Brown Mountain (Colorado)

{{Short description|Mountain boundary shared by Ouray County and Juan County}}

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Brown Mountain

| photo = Brown Mountain, Colorado.jpg

| photo_caption = Northeast aspect

| elevation_ft = 13347

| elevation_ref ={{cite web|url=https://listsofjohn.com/peak/451|title=Brown Mountain - 13,347' CO|website=listsofjohn.com|access-date=2023-06-21}}[https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ds_mark.prl?PidBox=HL0647 National Geodetic Survey data sheet, Duco Benchmark]

| prominence_ft = 647

| prominence_ref =

| isolation_mi = 1.78

| isolation_ref =

| parent_peak = Hanson Peak (13,462 ft)

| etymology =

| country = United States

| state = Colorado

| region = Ouray / San Juan

| region_type = County

| part_type = Protected area | part = Uncompahgre National Forest

| range = Rocky Mountains
San Juan Mountains{{cite peakbagger|pid=60362|title=Brown Mountain, Colorado|access-date=2023-06-21}}

| map = Colorado#USA

| map_caption = Location in Colorado

| label_position = top

| coordinates = {{coord|37.9208227|N|107.6378274|W|type:mountain_region:US-CO_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| coordinates_ref ={{cite gnis|id=187240|name=Brown Mountain|access-date=2023-06-21}}

| topo = USGS Ironton

| rock =

| age =

| type =

| easiest_route = {{YDS|2}} hiking

}}

Brown Mountain is a {{convert|13347|ft|meter|adj=mid|-elevation|abbr=off|sp=us}} summit located on the boundary shared by Ouray County with San Juan County in Colorado, United States.

Description

Brown Mountain is situated midway between the towns of Ouray and Silverton, on land managed by Uncompahgre National Forest. It is set west of the Continental Divide in the San Juan Mountains which are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. The long ridge-like mountain can be seen from the "Million Dollar Highway" (Highway 550) immediately east of Ironton Park.Robert M. Ormes (2000), Guide to the Colorado Mountains, Colorado Mountain Club Press, {{ISBN|9780967146607}}, p. 266. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises {{convert|3600|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} above Ironton Park in two miles and {{convert|2350|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} above Gray Copper Gulch in one mile. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains primarily into the Uncompahgre River, except the peak's south slope drains to Cement Creek which is a tributary of the Animas River. The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names.

File:Brown Mountain winter.jpg

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Brown Mountain is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with long, 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. Hikers can expect afternoon rain, hail, and lightning from the seasonal monsoon in late July and August.