Northbird, also known as Northbird 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
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 ...
, United States.
Description
Northbird is located 3.7 miles (5.9 km) northeast of
Ketchikan
Ketchikan ( ; ) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough on Revillagigedo Island of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic Landmark District.
With a po ...
on
Revillagigedo Island
Revillagigedo Island (, , , locally Revilla, ) is an island in the Alexander Archipelago in Ketchikan Gateway Borough of the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Alaska. Running about 89 km (50 mi) north-south and 48 km (35 ...
, 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 ...
. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains east to
George Inlet and west to
Tongass Narrows
Tongass Narrows is a Y-shaped Channel (geography), channel, part of Southeast Alaska's Inside Passage. The waterway forms part of the Alaska Marine Highway and as such, is used by charter, commercial fishing, and recreational vessels, as well as ...
.
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 above Granite Basin in one mile (1.6 km) and above tidewater of George Inlet in 3.5 miles (5.6 km). An ascent of the summit involves hiking along the Deer Mountain National Recreation Trail, passing through
temperate rainforest
Temperate rainforests are rainforests with coniferous or Broad-leaved tree, broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain.
Temperate rainforests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate ...
s,
muskeg
Muskeg (; ; , lit. ''moss bog'') is a peat-forming ecosystem found in several northern climates, most commonly in Arctic and boreal ecosystem, boreal areas. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bogland, bog or peatland, and is a standard te ...
and
alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National P ...
meadows from the trailhead in Ketchikan to the peak.
[Ketchikan Area Trails Guide](_blank)
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 ...
, R10-RG-210, February 2013
Etymology
Northbird is situated 0.29 mile northeast of Roy Jones Mountain (3,222 ft), which is named after
Roy F. Jones.
Jones was the first pilot to establish commercial air service in Alaska in 1922 when he landed his open cockpit biplane named ''Northbird'' at Ketchikan in the Tongass Narrows.
The Northbird toponym was officially adopted in 1974 by the United States Board on Geographic Names.
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 ...
, Northbird is located in an
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 characterized by heavy cloud cover and high humidity through much of the year and abundant rainfall throughout the year (even in the driest month).
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 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.
See also
*
Geography of Alaska
Alaska occupies the northwestern portion of the North American continent and is bordered only by Canada on the east. It is one of two U.S. states not bordered by another state; Hawaii is the other. Alaska has more ocean coastline than all of the ...
*
Alexander Archipelago
The Alexander Archipelago () is a archipelago (group of islands) in North America lying off the southeastern coast of Alaska. It contains about 1,100 islands, the tops of submerged coastal mountains that rise steeply from the Pacific Ocean. Deep ...
*
References
{{reflist
External links
* Weather forecast
Northbird
Tongass National Forest
Mountains of Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska
One-thousanders of the United States