Mount Madson

Location of Mt. Madson in Alaska

CountryUnited StatesStateAlaskaBoroughKenai Peninsula BoroughProtected areaChugach National ForestParent rangeKenai MountainsTopo mapUSGS Seward B-7

Mount Madson, also known as Madson Mountain, is a prominent 5,266-foot (1,605 m) summit in the U.S. state of Alaska.

Description

Mount Madson is located on the Kenai Peninsula on land managed by Chugach National Forest. It is set 24 miles (39 km) north of the city of Seward in the Kenai Mountains.^[1] Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into the Kenai River drainage basin. Although modest in elevation, topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 3,800 feet (1,158 m) above Crescent Lake in 1.4 mile (2.25 km) and 4,830 feet (1,472 m) above Kenai Lake in 3.25 miles (5.23 km). Madson's local name was reported in 1909 by geologists Grant and Higgins, then officially adopted in 1910 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.^[1]^[4] John Madson was a prospector who (with William Fairman) had mineral claims at Quartz Creek northwest of the mountain.^[5]^[6]

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Madson Mountain is located in a subpolar oceanic climate zone with long, cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.^[7] Weather systems coming off the Gulf of Alaska are forced upwards by the Kenai Mountains (orographic lift), causing heavy precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall. Winter temperatures can drop below 0 °F with wind chill factors below −20 °F.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Mount Madson". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
^ "Madson Mountain, Alaska". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
^ ^a ^b "Madson Mountain - 5,269' AK". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
^ Donald J. Orth, Dictionary of Alaska Place Names, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1967, page 614.
^ Ulysses Sherman Grant, Geology and Mineral Resources of Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1915, p. 163.
^ Mining and Engineering World, Volume 34, Western Mining World Company, 1911, p. 65.
^ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11 (5): 1633. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007. ISSN 1027-5606.