Graham Peak (Utah)
Description
Graham Peak is the highest summit in the Silver Island Mountains which are a subset of the Great Basin Ranges. It is set on land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management. The community of Wendover, Utah, is 21 miles to the southwest and the Bonneville Speedway is ten miles to the south. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises over 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) above the Bonneville Salt Flats in three miles, as well as the same above the Pilot Valley Playa. This landform's toponym was officially adopted in 1960 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to honor Athol Graham (1924–1960), who was the first Utahan and second American to drive over 300 MPH on land. He was killed August 1, 1960, at the Bonneville Salt Flats while attempting to set a land speed record as the first to go over 400 MPH.
Climate
Graham Peak is set in the Great Salt Lake Desert which has hot summers and cold winters. The desert is an example of a cold desert climate as the desert's elevation makes temperatures cooler than lower elevation deserts. Due to the high elevation and aridity, temperatures drop sharply after sunset. Summer nights are comfortably cool. Winter highs are generally above freezing, and winter nights are bitterly cold, with temperatures often dropping well below freezing.
See also
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Bonneville_Salt_Flats%2C_Silver_Island_Mountains.jpg/500px-Bonneville_Salt_Flats%2C_Silver_Island_Mountains.jpg)
References
- ^ United States Geological Survey topographical map - Graham Peak
- ^ "Graham Peak, Utah". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
- ^ "Graham Peak - 7,563' UT". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
- ^ John W. Van Cott (1990), Utah Place Names, University of Utah Press, ISBN 9780874803457, p. 160
- ^ "Graham Peak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
- ^ United States Board on Geographic Names (1960), Decisions on Names in the United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Decision List 6001, Department of the Interior, p. 51
- ^ 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.
External links
- Graham Peak: weather forecast
- National Geodetic Survey Data Sheet
- Athol Graham photos