Pintada Mountain
Description
Pintada Mountain is located 15 miles (24 km) southwest of the town of Monte Vista on land managed by Rio Grande National Forest. It is part of the San Juan Mountains which are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. Pintada Mountain ranks as the second-highest peak in Rio Grande County, and is set two miles (3.2 km) northeast of line parent Bennett Peak which is the highest. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's slopes drains into Raton, Rock, and San Francisco creeks which flow to the San Luis Valley. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 1,640 feet (500 m) above Middle Fork San Francisco Creek in 0.8 miles (1.3 km). The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names, and means "painted" or "mottled" in Spanish.
Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification system, Pintada Mountain has an alpine subarctic climate with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers. 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
References
- ^ William Bright, Colorado Place Names, 2004, Johnson Books, ISBN 9781555663339, page 139.
- ^ "Pintada Mountain, Colorado". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ "Pintada Mountain - 12,830' CO". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ "Pintada Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ Henry Gannett (1902), The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States, US Government Printing Office, p. 209.
- ^ 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
- Pintada Mountain: weather forecast
