Parika Peak is a 12,402-foot-elevation (3,780-meter) mountain summit in Colorado, United States.
| Parika Peak | |
|---|---|
 East-southeast aspect From Kawuneeche Valley looking up Baker Gulch | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 12,402 ft (3,780 m)[1][2] |
| Prominence | 403 ft (123 m)[1] |
| Parent peak | Bowen Mountain (12,524 ft)[1] |
| Isolation | 1.94 mi (3.12 km)[1] |
| Coordinates | 40°23′06″N 105°56′48″W / 40.3850590°N 105.9466495°W[3] |
| Geography | |
  Parika Peak Location in Colorado  Parika Peak Parika Peak (the United States) | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Colorado |
| County | Grand / Jackson |
| Protected area | Never Summer Wilderness |
| Parent range | Rocky Mountains Never Summer Mountains |
| Topo map | USGS Mount Richthofen |
| Geology | |
| Rock age | Proterozoic[4] |
| Rock type | Amphibolite, granofels[4] |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | hiking |
Description
editParika Peak is situated on the Continental Divide along the boundary shared by Grand County and Jackson County.[3] It is the 13th-highest peak of the Never Summer Mountains which are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains.[5] The west side of the peak is in the Medicine Bow–Routt National Forest and the east side is in the Never Summer Wilderness. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's slopes drains to Jack Creek and the Illinois River, with the exception of the southeast slope which drains to the Colorado River via Baker Gulch. The counterintuitive direction of water flow is because the Continental Divide forms a loop in this area, whereby the peak's west slope runoff flows to the Atlantic Ocean and the east slope to the Pacific. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 2,400 feet (732 meters) above Jack Creek in 1.6 miles (2.6 km) and 1,000 feet (305 meters) above Parika Lake in one-half mile (0.8 km). The summit can be reached from Parika Lake by hiking the south slope (class 1) or the east ridge (class 2).[6]
Etymology
editThe mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names,[3] and has appeared in publications since at least 1919.[7] The name Parika is from the Pawnee language "paariiku" (puh REE kuh) and means "horn."[8]
Climate
editAccording to the Köppen climate classification system, Parika Peak is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.[9] 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
edit
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Parika Peak - 12,402' CO". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
- ^ "Parika Peak, Colorado". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
- ^ a b c "Parika Peak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
- ^ a b Geologic map of the Mount Richthofen quadrangle and the western part of the Fall River Pass quadrangle, Grand and Jackson Counties, Colorado, J.M. O'Neill, U.S. Geological Survey, 1981.
- ^ "Parika Peak, Peakvisor.com". Retrieved 2024-06-27.
- ^ Lisa Foster, Rocky Mountain National Park: The Complete Hiking Guide, Big Earth Publishing, 2005, ISBN 9781565795501, p. 346.
- ^ Robert Sterling Yard, Mountaineering in the Rocky Mountain National Park, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1919, p. 92.
- ^ William Bright (2004), Colorado Place Names, Johnson Books, ISBN 9781555663339, p. 135.
- ^ 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
edit- Weather forecast: Parika Peak