Mount Dech 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 a m ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

Description

Mount Dech is the third-highest peak in the

Takhinsha Mountains The Takhinsha Mountains are a mountain range in Haines Borough and the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska, in the southeastern part of the state. They extend west-northwest from the northern end of the Chilkat Range to the hea ...

which are a subrange of the

Saint Elias Mountains The Saint Elias Mountains (french: Chaîne Saint-Élie) are a subgroup of the Pacific Coast Ranges, located in southeastern Alaska in the United States, Southwestern Yukon and the very far northwestern part of British Columbia in Canada. The rang ...

. It is located southwest of

Haines Haines may refer to: *Haines (surname), ''includes partial list of people with the surname'' * Haines (character), a character in James Joyce's ''Ulysses'' Places Antarctica * Haines Glacier, Antarctica * Haines Mountains, mountain range in Anta ...

on the northern boundary of

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is an American national park located in Southeast Alaska west of Juneau. President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the area around Glacier Bay a national monument under the Antiquities Act on February 26, 1925 ...

. Precipitation

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

and glacial meltwater from the mountain's north slope drains to the

Chilkat River The Chilkat River is a river in British Columbia and southeastern Alaska that flows southward from the Coast Range to the Chilkat Inlet and ultimately Lynn Canal. It is about long. It begins at Chilkat Glacier, in Alaska, flows west and south in ...

, whereas the south slope drains to

Glacier Bay Glacier Bay Basin in southeastern Alaska, in the United States, encompasses the Glacier Bay and surrounding mountains and glaciers, which was first proclaimed a U.S. National Monument on February 25, 1925, and which was later, on December 2, 198 ...

. Although modest in elevation,

topographic relief Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin w ...

is significant as the summit rises above the Garrison Glacier in one mile (1.6 km). The mountain was named by a group of climbers led by Lawrence E. Nielsen who made the

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they e ...

of the summit on June 19, 1966.Lawrence E. Nielsen, ''North America, United States, Alaska, Takhinsha Mountains''
1967, American Alpine Journal, americanalpineclub.org, Retrieved 2023-12-27. The peak's toponym is a

Tlingit The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ),

word meaning "two." The mountain's toponym has not been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names, and it will remain unofficial as long as the

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

policy of not adopting new toponyms in designated wilderness areas remains in effect.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

system, Mount Dech is located in a

tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. undra climate https://www.britannica.com/science/tundra-climateThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019 It is classified as ET according to Köppen ...

zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool summers. Weather systems coming off the

Gulf of Alaska The Gulf of Alaska (Tlingit: ''Yéil T'ooch’'') is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the eas ...

are forced upwards by the Takhinsha Mountains (

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

), causing heavy precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall. Winter temperatures can drop to 0 °F with wind chill factors below −10 °F. This climate supports the Bertha,

Casement Casement may refer to: * Casement (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Casement Aerodrome, a military airfield near Dublin, Ireland * Casement Park, the principal Gaelic Athletic Association stadium in Belfast, Northe ...

, and Garrison glaciers surrounding the peak.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dech, Mount Saint Elias Mountains Two-thousanders of the United States Landforms of Hoonah–Angoon Census Area, Alaska Mountains of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Mountains of Haines Borough, Alaska

Description

Climate

See also

References