Mount Magnificent
Southwest aspect, centered
Highest point
Elevation4,271 ft (1,302 m)[1]
Prominence715 ft (218 m)[2]
Parent peakMile High Peak (5,331 ft)[1]
Isolation1.37 mi (2.20 km)[1]
Coordinates61°18′55″N 149°24′32″W / 61.3152661°N 149.4088681°W / 61.3152661; -149.4088681[3]
Geography
Mount Magnificent is located in Alaska
Mount Magnificent
Mount Magnificent
Location of Mt. Magnificent in Alaska
CountryUnited States
StateAlaska
BoroughAnchorage
Protected areaChugach State Park
Parent rangeChugach Mountains[4]
Topo mapUSGS Anchorage B-7
Climbing
Easiest routeHiking class 2[1]

Mount Magnificent is a 4,271-foot (1,302 m) mountain summit in Alaska, United States.

Description

Mount Magnificent is located 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Anchorage in the western Chugach Mountains and within Chugach State Park.[3] Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains to Knik Arm via Meadow Creek and Eagle River. Although modest in elevation, topographic relief is significant as the summit rises approximately 1,700 feet (518 m) above Meadow Creek in 0.6 miles (0.97 km) and 3,870 feet (1,180 m) above the Eagle River in two miles (3.2 km). An ascent of the summit involves hiking five miles with 2,300 feet of elevation gain.[5] The months of May through September offer the best time for climbing the peak. The mountain's descriptive name was given in 1953 by Mrs. Ollie A. Trower of Anchorage and the toponym was officially adopted in 1959 by the United States Board on Geographic Names.[3][6] However, based on a sketch submitted with her naming proposal, it appears that the mountain she intended to be named Mount Magnificent is actually Mile High Peak.[7] The Denaʼina name for this peak is K'ulch'ey which means "Wind blows against it."[8]

Anchorage, with Vista Peak in upper left, Mile High Peak centered at top, and Mt. Magnificent between them

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Magnificent is located in a subarctic climate zone with long, cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[9] Weather systems coming off the Gulf of Alaska are forced upwards by the Chugach Mountains (orographic lift), causing heavy precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall. Winter temperatures can drop below −10 °F with wind chill factors below −20 °F.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Magnificent, Mount - 4,271' AK". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  2. "Mount Magnificent, Peakvisor.com". Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  3. 1 2 3 "Mount Magnificent". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  4. "Mount Magnificent, Alaska". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  5. Shane Shepherd, 50 Hikes in Alaska's Chugach State Park, Mountaineers Books, 2001, ISBN 9780898867657, p. 78.
  6. Donald J. Orth, Dictionary of Alaska Place Names, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1967, page 614.
  7. Mount Magnificent, Chosslore.com, Published 2022-12-27, Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  8. James Kari, James A. Fall, Shem Pete's Alaska: The Territory of the Upper Cook Inlet Dena'ina, University of Alaska Press, 2021, ISBN 9781602233072, p. 328.
  9. 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.
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