Uncompahgre Peak

Uncompahgre Peak
Uncompahgre Peak
	Uncompahgre Peak from the west
Highest point
Elevation	14,321 ft (4365.0 m); NAVD88
Prominence	4277 ft (1304 m)
Isolation	85.0 mi (136.8 km)
Listing	North America highest peaks 35th; North America isolated peaks 68th; US highest major peaks 21st; Colorado highest major peaks 6th; Colorado fourteeners 6th; Colorado county high points 6th;
Coordinates	38°04′18″N 107°27′44″W / 38.0716581°N 107.4620893°W
Geography
	Uncompahgre Peak Colorado
Location	High point of Hinsdale County, Colorado, United States
Parent range	Highest summit of the; San Juan Mountains
Topo map	USGS 7.5' topographic map; Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado
Climbing
Easiest route	South Ridge: Hike, class 2

Uncompahgre Peak (/ənkəmˈpɑːɡreɪ/ ^ⓘ) is the sixth highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The prominent 14,321-foot (4365.0 m) fourteener is the highest summit of the San Juan Mountains and the highest point in the drainage basin of the Colorado River and the Gulf of California. It is located in the Uncompahgre Wilderness in the northern San Juans, in northern Hinsdale County approximately 7 miles (11 km) west of the town of Lake City.

Uncompahgre Peak has a broad summit plateau, rising about 1,500 ft (500 m) above the broad surrounding alpine basins. The south, east and west sides are not particularly steep, but the north face has a 700 ft (210 m) cliff. Like all peaks in the San Juan Mountains, Uncompahgre is of volcanic origin, but is not a volcano. The rock is of poor quality for climbing, precluding an ascent of the north face.

The most popular route for climbing Uncompahgre Peak is Uncompahgre National Forest Service Trail Number 239, which starts from the end of the Nellie Creek Road, east-southeast of the peak. The Nellie Creek Road is a four wheel drive road accessed from the Henson Creek Road, about 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Lake City. The trail to the summit is a strenuous hike rising 2,919 ft (890 m) in elevation in about 3.5 mi (6 km). It accesses the summit in a winding ascent, starting from the east, passing over a south-trending ridge, and finishing on the west slopes of the summit plateau.^[5]

The peak's name comes from the Ute word Uncompaghre, which loosely translates to "dirty water" or "red water spring" and is likely a reference to the many hot springs in the vicinity of Ouray, Colorado.^[a]

Over several days beginning on September 10, 1895, a detachment of the U.S. Army Signal Corps established the world heliograph record from stations atop Mount Ellen, Utah and Mount Uncompahgre, Colorado.^[7] The record for visual signaling was established utilizing mirrors 8 inches across and telescopes. The flashing signals communicated over a distance of 183 miles.

Climate

Climate data for Uncompahgre Peak 38.0651 N, 107.4588 W, Elevation: 13,369 ft (4,075 m) (1991–2020 normals)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	24.4 (−4.2)	24.2 (−4.3)	29.3 (−1.5)	34.7 (1.5)	43.0 (6.1)	54.4 (12.4)	59.1 (15.1)	56.8 (13.8)	51.2 (10.7)	41.7 (5.4)	31.1 (−0.5)	24.5 (−4.2)	39.5 (4.2)
Daily mean °F (°C)	12.8 (−10.7)	12.2 (−11.0)	16.8 (−8.4)	21.8 (−5.7)	30.3 (−0.9)	40.8 (4.9)	45.8 (7.7)	44.2 (6.8)	38.6 (3.7)	29.3 (−1.5)	19.8 (−6.8)	13.2 (−10.4)	27.1 (−2.7)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	1.1 (−17.2)	0.3 (−17.6)	4.2 (−15.4)	8.9 (−12.8)	17.6 (−8.0)	27.2 (−2.7)	32.5 (0.3)	31.5 (−0.3)	26.0 (−3.3)	16.9 (−8.4)	8.5 (−13.1)	1.9 (−16.7)	14.7 (−9.6)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	4.15 (105)	4.36 (111)	4.34 (110)	4.36 (111)	2.74 (70)	1.20 (30)	2.91 (74)	3.18 (81)	3.80 (97)	3.94 (100)	4.14 (105)	4.18 (106)	43.3 (1,100)
Source: PRISM Climate Group^[8]

Historical names

Mount Chauvenet - 1873^[9]
Unca-pah-gre Mountain
Uncompahgre Mountain
Uncompahgre Peak – 1907 ^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b "UNCOMPAHGRE". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Uncompahgre Peak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
^ "Uncompahgre Peak Routes". 14ers.com.
^ Louis W. Dawson II (1996). Dawson's Guide to Colorado's Fourteeners, Volume 2. Blue Clover Press. pp. 115–126. ISBN 0-9628867-2-6.
^ Jarom McDonald (ed.). "The itinerary and diary of Francisco Atanasio Domínguez and Francisco Silvestre Vélez de Escalante". Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
^ "Coe, Lewis (1993). telegraph : a history of Morse s invention and its predecessors in the United States. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. ISBN 0899507360. OCLC 25509648.
^ "PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University". PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University. Retrieved October 10, 2023. To find the table data on the PRISM website, start by clicking Coordinates (under Location); copy Latitude and Longitude figures from top of table; click Zoom to location; click Precipitation, Minimum temp, Mean temp, Maximum temp; click 30-year normals, 1991-2020; click 800m; click Retrieve Time Series button.
^ Ruffner, E. H. (1884). Reconnaissance in the Ute country. Letter from the Secretary of War, transmitting a report and map of a reconnaissance in the Ute country, made in 1873 by Lieutenant E. H. Ruffner, of the Corps of Engineers. Ex. Doc. No. 193. Washington D.C.: U.S. House of Representatives. pp. 31, 42. Retrieved 2022-02-09.

Notes

^ In the journal of Francisco Silvestre Vélez de Escalante's 1776 expedition^[6] the author states that the Native American name for the Uncompahgre River was Ancapagari, which translated to Spanish as Laguna Colorado and referred to a hot, bad tasting, red lake from which its waters came. The Spanish name for the river at that time was Rio de San Francisco, apparently so named by explorer Juan Maria de Rivera on one of his two earlier expeditions (1761 and 1765).