Mount Ernest Gruening is a glaciated mountain summit located in the

Boundary Ranges The Boundary Ranges, also known in the singular and as the Alaska Boundary Range, are the largest and most northerly subrange of the Coast Mountains. They begin at the Nass River, near the southern end of the Alaska Panhandle in the Canadian pro ...

of the

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains () are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the British Columbia Coast, Coast of British Columbia sout ...

, 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 ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. The long ridge-like mountain is situated between the Herbert Glacier and Eagle Glacier at the west edge of the

Juneau Icefield The Juneau Icefield is an ice field located just north of Juneau, Alaska, Juneau, Alaska, continuing north through the border with British Columbia, extending through an area of in the Coast Mountains, Coast Range ranging north to south and east ...

, northwest of

Juneau, Alaska Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Southeast Alaska, Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the ...

, and east of

Favorite Channel Favorite Channel is a channel in Southeast Alaska, northwest of Juneau, Alaska, United States. It is long, extending northwest from Stephens Passage to Lynn Canal, separating Lincoln and Shelter islands from the mainland to the east. It was named i ...

, on land managed by

Tongass National Forest The Tongass National Forest () in Southeast Alaska is the largest U.S. National Forest at , an expanse larger than 10 U.S. states and 75 U.N. member nations. Most of its area is temperate rain forest and is remote enough to be home to many s ...

. Although modest in elevation,

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

is significant since the east face of the mountain rises over 3,500 feet above the Herbert Glacier in less than one mile, and the west aspect rises 5,800 feet above the Eagle River valley in two miles.

History

This mountain had been called "Goat Mountain" and "Thane Mountain" until it was officially named in 1968 after Dr. Adolph Knopf, a geologist with the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

who studied this area. The mountain's toponym was officially changed in 1976 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to honor

Ernest Gruening Ernest Henry Gruening ( ; February 6, 1887 – June 26, 1974) was an American journalist and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Gruening was the governor of the Alaska Territory from 1939 until 1953, and a United States Senator from A ...

() (1887–1974), known as "the father of Alaska statehood", the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the

Alaska Territory The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; th ...

from 1939 through 1953, and one of Alaska's inaugural pair of Senators when Alaska gained statehood in 1959. The reason for the name change was Gruening had an affinity for this particular mountain within sight of his home at Eagle River Landing, and a helicopter ride to the top of this mountain was presented to him by grateful Alaskans on September 11, 1969. His cremated ashes lie scattered over the mountain as he had wished. The Adolph Knopf name was moved to a

peak Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-d ...

eight miles to the north of its previous location. Some maps continue to misidentify Mount Ernest Gruening as Adolph Knopf Mountain.

Climate

Based on 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 ...

, Mount Ernest Gruening is located in a subpolar

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

zone, with long, cold, wet 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 ...

are forced upwards by the Coast 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. Temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. The months May through July offer the most favorable weather for viewing this peak.

Gallery

File:Coast Range (6819994055).jpg, From west at Eagle River File:Gruening mountain.jpg, East aspect, aerial view File:Mt. Ernest Gruening - 2.jpg, View from Mt. Ernest Gruening of Herbert Glacier and The Snow Towers (left of center) Mount Ernest Gruening.jpg, Mount Ernest Gruening, west aspect across Lynn Canal File:Sunset on Mount Ernest Gruening.jpg, Sunset on Mount Ernest Gruening File:Mount Ernest Gruening at sunset.jpg, West aspect of Mt. Ernest Gruening from Eagle Glacier Cabin at sunset.

References

External links

* Mount Ernest Gruenin
weather forecast
{{Coast Mountains

History

Climate

Gallery

See also

References

External links