Mount Evans
Encyclopedia
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in the Front Range
Front Range
The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the north-central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountered moving west along the 40th parallel north across...
region of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
, in Clear Creek County, Colorado
Clear Creek County, Colorado
Clear Creek County is one of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 9,322 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Georgetown...
. It is one of 54 fourteeners (mountains with peaks over 14000 feet (4,267.2 m)) in Colorado, and the closest fourteener to Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. It is often compared to Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak is a mountain in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in El Paso County in the United States of America....
- another Front Range fourteener - which it exceeds in elevation by 154 ft (50 m).
The peak is one of the characteristic Front Range peaks, dominating the western skyline of the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
along with Pikes Peak, Longs Peak, and nearby Mount Bierstadt
Mount Bierstadt
Mount Bierstadt is a mountain in the Front Range region of the Rocky Mountains, in Clear Creek County, Colorado. It is one of 54 fourteeners in Colorado. It is located approximately 1.5 miles WSW of Mount Evans. The nearest major city is Denver...
. Mount Evans can be seen from over 100 miles away to the east, and many miles in other directions. Mount Evans dominates the Denver Metropolitan Area skyline, rising 9,000 feet above the area. Mount Evans can be seen from points south of Castle Rock
Castle Rock, Colorado
The Town of Castle Rock is the county seat of Douglas County, Colorado, United States and is named for the prominent castle tower-shaped butte near the center of town. It is part of Colorado's Front Range Urban Corridor and is located roughly 28 miles south of Denver and 37 miles north of...
, up to (65 miles (104.6 km) south) and as far north as Fort Collins
Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins is a Home Rule Municipality situated on the Cache La Poudre River along the Colorado Front Range, and is the county seat and most populous city of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Fort Collins is located north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. With a 2010 census...
(95 miles (152.9 km) north), and points east of Strasburg
Strasburg, Colorado
Strasburg is a census-designated place in Adams and Arapahoe counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. The population was 1,402 at the 2000 census. The Strasburg Post Office has the ZIP Code 80136....
(105 miles (169 km) east). In the early days of Colorado tourism, Mount Evans and Denver were often in competition with Pikes Peak and Colorado Springs.
Geography
Mount Evans is the highest peak in a massifMassif
In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...
known historically as the Chicago Peaks. The peak is 38 miles (61 km) west of Denver, "as the crow flies", and approximately 51 miles (82 km) by road, via Idaho Springs
Idaho Springs, Colorado
The City of Idaho Springs is a municipality in the U.S. state of Colorado that is the most populous settlement in Clear Creek County, Colorado. Idaho Springs is located in Clear Creek Canyon, in the mountains upstream from Golden, some thirty miles west of Denver...
. The other peaks in the massif are:
- Mount Spalding (13,842 feet), 1.1 mile northwest
- Gray Wolf Mountain (13,602 feet), 2.2 miles north-northwest
- The SawtoothThe SawtoothThe Sawtooth is a jagged arête joining Mount Bierstadt to Mount Evans, in Colorado, United States., and is also the name of the highest peak at the northeast end of this ridge. The three peaks along this arête resemble the teeth of a saw, leading to its name...
(13,780 feet), 1.2 miles west - Mount BierstadtMount BierstadtMount Bierstadt is a mountain in the Front Range region of the Rocky Mountains, in Clear Creek County, Colorado. It is one of 54 fourteeners in Colorado. It is located approximately 1.5 miles WSW of Mount Evans. The nearest major city is Denver...
(14,060 feet), 1.5 miles west-southwest - Mount Warren (13,307 feet), 1.2 miles north-northeast
- Rogers Peak (13,391 feet), 2.33 miles northeast.
At least 7 deep glacial cirque
Cirque
Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...
s cut into the Chicago Range. The cirques around Mount Evans are the deepest cirques in the Colorado Rockies. The bottoms of many of these contain tarns
Tarn (lake)
A tarn is a mountain lake or pool, formed in a cirque excavated by a glacier. A moraine may form a natural dam below a tarn. A corrie may be called a cirque.The word is derived from the Old Norse word tjörn meaning pond...
, the most notable being:
- Summit LakeSummit Lake ParkSummit Lake Park is a park located along Mount Evans Scenic Byway about 38 miles west of Denver, Colorado. The park is 160 acres in size and contains alpine tundra. Land to the east of the lake is in a state of permafrost which helps to prevent drainage of the area...
at the head of Bear Creek, 0.5 miles north - the Chicago Lakes at the head of Chicago Creek, 2 miles north
- Abyss Lake at the head of Lake Fork, 1 mile west-southwest
The Mount Evans Scenic Byway
Mount Evans Scenic Byway
The Mount Evans Scenic Byway begins at the junction of Interstate 70 and State Highway 103 near Idaho Springs, Colorado and continues on State Highway 5 through the Mount Evans Wilderness where it ends near the summit of Mount Evans. The byway is in length and gains over of elevation...
consists of Colorado State Highway 103
Colorado State Highway 103
State Highway 103 in the U.S. state of Colorado runs from I-70 at Idaho Springs to county roads 151 and 103 at Squaw Pass. The thirteen miles from Idaho Springs to State Highway 5 forms about half of the Mount Evans Scenic Byway....
from Idaho Springs, Colorado on I-70 about 13 miles (21 km) to Echo Lake, and Colorado 5 from Echo Lake 15 miles (24 km), ending at a parking area and turnaround just below the summit. The latter has long been the highest paved road in North America and is only open in the summer. Colorado 103 continues east from Echo Lake to Squaw Pass, from which it connects, via Clear Creek County Road 103 and Jefferson County Road 66, to Bergen Park
Bergen Park
Bergen Park is a park near Evergreen, Colorado and is on the National Register of Historic Places.-External links:*...
from which Colorado 74
Colorado State Highway 74
State Highway 74 is an state highway in the U.S. state of Colorado. Running from Interstate 70 to SH 8, the highway forms a rough curve running northwest-southeast. The section of the route north of the town of Evergreen is known as Evergreen Parkway and is a wider segment than that east of...
leads to Evergreen Colorado
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
.
The Guanella Pass
Guanella Pass
Guanella Pass is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado, US.The pass is located in southwestern Clear Creek County, in the Front Range west of Denver and south of Georgetown....
Scenic Byway passes within 4 miles west of Mount Evans, linking Georgetown
Georgetown, Colorado
The historic town of Georgetown is a Territorial Charter Municipality that is the county seat of Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. The former silver mining camp along Clear Creek in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains was established in 1859 during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush...
and I-70 with Grant
Grant, Colorado
Grant is an unincorporated town and a U.S. Post Office in Park County, Colorado, United States. The community is located in foothills of the Front Range in the Platte Canyon, in the upper valley of the North Fork South Platte River, approximately 6 miles east of Kenosha Pass. It sits along U.S....
and US 285, 22 miles to the south.
A marked hiking trail roughly parallels the highway from Echo Lake to the summit, and a second marked trail links Guanella Pass
Guanella Pass
Guanella Pass is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado, US.The pass is located in southwestern Clear Creek County, in the Front Range west of Denver and south of Georgetown....
to Mount Bierstadt
Mount Bierstadt
Mount Bierstadt is a mountain in the Front Range region of the Rocky Mountains, in Clear Creek County, Colorado. It is one of 54 fourteeners in Colorado. It is located approximately 1.5 miles WSW of Mount Evans. The nearest major city is Denver...
. A difficult side route of the latter climbs to the northeastern peak of The Sawtooth
The Sawtooth
The Sawtooth is a jagged arête joining Mount Bierstadt to Mount Evans, in Colorado, United States., and is also the name of the highest peak at the northeast end of this ridge. The three peaks along this arête resemble the teeth of a saw, leading to its name...
, from which an easy ridge leads to the summit of Mount Evans.
Most of the Mount Evans massif is now part of the Mount Evans Wilderness
Mount Evans Wilderness
The Mount Evans Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located in Arapaho National Forest and Pike National Forest about 40 miles west of Denver, Colorado...
area in Arapaho National Forest
Arapaho National Forest
Arapaho National Forest is a National Forest located in north-central Colorado, United States. The facility is managed jointly with the Roosevelt National Forest and the Pawnee National Grassland from the United States Forest Service office in Fort Collins, Colorado...
and Pike National Forest
Pike National Forest
The Pike National Forest is located in the Front Range of Colorado, USA, west of Colorado Springs and including Pikes Peak. The forest encompasses 1,106,604 acres within Clear Creek, Teller, Park, Jefferson, Douglas and El Paso counties. The major rivers draining the forest are the South Platte...
. The exception is a narrow corridor along the highway from Echo Lake that is excluded from the wilderness. Summit Lake Park
Summit Lake Park
Summit Lake Park is a park located along Mount Evans Scenic Byway about 38 miles west of Denver, Colorado. The park is 160 acres in size and contains alpine tundra. Land to the east of the lake is in a state of permafrost which helps to prevent drainage of the area...
and Echo Lake Park
Echo Lake Park
Echo Lake Park is a park located along the Mount Evans Scenic Byway about west of Denver, Colorado. The park provides a stone shelter with picnic tables and barbecue grills on one end of the lake, and the 1926 Echo Lake Lodge and an Arapaho National Forest campground are found at the other...
, are part of the historic Denver Mountain Parks
Denver Mountain Parks
The Denver Mountain Parks system contains more than 14,000 acres of parklands in the mountains and foothills of Jefferson, Clear Creek, Douglas,and Grand counties in Colorado, west and south of Denver....
system.
History
Mount Evans was originally known as Mount Rosa or Mount Rosalie. Albert BierstadtAlbert Bierstadt
Albert Bierstadt was a German-American painter best known for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the American West. In obtaining the subject matter for these works, Bierstadt joined several journeys of the Westward Expansion...
named it for the wife of Fitz Hugh Ludlow
Fitz Hugh Ludlow
Fitz Hugh Ludlow, sometimes seen as “Fitzhugh Ludlow,” was an American author, journalist, and explorer; best-known for his autobiographical book The Hasheesh Eater ....
who he would later marry. The name is also a reference to Monte Rosa
Monte Rosa
The Monte Rosa Massif is a mountain massif located in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps. It is located between Switzerland and Italy...
, the highest peak in Switzerland. Bierstadt and his guide, William Newton Byers approached the mountain along Chicago Creek from Idaho Springs
Idaho Springs, Colorado
The City of Idaho Springs is a municipality in the U.S. state of Colorado that is the most populous settlement in Clear Creek County, Colorado. Idaho Springs is located in Clear Creek Canyon, in the mountains upstream from Golden, some thirty miles west of Denver...
in 1863, and spent several days painting sketches of the mountain from the Chicago Lakes before climbing to Summit Lake
Summit Lake Park
Summit Lake Park is a park located along Mount Evans Scenic Byway about 38 miles west of Denver, Colorado. The park is 160 acres in size and contains alpine tundra. Land to the east of the lake is in a state of permafrost which helps to prevent drainage of the area...
and onward to the summit. Bierstadt's sketch Mountain Lake accurately portrays the view of Mount Spalding over the Chicago Lakes. His painting Storm in the rocky mountains is based on that and other sketches.
A second claim to be the first to ascend is attributed to Judge Lunt and a friend in 1872.
William Henry Jackson
William Henry Jackson
William Henry Jackson was an American painter, Civil War, geological survey photographer and an explorer famous for his images of the American West...
, attached to the Hayden Survey visited the Chicago Lakes in 1873, where he took numerous photographs; the summit of Mount Evans is barely visible in several of these, peeking over the col between upper Chicago Lake and Summit Lake
Summit Lake Park
Summit Lake Park is a park located along Mount Evans Scenic Byway about 38 miles west of Denver, Colorado. The park is 160 acres in size and contains alpine tundra. Land to the east of the lake is in a state of permafrost which helps to prevent drainage of the area...
. The Hayden survey reported that Mount Rosalie was 14,330 feet above sea level, measured by triangulation.
In 1895, Colorado's legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
officially renamed the peak in honor of John Evans
John Evans (governor)
John Evans was a U.S. politician, physician, railroad promoter, Governor of the Territory of Colorado, and namesake of Evanston, Illinois; Evans, Colorado; and Mount Evans, Colorado...
, second governor of the Colorado Territory
Colorado Territory
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado....
from 1862 to 1865.
After a toll road was built to the summit of Pikes Peak, Robert Speer
Robert W. Speer
Robert Walter Speer was elected the mayor of Denver, Colorado three times. He served two four-year terms in office from 1904 to 1912. He died from pneumonia in 1918 while halfway through a third term in office that had started in 1916.-Biography:...
, mayor of Denver, asked for funds to build a road to the summit of Mount Evans. Construction began in 1917 and concluded on October 4, 1927. As of 2009, the Mount Evans Scenic Byway
Mount Evans Scenic Byway
The Mount Evans Scenic Byway begins at the junction of Interstate 70 and State Highway 103 near Idaho Springs, Colorado and continues on State Highway 5 through the Mount Evans Wilderness where it ends near the summit of Mount Evans. The byway is in length and gains over of elevation...
, leading to the summit overlook, is the highest paved road in North America.
This road has made Mount Evans a very accessible peak to all varieties of tourists, mountaineers and scientists. The road remains free, but in the late 20th century, the U.S. Forest Service began collecting a user fee for use of forest service facilities along the road, including scenic overlooks.
The ruins of the Crest House
Crest House
The Mount Evans Crest House is a building, now in ruins, located at the summit of Mount Evans in Colorado. It is notable for both its significant architectural design, and its unusual location. Built at the terminus of the Mount Evans Scenic Byway, it was the highest business structure in the...
(1941–1942) sit nearby. Once containing both a restaurant and a gift shop, it burned down on September 1, 1979 and was not rebuilt, but remains as a place of contemplation today. The rock foundation and walls remain as a windbreak for mountain travelers, and the viewing platform is one of Colorado's premier scenic overlooks.
Mt. Evans also hosts the annual Mt. Evans Hill Climb
Mt. Evans Hill Climb
The Mt. Evans Hill climb is a bicycle race that takes place on Mount Evans, Colorado. It was run for the first time in 1962. The race has been held 41 times with only three years canceled. The race was renamed in 1981 in honor of five-time race winner Bob Cook, who died of cancer at the age of...
, a 27.4 miles (44.1 km) bicycle race with a total of 6915 feet (2,107.7 m) of climbing.
Environment
Climate
The atmospheric pressure on the summit is around 460 torrTorr
The torr is a non-SI unit of pressure with the ratio of 760 to 1 standard atmosphere, chosen to be roughly equal to the fluid pressure exerted by a millimetre of mercury, i.e., a pressure of 1 torr is approximately equal to 1 mmHg...
, while a standard atmosphere (sea level) is 760 torr. At this pressure, many people suffer from altitude sickness
Altitude sickness
Altitude sickness—also known as acute mountain sickness , altitude illness, hypobaropathy, or soroche—is a pathological effect of high altitude on humans, caused by acute exposure to low partial pressure of oxygen at high altitude...
. Federal Aviation Regulations
Federal Aviation Regulations
The Federal Aviation Regulations, or FARs, are rules prescribed by the Federal Aviation Administration governing all aviation activities in the United States. The FARs are part of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations...
require use of supplemental oxygen at all times when flying at this altitude.
The climate on the summit of Mount Evans can be extreme. The mean annual temperature on the summit is 18°F (-8°C). Temperatures rarely fall below 0°F (-18°C), but occasionally fall as low as -40°F (-40°C). The highest temperature recorded on the summit was 65°F (24°C), and below freezing temperatures may occur at any time of year. The maximum wind speed measured was 107 knots (123 mph or 198 km/h), while the average is from 25 to 30 knots (28 to 35 mph or 46 to 56 km/h). When the wind speed is over 15 knots (17 mph or 28 km/h), the wind is almost always from the west-southwest.
Flora
The slopes of Mount Evans include several distinct environments. Below Echo LakeEcho Lake Park
Echo Lake Park is a park located along the Mount Evans Scenic Byway about west of Denver, Colorado. The park provides a stone shelter with picnic tables and barbecue grills on one end of the lake, and the 1926 Echo Lake Lodge and an Arapaho National Forest campground are found at the other...
, the montane forest is dominated by lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta)
Lodgepole Pine
Lodgepole Pine, Pinus contorta, also known as Shore Pine, is a common tree in western North America. Like all pines, it is evergreen.-Subspecies:...
and in some areas, blue spruce (Picea pungens), with patches of quaking aspen. Echo Lake is high enough to be in the subalpine forest, where engelmann spruce (picea engelmannii), subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) and bristlecone pine (pinus aristata) dominate.
At tree line, the trees are reduced to krummholz
Krummholz
Krummholz or Krumholtz formation — also called Knieholz — is a particular feature of subarctic and subalpine tree line landscapes. Continual exposure to fierce, freezing winds causes vegetation to become stunted and deformed...
, battered and twisted by wind and frost. The bristlecone pine grove on the east slope of Mount Goliath,39°38′24.95"N 105°35′56.24"W
contains at least one tree that sprouted in the year 403 CE. For many years, these were the oldest known trees in Colorado, but in 1992, trees dating to 442 BCE were found in the southern Front Range
Front Range
The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the north-central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountered moving west along the 40th parallel north across...
and South Park
South Park (Colorado basin)
South Park is a high intermontane grassland basin, approximately 10,000 ft in elevation, in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado. It encompasses approximately 1,000 square miles around the headwaters of the South Platte River in Park County approximately 60 mi southwest of Denver...
. The Mount Goliath Natural Area, jointly managed by the United States Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
and the Denver Botanic Gardens
Denver Botanic Gardens
The Denver Botanic Gardens is a public botanical garden located in Denver, Colorado in the Cheesman Park neighborhood. The park contains a conservatory, a variety of theme gardens and a sunken amphitheater, which hosts various concerts in the summer...
protects this grove of old trees.
Above tree line, the landscape is mostly alpine tundra
Alpine tundra
Alpine tundra is a natural region that does not contain trees because it is at high altitude. Alpine tundra is distinguished from arctic tundra, because alpine soils are generally better drained than arctic soils...
. In the lower tundra, dwarf willow (Salix herbacea) is common, along with a wide variety of flowering plants such as Rocky Mountain Columbine (Aquilegia saximontana)
Aquilegia saximontana
Aquilegia saximontana, the Rocky Mountain Columbine, Alpine Dwarf Columbine, Dwarf Blue Columbine, or Alpine Columbine, is a perennial plant that comes from the Ranunculaceae family.-Description:...
and various species of dwarf alpine Sunflower
Sunflower
Sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...
s. Toward the summit, the vegetation shrinks until the largest plants are little more than compact green cushions in the cracks between the rocks. Here, Alpine Forget-me-not (Myosotis alpestris)
Myosotis alpestris
Myosotis alpestris or Alpine Forget-me-not is a herbaceous perennial plant of the genus Myosotis.The Alpine Forget-me-not is the county flower of Westmorland in the United Kingdom and the state flower of Alaska....
plants with hundreds of blossoms occupy areas of only a few square centimeters and rise only centimeters above the soil surface.
The tundra around Summit Lake, particularly in Summit Lake Flats, the gently sloping area east of the lake, is frequently described as the southernmost area of arctic tundra in the world because it is water saturated and underlain by an extensive area of permafrost.
Fauna
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
, generally below tree line. These prey on bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis)
Bighorn Sheep
The bighorn sheep is a species of sheep in North America named for its large horns. These horns can weigh up to , while the sheep themselves weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates that there are three distinct subspecies of Ovis canadensis, one of which is endangered: Ovis canadensis sierrae...
and mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus)
Mountain goat
The Mountain Goat , also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the genus of true goats...
, as well as one of the highest densities of yellow-bellied marmot (marmota flaviventris)
Yellow-bellied Marmot
The yellow-bellied marmot , also known as the rock chuck, is a ground squirrel in the marmot genus.-Description:...
in the region. Above tree-line, pikas (Ochotona princeps)
American Pika
The American pika , a diurnal species of pika, is found in the mountains of western North America, usually in boulder fields at or above the tree line. They are herbivorous, smaller relatives of rabbits and hares.-Description:...
are common. Below tree line, elk (cervus canadensis)
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
and mule deer (odocoileus hemionus)
Mule Deer
The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...
are common.
Among birds, the white-tailed ptarmigan (lagopus leucurus)
White-tailed Ptarmigan
The White-tailed Ptarmigan, Lagopus leucura, is the smallest bird in the grouse family. It is found in the mountains of the western United States, Canada and Alaska.-Description:...
are present on the mountain, but so well camouflaged that they are difficult to see even when almost underfoot. Brown-capped rosy finches (leucosticte australis)
Brown-capped Rosy Finch
The Brown-capped Rosy Finch , Leucosticte australis, is a medium-sized finch.Adults are brown on the head, back, and breast with pink on the belly, rump, and wings. The forehead is black. They have short black legs and a long forked tail.Their breeding habitat is mountain peaks in the central Rocky...
, pipits and rock wrens (salpinctes obsoletus)
Rock Wren
The Rock Wren is a small songbird of the wren family. It is the only species in the genus Salpinctes.The 12 cm long adults have grey-brown upperparts with small black and white spots and pale grey underparts with a light brown rump...
are also seen near the summit.
Geology
Mount Evans was carved from the rock of the Mount Evans BatholithBatholith
A batholith is a large emplacement of igneous intrusive rock that forms from cooled magma deep in the Earth's crust...
, formed by an intrusion
Intrusion
An intrusion is liquid rock that forms under Earth's surface. Magma from under the surface is slowly pushed up from deep within the earth into any cracks or spaces it can find, sometimes pushing existing country rock out of the way, a process that can take millions of years. As the rock slowly...
of magma into the earth's crust about 1.4 billion years ago (in the Mesoproterozoic
Mesoproterozoic
The Mesoproterozoic Era is a geologic era that occurred between 1600 Ma and 1000 Ma . The Mesoproterozoic was the first period of Earth's history with a respectable geological record. Continents existed in the Paleoproterozoic, but we know little about them...
Era of the Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
Eon). Much of the rock is granodiorite
Granodiorite
Granodiorite is an intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase than orthoclase-type feldspar. Officially, it is defined as a phaneritic igneous rock with greater than 20% quartz by volume where at least 65% of the feldspar is plagioclase. It usually contains abundant...
, a close relative of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, modified by later intrusions of quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
and pegmatite
Pegmatite
A pegmatite is a very crystalline, intrusive igneous rock composed of interlocking crystals usually larger than 2.5 cm in size; such rocks are referred to as pegmatitic....
.
The body of this batholith has been deeply cut by glacial cirques and canyons. Each of the nearby lakes, Summit Lake
Summit Lake Park
Summit Lake Park is a park located along Mount Evans Scenic Byway about 38 miles west of Denver, Colorado. The park is 160 acres in size and contains alpine tundra. Land to the east of the lake is in a state of permafrost which helps to prevent drainage of the area...
, the Chicago Lakes, Lincoln Lake and Abyss Lake are tarn
Tarn (lake)
A tarn is a mountain lake or pool, formed in a cirque excavated by a glacier. A moraine may form a natural dam below a tarn. A corrie may be called a cirque.The word is derived from the Old Norse word tjörn meaning pond...
s located in cirques or glacial canyons surrounding Mount Evans. Echo Lake was dammed by a lateral moraine of the glacier that formed Chicago Canyon. Prior to glaciation, Mount Evans, Long's Peak and several other summits were monadnock
Monadnock
A monadnock or inselberg is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain...
s in an upland Peneplain
Peneplain
A peneplain is a low-relief plain representing the final stage of fluvial erosion during times of extended tectonic stability. The existence of peneplains, and peneplanation as a geomorphological process, is not without controversy, due to a lack of contemporary examples and uncertainty in...
. Glaciation has not entirely destroyed the ancient Flattop Peneplain
Peneplain
A peneplain is a low-relief plain representing the final stage of fluvial erosion during times of extended tectonic stability. The existence of peneplains, and peneplanation as a geomorphological process, is not without controversy, due to a lack of contemporary examples and uncertainty in...
, named for Flattop Mountain
Flattop Mountain
Flattop Mountain and Flat Top Mountain may refer to*in the United States:NameStateCountyCoordinatesUSGS 7.5' MapFlattop Mountain AKMunicipality of AnchorageAnchorage A-8 SE...
in Grand County
Grand County, Colorado
Grand County is the 21st largest of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 12,442 at U.S. Census 2000...
. The peaks of these mountains are all remnant features of this peneplain.
Scientific Research
The easy access to the summit provided by the Mount Evans Highway has made it a popular location for scientific research. Arthur H. Compton conducted pioneering research on Cosmic RayCosmic ray
Cosmic rays are energetic charged subatomic particles, originating from outer space. They may produce secondary particles that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The term ray is historical as cosmic rays were thought to be electromagnetic radiation...
s on the mountain in 1931, shortly after the road to the summit was completed. The University of Denver
University of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
built a pair of A-frame
A-Frame
An A-frame is a basic structure designed to bear a load in a lightweight economical manner. The simplest form of an A-frame is two similarly sized beams, arranged in a 45-degree or greater angle, attached at the top...
buildings on the summit to house cosmic-ray researchers. In By the 1950s, Mount Evans, the Aiguille du Midi
Aiguille du Midi
The Aiguille du Midi is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps.The cable car to the summit, the Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi, was built in 1955 and held the title of the world's highest cable car for about two decades. It still holds the record as the highest vertical ascent...
, the Pic du Midi
Pic du Midi de Bigorre
The Pic du Midi de Bigorre or simply Pic du Midi is a mountain in the French Pyrenees famous for its astronomical observatory, the Observatoire du Pic du Midi de Bigorre , part of the Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées .-Pic du Midi Observatory:Construction of the observatory began in 1878 under the...
and the Jungfrau
Jungfrau
The Jungfrau is one of the main summits in the Bernese Alps, situated between the cantons of Valais and Bern in Switzerland...
were considered the premier locations for high-altitude physics experiments.
The first accurate measurement of the lifetime of the muon
Muon
The muon |mu]] used to represent it) is an elementary particle similar to the electron, with a unitary negative electric charge and a spin of ½. Together with the electron, the tau, and the three neutrinos, it is classified as a lepton...
, originally called the mesotron, using sites at Mount Evans, Echo Lake, Denver and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
by Bruno Rossi
Bruno Rossi
Bruno Benedetto Rossi was a leading Italian-American experimental physicist. He made major contributions to cosmic ray and particle physics from 1930 through the 1950s, and pioneered X-ray astronomy and space plasma physics in the 1960s.-Biography:Rossi was born in Venice, Italy...
in 1939. This experiment verified the reality of time dilation
Time dilation
In the theory of relativity, time dilation is an observed difference of elapsed time between two events as measured by observers either moving relative to each other or differently situated from gravitational masses. An accurate clock at rest with respect to one observer may be measured to tick at...
, one of the key predictions of Einstein's theory of relativity
Theory of relativity
The theory of relativity, or simply relativity, encompasses two theories of Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity. However, the word relativity is sometimes used in reference to Galilean invariance....
.
In the summer of 1948, MIT, Cornell, Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, NYU, the universities of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
and Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, along with the University of Denver
University of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
conducted an intensive experimental program on the mountain and at Echo Lake
Echo Lake Park
Echo Lake Park is a park located along the Mount Evans Scenic Byway about west of Denver, Colorado. The park provides a stone shelter with picnic tables and barbecue grills on one end of the lake, and the 1926 Echo Lake Lodge and an Arapaho National Forest campground are found at the other...
. Bruno Rossi
Bruno Rossi
Bruno Benedetto Rossi was a leading Italian-American experimental physicist. He made major contributions to cosmic ray and particle physics from 1930 through the 1950s, and pioneered X-ray astronomy and space plasma physics in the 1960s.-Biography:Rossi was born in Venice, Italy...
and Giuseppe Cocconi
Giuseppe Cocconi
Giuseppe Cocconi was a former director of the Proton Synchrotron at CERN in Geneva. He is known for is work in particle physics and for his involvement with SETI.-Life:...
were among those involved.
In 1965, the Midwestern Universities Research Association began doing high-energy physics experiments on the summit using cosmic rays to explore energies above those accessible with the most powerful particle accelerator
Particle accelerator
A particle accelerator is a device that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams. An ordinary CRT television set is a simple form of accelerator. There are two basic types: electrostatic and oscillating field accelerators.In...
s of the day. The first experiments were conducted in a semi-trailer
Semi-trailer
A semi-trailer is a trailer without a front axle. A large proportion of its weight is supported by a road tractor, a detachable front axle assembly known as a dolly, or the tail of another trailer...
, and then in 1966, a temporary laboratory building was erected near the summit. This building was moved to Echo Lake that fall, where research continued until 1972.
The University of Denver
University of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
erected the 0.6m (24 inch) Ritchey-Chrétien telescope in its summit laboratory in 1972. This was used to observe Comets Kohoutek
Comet Kohoutek
Comet Kohoutek, formally designated C/1973 E1, 1973 XII, and 1973f, was first sighted on 7 March 1973 by Czech astronomer Luboš Kohoutek. It attained perihelion on 28 December that same year....
and Halley
Comet Halley
Halley's Comet or Comet Halley is the best-known of the short-period comets, and is visible from Earth every 75 to 76 years. Halley is the only short-period comet that is clearly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the only naked-eye comet that might appear twice in a human lifetime...
in 1972 and 1986. In 1996, the University finished construction on the Meyer-Womble Observatory
Meyer-Womble Observatory
Meyer-Womble Observatory is an astronomical observatory near the summit of Mount Evans in Colorado, United States, operated by the University of Denver. Located at and 14,148 feet , it is the third highest optical telescope in the world...
, near the site of the A-frame laboratory buildings. At 14,148 feet (4,312 m) this was, from 1972 to 1999, the highest optical observatory. It is now the second highest.
Mount Evans has also been the site of significant research in the life sciences. In 1940, for example, it was the site of a significant study of high-altitude physiology. Pioneering studies on the effects of altitude training
Altitude training
Altitude training is the practice by some endurance athletes of training for several weeks at high altitude, preferably over above sea level, though more commonly at intermediate altitudes due to the shortage of suitable high-altitude locations...
on track athletes were conducted on Mount Evans in 1966.
See also
- List of Colorado fourteeners
- Mountain peaks of ColoradoMountain peaks of ColoradoThis article comprises three sortable tables of the major mountain peaks of the U.S. State of Colorado.Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface...
- Mountain ranges of ColoradoMountain ranges of ColoradoThe following table lists the major mountain ranges of the U.S. State of Colorado.-Mountain Ranges:-See also:*4000 meter peaks of Colorado*Colorado mountain passes*Geography of Colorado*Lists of mountains*Mountain peaks of Colorado...