 of Josephine redeveloped and global models picked up on the reformed system . Once more , the chance of regeneration was possible as the remnants of Josephine headed towards the Bahamas . However , on September 14 , dry air and wind shear caused the remnants to dissipate entirely .   = = Impact = =   As Josephine passed to the south of the Cape Verde islands on September 2 , outer rain bands produced minor rainfall , totaling around 0 @.@ 55 inches ( 14 mm ) . There were no reports of damage or flooding from the rain and overall effects were minor .   Several days after the low dissipated , the remnant moisture from Josephine brought showers and thunderstorms to St. Croix where up to 1 in ( 25 @.@ 4 mm ) of rain fell . The heavy rains led to minor street flooding and some urban flooding . No known damage was caused by the flood .   = Mount Elbert =   Mount Elbert is the highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the highest point in the U.S. state of Colorado and the entire Mississippi River drainage basin . The ultra @-@ prominent 14 @,@ 440 @-@ foot ( 4401 @.@ 2 m ) fourteener is the highest peak in the Sawatch Range and the second @-@ highest summit in the contiguous United States after Mount Whitney . Mount Elbert is located in San Isabel National Forest , 12 @.@ 1 miles ( 19 @.@ 4 km ) southwest ( bearing 223 ° ) of the City of Leadville in Lake County , Colorado .   The mountain was named in honor of Colorado statesman Samuel Hitt Elbert , who was active in the formative period of the state and Governor of the Territory of Colorado from 1873 to 1874 . Henry W. Stuckle of the Hayden Survey was the first to record an ascent of the peak , in 1874 . The easiest and most popular climbing routes are categorized as Class 1 to 2 or A + in mountaineering parlance . Mount Elbert is therefore often referred to as the " gentle giant " that tops all others in the Rocky Mountains .   = = Geography = =   Mount Elbert is visible to the southwest of Leadville , often snow @-@ capped even in the summer . Many other fourteeners surround Elbert in all directions , and it is very close to central Colorado 's Collegiate Peaks . The neighboring Mount Massive , to the north , is the second @-@ highest peak in the Rocky Mountains and the third @-@ highest in the contiguous United States , and La Plata Peak , to the south , is the fifth @-@ highest in the Rockies . The community of Twin Lakes lies at the base of Mount Elbert , Denver is about 130 miles ( 209 km ) to the east , Vail is 50 miles ( 80 km ) to the north , and Aspen is 40 miles ( 64 km ) to the west . Leadville , about 16 miles ( 26 km ) to the northeast , is the nearest large town . Elbert 's parent peak is Mount Whitney in California . Including Alaska and Hawaii , Mount Elbert is the fourteenth @-@ highest mountain in the United States .   Weather conditions often change rapidly , and afternoon thunderstorms are common in the summertime ; hailstorms and snow are possible year @-@ round . An electrical storm on the mountain 's summit was considered remarkable enough to be reported in the July 1894 issue of Science .   = = Geology = =   Mount Elbert is part of the Sawatch Range , an uplift of the Laramide Orogeny which separated from the Mosquito Range to the east around 28 million years ago . The tops of this range were heavily glaciated , leaving behind characteristic summit features and other such clues . For example , the base of Elbert on the eastern side exhibits large igneous and metamorphic rocks deposited when the glaciers receded , which lie on a lateral moraine . Further up the eastern side there is a large cirque with a small tarn . There are also lakes to both the north and south , Turquoise and Twin Lakes respectively ; the Twin Lakes are a result of the natural dam of end moraines , and Turquoise Lake was created by the manmade Sugar Loaf Dam .   Mount Elbert is composed largely of quartzite . However , the summit ridge consists of metamorphic basement rock , which is Pre @-@ Cambrian in origin and about 1 @.@ 7 billion years old . There are various igneous intrusions including pegmatite , as well as " bands " of gneiss and schist . Unlike mountains of similar altitude elsewhere , Elbert lacks both a permanent snowpack and a prominent north @-@ facing cirque , which can be attributed to its position amongst other mountains of similar height , causing it to receive relatively small quantities of precipitation .   = = History = =   Mount Elbert was named by
Ġof ĠJoseph ine Ġredevelop ed Ġand Ġglobal Ġmodels Ġpicked Ġup Ġon Ġthe Ġreformed Ġsystem Ġ. ĠOnce Ġmore Ġ, Ġthe Ġchance Ġof Ġregeneration Ġwas Ġpossible Ġas Ġthe Ġremnants Ġof ĠJoseph ine Ġheaded Ġtowards Ġthe ĠBahamas Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġon ĠSeptember Ġ14 Ġ, Ġdry Ġair Ġand Ġwind Ġshe ar Ġcaused Ġthe Ġremnants Ġto Ġdissip ate Ġentirely Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠImpact Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAs ĠJoseph ine Ġpassed Ġto Ġthe Ġsouth Ġof Ġthe ĠCape ĠVer de Ġislands Ġon ĠSeptember Ġ2 Ġ, Ġouter Ġrain Ġbands Ġproduced Ġminor Ġrainfall Ġ, Ġtotaling Ġaround Ġ0 Ġ@ . @ Ġ55 Ġinches Ġ( Ġ14 Ġmm Ġ) Ġ. ĠThere Ġwere Ġno Ġreports Ġof Ġdamage Ġor Ġflooding Ġfrom Ġthe Ġrain Ġand Ġoverall Ġeffects Ġwere Ġminor Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠSeveral Ġdays Ġafter Ġthe Ġlow Ġdissip ated Ġ, Ġthe Ġremnant Ġmoisture Ġfrom ĠJoseph ine Ġbrought Ġshowers Ġand Ġthunder storms Ġto ĠSt . ĠCro ix Ġwhere Ġup Ġto Ġ1 Ġin Ġ( Ġ25 Ġ@ . @ Ġ4 Ġmm Ġ) Ġof Ġrain Ġfell Ġ. ĠThe Ġheavy Ġrains Ġled Ġto Ġminor Ġstreet Ġflooding Ġand Ġsome Ġurban Ġflooding Ġ. ĠNo Ġknown Ġdamage Ġwas Ġcaused Ġby Ġthe Ġflood Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= ĠMount ĠEl bert Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠMount ĠEl bert Ġis Ġthe Ġhighest Ġsummit Ġof Ġthe ĠRocky ĠMountains Ġof ĠNorth ĠAmerica Ġand Ġthe Ġhighest Ġpoint Ġin Ġthe ĠU . S . Ġstate Ġof ĠColorado Ġand Ġthe Ġentire ĠMississippi ĠRiver Ġdrainage Ġbasin Ġ. ĠThe Ġultra Ġ@ - @ Ġprominent Ġ14 Ġ@ , @ Ġ440 Ġ@ - @ Ġfoot Ġ( Ġ44 01 Ġ@ . @ Ġ2 Ġm Ġ) Ġfour te ener Ġis Ġthe Ġhighest Ġpeak Ġin Ġthe ĠSaw atch ĠRange Ġand Ġthe Ġsecond Ġ@ - @ Ġhighest Ġsummit Ġin Ġthe Ġcontiguous ĠUnited ĠStates Ġafter ĠMount ĠWhitney Ġ. ĠMount ĠEl bert Ġis Ġlocated Ġin ĠSan ĠIsabel ĠNational ĠForest Ġ, Ġ12 Ġ@ . @ Ġ1 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ19 Ġ@ . @ Ġ4 Ġkm Ġ) Ġsouthwest Ġ( Ġbearing Ġ223 ĠÂ° Ġ) Ġof Ġthe ĠCity Ġof ĠLead ville Ġin ĠLake ĠCounty Ġ, ĠColorado Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġmountain Ġwas Ġnamed Ġin Ġhonor Ġof ĠColorado Ġstates man ĠSamuel ĠH itt ĠEl bert Ġ, Ġwho Ġwas Ġactive Ġin Ġthe Ġform ative Ġperiod Ġof Ġthe Ġstate Ġand ĠGovernor Ġof Ġthe ĠTerritory Ġof ĠColorado Ġfrom Ġ18 73 Ġto Ġ18 74 Ġ. ĠHenry ĠW . ĠSt uckle Ġof Ġthe ĠHayden ĠSurvey Ġwas Ġthe Ġfirst Ġto Ġrecord Ġan Ġascent Ġof Ġthe Ġpeak Ġ, Ġin Ġ18 74 Ġ. ĠThe Ġeasiest Ġand Ġmost Ġpopular Ġclimbing Ġroutes Ġare Ġcategorized Ġas ĠClass Ġ1 Ġto Ġ2 Ġor ĠA Ġ+ Ġin Ġmount aine ering Ġpar lance Ġ. ĠMount ĠEl bert Ġis Ġtherefore Ġoften Ġreferred Ġto Ġas Ġthe Ġ" Ġgentle Ġgiant Ġ" Ġthat Ġtops Ġall Ġothers Ġin Ġthe ĠRocky ĠMountains Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠGe ography Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠMount ĠEl bert Ġis Ġvisible Ġto Ġthe Ġsouthwest Ġof ĠLead ville Ġ, Ġoften Ġsnow Ġ@ - @ Ġcapped Ġeven Ġin Ġthe Ġsummer Ġ. ĠMany Ġother Ġfourteen ers Ġsurround ĠEl bert Ġin Ġall Ġdirections Ġ, Ġand Ġit Ġis Ġvery Ġclose Ġto Ġcentral ĠColorado Ġ' s ĠColleg iate ĠPeaks Ġ. ĠThe Ġneighboring ĠMount ĠMassive Ġ, Ġto Ġthe Ġnorth Ġ, Ġis Ġthe Ġsecond Ġ@ - @ Ġhighest Ġpeak Ġin Ġthe ĠRocky ĠMountains Ġand Ġthe Ġthird Ġ@ - @ Ġhighest Ġin Ġthe Ġcontiguous ĠUnited ĠStates Ġ, Ġand ĠLa ĠPl ata ĠPeak Ġ, Ġto Ġthe Ġsouth Ġ, Ġis Ġthe Ġfifth Ġ@ - @ Ġhighest Ġin Ġthe ĠRockies Ġ. ĠThe Ġcommunity Ġof ĠTwin ĠLakes Ġlies Ġat Ġthe Ġbase Ġof ĠMount ĠEl bert Ġ, ĠDenver Ġis Ġabout Ġ130 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ209 Ġkm Ġ) Ġto Ġthe Ġeast Ġ, ĠV ail Ġis Ġ50 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ80 Ġkm Ġ) Ġto Ġthe Ġnorth Ġ, Ġand ĠAs pen Ġis Ġ40 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ64 Ġkm Ġ) Ġto Ġthe Ġwest Ġ. ĠLead ville Ġ, Ġabout Ġ16 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ26 Ġkm Ġ) Ġto Ġthe Ġnortheast Ġ, Ġis Ġthe Ġnearest Ġlarge Ġtown Ġ. ĠEl bert Ġ' s Ġparent Ġpeak Ġis ĠMount ĠWhitney Ġin ĠCalifornia Ġ. ĠIncluding ĠAlaska Ġand ĠHawaii Ġ, ĠMount ĠEl bert Ġis Ġthe Ġfour teenth Ġ@ - @ Ġhighest Ġmountain Ġin Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠWeather Ġconditions Ġoften Ġchange Ġrapidly Ġ, Ġand Ġafternoon Ġthunder storms Ġare Ġcommon Ġin Ġthe Ġsummer time Ġ; Ġha ilst orm s Ġand Ġsnow Ġare Ġpossible Ġyear Ġ@ - @ Ġround Ġ. ĠAn Ġelectrical Ġstorm Ġon Ġthe Ġmountain Ġ' s Ġsummit Ġwas Ġconsidered Ġremarkable Ġenough Ġto Ġbe Ġreported Ġin Ġthe ĠJuly Ġ18 94 Ġissue Ġof ĠScience Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠGe ology Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠMount ĠEl bert Ġis Ġpart Ġof Ġthe ĠSaw atch ĠRange Ġ, Ġan Ġupl ift Ġof Ġthe ĠLar amide ĠO rogen y Ġwhich Ġseparated Ġfrom Ġthe ĠMos qu ito ĠRange Ġto Ġthe Ġeast Ġaround Ġ28 Ġmillion Ġyears Ġago Ġ. ĠThe Ġtops Ġof Ġthis Ġrange Ġwere Ġheavily Ġglac iated Ġ, Ġleaving Ġbehind Ġcharacteristic Ġsummit Ġfeatures Ġand Ġother Ġsuch Ġclues Ġ. ĠFor Ġexample Ġ, Ġthe Ġbase Ġof ĠEl bert Ġon Ġthe Ġeastern Ġside Ġexhibits Ġlarge Ġign eous Ġand Ġmet amorph ic Ġrocks Ġdeposited Ġwhen Ġthe Ġglaciers Ġrec eded Ġ, Ġwhich Ġlie Ġon Ġa Ġlateral Ġmor aine Ġ. ĠFurther Ġup Ġthe Ġeastern Ġside Ġthere Ġis Ġa Ġlarge Ġcir que Ġwith Ġa Ġsmall Ġtarn Ġ. ĠThere Ġare Ġalso Ġlakes Ġto Ġboth Ġthe Ġnorth Ġand Ġsouth Ġ, ĠTur qu oise Ġand ĠTwin ĠLakes Ġrespectively Ġ; Ġthe ĠTwin ĠLakes Ġare Ġa Ġresult Ġof Ġthe Ġnatural Ġdam Ġof Ġend Ġmor ain es Ġ, Ġand ĠTur qu oise ĠLake Ġwas Ġcreated Ġby Ġthe Ġman made ĠSugar ĠLo af ĠDam Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠMount ĠEl bert Ġis Ġcomposed Ġlargely Ġof Ġquartz ite Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġthe Ġsummit Ġridge Ġconsists Ġof Ġmet amorph ic Ġbasement Ġrock Ġ, Ġwhich Ġis ĠPre Ġ@ - @ ĠCamb rian Ġin Ġorigin Ġand Ġabout Ġ1 Ġ@ . @ Ġ7 Ġbillion Ġyears Ġold Ġ. ĠThere Ġare Ġvarious Ġign eous Ġintr usions Ġincluding Ġpeg mat ite Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġ" Ġbands Ġ" Ġof Ġg ne iss Ġand Ġsch ist Ġ. ĠUnlike Ġmountains Ġof Ġsimilar Ġaltitude Ġelsewhere Ġ, ĠEl bert Ġlacks Ġboth Ġa Ġpermanent Ġsnow pack Ġand Ġa Ġprominent Ġnorth Ġ@ - @ Ġfacing Ġcir que Ġ, Ġwhich Ġcan Ġbe Ġattributed Ġto Ġits Ġposition Ġamongst Ġother Ġmountains Ġof Ġsimilar Ġheight Ġ, Ġcausing Ġit Ġto Ġreceive Ġrelatively Ġsmall Ġquantities Ġof Ġprecipitation Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠHistory Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠMount ĠEl bert Ġwas Ġnamed Ġby