Nature
Rainbow Mountain, a 6,841-foot summit in Alaska’s Delta Mountains, rises sharply above the Richardson Highway, nearby creeks, and the Canwell Glacier, making it unusually prominent and easy to see from the road. Its name comes from striking bands of colored talus created by mineral-rich rocks formed by volcanic activity 300 to 350 million years ago, along with layers of sandstone, siltstone, and limestone. Rainbow Ridge is also known for trilobite fossils about 315 million years old. Drainage from the mountain feeds tributaries of the Delta River, nearby glaciers persist in the cold tundra climate, and wildlife such as Dall sheep and hoary marmots is often visible here.
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Paxson, Alaska · United States
