Uncompahgre Peak
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Uncompahgre Peak rises to 4,365 m in Colorado. Handies Peak stands 4,285 m to the south-southwest, 11 miles off. The nearest named place is Matterhorn Peak, a peak 1.9 miles away. Alpine Loop passes 4.2 miles off.
The story
Uncompahgre Peak ( ) is the sixth highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The prominent 14,316-foot (4363.46 m) fourteener is the highest summit of the San Juan Mountains and the highest point in the drainage basin of the Colorado River and the Gulf of California. It is located in the Uncompahgre Wilderness in the northern San Juans, in northern Hinsdale County approximately 7 miles (11 km) west of the town of Lake City. Uncompahgre Peak has a broad summit plateau, rising about 1,500 ft (500 m) above the broad surrounding alpine basins. The south, east and west sides are not particularly steep, but the north face has a 700 ft (210 m) cliff. Like all peaks in the San Juan Mountains, Uncompahgre is of volcanic origin, but is not a volcano. The rock is of poor quality for climbing, precluding an ascent of the north face. The most popular route for climbing Uncompahgre Peak is Uncompahgre National Forest Service Trail Number 239, which starts from the end of the Nellie Creek Road, east-southeast of the peak. The Nellie Creek Road is a four wheel drive road accessed from the Henson Creek Road, about 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Lake City. The trail to the summit is a strenuous hike rising 2,919 ft (890 m) in elevation in about 3.5 mi (6 km). It accesses the summit in a winding ascent, starting from the east, passing over a south-trending ridge, and finishing on the west slopes of the summit plateau. There is also a route up Uncompahgre starting at the Matterhorn Creek trailhead. It is popular among hikers preferring to avoid the 4wd Nellie Creek road. The peak's name comes from the Ute word Uncompaghre, which loosely translates to "dirty water" or "red water spring" and is likely a reference to the many hot springs in the vicinity of Ouray, Colorado. Over several days beginning on September 10, 1894, a detachment of the U.S. Army Signal Corps established the world heliograph record from stations atop Mount Ellen, Utah and Mount Uncompahgre, Colorado. The record for visual signaling was established utilizing mirrors 8 inches across and telescopes. The flashing signals communicated over a distance of 183 miles.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q576184, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 4365 m
How to reach it
- 4.2 mi off the Alpine Loop
- 8.5 mi off the Silver Thread Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway, National
- 11.7 mi off the San Juan Skyway, National
Overlooks nearby
- Oh Point (Odom Point) · 10 mi
- Look Out Point · 12 mi
- Windy Point Observation Site · 13 mi
- Sunnyside Mill Ruins Viewpoint · 14 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Matterhorn Peak: 1.9 mi
- Broken Hill: 2.1 mi
- Silver Mountain: 2.5 mi
- Wetterhorn Peak: 2.7 mi
- Coxcomb Peak: 3.9 mi
- Beer Garden: 8.1 mi
- Dynamite Shack: 8.2 mi
- Pumphouse Park: 8.4 mi
- The Blowout: 11.1 mi
- Deep South: 11.8 mi
- Golconda Boarding House: 9.3 mi
- Golconda Compressor / Blacksmith House: 9.3 mi
- Duncan House: 11.3 mi
- Animas Forks: 11.4 mi
- Frisco Mill: 11.6 mi
- Treasure Falls: 6.6 mi
- Crooke Falls: 9.1 mi
- Argenta Falls: 10.8 mi
- Cascade Falls: 11.4 mi
- Bear Creek Falls: 11.8 mi
- Town Park: 8.5 mi
- Hinsdale County Veteran Memorial Park: 8.5 mi
- Memorial Park: 8.6 mi
- Memorial Park Terrace: 8.7 mi
- Women's Club Mini-Park: 11.7 mi
- Capitol City: 4.5 mi
- Capitol City: 4.5 mi
- Ute-Ulay Mine: 5.7 mi
- Argentum: 8.9 mi
- Whitecross: 9.0 mi
- Capitol City: 4.5 mi
- Henson: 5.8 mi
- Animas Forks: 11.3 mi
- Eureka: 14.4 mi
- Ironton: 15.2 mi
- Russ Brown Gallery: 8.4 mi
- historic mineshaft winch: 11.8 mi
- historic mine cart: 11.8 mi
- historic mine cart: 11.8 mi
- historic hanging mine car: 11.9 mi
- Addington Springs: 18.0 mi
- Tenmile Springs: 21.0 mi
- Cutler Spring: 21.7 mi
- Goose Creek Spring: 21.9 mi
- Cebolla Hot Springs: 24.2 mi
- Lake City Museum: 8.5 mi
- Ridgway Railroad Museum: 16.8 mi
- Telluride Historical Museum: 21.0 mi
- Orvis Hot Spring: 15.4 mi
- Bike path access: 17.4 mi
- Dutch Charlie Swim Beach: 18.0 mi
- Cebolla Day Use Area: 19.8 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 14.1 miles of Uncompahgre Peak. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handies Peak | SSW 192° | 4,284.8 m | 11.2 mi |
| Redcloud Peak | SSE 166° | 4,280 m | 9.3 mi |
| Wetterhorn Peak | WSW 254° | 4,274 m | 2.7 mi |
| Sunshine Peak | S 169° | 4,269 m | 10.5 mi |
| Mark Mountain | SSE 158° | 4,217.8 m | 9.3 mi |
| Jones Mountain | SSW 196° | 4,215 m | 12.6 mi |
| Niagara Peak | SSW 197° | 4,202 m | 13.2 mi |
| American Peak | SSW 193° | 4,184 m | 12.2 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:14 | 18:47 | 19:22 |
| June solstice | 05:48 | 19:57 | 20:37 |
| September equinox | 06:58 | 18:34 | 19:08 |
| December solstice | 07:23 | 16:13 | 16:54 |
Local time (America/Denver).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Jun–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 17 | 23 | 32 | 39 | 49 | 57 | 62 | 60 | 53 | 44 | 31 | 19 |
| Precip in | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 1.0 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Lake City, 9 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/358924395
Day trips start here
- Southwestern Colorado · 27 mi
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