Babcock Peak is a mountain
summit
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...
in
La Plata County,
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
.
Description
Babcock Peak is located northwest of the community of
Durango
Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...
on land managed by
San Juan National Forest
The San Juan National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering over 1,878,846 acres (2,935.7 sq mi, or 7,603.42 km²) in western Colorado. The forest occupies land in Archuleta, Conejos, Dolores, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mineral, Montezum ...
. It ranks as the fourth-highest summit of the
La Plata Mountains
The La Plata Mountains are a small subrange of the San Juan Mountains in the southwestern part of Colorado, United States. They are located on the border between Montezuma and La Plata counties, about northwest of Durango. Their name is Spanish ...
which are a subrange of the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...
.
Precipitation
runoff from the mountain's west slope drains to the
Mancos River and the southeast slope drains to the
La Plata River
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
*La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
*"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...
.
Topographic relief
Terrain (), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientati ...
is significant as the summit rises over above the river in . Neighbors include
Mount Moss
Mount Moss is a mountain summit on the common boundary shared by La Plata County, Colorado, La Plata County and Montezuma County, Colorado, Montezuma County in Colorado.
Description
Mount Moss is located northwest of the community of Durango ...
to the north and
Spiller Peak
Spiller Peak is a mountain summit on the common boundary shared by La Plata County and Montezuma County in Colorado.
Description
Spiller Peak is located northwest of the community of Durango on land managed by San Juan National Forest. It ...
to the west.
The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the
United States Board on Geographic Names
The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a Federal government of the United States, federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geogr ...
,
[ and was recorded in publications in 1900. On February 25, 1962, a US Air Force T-29A plane struck the side of Babcock Peak in a snowstorm, killing the three crew.]
Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Babcock Peak has an alpine climate
Alpine climate is the typical climate for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate.
Definition
There are multiple definitions of alpine cli ...
with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.
Gallery
File:La Plata Peaks, San Juan Mountains CO.jpg, South aspects of Spiller Peak (left) and Babcock Peak(s)
File:La Plata Mountains.jpg, La Plata Mountains from NNE. Left to rightː Babcock Peak, Mt. Moss, Lavender Peak, Centennial Peak, Hesperus Mountain
See also
*
*Thirteener
In mountaineering in the United States, a thirteener (abbreviated 13er) is a mountain that exceeds above mean sea level, similar to the more familiar "fourteeners," which exceed . In most instances, "thirteeners" refers only to those peaks betwe ...
References
External links
* Weather forecast
Babcock Peak
* Babcock Peak rock climbing
Mountainproject.com
{{Mountains of Colorado
San Juan Mountains (Colorado)
Mountains of La Plata County, Colorado
Four-thousanders of the United States
San Juan National Forest