Mount Garfield (San Juan County, Colorado) Explained

Mount Garfield
Elevation Ft:13074
Prominence Ft:354
Isolation Mi:0.99
Isolation Ref:[1]
Parent Peak:Graystone Peak (13,489 ft)
Location:San Juan County, Colorado, US
Range:Rocky Mountains
San Juan Mountains
Needle Mountains
Map:Colorado#USA
Coordinates:37.6947°N -107.6362°W
Topo:USGS Snowdon Peak
Rock:Quartzite
Age:Statherian
Type:Glacial horn
Easiest Route: scramble SE ridge[2]

Mount Garfield is a 13074feet mountain summit located in San Juan County, Colorado, United States.[3] It is situated eight miles south of the community of Silverton, in the Weminuche Wilderness, on land managed by San Juan National Forest. It is part of the San Juan Mountains range which is a subset of the Rocky Mountains of North America. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into tributaries of the Animas River. The peak can be seen from U.S. Route 550 and the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises over 4300abbr=offNaNabbr=off above the river and railway in approximately one mile. It is set six miles west of the Continental Divide, one mile west of Electric Peak, and three miles east-southeast of Snowdon Peak.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Mt. Garfield is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with very long, cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.[4] 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.

Geology

Mt. Garfield is a glacial horn of the Uncompahgre Formation, which is a sequence of quartzite and black phyllite some 8200feet in thickness.[5] The formation dates to the Statherian period and is interpreted as metamorphosed marine and fluvial sandstone, mudstone, and shale. The formation overlies plutons with an age of 1,707 million years.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Garfield, Mount - 13,074' CO. listsofjohn.com. 2021-06-26.
  2. Robert F. Rosebrough, The San Juan Mountains: A Climbing & Hiking Guide, Cordillera Press, 1986, page 169.
  3. 187773. Mount Garfield. 2021-06-26.
  4. 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.
  5. Rob Blair, Tom Ann Casey, William H. Romme, The Western San Juan Mountains: Their Geology, Ecology, and Human History, 1996, University Press of Colorado,, page 350.