Shumard Peak

Shumard Peak, an 8,636-foot summit in Guadalupe Mountains National Park in far West Texas, is now regarded through more accurate lidar measurements as the second-highest peak in both the Guadalupe range and Texas. Formed of late Permian limestone in the Capitan Formation, it is part of the ancient reef system that shapes much of the range. Its summit rises more than 4,600 feet above the Salt Basin in only three miles, and its slopes drain both west to the basin and east to the Delaware River. Named in 1938 for geologist George Getz Shumard, it honors his 1850s exploration and his 1852 identification of Permian fossils in the area.

Texas · United States