Columbia Point

For Columbia Point in Boston, Massachusetts, see Columbia Point (Boston).

Columbia Point
The Crestone Group as seen from Mount Adams. From left to right: Crestone Needle, Crestone Peak, Columbia Point, Kit Carson Peak, Challenger Point.[1]
Elevation	13,980 ft (4,261 m) NGVD 29[2]
Prominence	360 ft (110 m) [2][3]
Parent peak	Kit Carson Mountain
Location
Columbia Point Colorado
Location	Colorado, United States
Range	Sangre de Cristo Range
Coordinates	37°58′44″N 105°35′53″W / 37.97889°N 105.59806°W / 37.97889; -105.59806Coordinates: 37°58′44″N 105°35′53″W / 37.97889°N 105.59806°W / 37.97889; -105.59806[4]
Topo map	USGS Crestone Peak
Climbing
First ascent	unknown (probably climbed as part of an ascent of Kit Carson Mountain)
Easiest route	Difficult class 2

Columbia Point is a 13,980 foot (4,261 meter) subpeak of Kit Carson Peak, in Colorado, USA. It was known informally as Kat Carson, but was officially named Columbia Point in 2003 to honor the seven astronauts who died when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry on February 1, 2003. With a topographic prominence over 300 ft (91 m), it qualifies as a separate summit under the standard cutoff, but it is not a well-known peak.

The Memorial

The USGS Board of Geographic Names approved the name of Columbia Point in June, 2003. On the weekend of August 7, 2003, a group consisting of family members, astronauts, friends and climbers installed a memorial plaque on the summit. The trip included a dedication service for the memorial, and an F16 flyby in missing man formation.

Today, we name a point in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Colorado in honor of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Seven brave astronauts perished during her final mission on February 1, 2003. Columbia Point is an appropriate honor for this shuttle's last voyage. Those who explore space in the days ahead may gaze back at Earth - and know that Columbia Point is there to commend a noble mission. The point looks up to the heavens and it allows us, once again, to thank our heroes who soared far beyond the mountain, traveled past the sky -- and live on in our memories forever.

— Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton^[5]

The plaque reads:

COLUMBIA POINT, 13,980'

In Memory of the Crew of Shuttle Columbia
Seven who died accepting the risk,
Expanding humankind's horizons
February 1, 2003
"Mankind is led into the darkness beyond
our world by the inspiration of discovery
and the longing to understand. Our
journey into space will go on."

President George W. Bush

See also

• Challenger Point
• Crestones
• Kit Carson Peak
• Mountain peaks of Colorado
• Mountain peaks of North America
• Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains
• Mountain peaks of the United States
• Mountain ranges of Colorado
• Southern Rocky Mountains
• Sangre de Cristo Mountains
• Thirteener

References

1. ^ The name Kit Carson Mountain can be used to describe three summits: Columbia Point, Kit Carson Peak and Challenger Point. It can also be used to describe the main summit only.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Columbia Point, Colorado". Peakbagger.com. http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=5904. Retrieved 2009-02-05. 
3. ^ Arithmetic mean of range of prominence values in source.
4. ^ "Columbia Point". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:1986821. Retrieved 2011-02-27. 
5. ^ "Secretary Norton and Nasa Administrator O'Keefe Announce "Columbia Point" In Honor of Space Shuttle Columbia" (Press release). Department of Interior. Archived from the original on 2007-10-31. http://web.archive.org/web/20071031034919/http://www.doi.gov/news/030610a.htm. Retrieved 2011-08-20. 

External links

• "Columbia Point (Kat Carson)". SummitPost.org. http://www.summitpost.org/page/151723. Retrieved 2011-08-20. 
• "Columbia Point, Colorado Memorial Plaque". SilGro. http://silgro.com/ColumbiaPoint/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-08-20.