Mount Yukla

Location of Mt. Yukla in Alaska

CountryUnited StatesStateAlaskaBoroughAnchorageProtected areaChugach State ParkParent rangeChugach Mountains^[3]Topo mapUSGS Anchorage A-6ClimbingFirst ascent1964^[4]

Mount Yukla is a 7,569-foot (2,307 m) mountain summit in Alaska, United States.

Description

Mount Yukla is located 25 miles (40 km) east of Anchorage in the western Chugach Mountains.^[1] It ranks as the highest peak in the Eagle River drainage,^[4] and fourth-highest peak within Chugach State Park.^[5]^[6] Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains to Knik Arm via the Eagle River. Although modest in elevation, topographic relief is significant as the summit rises approximately 6,870 feet (2,094 m) above the river in 1.8 miles (2.9 km).

History

The name "Yukla" was applied by Walter Curran Mendenhall in 1898 as the Denaʼina name for the Eagle River.^[4] "Yuklahina" or "Yukla" means "Eagle River."^[1] The mountain's toponym was proposed in 1963 by members of the Mountaineering Club of Alaska,^[7] and officially adopted in 1964 by the United States Board on Geographic Names.^[1] The first ascent of the summit was made on July 15, 1964, by John Bousman and Arthur Davidson via the East Face and Northeast Ridge.^[4]

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Yukla is located in a tundra climate zone with long, cold, snowy winters, and cool summers.^[8] Weather systems coming off the Gulf of Alaska are forced upwards by the Chugach Mountains (orographic lift), causing heavy precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall. Winter temperatures can drop below −10 °F with wind chill factors below −20 °F. This climate supports the Icicle Glacier on the east and north slopes.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Mount Yukla". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Yukla, Mount - 7,535' AK". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
^ "Yukla Peak, Alaska". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d J. Vincent Hoeman, The Western Chugach Range, Alaska, 1966, American Alpine Journal, publications.americanalpineclub.org
^ The "Chugach State Park 120", Mountaineering Club of Alaska, Retrieved 2023-12-31.
^ Chugach State Park Peaks, Peakbagger.com, Retrieved 2023-12-31.
^ United States Board on Geographic Names, Decisions on Geographic Names in the United States, Decision List No. 6403, 1965, page 5.
^ 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.