Brown Mountain (Colorado)

Brown Mountain is a 13347 ft summit located on the boundary shared by Ouray County with San Juan County in Colorado, United States.

Description
Brown Mountain is situated midway between the towns of Ouray and Silverton, on land managed by Uncompahgre National Forest. It is set west of the Continental Divide in the San Juan Mountains which are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. The long ridge-like mountain can be seen from the "Million Dollar Highway" (Highway 550) immediately east of Ironton Park. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 3600 ft above Ironton Park in two miles and 2350 ft above Gray Copper Gulch in one mile. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains primarily into the Uncompahgre River, except the peak's south slope drains to Cement Creek which is a tributary of the Animas River. The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names.

Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification system, Brown Mountain is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with long, 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. Hikers can expect afternoon rain, hail, and lightning from the seasonal monsoon in late July and August.