Ajax Peak
{{Short description|Mountain summit in Colorado, US}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Ajax Peak
| photo = Ajax Pk Telluride.jpg
| photo_caption = West aspect, from Telluride
| elevation_ft = 12785
| elevation_ref = {{cite peakbagger|55505|Ajax Peak, Colorado}}
| prominence_ft = 105
| isolation_mi = 1.16
| isolation_ref = {{cite web|url=https://listsofjohn.com/peak/1027|title=Ajax Peak - 12,785' CO|website=listsofjohn.com|accessdate=2021-07-14}}
| parent_peak = Chicago Peak (13,385 ft)
| etymology = Ajax the GreatWilliam Bright, Colorado Place Names, 2004, Johnson Books, {{ISBN|9781555663339}}, page 3.
| location = San Miguel County
Colorado, US
| range = Rocky Mountains
San Juan Mountains
| map = Colorado#USA
| map_caption = Location in Colorado
| label_position = top
| coordinates = {{coord|37.9285995|N|107.7556066|W|type:mountain_region:US-CO_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| topo = USGS Telluride
| rock =
| age =
| type =
| easiest_route = Hiking trailDon Scarmuzzi, 2005, Telluride Trails, Pruett Publishing Company, {{ISBN|9780871089380}}, page 60.
}}
Ajax Peak is a {{convert|12,785|ft|meter|adj=mid|-elevation|abbr=off|sp=us}} mountain summit located in San Miguel County of southwest Colorado, United States.{{cite gnis|id=187145|name=Ajax Peak| accessdate = 2021-07-14}} It is situated on land managed by Uncompahgre National Forest, and is the iconic landmark visible three miles east of the community of Telluride. Ajax is set immediately south of Savage Basin and the ghost town of Tomboy, one mile southwest of Chicago Peak, and one mile west of Telluride Peak. It is also immediately northeast of Bridal Veil Falls, Colorado's highest waterfall at 365-feet high.[https://books.google.com/books?id=Q71TDwAAQBAJ&dq=ajax+peak+telluride&pg=PT192 Hugh McNaughtan, Lonely Planet Western USA, 2018] It is part of the San Juan Mountains which are a subset of the Rocky Mountains. Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises {{convert|3,800|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} above the box canyon in approximately one mile. The old mill town of Pandora at the base of Ajax Peak was hit by snow slides each winter, and one particularly bad event in 1884 came over the Ajax Mine and wrecked the mills.Caroline Bancroft, Unique Ghost Towns and Mountain Spots, 1961, Johnson Publishing Company, {{ISBN|9780933472242}}, page 92.
Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification system, Ajax Peak has an alpine subarctic climate with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.{{cite journal | author = Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. | year = 2007 | title = Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification | journal = Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume = 11 | issn = 1027-5606}} 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. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into tributaries and headwaters of the San Miguel River.
Gallery
File:Ajax Peak refection.jpg|Ajax Peak's west aspect (centered) in late winter
File:Telluride's main street.jpg|Ajax Peak from Telluride's Colorado Avenue
File:Massive (15451359446).jpg|Detail of lower southwest cliffs of Ajax Peak
File:Ajax Peak, San Miguel River.jpg|Ajax with San Miguel River
File:San Miguel River, Ajax Peak.jpg|Ajax left of center, with San Miguel River
File:Peaks over Telluride (5868861382).jpg
See also
{{portal|Mountains|Colorado}}
- {{C|Mountains of San Miguel County, Colorado}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- Ajax Peak trail: [https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/gmug/recarea/?recid=32510 US Forest Service]
- Weather forecast: [https://www.yr.no/en/forecast/daily-table/2-5411453/United%20States/Colorado/San%20Miguel/Ajax%20Peak Ajax Peak]
- Ajax summit view: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSbLSPnjV0o YouTube]
{{Mountains of Colorado}}
Category:Mountains of San Miguel County, Colorado
Category:San Juan Mountains (Colorado)