Stones 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 ...

located in

Larimer County Larimer County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 359,066. The county seat and most populous city is Fort Collins, Colorado, Fort Colli ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. It is situated in

Rocky Mountain National Park Rocky Mountain National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located approximately northwest of Denver in north-central Colorado, within the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The park is s ...

, one mile east of the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

and west of the community of

Estes Park Estes Park () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory town, statutory town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 5,904 at the 2020 United States census. Estes Park is a part of the Fort Collins, CO Metropo ...

. Stones Peak is part of the

Front Range The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encounter ...

which is a subrange of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into tributaries of the

Big Thompson River The Big Thompson River is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of Colorado. Originating in Forest Canyon in Rocky Mountain National Park, the river flows into Lake Estes in the town of Estes Park and ...

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 over above the Big Thompson River in Forest Canyon in two miles. The peak is a prominent landmark viewed from Forest Canyon Overlook along the

Trail Ridge Road Trail Ridge Road is the name for the stretch of U.S. Highway 34 (Colorado), U.S. Highway 34 that traverses Rocky Mountain National Park from Estes Park, Colorado in the east to Grand Lake, Colorado in the west. Together with the connecting Be ...

History

The peak's namesake is glacial geologist George Hapgood Stone (1841–1917), a professor at

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory, the college offers over 40 majors a ...

(1881–1888) who visited this area in 1886. The mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1932 by the

United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a Federal government of the United States, federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geogr ...

. The first documented ascent of the peak (then spelled as "Stone's Peak") was made by Frederick H. Chapin and William L. Hallett as published in Chapin's 1889 book, ''Mountaineering in Colorado: The Peaks about Estes Park''.

Climate

According to 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 ...

system, Stones Peak is located in an alpine

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 cool to warm summers. Due to its altitude, it receives precipitation all year, as snow in winter and as thunderstorms in summer, with a dry period in late spring. This climate supports the Sprague Glacier on the southwest aspect of Stones Peak.James Fargo Balliett (2016), ''Mountains Environmental Issues, Global Perspectives'', Publisher: Taylor & Francis,

Gallery

File:Stones Peak se.jpg, Southeast aspect File:Stones Peak and Longs Peak.jpg, North aspect of Stones Peak, with Longs Peak (distant left) File:Stones Peak from Moraine Park.jpg, East aspect of Stones Peak, from Moraine Park File:Stones Peak from Trail Ridge Road.jpg, Stones Peak from Trail Ridge Road File:Stones Peak and Terra Tomah.jpg, Stones Peak (left),

Hayden Spire Hayden Spire is a 12,480+ foot elevation (3,800 meter) pillar located in Rocky Mountain National Park, in Larimer County, Colorado, Larimer County, Colorado, United States. It is situated 12 miles west of the community of Estes Pa ...

centered, and Terra Tomah Mountain (right) viewed from Trail Ridge Road File:Stones Peak.jpg, Stones Peak centered, with

Sprague Mountain Sprague Mountain is a mountain summit on the boundary shared by Grand County, Colorado, Grand County and Larimer County, Colorado, Larimer County, in Colorado, United States. It is set on the Continental Divide in the Front Range of the Rocky M ...

and

to right File:Stones Peak in Colorado.jpg, East aspect

References

External links

* Weather forecast
Stones Peak
{{Mountains of Colorado Mountains of Larimer County, Colorado Mountains of Rocky Mountain National Park Three-thousanders of the United States

History

Climate

Gallery

See also

References

External links