Cloud Peak is the highest peak within the
Bighorn Mountains
The Bighorn Mountains ( or ) are a mountain range in northern Wyoming and southern Montana in the United States, forming a northwest-trending spur from the Rocky Mountains extending approximately northward on the Great Plains. They are separa ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Wyoming
Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
.
Location
It rises to an elevation of
and provides onlookers with dramatic views and vistas. The mountain can be climbed most easily from the western side, accessed by either the Battle Park or West Tensleep trail-heads and is roughly 24 miles round-trip from both. The peak is located in the 189,000 acre (765 km
2)
Cloud Peak Wilderness within
Bighorn National Forest
The Bighorn National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in northern Wyoming, United States and consists of over 1.1 million acres (4,500 km2). Created as a US Forest reserve, Forest Reserve in 1897, it is one of the oldest government- ...
. The northeast slope of Cloud Peak is a deep
cirque
A (; from the Latin word ) is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by Glacier#Erosion, glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from , meaning a pot or cauldron) and ; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform a ...
which harbors
Cloud Peak Glacier, the last active
glacier
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
in the Bighorn Mountains.
Cloud Peak is on the border between
Johnson County and
Big Horn County in Wyoming and is the high point of both counties.
As the high point of an isolated range, Cloud Peak has the greatest
topographic prominence
In topography, prominence or relative height (also referred to as autonomous height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contour line encircling ...
in the state, , one foot more than the state's highest mountain,
Gannett Peak, and fifteenth greatest in the
contiguous United States
The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The te ...
.
Climate
Cloud 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 ...
(''ET'').
Cloud Peak Reservoir is a mountain lake below Cloud Peak on its eastern slopes. The weather station there has a
subalpine climate
The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Dfc'').
See also
*
4000 meter peaks of North America
*
Central Rocky Mountains
*
Mountain peaks of North America
*
Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains
*
Mountain peaks of the United States
This article comprises three sortable tables of Summit, major mountain peaks of the United States, United States of America.
The summit of a mountain or hill may be measured in three main ways:
#The Elevation, topographic elevation of a summit ...
*
List of Ultras of North America
*
List of Ultras of the United States
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Wyoming
Mountains of Big Horn County, Wyoming
Mountains of Johnson County, Wyoming
Mountains of Wyoming
Bighorn National Forest
Four-thousanders of the United States