Centennial Peak (Colorado)
# Centennial Peak (Colorado)

Centennial Peak is a 13,062-foot-elevation (3,981-meter) mountain summit in Montezuma County, Colorado.

## Description

Centennial Peak is located 16 miles (26 km) northwest of the community of Durango on land managed by San Juan National Forest. It ranks as the six-highest summit of the La Plata Mountains which are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's west slope drains to the Mancos River and the east slope drains into the headwaters of Bear Creek which is a tributary of the Dolores River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 2,460 feet (750 meters) above Bear Creek in one mile (1.6 km) and 1,500 feet (460 meters) above Sliderock Basin in one-half mile (0.8 km). Neighbors include Mount Moss, 0.57 miles (0.92 km) to the south, Lavender Peak, 0.45 miles (0.72 km) to the south-southwest, and Hesperus Mountain 0.68 miles (1.09 km) to the west-southwest. An ascent of Centennial Peak's summit involves hiking 4.4 miles (7.1 km) with 2,130 feet (650 meters) of elevation gain.

## Etymology

The mountain's toponym was officially adopted on July 8, 1976, by the United States Board on Geographic Names as proposed by the Colorado Centennial-Bicentennial Commission to commemorate 100 years of statehood since it was admitted to the Union on August 1, 1876. Prior to that the landform was called "Banded Mountain", a descriptive name attributable to the alternating colored strata of sedimentary rock.

## Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Centennial Peak has an alpine climate with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers. 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.

