Panther Mountain (New York) and Template talk:Dundee F.C. squad: Difference between pages

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{{Infobox Mountain

==Surname sort==

| Name = Panther Mountain

The default sort is by squad number, but only 2 players are shown with a number, 20 have no number. This is unusual as no other squad list has more numberless unless the whole squad is numberless.

| Photo = Panther and Giant Ledge from Slide.jpg

So I went with the majority and sorted by surname. The club article has no squad numbers shown at all, so this sort method seems to make sense. &nbsp;<font face="verdana">[[User:Slumgum|slυмgυм]]<small>&nbsp;[[User talk:Slumgum|[&nbsp;←]][[Special:Contributions/Slumgum|→&nbsp;]]]</small></font> 17:43, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

| Caption = Panther from [[Slide Mountain (New York)|Slide Mountain]] to the south

| Elevation = ~3,720 feet (~1,134 m)

| Location = [[New York]], [[USA]]

| Range = [[Catskill Mountains|Catskills]]

| Prominence = 996 feet (304 m)

| Coordinates = {{coor dms|42|03|23|N|74|23|42|W}}

| Topographic map = [[United States Geological Survey|USGS]] [[Shandaken, New York|Shandaken]]

| Type =

| Age =

| Last eruption =

| First ascent = unknown

| Easiest route = trail

| Grid_ref_UK =

| Grid_ref_Ireland =

| Listing = [[Catskill Mountain 3500 Club|Catskill 3500 Club]]

| Translation =

| Language =

| Pronunciation =

}}

'''Panther Mountain''' is one of the [[Catskill Mountains|Catskill]] [[Catskill High Peaks|High Peaks]], located in the [[Shandaken, New York|Town of Shandaken]] in [[Ulster County, New York|Ulster County]], [[New York]]. At approximately 3,720 feet (1,135 m) in elevation, it is the 18th highest in the range. A combination of factors has led [[geology|geologists]] to believe the mountain is on the site of an ancient [[meteor]] [[impact crater]].

Its proximity to [[Slide Mountain (New York)|Slide Mountain]], the highest Catskill peak, the relatively short distance required to climb the mountain from the south and the excellent views available from the mountain and nearby [[Giant Ledge]] have made Panther one of the most popular [[hiking|hikes]] in the range. Aspiring members of the [[Catskill Mountain 3500 Club]] must climb it twice, at least once during winter.

==Name==

The origin of the name is unknown. [[Panther]]s may once have been seen in the area; but are not resident in the Catskills today.

==Geography==

The mountain takes the shape of a longitudinal ridge in the center of the rough circle mostly formed by [[Esopus Creek|Esopus]] and [[Woodland Creek|Woodland]] creeks. Slide's north ridge begins right where the Panther/Giant Ledge ridge ends. Two named [[tributary|tributaries]] of Woodland, its [[Dougherty Branch Woodland Creek|Dougherty Branch]] and [[Panther Kill]], rise on the mountain's western slopes.

Three of the [[valley]]s around the edge of the mountain have earned separate names of their own. Going [[clockwise]] from the southwest, they are Little Peck Hollow, Hatchery Hollow and Fox Hollow. The ridge aside the Daugherty Branch is called Fork Ridge.

The mountain rises gradually from the north, with many [[false summit]]s. The drop to the south, to the [[mountain pass|col]] with Giant Ledge, is much sharper.

The entire area has long been a part of New York's [[Forest Preserve (New York)|Forest Preserve]]. Today it is within the [[Slide Mountain Wilderness Area]], part of the [[Catskill Park]], managed by the state [[New York State Department of Environmental Conservation|Department of Environmental Conservation]].

[[Image:Panther rosette stream pattern.gif|300px|thumb|left|The nearly-complete circle made by Esopus and Woodland creeks around Panther gives a rough indication where the crater walls were.]]

==Natural history==

===Geology===

The circular pattern made by the two creeks around the mountain was the first indication Panther's origins might be different from the other Catskill peaks. Most mountains show a more dendritic (tree-like) pattern rather than the [[rosette]] made by Esopus and Woodland around the mountain.

Later research found that the rock in the creek valleys was less [[density|dense]] and more broken up than similar formations elsewhere in the Catskills. The later discovery of trace minerals consistent with a meteor impact confirmed it. The impact is estimated to have occurred 375 million years ago, during the [[Devonian]] period, when much of what is now the Catskills was either river [[delta]] or a shallow sea. The crater lies 2,640 feet (800 m) below the surface, directly under the mountain.

===Forests===

Panther's forests are for the most part typical of the Catskills, with [[beech]]-[[birch]]-[[maple]] northern [[hardwood]] forests on its lower slopes giving way to [[boreal forest]]s of [[balsam fir]] and [[red spruce]] above 3,500 feet on the mountain. There is a rare virgin spruce grove near the summit. While the lower slopes were logged in the 19th century, particularly for [[Eastern Hemlock|Eastern hemlock]] bark and its [[tannin]], the upper mountain remains in [[old-growth forest|first growth]].

According to [[Michael Kudish]], there is a rare virgin spruce grove near the summit.

==Approaches==

Panther is traversed by the blue-[[trail blazing|blazed]] Fox Hollow-Panther-Giant Ledge Trail (GP), which runs north-south from Fox Hollow down to a junction with the yellow-blazed Phoenicia-East Branch (P-EB) Trail 0.5 mile (1 km) south of Giant Ledge. The vast majority of attempts on the mountain use this route.

The shorter southern approach is much more popular due not only to its brevity but the excellent views available from Giant Ledge. The northern approach, however, is not without some views of its own. Sometimes the entire 7.5-mile (12 km) GP trail, plus the route to the Giant Ledge trailhead or Woodland Valley State Campground, will be hiked as an overnight [[backpacking (wilderness)|backpack]], with one of the designated [[campsite]]s along the trail being use, and cars parked at both ends.

===Southern route===

Hikers typically park at the [[trailhead]] lot, 2,100 feet (641 m) in elevation, where Ulster County Route 47 bends sharply about three-quarters of a mile (1.3 km) north of [[Winnisook Lake]], midway up or down the hill between it and Big Indian Hollow. Here the P-EB leaves the road again and leads southeast uphill 0.7 mile (1.1 km) and 500 vertical feet (151 m) to the GP in the level area between the ledge and Slide's north ridge. The former route of the P-EB, now closed, leads downhill to the southwest to its former route across the Winnisook Club.

Turning north on the GP, the trail remains level, passing an official [[campsite]] and some muddy spots until it reaches the base of Giant Ledge 0.6 mile (1 km) later, where a good, reliable [[Spring (hydrosphere)|spring]] can be found via a short side trail. A climb of 0.15 mile (240 m) up the steep, rocky south slope of the ledge, sometimes assisted by rock steps, levels out at 3,200 feet (975 m), where the trail stays close to the east side. There are many viewpoints from the [[cliff]] tops here that take in the nearby Burroughs Range (Slide, Wittenberg and Cornell) to the south; the valley of Woodland Creek below with a small area of [[Ashokan Reservoir]]; and the [[Devil's Path]] to the northeast. There are more campsites, often likely to be taken early on good summer weekends.

[[Image:View northeast from Panther summit, Catskills.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The Devil's Path from Panther's summit.]]

The trail remains on the ledge for 0.3 mile (500 m), then drops down again more gently on the north slope. Not too long after reaching level ground, the 720-foot (219 m) climb up Panther proper begins. At first the trail gently switches back up some rocky stretches of the mountain's south slope, then at 0.75 mile from the ledge, a short side trail leads to an excellent viewpoint over the Burroughs Range at about 3,300 feet (1,006 m). 0.2 mile later (400 m), the trail passes a grassy area that has been home to a less reliable spring in the past. Not too far beyond, in the middle of two steep, rocky chutes, the trail passes the sign marking 3,500 feet (1,067 m) in elevation, above which open fires are forbidden and camping is only permitted in winter, due to the fragile high-montane environment. The trail levels off gently but there is still almost 0.5 mile (1 km) to the small ledge with a view to the northeast that marks the summit.

Via this route, it is 3.2 miles (5.1 km) to the summit. Total vertical gain is 1,920 feet (585 m); net is 1,720 feet (524 m), due to the presence of Giant Ledge along the trail. However, some more experienced hikers sometimes [[bushwhack]] around the base of the ledge to save themselves this extra vertical if they do not want to take in the views.

===Northern route===

The GP trail's northern end begins at a small parking area at the end of Fox Hollow Road, 1.5 mile (2.5 km) south of [[New York State Route 28|NY 28]] at 1,420 feet (433 m) in elevation. At 0.4 mile (640 m) from that trailhead, a short side trail leads to the Fox Hollow [[lean-to]] and a reliable spring.

The trail then begins to climb the long ridge of Panther, finally reaching the first (3,480-foot; 1,061 m) of two false summits after 2.7 miles (4.3 km). A short descent follows, then another climb to the second false summit 0.6 mile (1 km) to the south. Along the way there is an excellent view of the peaks to the west: [[Balsam Mountain|Balsam]], [[Fir Mountain|Fir]] and [[Big Indian Mountain|Big Indian]]. It is another 1.2 mile (1.9 km) and a steeper climb to the actual summit.

Total distance via this route is 4.9 miles (7.9 km). Total vertical ascent is 2,450 feet (747 m).

==External links==

*[http://www.unb.ca/passc/ImpactDatabase/ Earth Impact Database]

*[http://www.ottawa.rasc.ca/articles/odale_chuck/earth_craters/panther_mountain/index.html Panther Mountain Meteorite Crater]

*[http://www.catskillcenter.org/panther/ Panther Mountain Meteor Impact Site]

*[http://discover.com/issues/aug-00/features/featcrater/ The Panther Mountain Crater]

{{geolinks-US-buildingscale|42.0564|-74.3950}}

[[Category:Mountains of New York]]

[[Category:Catskills]]

[[Category:Devonian craters]]

[[Category:Craters of the United States]]

[[Category:Ulster County, New York]]