Nugget Towers is a mountain ridge with a series of peaks, two primarily, the highest of which is 5,378-ft (1,639 m) elevation, and located on the southern periphery 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 ...

, 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 southeast

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 ...

. These peaks are situated east of

Mendenhall Glacier Mendenhall Glacier () is a glacier about long located in Mendenhall Valley, about from downtown Juneau in the southeast area of the U.S. state of Alaska. The glacier and surrounding landscape is protected as part of the Mendenhall Glacier R ...

, north of

Juneau Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of wha ...

, and northeast of

Bullard Mountain Bullard Mountain is a mountain summit located in the Boundary Ranges, in the U.S. state of Alaska. The peak is situated immediately east of the terminus of Mendenhall Glacier, within Tongass National Forest, north-northwest of Juneau, and nort ...

, 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 ...

. Stroller White Mountain lies west-northwest on the opposite side of the glacier, and Heintzleman Ridge lies to the south. 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 mountain rises 3,500 feet (1,067 m) above Nugget Creek's upper basin in less than one mile. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into

Mendenhall Lake Mendenhall Lake is a proglacial lake in the Mendenhall Valley at the 1962 terminus of Mendenhall Glacier, north of the Juneau Airport in the Coast Mountains. It is the source of the short Mendenhall River. The lake is included in the Mende ...

via Nugget Creek and

Nugget Falls Nugget Falls, also known as Nugget Creek Falls or Mendenhall Glacier Falls, is a waterfall downstream of the Nugget Glacier, at the base of Bullard Mountain, in the U.S. state of Alaska. Formed by the creek from the Nugget Glacier, the waterfall ...

. This geographic feature's local name was reported in 1965 by U.S. Geological Survey.''Dictionary of Alaska Place Names'', Donald J. Orth author, United States Government Printing Office (1967), page 707

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 ...

, Nugget Towers is located in a

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 ...

zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild 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. This climate supports the Mendenhall Glacier to the mountain's west, and Juneau Icefield to its north. The month of July offers the most favorable weather for viewing and climbing Nugget Towers.

Gallery

File:Mendenhall Towers, Wrather, Bullard, Nugget Towers.jpg, Left to rightː Mendenhall Towers, Mt. Wrather, Bullard Mountain, Nugget Towers seen from Douglas Island

References

{{reflist

External links

* Weather forecast
Nugget Towers
* Flickr photo
Nugget Towers
Ridges of Alaska Mountains of Juneau, Alaska Boundary Ranges One-thousanders of the United States

Climate

Gallery

See also

References

External links