Mount Sneffels
Mountain
Mount Sneffels is notable for its great vertical relief, as it rises 7,200 feet above the town of Ridgway, Colorado 6 miles to the northeast.
The primary route to the summit follows a creek bed up from Yankee Boy Basin and is rated class 3. A secondary route follows a ridge line to the summit from the saddle of Blue Lakes Pass.
Mount Sneffels was named after the volcano Snæfell, which is located on the tip of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in Iceland. That mountain and its glacier, Snæfellsjökull, which caps the crater like a convex lens, were featured in the Jules Verne novel A Journey to the Center of the Earth. An area on the western flank of Mount Sneffels gives the appearance of volcanic crater. Geologically, the mountain is a Tertiary aged igneous stock (Ti) composed of intermediate rock (monzonite, monzodiorite, granodiorite, and minor monzogranite) intruded into a volcanic stack of older San Juan Volcanics (Tsj).
Seen from the Dallas Divide on State Highway 62, Mount Sneffels is one of the most photographed mountains in Colorado. It is also depicted on Colorado driver licenses and I.D. cards as of 2023.
Historical names
- Mount Blaine
- Mount Sneffels – 1906
- Sneffels Peak
See also
References
- ^ Ahlgren, Kevin; Van Westrum, Derek; Shaw, Brian (April 2024). "Moving mountains: reevaluating the elevations of Colorado mountain summits using modern geodetic techniques". Journal of Geodesy. 98 29. doi:10.1007/s00190-024-01831-8.
- ^ "Mount Sneffels, Colorado". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
- ^ "SNEFFLES". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
- ^ "Mount Sneffels". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- ^ "Mt. Sneffels Routes". 14ers.com.
- ^ "Mount Sneffels - South Slopes Route Description". 14ers.com. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
- ^ Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-1939, Geologic map of the Montrose 30' X 60' quadrangle, southwestern Colorado, Steven, T.A., and Hail, W.J., Jr. https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_10013.htm
- ^ "The Iconic Credential | Department of Revenue - Motor Vehicle". dmv.colorado.gov. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
External links
- "Mount Sneffels". 14ers.com.