Lead Mountain
Lead Mountain viewed from the Tundra Communities Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park
Highest point
Elevation12,546 ft (3,824 m)[1]
Prominence465 ft (142 m)[1]
Parent peakMount Cirrus (12,808 ft)[1]
Isolation0.98 mi (1.58 km)[1]
Coordinates40°26′55″N 105°53′49″W / 40.4486043°N 105.8970537°W / 40.4486043; -105.8970537[2]
Geography
Lead Mountain is located in Colorado
Lead Mountain
Lead Mountain
Location in Colorado
Lead Mountain is located in the United States
Lead Mountain
Lead Mountain
Lead Mountain (the United States)
CountryUnited States
StateColorado
CountyGrand County / Jackson County
Protected areaRocky Mountain National Park
Never Summer Wilderness
Parent rangeRocky Mountains
Never Summer Mountains
Topo mapUSGS Mount Richthofen

Lead Mountain is a summit in Grand County, Colorado, in the United States.[2] With an elevation of 12,546 feet (3,824 m), 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

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Lead Mountain - 12,546' CO". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  2. ^ a b "Lead Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  3. ^ Dziezynski, James (1 August 2012). Best Summit Hikes in Colorado: An Opinionated Guide to 50+ Ascents of Classic and Little-Known Peaks from 8,144 to 14,433 Feet. Wilderness Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-89997-713-3.
  4. ^ Federal Writers' Project (1948). Colorado, a Guide to the Highest State. WPA. p. 441. ISBN 978-0-403-02158-1.
  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. ISSN 1027-5606.


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