Galena Peak

This article is about a mountain in Colorado. For the mountain in Idaho, see Galena Peak (Idaho).

Galena Peak
West-southwest aspect, from Highway 285
Highest point
Elevation	12,461 ft (3,798 m)[1][2]
Prominence	361 ft (110 m)[1]
Parent peak	Bushnell Peak (13,110 ft)[2]
Isolation	0.84 mi (1.35 km)[1]
Coordinates	38°18′31″N 105°52′08″W[3]
Naming
Etymology	Galena
Geography
Galena Peak Location in Colorado Show map of Colorado Galena Peak Galena Peak (the United States) Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County	Fremont County / Saguache County
Protected area	Sangre de Cristo Wilderness
Parent range	Rocky Mountains Sangre de Cristo Range[4]
Topo map	USGS Coaldale
Geology
Mountain type	Fault block
Rock type	Metamorphic rock[5]
Climbing
Easiest route	class 2 hiking[1]

Galena Peak is a 12,461-foot (3,798 m) mountain summit on the boundary shared by Fremont County and Saguache County, in Colorado, United States.[3]

Description

Galena Peak is set on the east side of the San Luis Valley, on the crest of the Sangre de Cristo Range which is a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. It is the sixth-highest summit in Fremont County and can be seen from Highway 285 near the community of Villa Grove.[2] The mountain is located in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness, on land managed by San Isabel National Forest and Rio Grande National Forest.[4] Precipitation runoff from the mountain's west slope drains to San Luis Creek and the east slope drains to the Arkansas River via Hayden Creek. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 3,860 feet (1,177 m) above the San Luis Valley in two miles (3.2 km). An ascent of the peak from Hayden Pass involves hiking seven miles (11 km) with approximately 1,800 feet (549 m) of elevation gain.[6] The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names.[3]

Northeast aspect of Galena Peak centered, view from near Coaldale, Colorado

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Galena Peak 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

• Sangre de Cristo Mountains
• Mountains portal

References

1. "Galena Peak – 12,461' CO". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
2. "Galena Peak, Peakvisor.com". Retrieved April 18, 2023.
3. "Galena Peak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
4. "Galena Peak, Colorado". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
5. Ferdinand V. Hayden (1877), Annual Report of Progress of the Exploration for the Year 1875 Embracing Colorado, Parts of Adjacent Territories, U.S. Government Printing Office, p. 208.
6. Lee Hart (2016), Hiking Colorado's Sangre de Cristos and Great Sand Dunes, Falcon Guides, ISBN 9781493023813, p. 46.
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 (5): 1633. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007. ISSN 1027-5606.

External links

• Galena Peak: weather forecast
• Galena Peak Climbing: Mountainproject.com