Sheep Mountain (San Juan County, Colorado)

Sheep Mountain
South aspect
Highest point
Elevation	13,292 ft (4,051 m) [1]
Prominence	662 ft (202 m) [2]
Parent peak	Canby Mountain (13,478 ft) [2]
Isolation	1.91 mi (3.07 km) [2]
Coordinates	37°47′00″N107°31′04″W / 37.7833252°N 107.5178262°W / 37.7833252; -107.5178262 [3]
Geography
Sheep Mountain Location in Colorado Show map of Colorado Sheep Mountain Sheep Mountain (the United States) Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County	San Juan County
Parent range	Rocky Mountains San Juan Mountains [4]
Topo map	USGS Howardsville
Climbing
Easiest route	class 2 hiking [2]

Sheep Mountain is a 13,292-foot-elevation (4,051-meter) mountain summit in San Juan County, Colorado, United States.

Description

Sheep Mountain is located eight miles (13 km) east-southeast of the community of Silverton, on land managed by Rio Grande National Forest. It is situated two miles (3.2 km) east of the Continental Divide in the San Juan Mountains which are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's slopes drains into tributaries of the Rio Grande and topographic relief is modest as the summit rises nearly 2,400 feet (730 meters) above the river in 1.25 mile (2 km). Neighbors include Greenhalgh Mountain, 0.79 miles (1.27 km) to the east and Canby Mountain, 1.87 miles (3.01 km) to the northwest. ^[4] The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names, ^[3] and has been recorded in publications as early as 1906. ^[5] There are 19 landforms named "Sheep Mountain" in Colorado and this one is the highest. ^[6]

Sheep Mountain (left) and Greenhalgh Mountain

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Sheep Mountain is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers. ^[7] 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.

See also

•   Mountainsportal
• Thirteener
• Mountains of San Juan County, Colorado

References

1. Robert M. Ormes (2000), Guide to the Colorado Mountains, Colorado Mountain Club Press, ISBN   9780967146607, p. 286.
2. "Sheep Mountain - 13,304' CO". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
3. "Sheep Mountain". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved May 20, 2023.
4. "Sheep Mountain, Colorado". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
5. Henry Gannett, United States Geological Survey (1906), A Gazetteer of Colorado, US Government Printing Office, p. 153.
6. William Bright, Colorado Place Names, 2004, Johnson Books, ISBN   9781555663339, page 162.
7. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN   1027-5606.