Spiller Peak

Spiller Peak is a mountain summit on the common boundary shared by La [Plata County, Colorado|La Plata County] and Montezuma County in Colorado.

Description

Spiller Peak is located northwest of the community of Durango on land managed by San Juan National Forest. It ranks as the fifth-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 southeast slope drains to the La [Plata River (San Juan River)|La Plata River]. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises above the La Plata River in and above Owen Basin in one-half mile. Neighbors include Mount Moss to the north-northeast and Babcock Peak to the east. The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on [Geographic Names], and was recorded in publications in 1906. J. Calvert Spiller was a topographer with the Wheeler Survey in the 1870s. He made the first ascent of Redcloud Peak in 1874 and also named it.

Climate

According to the Köppen [climate classification] system, Spiller 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.