Cornucopia Peak

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Cornucopia Peak
Cornucopia Peak.jpg
South aspect
Highest point
Elevation 8,643 ft (2,634 m) [1] [2]
Prominence 430 ft (131 m) [3]
Isolation 1.18 mi (1.90 km) [4]
Coordinates 45°01′13″N117°14′19″W / 45.0201884°N 117.2384738°W / 45.0201884; -117.2384738 [5]
Naming
Etymology Cornucopia
Geography
USA Oregon relief location map.svg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Cornucopia Peak
Location in Oregon
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Cornucopia Peak
Cornucopia Peak (the United States)
Location Eagle Cap Wilderness
Country United States of America
State Oregon
County Baker
Parent range Wallowa Mountains
Topo map USGS Cornucopia
Geology
Rock type granitic Cordierite Trondhjemite [6]
Climbing
Easiest route scrambling [2]

Cornucopia Peak is a mountain summit located in Baker County, Oregon, US. [5]

Contents

Description

Cornucopia Peak is located in the southern Wallowa Mountains and is set along the boundary of the Eagle Cap Wilderness on land managed by Wallowa–Whitman National Forest. [3] The 8,643-foot elevation (2,634 m) peak ranks as the 87th-highest mountain in Oregon. [4] The peak is situated immediately west-northwest of ghost town Cornucopia and 14 miles northwest of Halfway, Oregon. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains to the Snake River via Pine Creek. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises nearly 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) above the ghost town in two miles.

History

This landform's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names. [5] The peak is named in association with the gold mining boomtown of Cornucopia which became active in the late 1800s. [2] [7] The Cornucopia mines on the peak's east slope were ranked number one of lode mines in Oregon. [8] A fire lookout was built on the summit in 1924, but no longer exists having been removed long ago. [9] [2] Cornucopia Peak is an attractive backcountry ski destination in winter, but in 2014 a guided tour of eight skiers was caught in an avalanche resulting in two fatalities and two others severely injured. [7]

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Cornucopia Peak is located in a subarctic climate zone characterized by long, usually very cold winters, and mild summers. [10] Winter temperatures can drop below −10 °F with wind chill factors below −20 °F. Most precipitation in the area is caused by orographic lift. Thunderstorms are common in the summer.

See also

Cornucopia Peak from Halfway, Oregon Cornucopia Peak from Halfway, Oregon.jpg
Cornucopia Peak from Halfway, Oregon

References

  1. ↑ United States Geological Survey topographical map - Cornucopia
  2. 1 2 3 4 Barbara I. Bond (2005), 75 Scrambles in Oregon, Mountaineers Books, ISBN   9781594852909
  3. 1 2 "Cornucopia Peak, Oregon". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Cornucopia Peak - 8,643' OR". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 "Cornucopia Peak". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  6. ↑ John Eliot Allen, Ellen Morris Bishop (2004), Hiking Oregon's Geology, Mountaineers Books, ISBN   9781594851612
  7. 1 2 Rachel Dresbeck (2020), Search and Rescue Pacific Coast, Lyons Press, ISBN   9781493047505
  8. ↑ Jerry Grant (2020), Grants Mining Districts of the Western United States Volume 2, Xlibris US, ISBN   9781664149021
  9. ↑ Cheryl Hill (2016), Fire Lookouts of Oregon, Arcadia Publishing Incorporated, ISBN   9781439655078, p. 108
  10. ↑ Peel, M.C.; Finlayson, B.L. & McMahon, T.A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification" (PDF). Hydrology and Earth System Sciences . 11 (5): 1633–1644. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi: 10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 . Archived (PDF) from the original on December 2, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
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