9,207 feet, however, the village limits reach 12,581 feet, wheeler Peak, the tallest mountain in New Mexico at 13,161 feet, overlooks the village. In the 1800s the site was the copper mining town of Twining. Present day Taos Ski Valley was founded in 1955 by Ernie and they lived in an eleven-foot camper in the absence of any buildings in the area except almost-completed Hondo Lodge. Even after moving into the lodge, they lived without power until 1963, Ernie and Rhoda had been living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Ernie was managing the Santa Fe Ski Basin, the first ski lift, a J-Bar, was installed in 1956. Until 1957, the ski resort featured only one ski slope, in 1957, the resort installed a second lift—a Poma lift. Blake was for a time involved in the management of the resort, answering the phone. In December 2013, the billionaire Louis Bacon purchased Taos Ski Valley from the Blake family, tourism is the villages main industry. As of the 2011-2012 season Taos Ski Valley Corporation employed approximately 700 people during winter months, in an average year $47 million are spent in the local economy of Taos Ski Valley. About $12 million is from ski operations alone, the community is a popular summer and fall vacation destination. In 2005,55 businesses operated in Taos Ski Valley, lodging options include hotels, private home rentals, condominiums and alpine styled bed and breakfasts. The town of Taos, located 30 minutes drive down the canyon, as of the 2010 census, the Village held 69 people and 272 housing units, with only 14. 3% occupied
Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico
–
Taos Ski Valley from Wheeler Peak
21.
Taos Pueblo
–
Taos Pueblo is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Tiwa-speaking Native American tribe of Puebloan people. It lies about 1 mile north of the city of Taos, New Mexico. The pueblos are considered to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States and this has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Taos Pueblo is a member of the Eight Northern Pueblos, whose people speak two variants of the Tanoan language, the Taos community is known for being one of the most private, secretive, and conservative pueblos. A reservation of 95,000 acres is attached to the pueblo, the pueblo was constructed in a setting backed by the Taos Mountains of the Sangre de Cristo Range. The settlement was built on side of Rio Pueblo de Taos, also called Rio Pueblo and Red Willow Creek. Its headwaters come from the nearby mountains, Taos Pueblos most prominent architectural feature is a multi-storied residential complex of reddish-brown adobe, built on either side of the Rio Pueblo. The Pueblos website states it was built between 1000 and 1450. The pueblo was designated a National Historic Landmark on October 9,1960, in 1992 it was designated as a UNESCO Heritage Site. As of 2006, about 150 people live in the historic complex full-time, in the Tanoan language of Taos, the pueblo is referred to as the village in either tə̂otho in the village or tə̂obo to/toward the village. The proper name of the pueblo is ȉałopháymųp’ȍhə́othə̀olbo at red willow canyon mouth and this name is more commonly used in ceremonial contexts and is less common in everyday speech. The name Taos in English was borrowed from Spanish Taos, Spanish Taos is probably a borrowing of Taos tə̂o- village which was heard as tao to which the plural -s was added although in the modern language Taos is no longer a plural noun. The idea that the Spanish Taos is from tao, cross of the order of San Juan de los Caballeros, is unlikely, Taos is a derivative of spanish slang for a tiwa word meaning place down by the red willows. Most archeologists believe that the Taos Indians, along with other Pueblo Indians, the dwellings of that region were inhabited by the Ancestral Puebloans. A long drought in the area in the late 13th century may have caused them to move to the Rio Grande, throughout its early years, Taos Pueblo was a central point of trade between the native populations along the Rio Grande and their Plains Tribes neighbors to the northeast. Taos Pueblo hosted a fair each fall after the agricultural harvest. Around 1620, Spanish Jesuits oversaw construction of the first Catholic Church in the pueblo, reports from the period indicate that the native people of Taos resisted the building of the church and imposition of the Catholic religion. Throughout the 1600s, cultural tensions grew between the populations of the Southwest and the increasing Spanish colonial presence
Taos Pueblo
–
Taos Pueblo Pueblo de Taos
Taos Pueblo
–
Residential adobe complex, and
Taos Mountain.
Taos Pueblo
–
Church, Pueblo de Taos (
Ansel Adams —1941)
Taos Pueblo
–
Landscape with pueblo through native
cottonwood trees (Populus deltoides) (Ansel Adams—1941)
22.
Wheeler Peak Wilderness
–
The 19, 661-acre Wheeler Peak Wilderness lies in the Carson National Forest of New Mexico. It contains the highest point in the state,13, 161-foot Wheeler Peak as well as Williams Lake, already designated the Wheeler Peak Wild Area in 1960,6,051 acres became the Wheeler Peak Wilderness in 1964 with the passage of the Wilderness Act. The wilderness was expanded by 14,700 acres with the passage of the New Mexico Wilderness Act in 1980. In 1996, public law 104-333 transferred 764 acres from the south of the ridge between Simpson Peak and Old Mike Peak and west of Blue Lake back to the Taos Pueblo. The Wheeler Peak Wilderness is home to a variety of birds, marmots, pikas, bighorn sheep, and golden eagles are year-round residents. Rocky Mountain elk, mule deer dwell in the area during the season, feeding on grasses. Although bighorn sheep are native to the area, the population was re-introduced to the area in 1993. Other local avian fauna include many common rocky mountain species such magpies, Canada jays, chickadees, many rivers and alpine lakes within the Wheeler Peak wilderness are stocked with cutthroat and/or rainbow trout every few years by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Flora of the Wheeler Peak Wilderness vary by altitude, and include cottonwoods, Bristlecone pines, Engelmann spruce and sub-alpine fir, Wilderness Areas Wilderness Act Carson National Forest - US Forest Service Wheeler Peak Wilderness - Wilderness. net
Wheeler Peak Wilderness
–
Wheeler Peak Wilderness (Forest Service)
23.
Carson National Forest
–
Carson National Forest is a national forest in northern New Mexico, United States. It encompasses 6,070 square kilometers and is administered by the United States Forest Service, the Forest Services mixed use policy allows for its use for recreation, grazing, and resource extraction. Wheeler Peak, the highest mountain in New Mexico at 13,161 feet, is located in the National Forest, the forest is located mainly in Rio Arriba and Taos counties, but smaller areas extend eastward into western Mora and Colfax counties. Big game animals roam this forest and they include mule deer, elk, pronghorn, cougars, black bears, and bighorn sheep. There are also species of smaller mammals and songbirds. Forest personnel work closely with the State Game and Fish Department to provide the best wildlife habitat possible, Carson has four hundred miles of sparkling clean mountain streams and numerous lakes. Many of them are stocked with trout by the Game. The forest was inhabited by the Ancestral Pueblo people, who left ruins of adobe dwellings. Some areas of the forest were formerly lands granted to settlers by the Spanish monarchy, after the Mexican-American War, the national forest was established, and was named for American pioneer Kit Carson. Carson National Forest was established with the merger of Taos National Forest, the occupants were evicted for overstaying camping permits. In 1982, the forest grew by 405 square kilometers when the Pennzoil corporation donated the Valle Vidal Unit to the American people, within the Carson National Forest are five designated and one proposed wilderness areas. Two of these are located mostly in neighboring Santa Fe National Forest, chama River Canyon Wilderness Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Cruces Basin Wilderness Latir Peak Wilderness Pecos Wilderness Wheeler Peak Wilderness Forest headquarters are located in Taos, New Mexico. There are local district offices in Bloomfield, Canjilon, El Rito, Penasco, Questa. Carson National Forest - US Forest Service
Carson National Forest
–
Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Carson National Forest
Carson National Forest
–
Map of Carson National Forest
Carson National Forest
–
Fall colors near Tres Piedras, in the Carson National Forest
Carson National Forest
–
Wood hauler along the
Rio Pueblo, 1941. An average rural family here would use about 20 loads like this per year for fuel wood
24.
Avalanche
–
An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a sloping surface. Avalanches are typically triggered in a zone from a mechanical failure in the snowpack when the forces on the snow exceed its strength. After initiation, avalanches usually accelerate rapidly and grow in mass, if the avalanche moves fast enough some of the snow may mix with the air forming a powder snow avalanche, which is a type of gravity current. Slides of rocks or debris, behaving in a way to snow, are also referred to as avalanches. The remainder of this article refers to snow avalanches, the load on the snowpack may be only due to gravity, in which case failure may result either from weakening in the snowpack or increased load due to precipitation. Avalanches that occur in this way are known as spontaneous avalanches, Avalanches can also be triggered by other loads such as skiers, snowmobilers, animals or explosives. Seismic activity may trigger the failure in the snowpack and avalanches. A popular myth is that avalanches can be triggered by loud noise or shouting, Avalanches are not rare or random events and are endemic to any mountain range that accumulates a standing snowpack. Avalanches are most common during winter or spring but glacier movements may cause ice, there is no universally accepted classification of avalanches—different classifications are useful for different purposes. Avalanches can be described by their size, their potential, their initiation mechanism, their composition. Most avalanches occur spontaneously during storms under increased load due to snowfall, the second largest cause of natural avalanches is metamorphic changes in the snowpack such as melting due to solar radiation. Other natural causes include rain, earthquakes, rockfall and icefall, artificial triggers of avalanches include skiers, snowmobiles, and controlled explosive work. Avalanche initiation can start at a point with only an amount of snow moving initially. A snowpack will fail when the load exceeds the strength, the load is straightforward, it is the weight of the snow. However, the strength of the snowpack is much more difficult to determine and is extremely heterogenous and it varies in detail with properties of the snow grains, size, density, morphology, temperature, water content, and the properties of the bonds between the grains. These properties may all metamorphose in time according to the humidity, water vapour flux, temperature. The top of the snowpack is also influenced by incoming radiation. One of the aims of research is to develop and validate computer models that can describe the evolution of the seasonal snowpack over time
Avalanche
–
The toe of an avalanche in
Alaska 's
Kenai Fjords.
Avalanche
–
A powder snow avalanche in the
Himalayas near
Mount Everest.
Avalanche
–
A crown fracture from a slab avalanche near the Neve Glacier in the
North Cascades mountains. Extensive fracture propagation is evident.
Avalanche
–
Loose snow avalanches (far left) and slab avalanches (near center) near
Mount Shuksan in the
North Cascades mountains. Fracture propagation is relatively limited.
25.
Gallatin National Forest
–
Founded in 1899, Gallatin National Forest is located in south central Montana, United States. The forest comprises 1,819,515 acres and has portions of both the Absaroka-Beartooth and Lee Metcalf Wilderness areas within its boundaries. Gallatin National Forest borders Yellowstone National Park on the north and northwest and is part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the forest is named after Albert Gallatin, U. S. Secretary of the Treasury and scholar of Native American languages and cultures. In descending order of area the forest is located in parts of Park, Gallatin, Sweet Grass, Madison, Carbon. Since 2014, the Gallatin and Custer National Forests are managed together as the Custer–Gallatin National Forest with headquarters in Bozeman, there are six separate mountain ranges within the forest including the Gallatin, Madison, Bridger, Crazy, Absaroka, and Beartooth Ranges. The Beartooths are home to Granite Peak, which at 12,799 ft, is the highest point in Montana, quake Lake on the Madison River is the site of the 1959 earthquake and landslide which formed the lake. A separate section of the forest north of Livingston, Montana is located in the Crazy Mountains which rise over 7,000 ft above the plains to the east. The forest includes two areas, the Absaroka–Beartooth and the Lee Metcalf. While the lower elevations are covered in grasses and sagebrush, higher altitudes support Douglas fir, with several species of spruce, cottonwood. Of the 4,000 mi of streams and rivers there are tributaries of the Yellowstone River. The Gallatin and Madison Rivers, major tributaries of the Missouri River, the habitat supports over 300 wildlife species, including the grizzly bear, bald eagle, and peregrine falcon. Many western North American species are represented in this climax ecosystem including elk, mule deer, bison, moose, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, cougar, timber wolves and black bear. Various subspecies of trout are plentiful in the streams and they contribute to the forest being one of the preeminent fly fishing regions in the United States. Over 2,290 mi of hiking trails are located in the forest providing access into wilderness areas, there are almost 40 vehicle accessible campgrounds scattered throughout the forest, numerous picnic areas and even cabins that can be rented for a nominal fee through the forests district offices. West Yellowstone, Montana provides access both into the forest and to Yellowstone National Park and is a popular snowmobile center during the winter, nighttime temperatures can be below freezing any time of the year and mosquitos in the late spring and early summer also pose problems. Summertime high temperatures average in the 70s Fahrenheit and the lows can drop below −40 degrees. Most of the falls in the form of snow with some places averaging over 33 ft annually. Access the forest off Interstate 90 south on U. S. Highway 89 from Livingston, Montana to Gardiner, Montana or south on U. S.191 from Bozeman, the forest headquarters is located in Bozeman
Gallatin National Forest
–
Gallatin National Forest
Gallatin National Forest
–
Sign marking entry to Gallatin National Forest along
Beartooth Highway (
US-212)
26.
Summit register
–
A summit book or summit register is a record of visitors to the summit of a mountain, usually one without a maintained trail. It is usually enclosed in a weatherproof, animalproof metal canister, some books are maintained in an informal manner by an individual or small group, while others are maintained by a club. Well known and often climbed peaks, such as those on peak bagging lists, are likely to have summit books. The Sierra Club places official registers on many mountains throughout California and these are typically small notebooks kept inside large metal boxes. When registers are filled up, they are collected and stored in the Bancroft Library in Berkeley, California where they are available to view. Entries in a summit book vary, from a note of a persons name and date of the climb. Some summit books contain a record of going back for many years. Summit books are slightly controversial, on peaks with a wilderness character, systematic removal of summit books for this reason has led in some places to a loss of climbing history. There is a digital alternative to physical summit books, A digital summit log with a proof of location concept that utilises the GPS chip in smartphones
Summit register
–
Summit book on
White Butte, the highpoint of
North Dakota.
27.
List of mountain peaks of North America
–
This article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaks of greater North America. 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 100 highest major summits of greater North America 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 greater North America. 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 greater North America. Of the 100 highest major summits of greater North America, only Denali exceeds 6000 meters elevation,11 peaks exceed 5000 meters, of these 100 peaks,81 are located in the United States,17 in Canada, seven in México, and one in Guatemala. Six of these lie on the Canada-United States border. All of these peaks are ultra-prominent summits, of these 50 peaks,27 are located in the United States,19 in Canada, three in México, and one each in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Greenland, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. Four of these lie on the Canada-United States border
List of mountain peaks of North America
–
Denali in
Alaska is the
highest mountain peak of
North America. Denali is the third most
topographically prominent and third most
topographically isolated summit on Earth after
Mount Everest and
Aconcagua.
List of mountain peaks of North America
–
Mount Logan in
Yukon is the highest peak of Canada.
List of mountain peaks of North America
–
The
stratovolcano Volcán Citlaltépetl, or
Pico de Orizaba, is the highest peak of Mexico.
List of mountain peaks of North America
–
Mount Saint Elias is the second highest peak of both Canada and the United States.
28.
List of mountain peaks of the United States
–
This article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaks of the United States of America. 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 100 highest major summits of the United States 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 the United States. 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 the United States. Of the 100 highest major summits of the United States, only Denali exceeds 6000 meters elevation, four peaks exceed 5000 meters, and all 100 peaks exceed 4012 meters elevation. Of these 100 summits,53 are located in Colorado,23 in Alaska,14 in California, five in Wyoming, five of these summits are located on the international border between Alaska and Yukon, and one is located on the international border between Alaska and British Columbia. The ten highest major summits of the United States are all located in Alaska, all of these peaks are ultra-prominent summits. Of these 50 peaks,27 are located in Alaska, five in Washington, five in California, three of these summits lie on the international border between Alaska and Yukon, and one lies on the international border between Alaska and British Columbia. One of these lies on the international border between Alaska and British Columbia. com Peakbagger. com Peaklist. org Peakware. com Summitpost. org
List of mountain peaks of the United States
–
Denali in
Alaska is the
highest mountain peak of the
United States of America and all of
North America. Denali is the third most
topographically prominent and third most
topographically isolated summit on Earth after
Mount Everest and
Aconcagua.
List of mountain peaks of the United States
–
Mount Saint Elias on the border of
Alaska and the
Yukon is the second highest major summit of both the United States and Canada.
List of mountain peaks of the United States
–
Mount Blackburn in
Alaska is the highest summit of the
Wrangell Mountains.
List of mountain peaks of the United States
–
Mount Fairweather on the border of
Alaska and
British Columbia is the fourth most
topographically prominent summit of the U.S.
29.
U.S. National Geodetic Survey
–
United States Coast Survey and United States Coast and Geodetic Survey redirect here. Since its foundation in its present form in 1970, it has been part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Geodetic Surveys history and heritage are intertwined with those of other NOAA offices. As the U. S. Coast Survey and U. S, upon the creation of the Environmental Science Services Administration in 1965, the commissioned corps was separated from the Survey to become the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps. Thus, the National Geodetic Surveys ancestor organizations are also the ancestors of todays NOAA Corps, in addition, todays National Institute of Standards and Technology, although long since separated from the Survey, got its start as the Surveys Office of Weights and Measures. The National Geodetic Survey is an office of NOAAs National Ocean Service, NGS is responsible for defining the NSRS and its relationship with the International Terrestrial Reference Frame. The NSRS enables precise and accessible knowledge of things are in the United States. The NSRS may be divided into its geometric and physical components, the official geodetic datum of the United States, NAD83 defines the geometric relationship between points within the United States in three-dimensional space. The datum may be accessed via NGSs network of marks or through the Continuously Operating Reference Station network of GPS reference antennas. NGS is responsible for computing the relationship between NAD83 and the ITRF, the physical components of the NSRS are reflected in its height system, defined by the vertical datum NAVD88. This datum is a network of orthometric heights obtained through spirit leveling, NGS will release new datums in 2022. The North American Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022 will supersede NAD83 in defining the relationship between the North American plate and the ITRF. United States territories on the Pacific, Caribbean, and Mariana plates will have their own respective geodetic datums, the North American-Pacific Geopotential Datum of 2022 will separately define the height system of the United States and its territories, replacing NAVD88. It will use a geoid model accurate to 1 centimeter to relate orthometric height to ellipsoidal height measured by GPS, NGS provides a number of other public services. The Online Positioning and User Service processes user-input GPS data and outputs position solutions within the NSRS, the agency offers other tools for conversion between datums. A Swiss immigrant with expertise in surveying and the standardization of weights and measures, Ferdinand R. Hassler, was selected to lead the Survey. Hassler departed on August 29,1811, but eight months later, while he was in England, Hassler did not return to the United States until August 16,1815. The Survey finally began surveying operations in 1816, when Hassler started work in the vicinity of New York City, the first baseline was measured and verified in 1817. S. S. Army and U. S. Navy responsibility for coastal surveys, Hassler was reappointed as the Surveys superintendent that year
U.S. National Geodetic Survey
–
Closeup of a geodetic survey marker
U.S. National Geodetic Survey
–
Survey of the Mississippi River below Forts Jackson and St. Philip to prepare for the bombardment of the forts by Porters mortar fleet. Plan done by the U.S. Coast Survey.
U.S. National Geodetic Survey
–
The seal of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey
U.S. National Geodetic Survey
–
Sigsbee Sounding Machine – invented by
Charles Dwight Sigsbee and modified from Thomson Sounding Machine. Basic design of ocean sounding instruments stayed the same for the next 50 years. Here the sounding machine is used to set a Pillsbury current meter at a known depth. In: The Gulf Stream, by John Elliott Pillsbury, 1891. Note caption on photo: "Sounding Machine And Current Meter In Place, Steamer Blake "
30.
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
31.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
International Standard Book Number
–
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an
EAN-13 bar code
32.
Denali
–
Denali is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet above sea level. With a topographic prominence of 20,156 feet and an isolation of 4,629 miles, Denali is the third most prominent and third most isolated peak after Mount Everest. Located in the Alaska Range in the interior of the U. S. state of Alaska, Denali is the centerpiece of Denali National Park, the Koyukon people who inhabit the area around the mountain have referred to the peak as Denali for centuries. In August 2015, following the 1975 lead of the state of Alaska, prior to this, most Alaskans already referred to the mountain as Denali. In 1903, James Wickersham recorded the first attempt at climbing Denali, in 1906, Frederick Cook claimed the first ascent, which was later proven to be false. The first verifiable ascent to Denalis summit was achieved on June 7,1913, by climbers Hudson Stuck, Harry Karstens, Walter Harper, and Robert Tatum, who went by the South Summit. In 1951, Bradford Washburn pioneered the West Buttress route, considered to be the safest and easiest route, and therefore the most popular currently in use. On September 2,2015, the U. S. Geological Survey announced that the mountain is 20,310 feet high, not 20,320 feet, the forces that lifted Denali also cause many deep earthquakes in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The Pacific Plate is seismically active beneath Denali, a region that is known as the McKinley cluster. Denali has an elevation of 20,310 feet above sea level, making it the highest peak in North America. Measured from base to peak at some 18,000 ft, Denali rises from a sloping plain with elevations from 1,000 to 3,000 ft, for a base-to-peak height of 17,000 to 19,000 ft. By comparison, Mount Everest rises from the Tibetan Plateau at a higher base elevation. Denali has two significant summits, the South Summit is the one, while the North Summit has an elevation of 19,470 ft. The North Summit is sometimes counted as a peak and sometimes not, it is rarely climbed. Five large glaciers flow off the slopes of the mountain, the Peters Glacier lies on the northwest side of the massif, while the Muldrow Glacier falls from its northeast slopes. Just to the east of the Muldrow, and abutting the eastern side of the massif, is the Traleika Glacier, the Ruth Glacier lies to the southeast of the mountain, and the Kahiltna Glacier leads up to the southwest side of the mountain. With a length of 44 mi, the Kahiltna Glacier is the longest glacier in the Alaska Range, the Koyukon Athabaskans who inhabit the area around the mountain have for centuries referred to the peak as Dinale or Denali. The name is based on a Koyukon word for high or tall, during the Russian ownership of Alaska, the common name for the mountain was Bolshaya Gora, which is the Russian translation of Denali
Denali
–
From the north, with Wonder Lake in the foreground
Denali
–
Hudson Stuck and
Harry Karstens, co-leaders of the first successful summit of Denali in 1913
Denali
–
The reverse side of the Denali National Park quarter
Denali
–
High camp (17,200 ft or 5,200 m) of the West Buttress Route pioneered by
Bradford Washburn, photographed in 2001
33.
Mount Logan
–
Mount Logan /ˈloʊɡən/ is the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest peak in North America, after Denali. The mountain was named after Sir William Edmond Logan, a Canadian geologist, Mount Logan is located within Kluane National Park and Reserve in southwestern Yukon, less than 40 kilometres north of the Yukon/Alaska border. Mount Logan is the source of the Hubbard and Logan Glaciers, Logan is believed to have the largest base circumference of any non-volcanic mountain on Earth, including a massif with eleven peaks over 5,000 metres. Due to active tectonic uplifting, Mount Logan is still rising in height, before 1992, the exact elevation of Mount Logan was unknown and measurements ranged from 5,959 to 6,050 metres. In May 1992, a GSC expedition climbed Mount Logan and fixed the current height of 5,959 metres using GPS, temperatures are extremely low on and near Mount Logan. On the 5,000 m high plateau, air temperature hovers around −45 °C in the winter, minimal snow melt leads to a significant ice cap, reaching almost 300 m in certain spots. An international team of Canadian, British and American climbers was assembled and initially they had planned their attempt in 1924 but funding, the international team of climbers began their journey in early May, crossing the mainland from the Pacific coast by train. They then walked the remaining 200 kilometres to within 10 kilometres of the Logan Glacier where they established base camp, in the early evening of June 23,1925, Albert H. MacCarthy, H. F. Lambart, Allen Carpé, W. W. Foster, Norman H. Read and Andy Taylor stood on top for the first time and it had taken them 65 days to approach the mountain from the nearest town, McCarthy, summit and return, with all climbers intact. Don Monk, Gil Roberts and 3 others reached the summit on July 19, dick Long, Allen Steck, Jim Wilson, John Evans, Franklin Coale Sr. and Paul Bacon over 30 days, mid-July to Mid-August. Fred Beckey remarked, When they got back we just couldnt believe that they had climbed that thing and we didnt think they had a chance. Featured in Fifty Classic Climbs of North America, dave Jones, Frank Baumann, Fred Thiessen, Jay Page and Rene Bucher in 22 days. Michael Down, Paul Kindree, John Howe, Reid Carter and John Wittmayer climbed to the summit over 22 days, raymond Jotterand, Alan Burgess, Jim Elzinga and John Laughlan reached the summit after 15 days of climbing on June 30 and July 1. 1992 June 6, an expedition sponsored by the Royal Canadian Geographic Society confirmed the height of Mount Logan using GPS, the leader was Michael Schmidt, with Lisel Currie, Leo Nadeay, Charlie Roots, J-C. Lavergne, Roger Laurilla, Pat Morrow, Karl Nagy, Sue Gould, Alan Björn, Lloyd Freese, Kevin McLaughlin, a mountain in British Columbias Premier Range was named Mount Pierre Elliott Trudeau instead. During the last few days of May 2005, three climbers from the North Shore Search and Rescue team of North Vancouver became stranded on the mountain, a joint operation by Canadian and American forces rescued the three climbers and took them to Anchorage, Alaska for treatment of frostbite. London, J. M. Dent & Sons, Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. San Francisco, CA, USA, Sierra Club Books, pushing the Limits, The Story of Canadian Mountaineering
Mount Logan
–
Mount Logan from the southeast
Mount Logan
–
Mount Logan from the North East, as seen from Kluane Icefield
Mount Logan
–
Mount Logan climbing the knife ridge (east ridge). Photo by
Christian Stangl (2009, flickr)
34.
Pico de Orizaba
–
Pico de Orizaba, also known as Citlaltépetl, is a stratovolcano, the highest mountain in Mexico and the third highest in North America, after Denali of the United States and Mount Logan of Canada. It rises 5,636 metres above sea level in the end of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. The volcano is currently dormant but not extinct, with the last eruption taking place during the 19th century and it is the second most prominent volcanic peak in the world after Africas Mount Kilimanjaro. Pico de Orizaba overlooks the valley and city of Orizaba, from which it gets its name, the name Citlaltépetl is not used by Nahuatl speakers of the Orizaba area, who instead call it Istaktepetl, or White Mountain. In the earliest mention of the volcano, it was referred to by the natives during the Pre-Columbian Era as Poyautécatl, Citlaltépetl was the common name in the Náhuatl language when the Spanish arrived in Mexico. Citlaltépetl comes from the Náhuatl citlalli and tepētl and thus means Star Mountain and this name is thought to be based on the fact that the snow-covered peak can be seen year round for hundreds of kilometers throughout the region. A legend from the city of Coscomatepec tells of how the planet Venus can be seen settling into the crater of Citlaltépetl, during the colonial era, the volcano was also known as Cerro de San Andrés due to the nearby settlement of San Andrés Chalchicomula at its base. A third name, Poyauhtecatl, which means the one that colors or illuminates, has also been recorded and this name was given by the Tlaxcaltecas in memory of their lost country. The peak of Citlaltépetl rises dramatically to an elevation of 5,636 m above sea level, it has a topographic prominence of 4,922 m. Regionally dominant, Pico de Orizaba is the highest peak in Mexico, Orizaba is ranked 7th in the world in topographic prominence. It is the second most prominent volcanic peak in the world after Africas Mount Kilimanjaro, the topography of Pico de Orizaba is asymmetrical from the center of the crater, the eastern face is the steepest side of the volcano and the northwestern face the most gradual side. The gradual slopes of the face of the volcano allows for the presence of large glaciers and is the most traveled route to take for hikers traveling to the summit. Pico de Orizaba is one of three volcanoes in México that continue to support glaciers and is home to the largest glacier in Mexico. Orizaba has nine known glaciers, Gran Glaciar Norte, Lengua del Chichimeco, Jamapa, Toro, Glaciar de la Barba, Noroccidental, Occidental, Suroccidental, the equilibrium line altitude is not known for Orizaba. Snow on the south and southeast sides of the volcano melts quickly because of solar radiation, the insolation angle and wind redeposition on the northwest and north sides allow for constant accumulation of snow providing a source for the outlet glaciers. On the north side of Orizaba, the Gran Glaciar Norte fills the elongated highland basin and is the source for seven outlet glaciers. The main glacier extends 3.5 km north of the rim, has a surface area of about 9.08 km2 descending from 5,650 m to about 5,000 m. It has an irregular and stepped profile that is caused in part by the configuration of the bedrock
Pico de Orizaba
–
Pico de Orizaba, looking northwest from Fortín de las Flores, Veracruz
Pico de Orizaba
–
Pico de Orizaba looking south from atop of
Cofre de Perote
Pico de Orizaba
–
Southeast of Citlaltépetl
35.
Mount Saint Elias
–
It lies about 40 kilometres southwest of Mount Logan, the highest mountain in Canada. The Canadian side is part of Kluane National Park and Reserve and its name in Tlingit is Yasʼéitʼaa Shaa, meaning mountain behind Icy Bay, and is occasionally called Shaa Tlein Big Mountain by the Yakutat Tlingit. It is one of the most important crests of the Kwaashkʼiḵwáan clan since they used it as a guide during their journey down the Copper River and their children, the mountains in between the two peaks, are called Tsalx̱aan Yátxʼi. The mountain was first sighted by European explorers on July 16,1741 by Vitus Bering of Denmark, while some historians contend that the mountain was named by Bering, others believe that eighteenth century mapmakers named it after Cape Saint Elias, when it was left unnamed by Bering. Mount Saint Elias is notable for its immense vertical relief and its summit rises 18,008 feet vertically in just 10 miles horizontal distance from the head of Taan Fjord, off of Icy Bay. In 2007, an Austrian documentary movie called Mount, the climbers ended up summiting on the second attempt and skiing down to 13,000 feet. Mt. St. Elias was first climbed on July 31,1897 by a led by famed explorer Prince Luigi Amadeo di Savoia. The second ascent was not until 1946, when a group from the Harvard Mountaineering Club including noted mountain historian Dee Molenaar climbed the Southwest Ridge route. The summit party comprised Molenaar, his brother Cornelius, Andrew and Betty Kauffman, Maynard Miller, William Latady, William Putnam was a member of the expedition but did not make the summit. They used eleven camps, eight of which were on the approach from Icy Bay and they were supported by multiple air drops of food. The first winter ascent was made on February 13,1996 by David Briggs, Gardner Heaton and Joe Reichert. After being flown in to 2,300 feet on the Tyndal Glacier, they climbed the southwest ridge, the team had originally planned to begin their ascent from the ocean and cross the Tyndal Glacier but the terrain was in very poor condition. Mount Saint Elias is infrequently climbed today, despite its height, because it has no route to the summit
Mount Saint Elias
–
Mount St. Elias from Icy Bay, Alaska
Mount Saint Elias
–
Mt. Saint Elias from Icy Bay
36.
Mount Foraker
–
Mount Foraker is a 17, 400-foot mountain in the central Alaska Range, in Denali National Park,14 mi southwest of Denali. It is the second highest peak in the Alaska Range, and it rises almost directly above the standard base camp for Denali, on a fork of the Kahiltna Glacier also near Mount Hunter in the Alaska Range. Its north peak was first climbed on August 6,1934, graham Brown, and Chychele Waterston, via the west ridge. Mount Foraker was named in 1899 by Lt. J. S. Herron after Joseph B, the mountain, along with Denali, was called Bolshaya Gora in Russian. The Tanana Indians in the Lake Minchumina area, however, had a view of the mountains. According to Hudson Stuck, these Indians had two names for Mount Foraker, Sultana meaning the woman and Menlale meaning Denalis wife,1934 West Ridge FA of Mount Foraker by Charles Houston, T. 1968 Talkeetna Ridge, South Ridge FA by Alex Bertulis, Warren Bleser, the summit was reached on July 26,1968. 1974 Southwest Toe of Southeast Ridge, variation to the South Ridge, ascent by Peter Reagan, Joe Davidson, Bob Fries, Jim Given, Mark Greenfield, Pippo Lionni, Eric Morgan and Frank Uher. 1975 Archangel Ridge, the ridge, FA by Gerard and Barbara Roach, Brad Johnson, David Wright, Stewart Krebs. Summit reached on July 14,1975,1976 French Ridge, the South/Southeast Ridge, FA by Henri Agresti, Jean-Marie Galmiche, Gerard Creton, Herve Thivierge, Isabelle Agresti and Werner Landry. Summit reached on June 3 and 4,1976,1977 Infinite Spur, on the south face by Michael Kennedy and George Lowe. 1977 Southwest Ridge, Nancey Goforth, Erik LeRoy, Chris Liddle, the summit was reached on June 25,1977, after 47 days spent on Mount Foraker. 1989 Infinite Spur, second ascent or route by Mark Bebie, summit reached on June 24,1989 after 13 days on the mountain. 1990 False Dawn, on the southeast face, first ascent by John Phelan, summit reached on May 27,1990 after 5 days on the mountain. PhotoMountains, High resolution aerial photographs of Mount Foraker climbing routes
Mount Foraker
–
Mount Foraker
Mount Foraker
–
Mt Foraker, on the left, is shown near Denali, on the right, taken from Kashwitna Lake at roughly 100 miles (160 km) away. Mt Hunter is just to the left of Denali.
37.
Mount Lucania
–
Mount Lucania is the third highest mountain located entirely in Canada. A long ridge connects Mount Lucania with Mount Steele, the fifth highest in Canada, Lucania was named by the Duke of Abruzzi, as he stood on the summit of Mount Saint Elias on July 31,1897, having just completed the first ascent. Seeing Lucania in the far distance, beyond Mount Logan, he named it after the ship on which the expedition had sailed from Liverpool to New York. The first ascent of Mount Lucania was made in 1937 by Bradford Washburn and they used an airplane to reach Walsh Glacier,2,670 m above sea level, the use of air support for mountaineering was novel at the time. Washburn called upon Bob Reeve, a famous Alaskan bush pilot, the ski-equipped Fairchild F-51 made several trips to the landing site on the glacier without event in May, but on landing with Washburn and Bates in June, the plane sank into unseasonal slush. The second ascent of Lucania was made in 1967 by Jerry Halpern, Mike Humphreys, Gary Lukis, list of mountain peaks of Canada David Roberts, Escape from Lucania, An Epic Story of Survival, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-7432-2432-9
Mount Lucania
–
Mount Steele (center), with Mount Lucania just left of it and behind it
38.
Mount Bona
–
Mount Bona is one of the major mountains of the Saint Elias Mountains in eastern Alaska, and is the fifth-highest independent peak in the United States. Mount Bona and its adjacent neighbor Mount Churchill are both large ice-covered stratovolcanoes, the mountain also contributes a large volume of ice to the north-flowing Russell Glacier system. Mount Bona was named by Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi in 1897 and he named it after the Bona, his racing yacht. The mountain was first climbed in 1930 by Allen Carpé, Terris Moore, the current standard route is the East Ridge, a climb of nearby Mount Churchill is a relatively easy addition via this route as well
Mount Bona
–
Mount Bona
39.
Mount Steele
–
For the mountain in Antarctica, see Mount Steele. Mount Steele is the fifth highest mountain in Canada and the eleventh highest peak in North America reaching the height of 5,073 metres, a lower southeast peak of Mt. Steele stands at 4,300 m. It was named after Sir Sam Steele, the North-West Mounted Police officer in charge of the force in the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush. Walter A. Wood led a team consisting of Foresta Wood, Swiss guide Hans Fuhrer, Joseph W. Fobes, Harrison Wood, the expedition approached the peak on the eastern side from Kluane Lake. Base camp was established at the foot of the Steele Glacier with horses carrying loads to Advance Base Camp further along the glacier, ABC provided good views of the mountain and the team decided on the east ridge as their line of ascent. After waiting for the weather to improve after heavy snowfalls, a team consisting of Walter Wood, Harrison Wood, Fuhrer. Their plan to was to make a 2,440 m push to the summit, after steady upwards progress, deteriorating weather forced them to return to Camp 8 where they waited out a five-day storm which dumped over a metre of fresh snow. They started out again on August 15 and the ascent was made easier this time by windblown, at 4,570 m, a plateau of wretched snow forced the team to crawl on all fours. Walter Wood commented, The humour of it impressed me, here were four supposedly normal human beings crawling across a snow field 15,000 ft. up in the air, engaged in what they fondly believed to be a sporting venue. Alternating the lead every 100 paces, they made their way from the plateau to the top, the team enjoyed a blissful thirty minutes of windless conditions on top before beginning their descent. List of mountain peaks of North America List of mountain peaks of Canada
Mount Steele
–
Mount Steele
40.
Mount Blackburn
–
Mount Blackburn is the highest peak in the Wrangell Mountains of Alaska in the United States. It is the fifth-highest peak in the United States and the twelfth-highest peak in North America, the mountain is an old, eroded shield volcano, the second-highest volcano in the U. S. behind Mount Bona and the fifth-highest in North America. It was named in 1885 by Lt. Henry T. Allen of the U. S. Army after Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn and it is located in the heart of Wrangell – St. Elias National Park, the largest national park in the country. The mountain also contributes a large volume of ice to the north-flowing Nabesna Glacier, Mount Blackburn is a large, dramatic peak, with great local relief and independence from higher peaks. Its west face drops over 11,000 ft to the Kuskulana Glacier in less than 4 horizontal miles and its other faces drop 8, 000–10,000 ft, all in less than 8 miles. The toe of the Kuskulana Glacier, less than 12 miles from the summit, lies at an elevation of 2,400 ft, while these figures speak to the peaks relief, one measure of its independence is that it is the 50th-most topographically prominent peak in the world. The western of Blackburns two summits is the mountains highest point, a fact that was not understood until the 1960s when new USGS maps were published. The first ascent of the west peak, and hence Mount Blackburn, was done on May 30,1958, by Bruce Gilbert, Dick Wahlstrom, Hans Gmoser, Adolf Bitterlich, and Leon Blumer via the North Ridge. This team made the first ascent of Blackburn, but did not even know it at the due to the incorrect identification of the highest point. In fact, Blumers article in the 1959 American Alpine Journal is titled Mount Blackburn – Second Ascent, kennedy Peak, or East Blackburn,16,286 ft, is the eastern summit and was originally thought to be the highest point. The first ascent of this summit was made in 1912 by Dora Keen and George Handy via the Kennicott Glacier and this heady exploit was ahead of its time. Keen went on to write an article for the Saturday Evening Post titled, “First up Mount Blackburn. ”In 1912, Keen. Todays standard route on the peak is the 1958 ascent route, the North Ridge, the route starts from an airstrip on the glacier at an altitude of 7,200 feet. It is a climb by Alaskan standards. Richter, Donald H. Rosenkrans, Danny S. Steigerwald, Margaret J. Guide to the Volcanoes of the Western Wrangell Mountains, a Geologic Guide to Wrangell—Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska, A Tectonic Collage of Northbound Terranes. Richter, Donald H. Preller, Cindi C, labay, Keith A. Shew, Nora B. Geologic Map of the Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Mount Blackburn
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Mount Blackburn from the southeast, looking up the
Kennicott Glacier
Mount Blackburn
–
The
Nabesna Glacier, with Mount Blackburn and its two summits at right;
Atna Peaks is the twin summit left of center
Mount Blackburn
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Mount Blackburn from the west, looking across Willow Lake
41.
Mount Sanford (Alaska)
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Mount Sanford is a shield volcano in the Wrangell Volcanic Field, in eastern Alaska near the Copper River. It is the third highest volcano in the United States behind Mount Bona, the south face of the volcano, at the head of the Sanford Glacier, rises 8,000 feet in 1 mile resulting in one of the steepest gradients in North America. Mount Sanford is mainly composed of andesite, and is an ancient peak, being mostly Pleistocene, the mountain first began developing 900,000 years ago, when it began growing on top of three smaller shield volcanoes that had coalesced. The second flow was basaltic in nature and marks the most recent activity of the volcano, the flow was dated using radiometric methods. The mountain was named in 1885 by Lieutenant Henry T. Allen of the U. S. Army after the Sanford family. Mount Sanford was first climbed on July 21,1938 by noted mountaineers Terris Moore and Bradford Washburn, via the still standard North Ramp route up the Sheep Glacier. This route offers little technical difficulty and is a glacier hike all the way to the summit but is still a serious mountaineering challenge due to the altitude and latitude of the peak. The base of the route is accessed by air. On March 12,1948, Northwest Airlines Flight 4422 crashed into Mount Sanford, all 24 passengers and 6 crew members were killed. The wreckage was covered by snow and was not found again until 1999. The first solo ascent of Sanford was achieved on September 19,1968, by Japanese mountaineer Naomi Uemura, rosenkrans, Danny S. Steigerwald, Margaret J. Guide to the Volcanoes of the Western Wrangell Mountains, Alaska. Richter, Donald H. Preller, Cindi C, labay, Keith A. Shew, Nora B. Geologic Map of the Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska, a Geologic Guide to Wrangell—Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska, A Tectonic Collage of Northbound Terranes. Wood, Charles A. Kienle, Jürgen, eds, mt. Sanford Expedition via the Sheep Glacier,2014
Mount Sanford (Alaska)
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Mount Sanford (left) and
Mount Wrangell in 1981
Mount Sanford (Alaska)
42.
Mount Vancouver
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Mount Vancouver is the 15th highest mountain in North America. Mount Vancouver has three summits, north, middle, and south, with the summit being the lowest. The south summit, Good Neighbor Peak at 4,785 m, the mountain was named by William Healey Dall in 1874 after George Vancouver, who explored the southeast coast of Alaska from 1792 to 1794. 1949 North Buttress, FA of mountain by William Hainsworth, Alan Bruce-Robertson, Bob McCarter, Noel Odell,1975 Northeast Ridge, FA by Cliff Cantor, Bob Dangel, Paul Ledoux, Rob Milne, Hal Murray, Bob Walker, John Yates and Barton DeWolf. 1977 West Face, FA by John Lauchlan, John Calvert, Trevor Jones, pushing the Limits, The Story of Canadian Mountaineering. Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Rocky Mountain Books
Mount Vancouver
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Mount Vancouver
43.
Nevado de Toluca
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Nevado de Toluca is a large stratovolcano in central Mexico, located about 80 kilometres west of Mexico City near the city of Toluca. It is generally cited as the fourth highest of Mexicos peaks, after Pico de Orizaba, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, although by some measurements, recently other evidence regarding the etymologies of this mountain have surfaced and after many archeology discoveries in and around the area. It has been concluded that its etymology is Chicnauhtecatl meaning nine lakes as the top of the cone has various deep lakes. The volcano has a 1. 5-kilometre wide summit caldera which is open to the east. The highest summit,4, 680-metre Pico del Fraile, is on the southwest side of the crater and the second highest,4, 640-metre Pico del Aguila, is on the northwest. There are two lakes on the floor of the basin at about 4,200 m, the larger Lago del Sol and the smaller. A road formerly ran into the caldera to the lakes, making perhaps the most accessible major Mexican peak. The road is now gated 2 km before the lakes, the last major eruption of Nevado de Toluca occurred about 10,500 years ago, as the volcano erupted a total estimated volume of 14 km3 for a VEI strength of 6. The eruption emplaced 1.5 m of pebble-sized pumice in the City of Toluca region, distal lahar deposits derived from the Upper Toluca Pumice event incorporated mammoth bones and other mammals in the basin of Mexico. A future event of magnitude would disrupt the lives of 30 million people now living in these cities. From the southeast, Nevado de Toluca looks flat-topped, like shoulders without a head, a Nahuatl legend provides a mythical explanation. The volcano and the area around it is now a national park, near the summit, Nevado de Toluca has a cold alpine climate with cold temperatures year round. There is little variation in the temperatures and frost and snow can occur in any month, the dry season covers from November to March and precipitation is low, averaging 12.4 millimetres in March, the driest month. Temperatures during this time are cold, averaging 2.3 °C in January, the wet season spans from May to October and precipitation is very high, averaging 243.5 millimetres in July. The summit is often foggy, averaging 110 days with fog, the wettest record month was July 2008 when 513.5 millimetres of precipitation fell and the wettest recorded day was July 16,1999 when 90.5 millimetres of precipitation fell. The highest temperature recorded was 23 °C on August 16,1993. There are 18 registered archeological sites in the park, as this was a ritual center during pre-Hispanic periods, bernardino de Sahagún wrote about the lakes as a place where the indigenous held ceremonies and sacrifices. The lakes themselves are considered to be two sites, as a number of offerings, especially copal, were deposited in the lakes
Nevado de Toluca
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Nevado de Toluca as seen from the southeast (Lerma)
Nevado de Toluca
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360° panoramic view from crater rim of Nevado Toluca, 120 km to the east the
Popocatépetl rises out of the clouds
Nevado de Toluca
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Lago del Sol from south east side.
44.
Mount Fairweather
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It is also designated as Boundary Peak 164 or as US/Canada Boundary Point #164. The mountain was named on May 3,1778 by Captain James Cook, the name has been translated into many languages. It was called Mt. Beautemps by La Perouse, Mte, buen-tiempo by Galiano, Gor-Khoroshy-pogody on Russian Hydrographic Dept. Chart 1378 in 1847, and G Fayerveder by Captain Tebenkov and it was called Schönwetterberg by Constantin Grewingk in 1850 and Schönwetter Berg by Justus Perthes in 1882. Fairweather was first climbed in 1931 by Allen Carpé and Terris Moore, Mount Fairweather is located right above Glacier Bay in the Fairweather Range of the Saint Elias Mountains. Mount Fairweather also marks the northwest extremity of the Alaska Panhandle, like many peaks in the St. Elias Mountains, Mount Fairweather has great vertical relief due to its dramatic rise from Glacier Bay. However, due to weather in the area, this effect is usually obscured with the clouds which often hides the summit from view. Known in the Tlingit language as Tsalxhaan, it is said this mountain and Yaaséitaa Shaa were originally next to each other but had an argument and separated. Their children, the mountains in between the two peaks, are called Tsalxhaan Yatxi Despite its name, Mount Fairweather has generally harsh weather conditions, summit reached on 10 July 1973. New York, NY, USA, American Alpine Club
Mount Fairweather
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Mount Fairweather from Glacier Bay, September 2004
Mount Fairweather
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Dixon Harbor with Mt. Fairweather in the centre, 1925
45.
Mount Hubbard
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Mount Hubbard is one of the major mountains of the Saint Elias Range. It is located on the Alaska/Yukon border, the Canadian side is within Kluane National Park and Reserve, Hubbard is the highest point of a large massif with three named summits, the other two are Mount Alverstone and Mount Kennedy. The Hubbard Glacier separates Mount Hubbard from Mount Vancouver to the west, Mount Hubbard is the eighth-highest peak in the United States, and the twelfth-highest peak in Canada. It is also notable for its rise above local terrain. For example, its west face rises 7,500 feet above the Alverstone Glacier in less than 2 miles, Mount Hubbard is just over 20 mi from tidewater at Disenchantment Bay. However, despite its precipitous drops to the west, the eastern side provides a route to the summit. g. The List of United States fourteeners, Mount Hubbard on bivouac. com U. S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System, Mount Hubbard A list of Yukon mountains by prominence Mount Hubbard, Yukon Territory/Alaska on Peakbagger
Mount Hubbard
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Mount Hubbard
46.
Mount Bear
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Mount Bear is a high, glaciated peak in the Saint Elias Mountains of Alaska. It lies within Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park, about 4 miles west of the Yukon border, the Barnard Glacier flows from its southwest slopes, while the Klutlan Glacier lies to the north. Its principal claim to fame is that it is a fourteener, despite its height, Mount Bear is a little-visited peak, being surrounded by higher and better-known peaks such as Mount Bona on the west, and Mount Lucania and Mount Logan on the east. However it is a large even in relative terms, for example, the drop from the summit to the Barnard Glacier is 8,000 ft in less than 5 miles
Mount Bear
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Mount Bear
47.
Mount Hunter (Alaska)
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Mount Hunter or Begguya is a mountain in Denali National Park in Alaska. It is approximately eight miles south of Denali, the highest peak in North America, Begguya means child in the Denaina language. Mount Hunter is the third-highest major peak in the Alaska Range, Mount Hunter has a complex structure, it is topped by a large, low-angled glacier plateau, connecting the North Summit and the South Summit. Long, corniced ridges extend in various directions, between them are exceptionally steep faces, the native name for the mountain is Begguya, meaning Denalis Child. Early prospectors referred to the mountain as Mount Roosevelt, in 1903, Robert Dunn, a reporter for the New York Commercial Advertiser, visited the area as part of Frederick Cooks attempt to climb Mount McKinley. He bestowed the name of his aunt Anna Falconnet Hunter, who financed his trip, on a nearby mountain. This was, in fact, a different peak, now known as Kahiltna Dome, the name Hunter was mistakenly applied to the present-day Mount Hunter by a government surveyor in 1906. In October 2010, the South Summit was named Mount Stevens, after Ted Stevens, a former senator of Alaska. Despite being much lower in elevation than Denali, Mount Hunter is a difficult climb, due to its steep faces and corniced ridges. Beginning in 1977, with Michael Kennedy and George Lowes climb of a route on the northwest face of Mount Hunter,1954 West Ridge - first ascent of peak by Fred Beckey, Heinrich Harrer and Henry Meybohm 1977 Lowe-Kennedy, on the north face. 1979 South Spur by John Mallon Waterman 1981 Moonflower Buttress first ascent to last rock band by Mugs Stump,1983 Moonflower Buttress to summit, first complete ascent by Todd Bibler and Doug Klewin. 1989 Northwest Face first ascent by Conrad Anker and Seth S. T, shaw, summit attained July 3,1989. 1994 Deprivation, first ascent by Scott Backes and Mark Francis Twight,1994 Wall of Shadows, first ascent by Greg Child and Michael Kennedy
Mount Hunter (Alaska)
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Mt. Hunter from NW (Kahilta Base Camp)
Mount Hunter (Alaska)
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Looking down the SW Ridge at about 10,500 ft.
Mount Hunter (Alaska)
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Mt. Hunter, nestled between Mt. Foraker and Denali.
48.
Mount Whitney
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Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of 14,505 feet. The west slope of the mountain is in Sequoia National Park, the east slope is in the Inyo National Forest in Inyo County. The summit of Whitney is on the Sierra Crest and the Great Basin Divide and it lies near many of the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada. The peak rises dramatically above the Owens Valley, sitting 10,778 feet or just over two miles above the town of Lone Pine 15 miles to the east, in the Owens Valley. It rises more gradually on the west side, lying only about 3,000 feet above the John Muir Trail at Guitar Lake, the mountain is partially dome-shaped, with its famously jagged ridges extending to the sides. Mount Whitney is above the line and has an alpine climate. Very few plants grow near the summit, one example is the Skypilot, the only animals are transient, such as the butterfly Parnassius phoebus and the gray-crowned rosy finch. The mountain is the highest point on the Great Basin Divide, waterways on the west side of the peak flow into Whitney Creek, which flows into the Kern River. The Kern River terminates in the Tulare Basin, during very wet years, water overflows from the Tulare Basin into the San Joaquin River which flows to the Pacific Ocean. From the east, water from Mount Whitney flows to Lone Pine Creek, which joins the Owens River, which in turn terminates at Owens Lake, the estimated elevation of the summit of Mount Whitney has changed over the years. The technology of elevation measurement has become refined and, more importantly. The peak was commonly said to be at 14,494 ft, an older plaque on the summit reads elevation 14,496.811 feet but this was estimated using the older vertical datum from 1929. Since then the shape of the Earth has been estimated more accurately, using a new vertical datum established in 1988 the benchmark is now estimated to be at 14,505 ft. The rise is caused by a fault system that runs along the eastern base of the Sierra. Thus, the granite that forms Mount Whitney is the same as the granite that forms the Alabama Hills, the raising of Whitney is due to the same geological forces that cause the Basin and Range Province, the crust of much of the intermontane west is slowly being stretched. The granite that forms Mount Whitney is part of the Sierra Nevada batholith, in Cretaceous time, masses of molten rock that originated from subduction rose underneath what is now Whitney and solidified underground to form large expanses of granite. In July 1864, the members of the California Geological Survey named the peak after Josiah Whitney, during the same expedition, geologist Clarence King attempted to climb Whitney from its west side, but stopped just short. In 1871, King returned to climb what he believed to be Whitney, upon learning of his mistake in 1873, King finally completed his own first ascent of Whitney, but did so a month too late to claim the first recorded ascent
Mount Whitney
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East Face close-up seen from the
Whitney Portal.
Mount Whitney
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Sky pilot blooming on ridge just below summit.
Mount Whitney
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Mount Whitney as seen from
Mount Langley
Mount Whitney
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The Smithsonian Hut Shelter on Whitney's summit.
49.
Mount Alverstone
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Mount Alverstone or Boundary Peak 180, is a high peak in the Saint Elias Mountains, on the border between Alaska and Yukon. It shares a large massif with the higher Mount Hubbard to the south, the summit of Mount Alverstone marks a sharp turn in the Alaska/Canada border, the border goes south from this point toward the Alaska panhandle and west toward Mount Saint Elias. The mountain was named in 1908 for Lord Richard Everard Webster Alverstone, Lord Chief Justice of England, 1900–13 and he served on various arbitration commissions including the one dealing with the Bering Sea Fur seal controversy. In the Alaska boundary dispute in 1903, his vote was the one against Canadian claims. Mount Alverstone was first climbed in 1951 by a party led by Walter Wood, the successful climbs were tinged by tragedy when, upon returning from the peaks, Wood learned that his wife Foresta and daughter Valerie had died in a plane crash nearby along with their pilot. Mount Foresta, near Mount Alverstone, is named in her honor, Mount Alverstone on Topozone Mount Alverstone
Mount Alverstone
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Mount Alverstone
50.
Mount Elbert
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Mount Elbert is the highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the highest point in the U. S. state of Colorado and the entire Mississippi River drainage basin. The ultra-prominent 14, 440-foot fourteener is the highest peak in the Sawatch Range, Mount Elbert is located in San Isabel National Forest,12.1 miles southwest of the City of Leadville in Lake County, Colorado. The mountain was named in honor of Colorado statesman Samuel Hitt Elbert, henry W. Stuckle of the Hayden Survey was the first to record an ascent of the peak, in 1874. The easiest and most popular climbing routes are categorized as Class 1 to 2 or A+ in mountaineering parlance, Mount Elbert is therefore often referred to as the gentle giant that tops all others in the Rocky Mountains. Mount Elbert is visible to the southwest of Leadville, often snow-capped even in the summer, many other fourteeners surround Elbert in all directions, and it is very close to central Colorados Collegiate Peaks. The community of Twin Lakes lies at the base of Mount Elbert, Denver is about 130 miles to the east, Vail is 50 miles to the north, Leadville, about 16 miles to the northeast, is the nearest large town. Elberts parent peak is Mount Whitney in California, including Alaska and Hawaii, Mount Elbert is the fourteenth-highest mountain in the United States. Weather conditions often change rapidly, and afternoon thunderstorms are common in the summertime, hailstorms, an electrical storm on the mountains summit was considered remarkable enough to be reported in the July 1894 issue of Science. Mount Elbert is part of the Sawatch Range, an uplift of the Laramide Orogeny which separated from the Mosquito Range to the east around 28 million years ago, the tops of this range were heavily glaciated, leaving behind characteristic summit features and other such clues. For example, the base of Elbert on the eastern side exhibits large igneous and metamorphic rocks deposited when the glaciers receded, further up the eastern side there is a large cirque with a small tarn. Mount Elbert is composed largely of quartzite, however, the summit ridge consists of metamorphic basement rock, which is Pre-Cambrian in origin and about 1.7 billion years old. There are various igneous intrusions including pegmatite, as well as bands of gneiss, the first recorded ascent of the peak was by H. W. Stuckle in 1874, who was surveying the mountain as part of the Hayden Survey. Originally measured as 14,433 feet in height, Mount Elberts elevation was later adjusted to 14,440 feet following a re-evaluation of mapped elevations, which sparked protests. The actual change was made in 1988 as a result of the North American Vertical Datum of 1988, a matter of some contention arose after the Great Depression over the heights of Elbert and its neighbor, Mount Massive, which differ in elevation by only 12 feet. The effort was unsuccessful and Mount Elbert has remained the highest peak in Colorado. The first motorized ascent of Elbert occurred in 1949, when a Jeep was driven to the summit, the summit of Mount Elbert is an alpine environment, featuring plants such as Phacelia sericea, Hymenoxys grandiflora, and Geum rossii. Also noted are Carex atrata var. pullata, Salix desertorum, Platanthera hyperborea, Thalictrum fendleri, Aquilegia canadensis, Chenopodium album, Gentiana detonsa var. hallii, and Bigelovia parryi. Below treeline the mountain is forested, with the lower slopes covered with a mixture of lodgepole pine, spruce, aspen
Mount Elbert
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Mount Elbert seen from Turquoise Lake
Mount Elbert
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Panoramic view of Mount Elbert in June
Mount Elbert
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Platanthera hyperborea
Mount Elbert
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The north-east ridge
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