Lead Mountain (Grand County, Colorado) Explained

Lead Mountain
Elevation Ft:12546
Elevation Ref:[1]
Prominence Ft:465
Isolation Mi:0.98
Parent Peak:Mount Cirrus (12,808 ft)
Country:United States
State:Colorado
Region:Grand County / Jackson County
Region Type:County
Part Type:Protected area
Part:Rocky Mountain National Park
Never Summer Wilderness
Range:Rocky Mountains
Never Summer Mountains
Map:Colorado#USA
Label Position:right
Coordinates:40.4486°N -105.8971°W
Coordinates Ref:[2]
Topo:USGS Mount Richthofen

Lead Mountain is a summit in Grand County, Colorado, in the United States.[2] With an elevation of, Lead Mountain is the 970th-highest summit in the state of Colorado.[1] Lead Mountain was named in 1879 on account of its lead deposits.[3]

Lead Mountain is situated on the Continental Divide along the boundary shared by Grand County and Jackson County. It is part of the Never Summer Mountains which are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. The mountain is situated on the western boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park,[4] and the west side of the peak is in the Never Summer Wilderness, on land managed by Medicine Bow–Routt National Forest. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's west slope drains into tributaries of the Michigan River and the east slope drains into headwaters of the Colorado River. The counterintuitive direction of water flow is because the Continental Divide forms a loop in this area, whereby the peak's west slope runoff flows to the Atlantic Ocean and the east slope to the Pacific.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, the mountain is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.[5] Due to its altitude, it receives precipitation all year, as snow in winter, and as thunderstorms in summer, with a dry period in late spring.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lead Mountain - 12,546' CO. listsofjohn.com. 2023-04-21.
  2. 177483. Lead Mountain. 2023-04-21.
  3. Book: Dziezynski, James. Best Summit Hikes in Colorado: An Opinionated Guide to 50+ Ascents of Classic and Little-Known Peaks from 8,144 to 14,433 Feet. 1 August 2012. Wilderness Press. 978-0-89997-713-3. 82.
  4. Book: Federal Writers' Project. Federal Writers' Project. Colorado, a Guide to the Highest State. 1948. WPA. 978-0-403-02158-1. 441.
  5. Peel, M. C. . Finlayson, B. L. . McMahon, T. A. . 2007 . Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification . Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. . 11 . 1027-5606.