Jump to content

Purgatory Peak (Nevada)

Coordinates: 40°20′52″N 119°17′00″W / 40.3476815°N 119.2832361°W / 40.3476815; -119.2832361
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Purgatory Peak
Purgatory Peak (left), Mount Limbo (near center)
Southwest aspect from Highway 447
Highest point
Elevation7,417 ft (2,261 m)[1]
Prominence759 ft (231 m)[2]
Parent peakKumiva Peak (8,238 ft)[3]
Isolation4.17 mi (6.71 km)[3]
Coordinates40°20′52″N 119°17′00″W / 40.3476815°N 119.2832361°W / 40.3476815; -119.2832361[4]
Geography
Purgatory Peak is located in Nevada
Purgatory Peak
Purgatory Peak
Location in Nevada
Purgatory Peak is located in the United States
Purgatory Peak
Purgatory Peak
Purgatory Peak (the United States)
CountryUnited States of America
StateNevada
CountyPershing
Parent rangeSelenite Range
Great Basin Ranges
Topo mapUSGS Purgatory Peak
Geology
Mountain typeFault block
Rock typeGranodiorite[5]

Purgatory Peak is a 7,417-foot elevation (2,261 m) summit located in Pershing County, Nevada, United States.[6]

Description

[edit]

Purgatory Peak is the third-highest peak of the Selenite Range which is a subset of the Great Basin Ranges.[2] This peak is set in the Mount Limbo Wilderness Study Area which is owned by the Bureau of Land Management.[3] It is situated four miles (6.4 km) south of line parent Kumiva Peak, 17 miles (27 km) south of the town of Empire, and north of Winnemucca Lake. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises over 3,000 feet (910 meters) above Poito Valley in approximately one mile (1.6 km). This landform's toponym was officially adopted in 1965 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.[6]

Climate

[edit]

Purgatory Peak is set in the Great Basin Desert which has hot summers and cold winters.[7] The desert is an example of a cold desert climate as the desert's elevation makes temperatures cooler than lower elevation deserts. Due to the high elevation and aridity, temperatures drop sharply after sunset. Summer nights are comfortably cool. Winter highs are generally above freezing, and winter nights are bitterly cold, with temperatures often dropping well below freezing.

Purgatory Peak (left) and Mt. Limbo (right)

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ United States Geological Survey topographical map - Purgatory Peak
  2. ^ a b "Purgatory Peak, Nevada". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  3. ^ a b c "Purgatory Peak - 7,417' NV". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  4. ^ "Purgatory Peak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  5. ^ William J. Keith, Robert L. Turner, Donald Plouff, Mineral Resources of the Mount Limbo Wilderness Study Area, Pershing County, Nevada, USGS Bulletin 1726-A, U.S. Government Printing Office, (1986), p. A7
  6. ^ a b United States Board on Geographic Names (1965), Decisions on Names in the United States, Decision List 6503, Department of the Interior, p. 32
  7. ^ 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.
[edit]