Mount Peale is the highest point in the

La Sal Mountains The La Sal Mountains or La Sal Range is a mountain range located in Grand and San Juan counties in the U.S. state of Utah, along the border with Colorado. The range rises above and southeast of Moab and north of the town of La Sal. This range i ...

of San Juan County, in the southeastern part of

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is also the highest point in Utah outside the

Uinta Mountains The Uinta Mountains ( ) are an east-west trending mountain range in northeastern Utah extending a short distance into northwest Colorado and slightly into southwestern Wyoming in the United States. As a subrange of the Rocky Mountains, they are u ...

. It is located about southeast of

Moab Moab () was an ancient Levant, Levantine kingdom whose territory is today located in southern Jordan. The land is mountainous and lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by ...

. The summit is the highest point in the Manti-La Sal National Forest and the Mount Peale

Research Natural Area Research Natural Area is a designation for certain protected areas in the United States. Research Natural Areas (RNAs) are part of a nationwide network of ecological areas set aside for both research and education. The network includes areas ma ...

. Mount Peale was named for Albert Peale, a mineralogist on the

Hayden Survey Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden (September 7, 1829 – December 22, 1887) was an American geologist noted for his pioneering surveying expeditions of the Rocky Mountains in the late 19th century. He was also a physician who served with the Union A ...

of 1875. The La Sal Mountains sit on the arid

Colorado Plateau The Colorado Plateau is a physiographic and desert region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the Southwestern United States. This plateau covers an area of 336,700 km2 (130,000 mi2) within w ...

, near such famous desert landmarks as

Canyonlands National Park Canyonlands National Park is a national park of the United States located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab. The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green Rive ...

and

Arches National Park Arches National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in eastern Utah. The park is adjacent to the Colorado River, north of Moab, Utah. The park contains more than 2,000 natural arch, natural ...

. However, due to their height, the La Sals are heavily forested and usually snow-capped until early summer (there is one snowfield on the north side that usually lasts year round).Michael R. Kelsey, ''Guide to the World's Mountains'' (third edition), Kelsey Publishing, 1996, , pp. 682–683. Mount Peale can be seen on a clear day from the

Wasatch Plateau The Wasatch Plateau is a plateau located southeast of the southernmost part of the Wasatch Range in central Utah. It is a part of the Colorado Plateau. Geography The plateau has an elevation of and includes an area of . Its highest point is So ...

of central Utah, near Orangeville, over away. Mount Peale can be accessed from various directions, but is most commonly climbed from the area of La Sal Pass, , about to the southwest of the peak. La Sal Pass is accessed from the southeast via a graded gravel road. From the pass, the summit is obtained by a short but steep off-trail hike of about with about of elevation gain. The route often involves some travel on snow, even in summer.

Climate

Mount Peale has an alpine dry-summer

subarctic 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 ...

(

Dsc DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

) with cold, snowy winters with temperatures under freezing all day, and mild and moderately rainy summers with cool nights. The large amount of rain for Utah, as well as the cold overall temperatures are a result of the mountain's altitude of over 12000 ft. Due to the cold climate, temperatures aren't consistently above freezing until July, and snow often remains on the mountain until then.

References

External links

{{US prominent , state=collapsed Peale Mountains of San Juan County, Utah Manti-La Sal National Forest

Climate

See also

References

External links