Mount Doonerak

Mount Doonerak
Northeast aspect
Highest point
Elevation	7,457 ft (2,273 m)^[1]^[2]
Prominence	3,557 ft (1,084 m)^[2]
Parent peak	Peak 7510^[3]
Isolation	27.19 mi (43.76 km)^[3]
Coordinates	67°54′17″N 150°37′38″W / 67.9045920°N 150.6272381°W / 67.9045920; -150.6272381^[4]
Geography
Mount Doonerak Location in Alaska
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Census Area	Yukon–Koyukuk
Protected area	Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve^[5]
Parent range	Endicott Mountains^[2] Brooks Range
Topo map	USGS Wiseman D-2
Geology
Age of rock	Paleozoic
Type of rock	Metavolcanic rock and argillite^[6]
Climbing
First ascent	1952^[7]
Easiest route	Southeast Ridge^[1] class 4^[3]

Mount Doonerak is a 7,457-foot-elevation (2,273-meter) mountain summit in Alaska, United States.

Description

Mount Doonerak is the third-highest point in the Endicott Mountains which are a subrange of the Brooks Range.^[2] It is set 32 miles (51 km) southeast of Anaktuvuk Pass in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.^[4] It ranks as the fourth-highest summit within the park,^[5] and is one of the most popular climbing areas in the park.^[8] Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains north into the North Fork Koyukuk River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises approximately 5,457 feet (1,663 meters) above the North Fork Koyukuk in two miles (3.2 km). The nearest city is Fairbanks, 225 miles (362 km) to the south-southeast.

History

The mountain was discovered and named in 1929 by Bob Marshall who called it "Matterhorn of the Koyukuk."^[4]^[9] Later, he renamed it Doonerak after miscalculating the elevation as more than 10,000 feet and believing it was the tallest peak in the Arctic of Alaska.^[10] Marshall described the mountain as, a "towering, black, unscalable-looking giant, the highest peak in this section of the Brooks Range."^[11] The name Doonerak is taken from an Iñupiat word which means "a spirit" or "a devil."^[4] The mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1932 by the United States Board on Geographic Names.

The first ascent of the summit was made on June 30, 1952, by George W. Beadle, Alfred Tissières and Gunnar Bergman via the Southeast Ridge.^[1]^[4]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Mount Doonerak is located in a tundra climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool summers.^[12] Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °F with wind chill factors below −30 °F. This climate supports a small glacial remnant on the peak's north slope.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Michael Wood and Colby Coombs, Alaska: A Climbing Guide, The Mountaineers Books, 2002, page 40.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Mount Doonerak, Alaska". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Doonerak, Mount - 7,457' AK". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Mount Doonerak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
^ ^a ^b "Mount Doonerak, Peakvisor.com". Retrieved 2024-02-06.
^ Mason L. Hill, Cordilleran Section of the Geological Society of America, Geological Society of America, 1987, p. 471.
^ Donald J. Orth, Dictionary of Alaska Place Names, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1967, page 280–281.
^ Climbing, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, nps.gov, Retrieved 2024-02-06.
^ Robert Hedin, Alaska: Reflections on Land and Spirit, University of Arizona Press, 1994, p. 142.
^ Bill Sherwonit, Changing Paths: Travels and Meditations in Alaska's Arctic Wilderness, University of Alaska Press, 2010, ISBN 9781602231061, p. 157.
^ Marshall, Robert (1956). Marshall, George (ed.). Arctic Wilderness. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 22.
^ 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.