Mount Ellen (Utah)

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Mount Ellen
Mount Ellen Ridge, Garfield County, Utah.jpg
Mount Ellen Ridge
Highest point
Elevation 11,527 ft (3,513 m)  NAVD 88 [1]
Prominence 5,842 ft (1,781 m) [1]
Listing
Coordinates 38°06′35″N110°48′50″W / 38.1097069°N 110.8137658°W / 38.1097069; -110.8137658 [3]
Naming
Etymology Ellen Powell Thompson
Geography
USA Utah relief location map.svg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Mount Ellen
Utah
Location Garfield County, Utah, U.S.
Parent range Henry Mountains
Topo map USGS Mount Ellen

Mount Ellen is a mountain located in Garfield County, Utah, United States. [4]

Contents

Description

Mount Ellen's North Summit Ridge is the highest point in the Henry Mountains; it is also the highest point in Garfield County. It can be reached by a short hike from an unpaved road. These mountains were the last to be surveyed by the USGS in the lower 48 states. The mountain can be seen from as far as Mount Peale in the La Sal Mountains of eastern Utah.

Mount Ellen is an ultra prominent peak, meaning that it has more than 1,500 metres (4,921 ft) of topographic prominence, standing out considerably from nearby mountains. It stands in the watershed of the Fremont River, which together with Muddy Creek forms the Dirty Devil River, which drains into the Colorado River, and ultimately into the Gulf of California in Mexico.

The Paiute name for Mount Ellen was Un tar re. It was also referred to as First Mountain. After climbing to the summit in June 1872, Almon Harris Thompson named it for his wife Ellen. [5] Ellen Powell Thompson was also the sister of explorer John Wesley Powell. [6]

Over several days beginning on September 10, 1895, a detachment of the U.S. Army Signal Corps established the world heliograph record from stations atop Mount Ellen, Utah and Mount Uncompahgre, Colorado. [4] The record for visual signaling was established utilizing mirrors 8 inches across and telescopes. The flashing signals communicated over a distance of 183 miles.

Mount Ellen from Highway 95 Mount Ellen, Henry Mountains.jpg
Mount Ellen from Highway 95

See also

Related Research Articles

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Mount Pennell is a prominent 11,413-foot elevation summit located in eastern Garfield County, Utah, United States. Mount Pennell is the second-highest mountain in the Henry Mountains, following Mount Ellen, 10.6 miles to the north. It is situated in a dry, rugged, and sparsely settled region east of Capitol Reef National Park, on primitive land administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Several deep canyons cut the sides of the mountain, which on the higher slopes supports oak, Ponderosa pine, subalpine fir, spruce, Douglas fir, and aspen. Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains into tributaries of the nearby Colorado River.

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Bull Mountain is a 9,187-foot elevation summit located in northern Garfield County of Utah, United States. Bull Mountain is part of the Henry Mountains which are set between Capitol Reef National Park to the west, and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area to the east. Mount Ellen is immediately southwest of Bull Mountain, and Burr Desert spreads out to the northeast. It is situated in a dry, rugged, and sparsely settled region, set on primitive land administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains into tributaries of the Colorado River. The nearest town is Hanksville, 17 miles to the north, and Robbers Roost is 20 miles to the northeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Ellsworth (Utah)</span> Mountain in Utah, United States

Mount Ellsworth is an 8,235-foot elevation summit located in Garfield County, Utah, United States. Mount Ellsworth is part of the Henry Mountains. It is situated in a dry, rugged, and sparsely settled region west of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, on primitive land administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains into tributaries of the nearby Colorado River, which here is Lake Powell eight miles to the east of this mountain.

References

  1. 1 2 "Mount Ellen". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  2. "Utah County High Points". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  3. "Mount Ellen". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  4. 1 2 Coe, Lewis (1993). The telegraph : a history of Morse's invention and its predecessors in the United States . Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. ISBN   0899507360. OCLC   25509648.
  5. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp.  117.
  6. Allen, Steve (2012). Utah's Canyon Country Place Names, Canyon Country Press.