Mount Elbert

Mount Elbert
Mount Elbert seen from Turquoise Lake
Highest point
Elevation14437.6 feet (4400.58 m)[1]
NAPGD2022
Prominence9,093 feet (2772 m)[2]
Isolation671 miles (1079 km)[2]
Listing
Coordinates39°07′03.9″N 106°26′43.2″W / 39.117750°N 106.445333°W / 39.117750; -106.445333 (Mount Elbert)[3]
Naming
EtymologySamuel Hitt Elbert
Geography
Mount Elbert is located in Colorado
Mount Elbert
Mount Elbert
LocationHigh point of Lake County and the State of Colorado, U.S.[2]
Parent rangeHighest summit of the
Rocky Mountains,
Southern Rocky Mountains,
Sawatch Range,
and Elbert Massif[2]
Topo map(s)USGS 7.5' topographic map
Mount Elbert, Colorado[4]
Climbing
First ascent1874 by Henry W. Stuckle
Easiest routeNortheast Ridge: Hike, class 1[5]

Mount Elbert is the highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America. With an elevation of 14,438 feet (4400.58 m), it is also the highest point in the U.S. state of Colorado and the second-highest summit in the contiguous United States after Mount Whitney, which is slightly taller. The ultra-prominent fourteener is the highest peak in the Sawatch Range, as well as the highest point in the entire Mississippi River drainage basin. Mount Elbert is located in San Isabel National Forest, 12.1 miles (19.4 km) southwest (bearing 223°) of the city of Leadville in Lake County, Colorado.[3][2][4][a]

The mountain was named in honor of a Colorado statesman, Samuel Hitt Elbert, who was active in the formative period of the state and Governor of the Territory of Colorado from 1873 to 1874. Henry W. Stuckle of the Hayden Survey was the first to record an ascent of the peak, in 1874. The easiest and most popular climbing routes are categorized as Class 1 to 2 or A+ in mountaineering parlance. Mount Elbert is therefore often referred to as the "gentle giant" that tops all others in the Rocky Mountains.

  1. ^ 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. Open access icon
  2. ^ a b c d e "Mount Elbert, Colorado". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "MT ELBERT". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Mount Elbert". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  5. ^ "Mt. Elbert Routes". 14ers.com.


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