Mount Cumulus Explained

Mount Cumulus
Elevation Ft:12729
Elevation Ref:[1]
Prominence Ft:400.
Isolation Mi:0.97
Parent Peak:Howard Mountain (12,826 ft)
Etymology:Cumulus cloud
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:40.4103°N -105.9023°W
Coordinates Ref:[2]
Topo:USGS Mount Richthofen
Rock:Granite[3]
Age:Miocene
Easiest Route:East slope [4]

Mount Cumulus is a 12729feet mountain summit in Colorado, United States.

Description

Mount Cumulus is situated on the Continental Divide along the boundary shared by Grand County and Jackson County.[5] It is the fourth-highest peak of the Never Summer Mountains which are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains.[6] The mountain is situated on the western boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park and is visible from Trail Ridge Road within the park. 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 headwaters of the South Fork Michigan River and the east slope drains into the Colorado River except a portion which is diverted by the Grand Ditch. 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. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 3700abbr=offNaNabbr=off above the Kawuneeche Valley in 3miles and over 2300abbr=offNaNabbr=off above the South Fork Michigan River in 1miles.

Etymology

The mountain's toponym was applied in 1914 by James Grafton Rogers,[7] and was officially adopted in 1932 by the United States Board on Geographic Names.[2] Rogers also named Mount Cirrus and Mount Nimbus, with the three names referring to different types of common clouds. As President of the Colorado Geographic Society, Chairman of the Colorado Geographic Board, and President of the American Alpine Club, Rogers participated in naming many of Colorado's mountains.[8]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Mount Cumulus is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.[9] 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

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cumulus, Mount - 12,729' CO. listsofjohn.com. 2023-04-21.
  2. 177489. Mount Cumulus. 2023-04-21.
  3. http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_9119.htm Geologic map of the Mount Richthofen quadrangle and the western part of the Fall River Pass quadrangle
  4. Lisa Foster (2005), Rocky Mountain National Park: The Complete Hiking Guide, Westcliffe Publishers,, p. 339.
  5. 5579. Mount Cumulus, Colorado. April 21, 2023.
  6. Web site: Mount Cumulus, Peakvisor.com. April 21, 2023.
  7. William Bright (2004), Colorado Place Names, Johnson Books,, p. 38.
  8. http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12197223500/James-Grafton-Rogers-18831971 Stephen H. Hart (1972), James Grafton Rogers, 1883–1971, Americanalpineclub.org
  9. 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.